The Peter and Paul Chapel, considered the oldest, largest, and most architecturally complex among the chapels of the "Kizhi Necklace," is also regarded by specialists as the most beautiful. It is designed in the Zaonezh style, which, despite its cheerfulness and festiveness, strictly avoids excessive decorations. In this style, painted and lace-like towers are impossible. The Volkostrov Chapel is also built in this style, albeit with slight concessions.

The chapel was constructed in two stages. In the second half of the 17th century, local residents erected a large and ornate chapel with a tall prayer house and lower porches, which later became the refectory. Galleries with carved columns and balusters were built along the northern and southern walls. The roof of the porches and galleries was common, covered with red shingles. Above the prayer house rose a roof made of the same material, and above it, a small octagon with a drum and a large dome of traditional Russian shape, covered with aspen shingles.

Decorative elements, such as shelves made of pointed boards, adorn the border between the octagon and the drum. Thanks to the variety of decorative elements at different heights, the craftsmen managed to create a play of light and shadow on the white roofs and walls of the log structure, especially on the fencing and floor of the galleries. In the 18th century, the chapel was rebuilt, adding new large porches and a bell tower with a slender tent from the west. The entrance was arranged from the north, and the southern gallery was extended to the full length of the new building.

The craftsmen who undertook the reconstruction a hundred years later managed to preserve the old chapel and create a more complex structure in the same style, enhancing the major motifs. The traces of the reconstruction are almost imperceptible, and the new image turned out to be cohesive. The height and shape of the bell tower perfectly complement the old log structure of the chapel, neither overshadowing it nor detaching from it.

An ancient northern contractor's charter, in which the "peace" hired carpenters for the construction of the church, provided them with a precise technical assignment: "To chop the church as measure and beauty shall dictate." Although specialists note that by the time of the reconstruction, the craftsmen began to lean towards simpler solutions, the window frames were simplified, and the cuts of the logs for additional brackets of the gallery were made straight. However, the sense of measure and beauty was preserved by the craftsmen of the 18th century.

Examine the chapel at a leisurely pace. Walk around it. An unprepared person may get the impression that this is a typical cult structure, but it lacks "grandeur"; its festiveness and cheerfulness are too evident, especially in sunny weather. Even the required fir trees for Zaonezh chapels are not nearby. The chapel stands right in the village, without a hint of "holiness" of the place. It dominates the surroundings, but its grand southern facade faces an empty meadow.

Our current notions of a Temple do not correspond to the ideas of the residents of Zaonezh at that time. Try to view the chapel as the center of public life in the village, and everything will fall into place. The author confirmed this when he found himself at the chapel as part of a large group. As soon as many people appeared near its walls, the chapel came to life. It requires a lively environment. The straight lines of the corners of the logs and the ridges of the roofs became a necessary counterbalance to the crowd. The chapel was the center of three villages.

The meadow to the south of the chapel served as a common square. During holidays, the youth would organize games in the meadow, while the elders observed from the southern gallery. On Easter, anyone could ring the bell in the bell tower. The northern chapels served as a temple, club, and community center. Here, all the zemstvo activities revived after the "Time of Troubles." Take a closer look at the galleries of the Peter and Paul Chapel and the porches of the Transfiguration and Protection churches in Kizhi; these were platforms used during peasant gatherings.

People are not in a hurry to leave the chapel; the place is joyful and sunny. Pay attention to the window frames of the old log structure; this is a design perfected to perfection. All elements are covered with large carvings, the drain board is triangular, and the underlay is city-style. In Petropavlovka, this canon was violated, as the roofs of the galleries protect the windows from precipitation. The craftsmen chose this design for its decorative possibilities. All edges of the carvings on the frames are covered with fine carvings.

The residents of Zaonezh were not in a hurry to live; they did everything thoroughly. As a result, we have a heritage we can be proud of. Traces of paint have survived on the octagon of the bell tower. The residents of Zaonezh painted their chapels. The balustrade and the lower parts of the columns were red, the tops of the columns were blue, and the gables were red. For them, bright coloring emphasized the uniqueness of the structures. The bright northern chapels looked good in winter against the backdrop of snow and gray skies.

As you leave the chapel, pay attention to the mysterious ridge above its prayer house. The upper horizontal log, protecting the edge of the roof, is called the "ridge" because its ends are shaped like a horse's head. Many carpenters worked in a realistic manner, creating works of art. The residents of Zaonezh preferred more abstract forms, creating generalized and expressive images. Such ridges adorn even barns and baths in Zaonezh.