Since ancient times, people needed such an unusual place that could save them from adversity and trouble. Each person needed to know that he had where to go. The church is exactly the place where people felt safe. They could share the most secret secrets with her, “talk with God”, telling him about their sins, and hope that he would forgive them.
The significance of the church in people's lives
Each nation has its own particular faith, but in general, all people are divided into two categories: those who believe in God, and those who do not recognize its existence. The first group always had the opportunity to visit a religious building - a church. There, in the sacred temple, a man found peace and repented of serious sins, he sought forgiveness and condescension, comfort and warmth in the walls of the building and found it. Each structure, as a rule, had a dome; it gives the church a particularly solemn appearance. It was made of the best materials that shone brightly in the sun and attracted the attention of all travelers. This remarkable creation of architects gave the sacred temple a magical meaning and a touch of magic. So, every wanderer, tired on the road or lost, could visit the church and find help, warmth and God there.
How did the dome come about?
The dome of the church is its main pride. The name of such an unusual design comes from the Italian cupola and is a supporting element of the coating. As a rule, the shape of the dome is similar to a hemisphere or parabola, an ellipse. With this type of structure, you can block huge rooms. The dome is placed over round and polygonal buildings.
Dome History
Today, everyone knows that a sacred temple simply cannot exist without stunning domes. But few people know that they were invented and used in the prehistoric period, namely in the nurags or monuments of Gaul. In addition, they could be seen in Etruscan burial vaults, pyramids. Of course, earlier the dome of the church, whose name did not exist at that time, was a completely different construction. It was made of stones or masonry. The structures could hang over each other and did not transmit horizontal forces to the walls.
Only when concrete was invented, builders learned how to make the right and high-quality domes. This happened during the period of the Roman architectural revolution. The Romans built beautiful structures that spanned vast spaces. However, people did not use supports. It was found that the oldest hemisphere was built in 128 AD.
Dome Development
In the Renaissance, the period of the most acute development of dome construction. In the fifteenth to sixteenth centuries, such hemispheres were built in the cathedrals of Santa Maria del Fiore and St. Peter. These were truly divine designs made by true professionals. In baroque times, the dome of the church was considered the largest building element.
Since the nineteenth century, domes began to be built not only in sacred temples, but also in public institutions. In ordinary houses, constructions of this type were also present, but this happened extremely rarely. During this period, the golden domes of churches became extremely popular. In addition to the noble metal, other materials were used, such as glass and reinforced concrete. In the twentieth century, the use of hemispheres has become more popular several times. From this period, domes were erected in sports facilities, spectacular buildings, and so on.
Variety of domes
Many are interested in what the dome of the church should be. There are many types of designs, you can choose any one you like (if this does not contradict religious beliefs). So, the following types of this overlap are distinguished: waist, "onion", oval, sailing, "saucer", polygonal, "umbrella". The first of them is considered the most ancient and is practically not used in our time. The oval dome came from the Baroque style, it is constructed in the form of an egg. Sailing design allows craftsmen to depict arches that support the "sail". The square dome is mounted in four corners and as if blown from below. A variety of saucer designs is considered the lowest. It is shallow, but today you can find many buildings with this type of dome. A polygon structure is based on a polygon. As for the “umbrella” dome, it is divided into segments by so-called “ribs”, which diverge from the center to the base.
The onion dome
The most common species is considered the "onion". It has a convex shape, which is gradually sharpened upward. This type of dome is quite common in many countries. Among them, we can distinguish India, Russia, Turkey and the Middle East. Moreover, the onion dome is most often used in Orthodox sacred churches. It has a large diameter and is mounted on a "drum". Often the height of the structure exceeds its width.
It is believed that churches with several domes are of Russian origin. Therefore, inspecting such structures, people immediately associate them with Russia. Also a distinctive feature of Slavic builders is the size of the domes. They are much smaller than the Byzantine ones, and, as a rule, are painted in bright colors. Most often, structures are covered with gilding. In fact, it does not matter what the color of the dome of the church is. The employees decide this, but usually they are made bright so that they stand out among other buildings, and they can always be found by the radiance.
