Description of the attraction
Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, St. Peter, St. Paul and St. Swithin is located in the city of Winchester in the south of Great Britain. It is one of the largest cathedrals in Europe, surpassing all other European Gothic cathedrals in total length.
The first cathedral was built in Winchester in the 7th century, when the kings of England converted to Christianity. A small cross-shaped church was built just north of the place where the cathedral now stands. Then the church becomes part of a Benedictine monastery. Buried here is Saint Swithin, Bishop of Winchester.
In 1079, the construction of a new cathedral began, and already in 1093 it was consecrated, and the old church was dismantled. Remnants of its foundation can still be seen.
Most of the construction of the 11th century has survived to this day. Subsequent extensions and additions did not fundamentally affect the main building. During the church reforms of Henry VIII, the Benedictine monastery was abolished, but the cathedral survived. Serious restoration work was carried out in 1905-12. By this time, the cathedral was on the verge of destruction, tk. its foundation began to sink into the ground. Soft peat soils saturated with groundwater could not withstand the weight of the building, and it was impossible to pump out groundwater, because the cathedral would have collapsed. It became clear that it was necessary to first strengthen the foundation, and then pump out the water. The credit for saving the cathedral belongs to the English diver William Walker, who from 1906 to 1912 worked every day for six hours in complete darkness at a depth of 6 meters (the peat suspension in the water did not let sunlight through). He reinforced the foundation with bags of cement, concrete blocks and bricks. For this feat, he was admitted to the Royal Victorian Order, and his statue was installed in the cathedral.
Throughout its history, the cathedral has been richly decorated with carvings, sculptures, stained glass windows, etc. In 1992-96. a small Orthodox iconostasis was installed in the cathedral, made by the icon painter Sergei Fedorov.
