Description of the attraction
The Alexander Nevsky Church is one of the iconic sights of the city of Chelyabinsk. The history of this temple began back in 1881, when Alexander Square, named after Emperor Alexander II, was laid out on the outskirts of the city. After some time, with the money collected by local residents, the merchant Kutyrev laid here a chapel in honor of the famous Russian commander, the holy prince Alexander Nevsky.
In 1894 the Orenburg consistory made a proposal to rebuild the chapel into a church. However, funds for the construction of a new church began to be collected only two years later. Subsequently, the church was founded in June 1907 on the site where the Alexander Chapel was previously located. Construction work was completed in 1911. The author of this one-story 13-head red brick church was the Moscow architect A. N. Pomerantsev. A small rectangular refectory adjoins the western part of the temple, which connects the church with the bell tower.
The interior painting of the church was carried out by the artists of V. Oshchepkov's workshop. The consecration of the main altar took place in December 1911. In March 1915, the southern altar chapel in honor of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker was completed and consecrated in the church.
In Soviet times, like most of the Chelyabinsk churches, the Alexander Nevsky Church was closed, the domes and crosses were removed. For many years the building of the temple was used first as a printing house, later as a regional art gallery, planetarium, etc. A new stage in the life of the church began in 1986 on the anniversary of the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the city of Chelyabinsk. The temple was almost completely reconstructed and converted into a chamber and organ music hall. The domes shone on the church again. In 1987, a German concert organ was installed here. In November 2013, the building of the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral was returned to the Orthodox Church.
