St. Petersburg is rightfully the cultural capital of our country. Museums, theaters, architectural monuments, temples, cathedrals without a secret will tell the bright, and sometimes tragic, history of Russia. A witness of past centuries is the majestic Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg.
Christmas (Kazan) Church
At the place where the Kazan Cathedral is now located, until 1801 there was a Christmas church. It was erected by order of the Empress Anna Ioannovna. The construction of the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin lasted three years (1733-1736). June 23, 1737 the church in the presence of the Empress was solemnly consecrated. And a few days later the Kazan icon of the Mother of God was brought to the temple. This relic in 1708 was brought back by Peter I. The church became a real decoration of Nevsky Prospect. The 58-meter multi-tiered bell tower was truly a masterpiece of architectural art. The architect of the Christmas Church is M. G. Zemtsov. During the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna, the temple received the status of a cathedral.
Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg. Construction history
But after half a century, the building was dilapidated and no longer corresponded to the elegant appearance of Nevsky Prospect that had developed by that time. Therefore, it was decided to completely rebuild the Kazan Cathedral. In 1799, by order of Tsar Paul I, a competition was announced for the design of a new temple. One of the requirements of the ruler was that he should resemble the Roman Cathedral of St. Peter, built by Renaissance architect Michelangelo Buonarroti. The architects were given the most difficult task: a monumental building with a colonnade was required to fit into a small space that had already been formed. In addition, according to the Orthodox canons, the altar must have been turned east. Consequently, the facade of the building was to go not on Nevsky Prospekt, but on Meshchanskaya Street (now Kazan).
Many prominent architects presented their projects, such as Gonzaga P., Voronikhin A.N., Cameron C. and Tom de Tomon J. F. At first, Paul I liked the project of C. Cameron, but after the assistance of Count Stroganov, construction was entrusted to the forty-year-old architect Voronikhin Andrei Nikiforovich. In 1800, the Cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan began to be erected south of the Nativity Church. All this time the temple continued to work. The Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg was planned to be built in four years, but the construction dragged on for a long eleven years. It took place against the backdrop of a great patriotic upsurge, the reason for which was the proposal of Count Stroganov to involve only Russian masters in the work. All building material was also domestic. The work, in which thousands of serfs were involved, took place in very difficult conditions, the equipment was almost completely absent. Nevertheless, in eleven years it was possible to erect a masterpiece of architectural art. The temple reaches 71 meters in height, at that time - a real giant. Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg has become a magnificent monument of Russian architecture.
Architecture
As mentioned above, the construction of the Kazan Cathedral was not an easy task. Since, according to the Orthodox canons, the altar should be facing east, the main entrance faces Meshchanskaya Street. The Cathedral overlooks Nevsky Prospekt with a side wall. Voronikhin built a small semicircular area, which outlines a colonnade of 95 columns. And left and right, it ends with monumental portals. The colonnade closes the main body of the cathedral, in the center of it there is a ceremonial portico. And people get the impression that the main entrance to the temple is here. The cathedral is made in the form of a Latin cross, a grand dome rises above the middle cross.
Decoration
Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg is striking in its beauty and grandeur. Much attention was paid to external and internal decoration. Many famous masters worked on sculptures and bas-reliefs, such as I.P. Prokofiev (the bronze figure of St. Andrew the First-Called, the bas-relief “Exaltation of the Copper Serpent”), S.S. Pimenov (sculptures of Vladimir the Equal to the Apostles and Alexander Nevsky), I.P. Martos ( a bronze figure of John the Baptist, a bas-relief “The Source of Water by Moses in the Desert”), F. G. Gordeev (bas-reliefs “Annunciation”, “Adoration of the Shepherds”, “Adoration of the Magi”, “Flight into Egypt”). For interior decoration, icons were painted by the best artists of the beginning of the 19th century: O. A. Kiprensky, V. L. Borovikovsky, V. K. Shebuyev, G. I. Ugryumov, F. A. Bruni, K. P. Bryullov. For external decoration used marble, shungite, jasper, Finnish granite.
Cathedral in the middle of the 19th century
A year after the consecration, a prayer service was held in the temple in honor of the sending of Russian troops to the war. Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov also went to command troops from these walls. Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg was the last refuge of this great commander; he was buried in the crypt of the church. And a year later, there were celebrations in honor of the complete victory of Russian soldiers over the French conquerors. Kazan Cathedral (St. Petersburg) has become a monument of Russian military glory. It kept trophies brought from the war.
The fate of the cathedral in the post-revolutionary period
A difficult fate awaited the temple after 1917. Divine services in it ceased. They removed the cross from the bathing, and in its place put a gilded ball with a spire. Kazan Cathedral (St. Petersburg) was turned into a museum of the history of religion and atheism. Many icons were transferred to the State Russian Museum. The icon of the Kazan Mother of God was transferred to the Prince Vladimir Museum. The interior space was divided into exhibition halls. As a result of the alterations, the interior was badly damaged, part of the property was simply plundered. In 1941, the Museum of the History of Religion and Atheism was temporarily closed, and exhibitions were organized in the cathedral under the names "The Patriotic War of 1812" and "The military past of the Russian people." During the Great Patriotic War, St. Petersburg suffered greatly from the bombing of the Nazi invaders. Kazan Cathedral, photos of which are presented in the article, was no exception. Several shells hit the temple. After the war, its restoration was carried out.
Cathedral today
1991 was a new milestone in the history of the temple - it was again opened for worship. In the same year, the icon of the Kazan Mother of God was returned to the cathedral. And three years later, a golden cross was erected on the dome again. In 1998, a bell sounded over the Kazan Cathedral, the voice again returned to it. The bell was cast in the Baltic factory. In 2003, the same factory gave the church a four-ton bell, which became the largest in the Kazan Cathedral. And in 2000, the cathedral became a cathedral. Divine services are often held in the church with the participation of the highest ranks of the Orthodox hierarchy. On September 12, every year from the Kazan Cathedral there is a procession to the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. Throughout the history of the temple, many abbots were replaced in it. Now the rector is Archpriest Pavel Grigoryevich Krasnotsvetov born in 1932.
Address and opening hours
Kazan Cathedral is located at St. Petersburg, Nevsky Prospect, 25. The temple is open daily: on weekdays from 8.30, on weekends from 6.30. Entrance to the cathedral is free.