Azvonnitsa (Russian:звонница,[1]pl. звонницы,zvonnitsy;Ukrainian:дзвіниця,romanized: dzvinytsia;Polish:dzwonnica parawanowa;Romanian:zvoniţă) is a large rectangular structure containing multiplearches orbeams that supportbells, and a basal platform wherebell ringers stand to perform the ringing using long ropes. It was an alternative to abell tower inRussian,Polish andRomanian medieval architectural traditions, primarily used inRussian architecture of the 14th–17th centuries. Currently,zvonnitsy are especially widespread in the environs ofPskov.
Unlike bell towers in Western Europe,zvonnitsy in Russia were generally built of brick rather than stone.[2] As a result, they were structurally weaker, which led to new solutions in the 19th-century to address issues with structural support and sufficient suspension of the bells.[2]
Sometimes,zvonnitsy were mounted directly onchurch roofs, resulting in a special form of church called apod zvonom (Russian:под звоном,lit. 'under ringing') orizhe pod kolokoly (иже под колоколы,'under bells'). The most famous example of this type is the Church ofSt. John of the Ladder, adjacent toIvan the Great Bell Tower in theMoscow Kremlin.
In Polish, the worddzwonnica refers to any type of bell tower, while the fortified trellis construction containing apertures for bells is referred to by the termdzwonnica parawanowa.
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