Standing on the high bank of the Moskva River in the former royal estate of Kolomenskoye, the Church of the Ascension is a turning point in Russian architecture. Completed in 1532, it was the first stone church in the country to be crowned with a tented roof, the shatyor, transposing into masonry a form previously associated with timber building. The result is a vertical, almost sculptural structure: a cruciform base, tiers of pointed kokoshniki and an octagonal tent rising to a small dome, with open galleries commanding the river valley. Inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, the church remains a reference point for architects and historians alike. Filmed in 4K, the programme circles the exterior from ground and air, follows the light across the white walls, and situates the building within its park and its river landscape.
