The greatest wooden church of them all is the Church of the Transfiguration on Kizhi Island in remote Lake Onega.

This architectural wonder was built nearly three centuries ago. Its steep pyramid of 22 cascading cupolas illustrates Russia’s two most distinctive architectural shapes: the tent roof and the onion dome. Local craftsmen shaped its 30,000 shingles using only an axe and put it together without any nails. It sheds water more quickly than many modern buildings.