St Nicholas Church ( zh, 圣尼古拉堂) was a
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 ...
in the former
French Concession
The Shanghai French Concession; ; Shanghainese pronunciation: ''Zånhae Fah Tsuka'', group=lower-alpha was a foreign concession in Shanghai, China from 1849 until 1943, which progressively expanded in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. ...
of
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...
at 16 rue Corneille, now known as Gāolán Lù. Formerly the building was home to a French restaurant on the ground floor called ''Ashanti'' and a Spanish one in the basement called
La Boca
La Boca (; "the Mouth", probably of the Matanza River) is a neighborhood (''barrio'') of Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina. It retains a strong Italian flavour, many of its early settlers having originated in the city of Genoa.
Geography
L ...
. As of August 2016, the building has fallen into disrepair, and is partly occupied by a coffee bar named Kinloch Coffee. It has been a protected monument since 1994.
History
The building was built in 1932 on the initiative of
White Russians in
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...
, refugees of the
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 ...
, especially General Glebov. It was consecrated in 1937 in honour of St Nicholas, patron saint of the former Russian Emperor,
Nicholas II. The church was closed in 1949, when Europeans left following the
Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on m ...
. It was first converted into a warehouse and then a laundry. During the
Expo 2010
Expo 2010, officially the Expo 2010 Shanghai China, was held on both banks of the Huangpu River in Shanghai, China, from 1 May to 31 October 2010. It was a major World Expo registered by the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), in the t ...
, its loft was reconsecrated to allow Russian Orthodox services to be held there.
{{coord, 31, 13, 07, N, 121, 27, 20, E, type:landmark_source:kolossus-zhwiki, display=title
Churches in Shanghai
Russian diaspora in China