Kazansky Ploshchad 2
Tel. 571- 4826
314- 5856
Subway: Nevsky Prospekt
Bus: 3, 7
Trolleybus: 1, 5, 7, 10, 22
Cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan was commissioned by Emperor Paul I in 1801 and built during reign of Alexander I who took the throne after his father was assassinated. The layout of this Russian Orthodox Church was designed by a serf architect Andrey Voronikhin who was inspired by Cathedral of Saint Paul in Rome. Its most distinct feature is a curved colonnade (111 m or 364 feet) that runs parallel to Nevskiy Prospekt. Church was completed in 1811, just a year before invasion of Napoleon and his twelfth nation army. This coincidence tied Kazan Cathedral with the Patriotic War of 1812 and its heroes. Both ends of the external colonnade has two statues. One is that of Mikhail Barclay de Tolly (1761- 1818) and the other of Field Marshal Mikhail Kutuzov (1745- 1813). Kutuzov who was described in Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace is also buried here.
Kazan Cathedral was dedicated to the miracle working icon of Our Lady of Kazan. It is one of four most revered icons in Russia. Today it is kept inside, although its survival is a miracle of its own. During Communist period Kazan Cathedral was taken from Russian Orthodox Church and turned into Museum of Atheism. Icon of Kazan was preserved for its historic value. Fortunately in 1999 the church was returned back to its rightful owners and today it is open for believers and tourists alike. The interior of the Kazan Cathedral is similar to pagan Greek and Roman temples of antiquity. Pink granite columns surround the central main room of the church.
History of the Kazan Cathedral
Church Of The
Nativity Of The Blessed Virgin Mary
On September 6 (17), 1733,
the stone court Church of the Nativity of the blessed virgin in the
Baroque style, with a wooden dome and a bell tower over the
entrance, was laid on Nevsky Prospekt. The author of the project was
the architect Mikhail Zemtsov. The consecration of the Church took
place on June 13 (24), 1737 in the presence of Empress Anna
Ioannovna. The day before the consecration, the venerated image of
the Kazan icon of the mother of God, a copy of the miraculous icon
found in Kazan at the end of the XVI century, was moved to the
Church. In 1747-1748, the painter Louis Karavak created a temple
image of the "Nativity of the virgin".
In 1773, Tsarevich
Pavel Petrovich was married in the Church. The Church was the place
where many victories of the Russian army were celebrated.
In
the middle of the XVIII century, it was planned to give the temple a
more formal appearance. So, the architect Semyon Volkov developed a
project for a five-domed completion and a new bell tower, but it was
not implemented. At the end of the XVIII century, another project
was developed by Giacomo Quarenghi and Nikolai Lviv.
Construction of the Kazan Cathedral
In 1799, Emperor Paul I
announced a competition for the design of a new Cathedral to replace
the dilapidated Nativity of the virgin Church. Among the
participants were well-known architects: P. Gonzaga, Charles
Cameron, D. Trombka, J. Thomas de Thomon. At first, Paul I chose
Cameron's project, but six months later changed his mind. As a
result, none of the submitted projects were approved.
A year
later, count Alexander Sergeyevich Stroganov, near whose residence
the temple was located, offered the Emperor a new project created by
a young talented architect (and former Stroganov serf) A. N.
Voronikhin. This project was approved, and count Stroganov became
Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the construction of the
Cathedral.
The new Church was laid on August 27 (September
8), 1801, in the presence of Emperor Alexander I. The architect and
engraver Nikolai Fyodorovich Alferov worked on the construction of
the Kazan Cathedral on a voluntary basis, as an assistant to
Voronikhin. Construction was completed in 1811 and cost the Treasury
4.7 million rubles. on January 1, 1811, the author of the Kazan
Cathedral project, architect A. N. Voronikhin, was awarded the order
of St. Vladimir, 4th degree.
On September 15 (27), 1811,
Metropolitan Ambrose consecrated the Cathedral. In the same year,
the old Church was demolished.
Cathedral in the XIX-early XX
century
Kazan Cathedral was perceived by contemporaries as a
monument to the military victories of the Russian people in the
Patriotic war of 1812. In 1812, trophies were brought here: French
military banners and the personal baton of Napoleon's Marshal
Davout. Field Marshal Kutuzov was also buried here.
Until the
end of 1829, the Cathedral continued to work on the decoration,
which was directed by Auguste Montferrand. The first renovation of
the Cathedral took place in 1844-1845, and the second, which
included the restoration of images and wall paintings, took place in
1862-1865.
Despite the iconic nature of the building, the
square in front of it has always attracted the interest of the
revolutionary-minded masses. on December 6 (18), 1876, the first
demonstration of the Narodnik group "Land and freedom" took place
here and Georgy Plekhanov made his first speech (after the October
revolution, his temporary monument was located between the statues
of Kutuzov and Barclay de Tolly). Student demonstrations that began
at the Anichkov bridge reached their peak here. On Bloody Sunday,
1905, the crowd built barricades of benches in the newly formed
square near the Cathedral.
On October 27 (November 8), 1893,
Pyotr Tchaikovsky was buried in the Cathedral.
February 21
(March 6), 1913 in the Cathedral during the celebration of the 300th
anniversary of the house of Romanov there was a stampede, according
to the official version, which claimed the lives of 34 people.
On may 24 (June 6), 1917, the election of the ruling Bishop was
held in the Cathedral by a "free vote of the clergy and laity" (the
only time in the history of the diocese). Bishop Benjamin of Gdov
received the majority of electoral votes.
On January 18,
1921, Metropolitan Veniamin consecrated the "cave" winter chapel of
the Holy Martyr Hermogenes, Patriarch of Moscow.
Since the
1930s
Until the end of 1829, the Cathedral continued to work on
the decoration, which was directed by Auguste Montferrand. The first
renovation of the Cathedral took place in 1844-1845, and the second,
which included the restoration of images and wall paintings, took
place in 1862-1865.
Despite the iconic nature of the
building, the square in front of it has always attracted the
interest of the revolutionary-minded masses. on December 6 (18),
1876, the first demonstration of the Narodnik group "Land and
freedom" took place here and Georgy Plekhanov made his first speech
(after the October revolution, his temporary monument was located
between the statues of Kutuzov and Barclay de Tolly). Student
demonstrations that began at the Anichkov bridge reached their peak
here. On Bloody Sunday, 1905, the crowd built barricades of benches
in the newly formed square near the Cathedral.
On October 27
(November 8), 1893, Pyotr Tchaikovsky was buried in the Cathedral.
February 21 (March 6), 1913 in the Cathedral during the
celebration of the 300th anniversary of the house of Romanov there
was a stampede, according to the official version, which claimed the
lives of 34 people.
On may 24 (June 6), 1917, the election of
the ruling Bishop was held in the Cathedral by a "free vote of the
clergy and laity" (the only time in the history of the diocese).
Bishop Benjamin of Gdov received the majority of electoral votes.
On January 18, 1921, Metropolitan Veniamin consecrated the
"cave" winter chapel of the Holy Martyr Hermogenes, Patriarch of
Moscow.
Since the 1930s
The persecution of the Church that
took place under the Soviet regime also affected the Kazan
Cathedral. The interior of the Cathedral was badly damaged when
Church valuables were removed in 1922. According to approximate
data, about 2 tons of silver alone were taken from the temple. A
unique silver iconostasis was lost: the silver was melted down, and
it disappeared without a trace. In 1923, the Cathedral passed to the
Renovationists and from the mid-1920s served as the Cathedral of the
Renovationist Leningrad metropolis. On January 25, 1932, it was
closed, and on November 15, 1932, the Museum of the history of
religion and atheism was opened in the building. In 1950-1956, the
interior was restored, and in 1963-1968, the facades were restored.
Services resumed on may 25, 1991 in the left side chapel. The
following year, the main chapel was consecrated. On April 30, 1994,
a cross was raised on the dome. The Cathedral was fully consecrated
on March 29, 1998. It was performed by Metropolitan Vladimir
(Kotlyarov). In 2000, the Cathedral was finally returned to the ROC
and received the status of a Cathedral.