Kazan Cathedral or Kazanskiy Kafedralniy Sobor (russian: Каза́нский кафедра́льный собо́р), also known as the Cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan, is a
cathedral
A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...
of the
Russian Orthodox Church
, native_name_lang = ru
, image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg
, imagewidth =
, alt =
, caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia
, abbreviation = ROC
, type ...
on the
Nevsky Prospekt
Nevsky Prospect ( rus, Не́вский проспе́кт, r=Nevsky Prospekt (street), Prospekt, p=ˈnʲɛfskʲɪj prɐˈspʲɛkt) is the main street (high street) in the federal city of Saint Petersburg, St. Petersburg in Russian Federation, ...
in
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
. It is dedicated to ''
Our Lady of Kazan
''Our Lady of Kazan'', also called ''Mother-of-God of Kazan'' (russian: Казанская Богоматерь, translit=Kazanskaya Bogomater'), is a holy icon of the highest stature within the Russian Orthodox Church, representing the Virgin Ma ...
'', one of the most venerated
icon
An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most ...
s in Russia.
Background
Construction of the cathedral started in 1801 and continued for ten years under the supervision of
Alexander Sergeyevich Stroganov
Alexander Sergeyevich Stroganov (1733–1811) was a Russian baron and a member of the Stroganov family. He was an assistant to the Minister of the Interior, a longtime President of the Imperial Academy of Arts, director of the Russian Imperial Li ...
. Upon its completion in 1811, the new temple replaced the Church of
Nativity of the Theotokos
The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Nativity of Mary, the Marymas or the Birth of the Virgin Mary, refers to a Christian feast day celebrating the birth of Mary, mother of Jesus.
The modern canon of scripture does not record Mary's bir ...
, which was disassembled when the Kazan Cathedral was consecrated.
The architect
Andrey Voronikhin
Andrey (Andrei) Nikiforovich Voronikhin (russian: Андрей Никифорович Воронихин) (28 October 1759, Novoe Usolye, Perm Oblast – 21 February 1814, Saint Petersburg) was a Russian architect and painter. As a representativ ...
modelled the building on
St. Peter's Basilica
The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican ( it, Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), or simply Saint Peter's Basilica ( la, Basilica Sancti Petri), is a church built in the Renaissance style located in Vatican City, the papal en ...
in
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
. Some art historians assert that
Emperor Paul
Paul I (russian: Па́вел I Петро́вич ; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1796 until his assassination. Officially, he was the only son of Peter III and Catherine the Great, although Catherine hinted that he was fathered by her l ...
(reigned 1796–1801) intended to build a similar church on the other side of Nevsky Prospect that would mirror the Kazan Cathedral, but such plans failed to materialize. Although the Russian Orthodox Church strongly disapproved of the plans to create a replica of a
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
basilica in Russia's then capital, several courtiers supported Voronikhin's
Empire Style
The Empire style (, ''style Empire'') is an early-nineteenth-century design movement in architecture, furniture, other decorative arts, and the visual arts, representing the second phase of Neoclassicism. It flourished between 1800 and 1815 durin ...
design.
After
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
invaded Russia (1812) and the commander-in-chief General
Mikhail Kutuzov
Prince Mikhail Illarionovich Golenishchev-Kutuzov ( rus, Князь Михаи́л Илларио́нович Голени́щев-Куту́зов, Knyaz' Mikhaíl Illariónovich Goleníshchev-Kutúzov; german: Mikhail Illarion Golenishchev-Kut ...
asked ''Our Lady of Kazan'' for help, the church's purpose altered. The
Patriotic War over, Russians saw the cathedral primarily as a memorial to their victory over Napoleon.
[ Kutuzov himself was interred in the cathedral in 1813; and ]Alexander Pushkin
Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...
wrote celebrated lines meditating over his sepulchre. In 1815 keys to seventeen cities and eight fortresses were brought by the victorious Russian army from Europe and placed in the cathedral's sacristy
A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records.
The sacristy is usually located ...
. In 1837, Boris Orlovsky
Boris Ivanovich Orlovsky (; 1790s – 28 December 1837) was a Russian Neoclassical sculptor.
Biography
Born into a serf peasant family in Tula, Russia, his artistic talent led to him being freed by his master and sent to the Imperial Academy o ...
designed two bronze statues of Kutuzov and of Barclay de Tolly
Barclay de Tolly () is the name of a Baltic German noble family of Scottish origin (Clan Barclay). During the time of the Revolution of 1688 in Britain, the family migrated to Swedish Livonia from Towy (Towie) in Aberdeenshire. Its subsequen ...
which stand in front of the cathedral.
In 1876 the Kazan demonstration
The Kazan demonstration of 1876 (''Казанская демонстрация 1876 года'' in Russian) was the first political demonstration in Russia. It took place on December 6, 1876, in front of the Kazan Cathedral in Saint Petersburg. ...
, the first political demonstration in Russia, took place in front of the church. After the Russian Revolution of 1917
The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government ...
the authorities closed the cathedral (January 1932). In November 1932 it reopened as the pro-Marxist " Museum of the History of Religion and Atheism". or, as one contemporary writer put it, "Leningrad's largest antireligious museum", complete with Spanish Inquisition waxworks. Services resumed in 1992, and four years later the cathedral was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church. it functions as the mother cathedral of the metropolis
A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications.
A big c ...
of St. Petersburg.
The cathedral's interior, with its numerous columns, echoes the exterior colonnade
In classical architecture, a colonnade is a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building. Paired or multiple pairs of columns are normally employed in a colonnade which can be straight or curv ...
and is reminiscent of a palatial hall, being 69 metres in length and 62 metres in height. The interior features numerous sculptures and icons created by the best Russian artists of the day. A wrought-iron grille
Grill or grille may refer to:
Food
* Barbecue grill, a device or surface used for cooking food, usually fuelled by gas or charcoal, or the part of a cooker that performs this function
* Flattop grill, a cooking device often used in restaurants ...
separating the cathedral from a small square behind it is sometimes cited as one of the finest ever constructed.
The cathedral's huge bronze doors are one of four copies of the original doors of the Baptistery in Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
, Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
(the other three are at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
, United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is an art museum in Kansas City, Missouri, known for its encyclopedic collection of art from nearly every continent and culture, and especially for its extensive collection of Asian art.
In 2007, ''Time'' magaz ...
in Kansas City
The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...
, United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, and at the Florence Baptistery itself).
The Kazan Cathedral is considered to be the model for the neoclassical style of Helsinki Cathedral
Helsinki Cathedral ( fi, Helsingin tuomiokirkko, ; sv, Helsingfors domkyrka, ) is the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, Finnish Evangelical Lutheran cathedral of the Diocese of Helsinki, located in the neighborhood of Kruununhaka in the c ...
, one of the most iconic landmarks of Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
, Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
.
See also
* List of tallest domes
This is a list of the tallest domes in the world. The dome can be measured by various criteria. There are different types of domes. Many of the tallest domes have a lantern. Strictly speaking, the lantern is not part of the dome, but often the o ...
* List of largest Orthodox cathedrals
This is a list of the largest Eastern Orthodox church buildings in the world, based on area and capacity. Any Eastern Orthodox church building that has a capacity of 3,000 people or more, can be added to this page. Entries are included even if they ...
*Our Lady of Kazan
''Our Lady of Kazan'', also called ''Mother-of-God of Kazan'' (russian: Казанская Богоматерь, translit=Kazanskaya Bogomater'), is a holy icon of the highest stature within the Russian Orthodox Church, representing the Virgin Ma ...
*Kazan Cathedral, Moscow
Kazan Cathedral (russian: Казанский собор), formally known as the "Cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan", is a Russian Orthodox church located on the northwest corner of Red Square in Moscow, Russia. The current building is a reconstruction ...
References
Sources
*
External links
{{Coord, 59.9343, N, 30.3245, E, type:landmark, display=title
Churches completed in 1811
Cathedrals in Saint Petersburg
Defunct museums in Russia
St Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
Tourist attractions in Saint Petersburg
Nevsky Prospekt
Andrey Voronikhin buildings
Auguste de Montferrand buildings and structures
Vasily Stasov buildings and structures
Church buildings with domes
Cultural heritage monuments of federal significance in Saint Petersburg
Neoclassical church buildings in Russia