Description of the attraction
One of the main attractions of Kronstadt is the huge St. Nicholas Cathedral, seen from afar from the sea. it Cathedral - a monument to all the dead sailors: it is both a functioning temple and a branch of the Naval Museum.
History of St. Nicholas Cathedral
It has long been a tradition of the Russian fleet to build "Naval" cathedrals: temples-lighthouses, or simply temples, which mainly took care of the Russian fleet - at harbors, shipyards and sea barracks. They were built traditionally in the name of patron Nicholas of Mirlikisky, who was considered the patron saint of sailors. This is due to several legends about the saint, who traveled a lot by sea during his life. Once, through his prayer, a sailor who fell from the mast and crashed was resurrected, once he stopped the storm - therefore, it is to him that everyone who has a sea voyage usually prays.
Kronstadt, a large city in which thousands of sailors served, has long needed such a temple. In 1897 Vice Admiral N. Kaznakov submits a petition for the construction of a large cathedral in memory of all the sailors of Kronstadt who died in the line of duty. The collection of donations begins - however, for the construction of the temple, which was planned to be huge, they were not enough and the missing amount had to be replenished from the treasury. Contributed to the collection and further construction of the cathedral Alexander Zhelobovsky - the chief priest of the army and navy. He was very concerned about the arrangement of the regimental churches, with him more than seventy were built.
The place for the construction was chosen on the square, where old anchors and other rubbish used to be dumped, it was called that - Anchornaya. The cathedral was officially laid in 1903 year in the presence of the royal family and with a solemn salute, and around the future church a square was laid out, in which the royal family planted several oaks. The temple was consecrated in 1913.
The cathedral was built according to V. Kosyakov's project … He is an architect and engineer who designed many churches in the Byzantine style, but without the use of internal pillars, which are characteristic of traditional cross-domed structures. V. Kosyakov's temples are exceptionally light and spacious inside. The cathedral in Kronstadt was already the second St. Nicholas naval cathedral of his authorship, before that, in 1902-1903, he designed the naval cathedral in Liepaja. Both here and there the architect made extensive use of concrete floors - this was a new material for the beginning of the 20th century. Therefore, both cathedrals turned out to be exceptionally strong and resisted, despite the fact that they fell under the bombing during the war.
Nikolsky Cathedral was conceived as another Russian version of the Constantinople Church of St. Sophia, but the main theme of its decoration was the sea … For example, its dome, far visible from the sea, was decorated with images of anchors: this is both a Christian symbol of salvation and the most common sea anchor. The height of the dome was fifty-six meters.
They were widely used in paintings and decor fish images - here again Christian symbolism (and the fish is considered one of the symbols of Jesus Christ) combined with the sea. On the marble floor there are also jellyfish, ships and algae … Decorated the walls of the temple majolica and mosaic icons. Inside the temple, fresco paintings and mosaics were also used, and in some places the frescoes specially copied the mosaic technique. The artist became the author of the murals of the temple M. Vasiliev … The iconostasis was carved out of white marble, and the icons in it were also made using the mosaic technique.
The cathedral was created as memorial, along the entire perimeter, it was decorated with marble white and black boards. On the white ones were written the names of the dead naval priests, and on the black ones - the dead naval officers and the deceased lower ranks were listed. The windows of the temple were decorated with stained glass - these were the largest stained glass windows in Russia at the beginning of the 20th century. The area of each of the stained glass windows was more than fifty meters. They were made by the Frank Brothers Northern Glass Industrial Society - the leader in glass production in pre-revolutionary Russia.
The building was built with the latest technology. It had its own autonomous heating system, electricity, and even had its own vacuum cleaner for cleaning. Technical structures were connected to the temple by an underground tunnel.
The temple remained in operation for some time after the revolution, but closed in 1929 … In the winter of 1930, after an anti-religious meeting, the crosses were removed from the cathedral and the bells were thrown off. Most of the decoration was dismantled, murals and mosaics were painted over, and the temple itself was turned into cinema them. Maxim Gorky.
During the war, it was here artillery observation post … During the bombing, several shells hit the building. Under the dome there is an inscription “On March 2, 1943 at 12.20 the cathedral received its second baptism of fire. No harm done . Now in the temple you can see a footprint on the floor unexploded German shell - it has been preserved as a commemorative sign.
After the war, the building was restored, and since 1956 it has been made theater with a stage right in the altar … The space of the temple was partitioned off, the dome and the resulting second floor were in disrepair.
Revival of the temple
From the beginning of the XXI century, the transfer of the temple to the Church began. V 2005 year the first service took place there, but the restoration continued until 2013, and in 2013 it was solemnly consecrated. Little is left of the original decoration of the temple, so it has been restored, including plaques with the names of the victims.
Now this temple is still a "sea" - it is considered the main temple of the Russian Navy and its interior is decorated with St. Andrew's flags, St. Andrew's flag is also used as an altar curtain. Among shrines church - particles of the relics of St. Nicholas of Mirlikisky, patron saint of sailors, St. naval commander Fyodor Ushakov, St. Sergius of Radonezh, St. Innokenty of Irkutsk and others.
Temple Museum
In 1974, the building housed branch of the Naval Museum … The museum itself dates back to the times of Peter I, from his "model-camera", that is, a collection of models and drawings of various ships. In Soviet times, apart from the cruiser Aurora, the Museum owned the building of the Stock Exchange, the Chesme Church, etc. At that time, the Nikolsky Cathedral displayed an exposition telling about the history of the Kronstadt fortress. Now the main exposition of the Naval Museum is located in St. Petersburg on Bolshaya Morskaya Street.
But the Naval St. Nicholas Cathedral still preserves museum branch status … On the left, you can see an exposition dedicated to the history of the temple and the clergy who took care of the Russian fleet. With the participation of the museum, social events are also held here - for example, concerts, patriotic lectures for children and much more are held in the refectory. Guided tours of the temple (you can climb under the dome itself) and the Anchor Square itself.
In the park in front of the cathedral there is Museum Artillery Site … It displays weapons from both the early and mid-20th century: armored firing points, deck and turret gun mounts, cannon barrels of the late 19th century, a side board from the cruiser Kirov. The naval and coastal artillery of the Kronstadt fortress, capable of shelling the most distant objects, played a huge role in the defense and liberation of Leningrad during the Great Patriotic War. Part of the artillery presented was manufactured directly in Kronstadt at the Kronstadt Marine Plant - for example, armored firing points (BOT).
And, finally, not far from the Nikolsky Cathedral there is another branch of this museum - memorial hall of Alexander Stepanovich Popov, the inventor of radio. The outstanding scientist worked and taught for many years in Kronstadt, at the Technical School of the Naval Department. The first radio workshop in Russia was created in Kronstadt. In the memorial hall you can see an exhibition of instruments created by A. Pavlov himself and his students - a ship's radio station, an X-ray machine, an electrophoretic machine, etc. And the building in which the hall is located is the Italian Palace. It was built during the reign of Peter I, and almost immediately was handed over to the fleet: at first there were naval institutions, and then the Naval Cadet Corps was transferred there. Such famous navigators as I. Kruzenshtern, M. Lazarev, F. Bellingshausen, the Decembrists brothers Bestuzhev, V. Steingel and others studied here.
John of Kronstadt and the Naval Cathedral
The Cathedral is inextricably linked for us with memory St. John of Kronstadt - a Kronstadt priest known for his righteous life and fiery sermons, who was canonized in 1990. He served in another cathedral of Kronstadt - in the unpreserved Andreevsky cathedral. Its restoration is now planned. But on the other hand, it was John of Kronstadt who conducted a prayer service for the laying of the St. Nicholas Cathedral and was the first to donate for its construction: he donated 700 rubles and published a newspaper article calling for donations for the new church. One of the already modern shrines of St. Nicholas Cathedral is the trowel, which St. John made the symbolic laying of his first stone. In the left aisle of the cathedral, you can see a small exhibition dedicated to the activities of St. John in Kronstadt.
On a note
- Location: St. Petersburg, Kronstadt, st. Yakornaya pl., 1
- How to get there: By bus No. 405 from the metro station "Chernaya Rechka" or No. 101 from the metro station "Staraya Derevnya" to the stop. "Anchor area".
- The official website of the temple:
- Entrance to the cathedral and inspection of museum expositions is free at the limit, excursion to the dome is paid depending on the number of participants.
