The Prince Vladimir Church
Cathedral address: St. Petersburg, street Blokhin, Building 26 Metro "Sports", phone 7-812 -232-7625.
Cathedral is a monument of the 18th century, one of the most visited and venerated cathedrals which hosts the service. The name "Prince Vladimir Cathedral" was in honor of Prince Vladimir the Baptist ravnoprestolnogo Kievan Rus.
The history of the cathedral began with a small wooden church, which was built in 1713, later in this place daub and wattle church erected in 1719, popularly nicknamed "Assumption Church" or also called "Assumption on Mokrushah."
The area where the church is often flooded with water, the Neva river overflows its banks and so this swampy area and was called by the people "Mokrusha" For twenty years, the church greatly decayed and since 1740, by order of Empress Anna Ivanovna, the architect MG Zemtsov the construction of a stone cathedral, the construction of two years, from 1742, the work on the construction of the church led by the architect P. Trezzini , the bulk of the building was erected in the rough. Cathedral was intended to build one-headed, but in connection with the accession of Elizabeth in the construction of the cathedral 1742g. was stopped.
In 1747, there was an instruction on the completion of the cathedral "of the five chapters of the ancient Russian tradition," in development for the completion of the temple on the new project was attended by major architect of St. Petersburg at the time (1750-1760 years) Construction resumed in 25 years in 1765 under the direction of A. Rinaldi has a new project: a five-domed cathedral with a large three-tiered bell tower, but there was a fire on March 12 1772g. who stopped work on the construction of the temple for 17 years until 1782. (Construction work, ranging from 1766 to 1772 years led engineer AA Diacov.). So the temple would not be completed, if not by travelers' Empress Catherine the Great and asked to sutboy construction of the temple.
In anticipation of the event - the 800 th anniversary of Christianity in Russia, it was decided to complete the work in 1789 and was consecrated on the altar in honor of Vladimir. Lead the work in 1783, under the supervision of architect IE Starova.
During the reign of Catherine the lot was built churches and temples, but that building height of 57 meters with five domes are far superior in beauty and grandeur of other temples of the time, the bell tower attracts the eye with its beauty and rigor of forms.
In the style of the cathedral there are features of the transition from baroque to classicism (the use of arched gables and Sandrikov elongated windows-lyukarn horizontal and oval). In the interiors of all strictly and simply, without the wall paintings inside the church, there are only four images of the four Evangelists, and copies of paintings by Raphael. In the temple, visited "The Icon of the Kazan Mother of God", but then she came back to the Kazan Cathedral. Wooden carved iconostasis in the style of "Empire" is decorated with furniture of the temple. At the entrance there is a picture of the head of the Order of Holy Prince Vladimir, was awarded the title in 1845, Nicholas I, the Order of the slogan - "The Good, the honor and glory." The main relic of the Cathedral is Berlin Altar Gospel 1689 applet in a precious, a gift from Elizabeth.
Prince Vladimir Cathedral was among the churches that the Bolsheviks did not shut down and allowed to work in the former regime, the value of the closed churches and cathedrals were transported to the cathedral, where in the future, and stored.