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Construction history. The architecture of the Kazan Cathedral in the northern capital

The main cathedrals of St. Petersburg

The city of St. Petersburg changed its name three times. During the revolution and Soviet power it was Petrograd and Leningrad, and since 1991 it has become St. Petersburg again. The townspeople affectionately call him simply - Peter. And although there is historical evidence that they wanted to name the city in honor of the Apostle Peter, everyone associates its name with the name of Tsar Peter I, who was directly involved in the construction of the city.


Peter is relatively young. You will not find prehistoric and medieval antiquities in it, but all the best of Peter the Great and subsequent times is presented in all its glory. This is especially true of architecture, because truly brilliant architects worked here.

It is impossible not to visit Rossi Street, Nevsky Prospekt, the Winter Palace and Peterhof. Petersburg is a museum city. Its entire historical part is included in the UNESCO list. main artery- Neva, revitalizes the city, turning it into northern Venice. There are no fewer canals here than in the famous city, but definitely more bridges. For example, seven more are visible from the Trinity Bridge, and nine more from the Kashino Bridge. They were designed by the smartest engineers.

Petersburg is a city with a special energy and a special spiritual aspiration. Many cathedrals of St. Petersburg are monuments of military glory of Russia. They keep memories of the living and dead heroes, urge to remember their history, respect their roots. And most importantly, do not forget and love God.


Saint Isaac's Cathedral(the official name is the Cathedral of St. Isaac of Dalmatia) is the largest Orthodox church in St. Petersburg. Located on St. Isaac's Square. Has the status of a museum; the church community, registered in June 1991, has the opportunity to worship according to special days with the permission of the museum directorate. It was consecrated in the name of the Monk Isaac of Dalmatia, revered as a saint by Peter I, since the emperor was born on the day of his memory - May 30 according to the Julian calendar.
Built in 1818-1858 by architect Auguste Montferrand; the construction was supervised by Emperor Nicholas I, the chairman of the construction commission was Karl Opperman.
The solemn consecration on May 30 (June 11), 1858, of the new cathedral was performed by Metropolitan Grigory (Postnikov) of Novgorod, St. Petersburg, Estonia and Finland.
The creation of Montferrand is the fourth temple in honor of Isaac of Dalmatia, built in St. Petersburg.
Height - 101.5 m, internal area - more than 4000 m².


Unusual angle, St. Isaac's Cathedral

Dome of St. Isaac's Cathedral

Kazansky Cathedral (Cathedral of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God) is one of the largest churches in St. Petersburg, made in the Empire style (or Russian classicism). It was built on Nevsky Prospekt in 1801-1811 by the architect A. N. Voronikhin to store the revered list of the miraculous icon of the Mother of God of Kazan. After Patriotic War 1812 acquired the significance of a monument of Russian military glory. In 1813, commander M.I. Kutuzov was buried here and the keys to the captured cities and other military trophies were placed.
In 1932 it was turned into the Museum of the History of Religion and Atheism, since 1991 it has been an active temple, coexisting with the museum's exposition for several years. Since 2000 - the Cathedral of the St. Petersburg diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church. Rector - Archpriest Pavel Krasnotsvetov.
The cathedral gave its name to Kazanskaya Street, Kazansky Island in the Neva Delta and Kazansky Bridge at the intersection of Nevsky Prospekt and the Griboyedov Canal.


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Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ on Blood, or the Church of the Savior on Blood in St. Petersburg - an Orthodox memorial single-altar church in the name of the Resurrection of Christ; It was built in memory of the fact that on this place on March 1, 1881, as a result of an assassination attempt, Emperor Alexander II was mortally wounded (the expression on the blood indicates the blood of the king). The temple was built as a monument to the martyr tsar with funds collected from all over Russia.
Located in the historical center of St. Petersburg on the banks of the Griboyedov Canal, next to the Mikhailovsky Garden and Konyushennaya Square. The height of the nine-domed temple is 81 m, the capacity is up to 1600 people. It is a museum and a monument of Russian architecture.
The temple was built by order of the emperor Alexander III in 1883-1907 according to joint project architect Alfred Parland and Archimandrite Ignatius (Malyshev), who later withdrew from construction. The project is made in the "Russian style", somewhat reminiscent of Moscow's St. Basil's Cathedral. Construction lasted 24 years. On August 19, 1907, the cathedral was consecrated.


Peter and Paul Cathedral(official name - Cathedral in the name of supreme apostles Peter and Paul) Orthodox Cathedral in St. Petersburg in Peter and Paul Fortress, the tomb of Russian emperors, an architectural monument of the Petrine baroque. Until 2012, the 122.5 m high cathedral was the tallest building in St. Petersburg. Since 2013, it has been the third tallest building in the city, after the 145.5-meter skyscraper Leader Tower and residential complex"Prince Alexander Nevsky", whose height is 124 meters.

Cathedral Church of the Smolny Monastery erected in 1748-1757 according to the project of F. Rastrelli. The whole composition of this masterpiece of Baroque architecture is distinguished by extraordinary plasticity and aspiration upward. After the abolition of the monastery, all work was stopped and resumed only in the reign of Nicholas I.
In 1832 - 1835, the architect V.P. Stasov completed the interior decoration of the temple, after which the cathedral, which can accommodate 6 thousand people, was consecrated. Before the revolution, it was the main temple educational institutions Departments of the Empress Maria.
In 1923 the cathedral was closed, the interior decoration was destroyed, the premises were used as a warehouse. In 1974 - a branch of the Museum of the History of Leningrad, since 1990 - a concert and exhibition hall, since 2004 - a structural unit of the museum-monument St. Isaac's Cathedral.
In the 2000s, the cathedral underwent complex restoration work. Thematic exhibitions are periodically held here, concerts of spiritual

Music.






St. Nicholas Naval Cathedral (Naval Cathedral of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker and the Epiphany)- the first naval cathedral, traditionally nourishing the sailors of the Russian fleet. One of the brightest monuments of the Elizabethan Baroque in church architecture. It is located in St. Petersburg on Nikolskaya Square.
The cathedral influenced the toponymy of the city: it gave its name to the square, lane, market and Staro- and Novo-Nikolsky bridges, as well as the former name of Glinka Street.
The parish of the temple belongs to the St. Petersburg diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church, is part of the Admiralty deanery district. Rector - Archpriest Bogdan Soiko.


Construction of the Trinity-Izmailovsky Cathedral preceded by quite a common story for that time. In 1827, Nicholas I decided to build a stone cathedral instead of a dilapidated wooden church for the Izmailovsky regiment. And in memory of the time when he personally commanded the legendary regiment that did not know defeat, the emperor ordered the construction of the temple at public expense, and he himself donated a considerable amount. The project was entrusted to Vasily Petrovich Stasov, and the tsar personally controlled the progress of the work.
From the very beginning, everything went wrong with the huge central dome of the cathedral. Historically, green was the color of the Izmailovsky regiment. Stasov proposed to cover the domes with copper and treat them with acid in order to obtain the desired color. The idea was approved, but a few months later the emperor suddenly changed his mind and ordered the domes to be made blue with golden stars all over the surface.
The will of the autocrat was fulfilled, and in November 1833 the central dome appeared in all its glory. However, three months later, the magnificent dome was torn off by a storm. A special commission of famous engineers, mathematicians, architects conducted an investigation and found a number of design errors made by Stasov. Vasily Petrovich, who by that time was already an experienced architect and a recognized master, was severely punished - five days in a guardhouse and making a record of what happened in a personal file.
Stasov was no longer entrusted with restoring the dome, this work was entrusted to engineer Petr Petrovich Bazin, head of the Committee for Buildings and Hydraulic Works in St. Petersburg. A year later, the reconstruction was completed, and in preparation for coating the surface of the domes with cobalt, the nearby quarter was flooded with water so that not a single speck of dust or blade of grass spoiled the purest blue color.
However, the misadventures of the central dome with the completion of construction, unfortunately, did not end. The cathedral survived the difficult thirties, when they wanted to convert it into a crematorium, suffered during the Great Patriotic War, and was used after the war as a warehouse. And when, finally, it was returned to the Orthodox Church and a large-scale reconstruction was started, another catastrophe happened. In August 2006, as a result of a severe fire, the wooden structure of the dome was completely destroyed. It had to be rebuilt.


St. Vladimir's Cathedral
Vladimirsky Cathedral is a monument of baroque architecture. The church itself was conceived by the architect Trezzini, but the construction was delayed, and in different years Kvarnegi, Melnikov, Ruska, Holm worked on its construction. The church has five domes, the bell tower stands separately. The main shrine of the temple is the icon of the 18th century of Vladimirskaya Mother of God. Dostoevsky liked to visit this church, Pushkin's nanny was buried here. In Soviet times, the temple was closed, and earned only in 90g. In 2000 it received the status of a cathedral.

Transfiguration Cathedral
The Cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Savior never stopped its religious service, and remained active even in Soviet times. Nowadays, here you can listen to the performance of the soloists of the Academic Chapel. The main shrine of the temple is the icon of "Joy of All Who Sorrow" and the image of the Savior Not Made by Hands. Before the revolution, the trophies of the Russian-Turkish war were kept in the temple, which are currently kept in the Hermitage. In its lifetime, the temple survived a severe fire, and the architect who rebuilt it received a diamond ring from the king for his work. During the war, a bomb shelter operated in the basement of the church.

Andrew's Cathedral
The current Orthodox Cathedral is located on Vasilyevsky Island in St. Petersburg. This church became the site of joyful and solemn services attended by members royal family and celebrities of the time. This church was considered to be its cavalier of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called. Later, a bas-relief depicting the order was even installed. Despite such love of rich people, the church has always set its main task caring for the poor. Among the sights of the temple stand out a 17-meter carved three-tiered iconostasis, a silver vestment in the altar.



Alexander Nevsky Lavra.
One of the oldest architectural ensembles of St. Petersburg, the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, was founded in 1710 on the spot near the Neva, where, according to legend, the most important battle with the Swedes took place, which determined the victory of Russia.
The construction of the monastery continued intermittently throughout almost the entire 18th century and was completed only by 1790. During the construction period, several architects changed, but the main idea of ​​D. Trezzini, who conceived the monastery complex as a residence, institution and palace together, was preserved. The most talented architects of their time worked on the creation of one of the largest architectural ensembles of the city: D. Trezzini, T. Schwertfeger, M. Zemtsov, L. Pustoshkin, F. Korolev, A. Myshetsky, P. Eropkin, M. Rastorguev, I. Starov and other.


The compositional center of the Lavra is Trinity Cathedral built by the architect Starov. The completion of construction and the consecration of the temple in August 1790 completed the formation of the ensemble of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. The cathedral is crowned with a dome on a high drum, and its laconic monumental forms are in harmony with the monastery buildings. Among the icons of the cathedral, the icon of St. Seraphim of Sarov the Wonderworker is especially revered.
In 1724, the ashes of Prince Alexander Nevsky, who was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church, were transferred to the monastery.
By the end of the 18th century, the Alexander Nevsky Monastery, which was given the status of a Lavra in 1797, became the spiritual and cultural center of St. Petersburg. The Alexander Nevsky Lavra was patronized by all Russian sovereigns and empresses. Even under Peter the Great, a hospital, an almshouse, a printing house and a school for the children of clergymen were established at the monastery. This school subsequently received the status of a theological seminary, and then the Theological Academy, which trained clergy for the most important Orthodox churches in Russia. The significance of the Lavra in the life of St. Petersburg and the whole country can be well imagined if we recall the fact that before the revolution in Russia there were only four monasteries of this level.
From the moment of its foundation, the Alexander Nevsky Lavra was the first important tomb of Imperial Russia. Here were buried members of the royal family, clergymen, prominent statesmen, generals. Among them are Suvorov, Bezborodko, Quarenghi, Voronikhin, Rossi and many others.

After October revolution In 1917, the monastery was abolished, its churches were closed, and countless relics and works of art were transferred to the Russian Museum, the State Hermitage and other museums in St. Petersburg. In 1936-1937, a museum was created on the territory of the monastery - the Leningrad Necropolis, which in 1939 was reorganized into the Museum of Urban Sculpture.
The Holy Trinity Cathedral was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church in 1956, and in 1987 the Nikolskaya cemetery church was opened. At the beginning of the 20th century, 12 churches operated on the territory of the Lavra, at present there are only two. The revival of monastic life took place in the autumn of 1996, and today the Alexander Nevsky Lavra is an active monastery Saint Petersburg diocese.

Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg. / Photo: miroworld.ru
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Europe is capable of presenting progressive ideas to anyone who sets off on a journey through it. A vivid example of this is the trip of the Russian Emperor Paul I to Italy, where he was honored with a personal meeting with the Pope and was so inspired by the beauties of the Vatican that he ordered a copy of it to be erected in St. Petersburg. And his order was carried out.


Your own Vatican

Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg. / Photo: travel-ru.ru
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Upon returning to their native lands and being on the throne, in Last year of his already short reign, Emperor Paul I managed to lay the foundation for the realization of his plan. They did not spend much time looking for a place for building, especially since the church Holy Mother of God, located on Nevsky Prospekt, has long since fallen into disrepair.

Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg./ Photo: aeslib.ru
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It turned out with one construction to "kill two birds with one stone" - to demolish the old building and erect a new temple, which adorned the appearance of the city. Either in the Pavlovian period there was an embargo on foreign goods, or there was not enough money for overseas things.

The interior of the Kazan Cathedral. / Photo: infourok.ru
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Stroganov personally persuaded the ruler to build a temple exclusively from domestically produced materials, and even apply the construction plan of a Russian architect, while pushing through the sketches of the former serf A. Voronikhin. Stroganov personally trained the latter, and rewarded him with freedom for diligent study.

Second colonnade

Postcard "Kazan Cathedral of St. Petersburg". / Photo: kolpakovs.ru
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The protege quickly assessed the possibilities of the area presented for development and decided to build a trusted object with some differences. The reason for this was the need to turn the altar to the east side, without violating accepted norms and projections of the construction of temples.

Kazan Cathedral on the map of St. Petersburg. / Photo: kolpakovs.ru
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Such a snag prevented the implementation exact copy Vatican Cathedral of St. Peter, for this reason it was decided to turn the colonnade to Nevsky Prospekt. Such a step made it possible to simultaneously create a “ceremonial” side zone and please the royal person. Few people know that it was not possible to fully realize the project conceived by Voronikhin.

The original plan of the Kazan Cathedral. / Photo: infourok.ru
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The idea meant that South part the cathedral will be a mirror image of the northern one, and it was there that the second colonnade was to be located. If the primordial project would nevertheless find its place in life, then today there would be a semblance of an alien spaceship on Nevsky Prospekt.

waiting angels

View of the Kazan Cathedral from the Griboyedov Canal. / Photo: kolpakovs.ru
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Continuing the theme of the differences between the planned project and the finished cathedral, it is worth mentioning a couple of sculptures. To this day, the pedestals remain empty, and in fact the archangels were supposed to sit on them. It is worth saying that they were not empty all the time. Until the 24th year of the 19th century, copies of the archangels made of plaster were located at the ends of the wings, which were planned to be replaced with original bronze ones, but this did not happen. Why?

View of the Kazan Cathedral from Kazanskaya Street./ Photo: tvereparhia.ru
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The reason is still not known. However, the people put forward their own version of this, saying that the archangels refused to take their place until an honest, worthy and wise politician appears in Russia! The bell tower and houses for the clergy were also supposed to become part of the cathedral, but when the project was approved, Paul wished to remove them, arguing that there was nothing of this in the Vatican.

Kutuzovsky heart

Monument to Kutuzov M. I. near the Kazan Cathedral. / Photo: infourok.ru
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For most scientists, the main mystery was the location of the heart of the mighty commander Mikhail Illarionovich. Many legends boil down to the fact that only the body of Kutuzov was delivered to Petersburg, and his heart, by the will of the commander himself, was left on the road in Prussia.


Monument to Field Marshal Kutuzov M. I. near the Kazan Cathedral. / Photo: kolpakovs.ru
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But meticulous scientists were not satisfied with this, and those, having decided to get to the bottom of the truth, in 1933 decided to open the grave located in the Kazan Cathedral. What do you think they found there? And there was a jar with an unembalmed "legendary" organ of the commander. Thus, a beautiful legend collapsed to smithereens.
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Museum of the History of Religion and Atheism

Brochure “Museum of the History of Religion and Atheism”./ Photo: tvereparhia.ru
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Kazan Cathedral - the decoration of Nevsky Prospekt. In the summer of 1812, before leaving for active army, the cathedral was visited by Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov, appointed to command the Russian army. He fell to the icon of the Kazan Mother of God. The illustrious field marshal found his last refuge here. The history of the construction of the cathedral and many others interesting facts in this article

In 1813, the ashes of His Serene Highness Prince M.I. Kutuzov, who died in the Prussian city of Brunzlau during the Russian Army’s Foreign Campaign, were buried in the Kazan Cathedral. The grate enclosing the grave of M. I. Kutuzov and the marble slab on it were made according to the drawing of A. N. Voronikhin himself. In 1813, captured standards and keys to the captured cities were placed in the cathedral. In 1837, monuments to M.B. Barclay de Tolly and M.I. Kutuzov.

The main façade of the cathedral overlooks Nevsky Prospekt and forms a unique image of the main thoroughfare of the city. The building of the temple bears the features of European classical architecture, in particular, St. Peter's Cathedral in Rome, and at the same time, Russian architectural style with elements of eclecticism and classicism. The cathedral impresses with its gigantic, slightly curving colonnade, which consists of 96 thirteen-meter Corinthian columns. These huge columns are made up of blocks of stone brought from special quarries in Gatchina, a suburb of St. Petersburg. And in the external design of the cathedral there are picturesque reliefs and statues.

History of the Kazan Cathedral

The history of the Kazan Cathedral is rooted in our glorious historical past. The main shrine of the temple is a revered list from the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God. The icon belonged to Tsarina Praskovya Feodorovna and was brought by her to St. Petersburg when the royal court moved from Moscow, after St. Petersburg was declared the capital of the Russian state in 1712. In 1737, in the presence of Empress Anna Ioannovna, the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary was consecrated, which from now on became the place of storage of the miraculous image. After a long stay in the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin on Nevsky Prospekt, the icon was placed in the new Kazan Cathedral. The Kazan icon has become one of the main Orthodox shrines St. Petersburg. After the closing of the cathedral, it was transferred to the Smolensk cemetery church, and in 1940 - to the Prince Vladimir Cathedral and placed at the right kliros. On July 4, 2001, the icon was returned to the Kazan Cathedral.
But back to the history of the construction of the cathedral. The competition announced by Emperor Paul I for the creation of a project for the Kazan Cathedral did not produce results. Buildings of this kind could not be ignored by the most famous architects. Almost the entire architectural elite, which was admitted to the court, gathered for the competition. It must be said that all the projects did not satisfy either the urban planning task or Paul's ambitions, but, reluctantly, the project of the "European grand classicism" - Charles Cameron, was approved. But, fortunately for the Kazan Cathedral and St. Petersburg as a whole, six months later, the unsatisfied Pavel rejected the foreign project, and gave preference not just to a Russian novice, not just a little-known architect, but to a former serf and serf.

I must say that getting "free" in Russia was not easy, but Voronikhin gained freedom precisely for his talent as an architect. Moreover, three years before the events described, the extremely conservative Academy of Sciences awarded Voronikhin the title of academician. But Voronikhin presented his project for a reason, the project was initiated by a former master, and now a high patron of the architect - Count Stroganov.
In addition to the Russian architect, the count suggested using exclusively Russian craftsmen and domestic materials for the construction of the Kazan Cathedral. Not a single foreign master took part in the construction of the Kazan Cathedral. The team of masons was led by Samson Sukhanov. The laying of the three-aisled temple took place on August 27 (September 8), 1801 in the presence of Alexander I. The construction of the temple took ten years, and the final cost of the project was 4.7 million rubles, a huge amount of money at that time. On September 15 (17), 1811, Metropolitan Ambrose consecrated the cathedral. In the same year, the old church was demolished.

Architectural Features A majestic temple appeared before the townspeople, the largest at that time in St. Petersburg. Inside and outside the cathedral was decorated with unique columns carved from huge granite monoliths, weighing up to thirty tons each. The dimensions of the cathedral are 72.5 by 57 meters, the height is 71.6 meters. When creating a dome with a diameter of seventeen meters, Voronikhin for the first time in the practice of world construction developed and applied metal structure. Interestingly, Voronikhin was able to solve the problem faced by many architects who built churches on Nevsky Prospekt. according to the canon Orthodox churches should have an entrance in the west and an altar in the east. But this is exactly how Nevsky Prospekt stretches - from west to east. Voronikhin solved the problem by making the side northern part of the Kazan Cathedral front. In projection, the building looks like a four-pointed Latin cross, elongated along the west-east axis. Its crossroads is crowned with an elegant dome. The main entrance is located on the western side - not from Nevsky, but from the side Kazanskaya street. The altar, as it should be, is oriented to the east, so the cross on the dome of the cathedral is turned to the edge of Nevsky. Another feature of the Kazan Cathedral is the sculptural images of saints. Orthodox tradition did not support the worship of statues, but Voronikhin built the temple in the tradition of the Italian Renaissance.

Relics of the Kazan Cathedral

The holy images of the Kazan Cathedral were painted by such famous masters of painting as A. Ivanov, S. Shchukin, O. Kiprensky. Now the most remarkable shrine of the Kazan Cathedral is a copy of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God. Other venerated images are not currently in the cathedral:
- Icon of the Savior in the iconostasis.
- Icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker and Mother of God of Czestochowa, donated by M. I. Kutuzov.
- Golgotha ​​with a particle of the Life-Giving Coffin, designed by N. N. Nikonov in 1891.
- Icon of the Resurrection of Christ, also with a particle of the Holy Sepulcher, sent in 1906 by Damian, Patriarch of Jerusalem.

Publications in the Architecture section

Court temple of the Romanov family. 10 facts about the Kazan Cathedral

Kazan Cathedral was built in St. Petersburg in 1811. It became a real decoration of Nevsky Prospekt and for almost half a century was the largest church in St. Petersburg. We present 10 interesting facts about the Kazan Cathedral.

Out-of-competition project by Andrey Voronikhin

Monument to Field Marshal Mikhail Kutuzov. Square in front of the Kazan Cathedral, St. Petersburg. Photo: artpoisk.info

Grave of commander Mikhail Kutuzov. Kazan Cathedral, St. Petersburg

Monument to Field Marshal Mikhail Barclay de Tolly. Square in front of the Kazan Cathedral, St. Petersburg. Photo: petersburg4u.ru

Church of the Romanovs

The Church of the Nativity of the Virgin was the court church of the Romanovs. The copy of the icon of the Kazan Mother of God was kept here - she was considered the patroness of the dynasty. When the Kazan Cathedral was erected, it inherited both the shrine and the role of the court temple. All members of the royal family got married here, thanksgiving services were served here after the unsuccessful assassination attempts on Alexander II, and the 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty was celebrated here.

The gifts of the imperial family were kept in the sacristy of the cathedral: the Gospel in a gilded silver frame weighing more than 33 kilograms, a cross made of lapis lazuli, a golden church cup adorned with diamonds, rubies and mammoth ivory.

Main cathedral shrine

The temple was consecrated in honor of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, one of the most famous Orthodox shrines. The cathedral keeps her list, which is also considered miraculous. It is believed that Peter I personally ordered to deliver the shrine to St. Petersburg, and until the construction of the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin, the icon was kept in a chapel on the Petrograd side.

After the Patriotic War of 1812, Mikhail Kutuzov returned to Russia hundreds of kilograms of silver items that the retreating French had taken from Russian churches. Part of this silver was transferred to the Kazan Cathedral. It was used to decorate the kiot of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God and the iconostasis of the main aisle. Vasily Sadovnikov. View of the Kazan Cathedral. 1847

Fedor Alekseev. Cathedral of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God in St. Petersburg. 1811

Museum of the History of Religion and Atheism

In 1932 the Kazan Cathedral was closed. Instead of a cross, a gilded ball with a spire was installed on the dome of the temple, church utensils were distributed among city museums. Inside the cathedral is the Museum of the History of Religion and Atheism. Its exposition told about the origin and development of Christianity, Islam, Eastern beliefs. Here you can see the collection Orthodox icons XVII-XX centuries, charms and amulets, ritual items and the largest collection of books on the history of religion and religious studies.

Relics in the attic

For almost 20 years, the relics of the saints were hidden in the attic of the Kazan Cathedral, which were kept in the temple. The employees of the Museum of the History of Religion and Atheism transferred there the relics of the holy right-believing Prince Alexander Nevsky, Saints Zosima, Savatiy and Herman of Solovetsky, Saint Seraphim of Sarov, Saint Joasaph of Belgorod. Only in 1991 were the shrines returned to the temple, and the relics of St. Joasaph were sent first to Moscow, and then to Belgorod.

Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg (St. Petersburg, Russia) - expositions, opening hours, address, phone numbers, official website.

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The Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg is a temple that houses the main shrine of the city - the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, and a monument of Russian military glory.

Traveling in Europe, the heir to the throne, Pavel Petrovich, was struck by the beauty and harmony of St. Peter's Cathedral in Rome and the square in front of it, surrounded by colonnades. In 1799, already being emperor, Paul I desired to see a similar building in his capital and announced a competition for best project Cathedral, which would replace the dilapidated Church of the Nativity of the Virgin (popularly known as Kazan), built in the 30s. 18th century One of the main relics of Russia was kept in the church - miraculous icon Kazan Mother of God. The main condition of the competition was that the future temple had to be similar to the shrine of the Eternal City that came to his liking. Of all the submitted works, the project of a young talented architect Andrei Nikiforovich Voronikhin was approved. Already after the assassination of Paul I, on August 27, 1801, the solemn laying of the Kazan Cathedral took place in the presence of Emperor Alexander I.

The architect faced a difficult task. The construction of a new temple was supposed to be on the site near Nevsky Prospekt, stretched from west to east. At Orthodox churches the altar always faces east, and the main facade with the entrance faces west, so the northern (side) facade of the future temple turned out to be facing Nevsky Prospekt. Voronikhin found an elegant solution - they managed to visually turn the side facade into the main one by attaching a grandiose semicircular colonnade to it, opening towards the main thoroughfare of the city. 96 columns placed in four rows also remind of the columns that close the square in front of St. Peter's Cathedral in Rome.

After the war of 1812, 27 captured banners of the defeated French army were transferred to the temple. And in subsequent years, the keys to the fortresses and cities of Europe and the banners obtained by the Russian army as a result of the campaigns of 1813-1814 were kept here. The famous Field Marshal Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov is buried near the wall of the Kazan Cathedral. And on the front square there are bronze monuments to the great commanders M. I. Kutuzov and M. B. Barclay de Tolly.

Address: Nevsky prospect, 25; the current temple, opens on weekdays at 8:30, on Sundays and holidays at 6:30, closes after the evening service.