The Prince St. Vladimir's Cathedral (russian: Князь-Владимирский Собор), formally ''the Cathedral of St. Equal to the Apostles Prince Vladimir'' (собор Святого равноапостольного князя Владимира) is a

Russian Orthodox Russian Orthodoxy (russian: Русское православие) is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, whose liturgy is or was traditionally conducted in Church Slavonic language. Most ...

cathedral 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 ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

. It is located on Blokhin Street in the

Petrogradsky District Petrogradsky District (russian: Петрогра́дский райо́н) is a district of the federal city of St. Petersburg, Russia. It borders the Bolshaya Nevka River in the north and in the east, the Neva River in the south, and ar ...

of the city across the

Malaya Neva The Little Neva or Malaya Neva (russian: Ма́лая Нева́) is the second largest distributary of the river Neva. The Neva splits into Great Neva (the southern armlet) and Little Neva (the northern armlet) near the Spit of Vasilievsky ...

from the Spit of

Vasilevsky Island Vasilyevsky Island (russian: Васи́льевский о́стров, Vasilyevsky Ostrov, V.O.) is an island in St. Petersburg, Russia, bordered by the Bolshaya Neva and Malaya Neva Rivers (in the delta of the Neva River) in the south a ...

, in close proximity to the Sportivnaya metro station. The first wooden church built in 1708 on the site was dedicated to

St. Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra, ; la, Sanctus Nicolaus (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greek descent from the maritime city of Myra in Asia Minor (; modern-day Demre ...

. This church was replaced by a masonry church dedicated to the

Assumption Assumption, in Christianity, refers to the Assumption of Mary, a belief in the taking up of the Virgin Mary into heaven. Assumption may also refer to: Places * Assumption, Alberta, Canada * Assumption, Illinois, United States ** Assumption Tow ...

completed in 1719. In 1740, a stone church was built next to the Cathedral of the Assumption by order of the

Empress Anna Anna Ioannovna (russian: Анна Иоанновна; ), also russified as Anna Ivanovna and sometimes anglicized as Anne, served as regent of the duchy of Courland from 1711 until 1730 and then ruled as Empress of Russia from 1730 to 1740. Much ...

. It was designed by Pietro Trezzini. The Late Baroque building was left incomplete when the

Empress Elizabeth Elizabeth Petrovna (russian: Елизаве́та (Елисаве́та) Петро́вна) (), also known as Yelisaveta or Elizaveta, reigned as Empress of Russia from 1741 until her death in 1762. She remains one of the most popular List of ...

came to the throne in 1742. A new project was begun in 1763, this time supervised by Antonio Rinaldi, but that too was left incomplete following a fire in 1772. The side altar was dedicated to the Assumption in 1772, but the entire Neoclassical edifice was only completed to

Ivan Starov Ivan Yegorovich Starov (russian: Ива́н Его́рович Старо́в) (23 February 1745 – 17 April 1808) was a Russian architect from St. Petersburg who devised the master plans for Yaroslavl, Voronezh, Pskov, Dnipro, Mykolaiv, ...

's designs in 1789 and dedicated to St. Vladimir. In the Soviet period, the cathedral was closed in 1928. From 1938 to 1941, it served as the metropolitan cathedral of the city. From 1941 to 2001, the Icon of

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 ...

was located into the cathedral before its transfer to the Kazan Cathedral on

Nevsky Prospekt Nevsky Prospect ( rus, Не́вский проспе́кт, r=Nevsky Prospekt, p=ˈnʲɛfskʲɪj prɐˈspʲɛkt) is the main street (high street) in the federal city of St. Petersburg in Russia. It takes its name from the Alexander Nevsky L ...

External links

*{{commons category-inline, Saint Vladimir Church (Saint Petersburg) Cathedrals in Saint Petersburg Russian Orthodox cathedrals in Russia Churches completed in 1789 18th-century Eastern Orthodox church buildings 1789 establishments in the Russian Empire Church buildings with domes 18th-century churches in Russia Cultural heritage monuments of federal significance in Saint Petersburg Neoclassical church buildings in Russia