Kazan Cathedral
Kazan Cathedral is not only a symbol of St. Petersburg, where it is, but of the whole of Russia too. Beautiful and majestic Kazan Cathedral is considered a symbol of Russian military power. It is considered one of the largest Orthodox churches in St. Petersburg. Kazan Cathedral is officially named the Cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan and is located prominently on the main street of St. Petersburg – Nevsky Prospekt. For a long time in Kazan Cathedral is one of the sacred items of Russian Orthodoxy - the Kazan icon of the Mother of God.
Kazan Cathedral is located at number 25 Nevsky Prospekt. Part of the facade overlooks that most important street in St. Petersburg and the other part is located on Canal Griboedov. Kazan Cathedral gives the name to Kazan Island, located in the delta of the Neva River, the Kazansky bridge built in the Griboedov channel, and the street that goes from the Orthodox Cathedral Church of St. Petersburg Diocese to the Russian Orthodox Church. The Kazan Cathedral is considered as such after the decree of Patriarch Alexy II on December 31, 2000.
On September 6, 1733 on Nevsky Prospekt lay the foundations of the stone church named "Virgin Birth". This forerunner of the Kazan Cathedral was built in baroque style, had a wooden dome and a bell tower above the entrance. Designer of the temple was the architect Michael Zemtsov and the official dedication of the church is on 13 (24) June 1737, in the presence of the Empress Anna Ivanovna. The day before the dedication of the temple into it is carried the icon of the Kazan Mother of God, found in the late 16th century.
In 1799 Emperor Paul I announced a competition to design a new cathedral to replace the crumbling "Rozhdestvo Bogorodichno (Nativity)". Construction of the cathedral, which was the plan of Emperor Paul I, had to resemble the St. Peter Basilica in the Vatican. It was assigned to architect Voronikin, who later became a professor at the Academy of Arts. The construction of the Kazan cathedral takes about 10 years, which is quite short considering the size and impressiveness. The construction of Kazan Cathedral is entirely from material from the area, as hundreds of workers toil around the clock without interruption.
In 1811 Kazan Cathedral was completed and at that time was the largest in all of Russia. The height of the cathedral reaches 71 meters. Inside and outside the temple is decorated with a huge and unique columns carved from huge monolithic granite blocks, each of which weighs 30 tons. The North gate of the Kazan Cathedral was cast in a bronze model of the famous "Gates of Paradise", dating from the 15th century in the Florence Baptist Temple.
