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There are around 200 Orthodox churches and cathedrals in St. Petersburg. Beautiful ceremonial church services regularly take place and tourists should definitely not miss the opportunity to watch at least one. There are some simple rules of etiquette that should be observed. Men should remove headwear before entering a church, while women should cover their heads and preferably be wearing a skirt, not trousers. Church services are usually held at 7am and 10am, and then 6pm. There are also some churches which are now not used for religious ceremonies, but which house museums, for example the illustrious Church-on-the-Spilled-Blood. Here there are no strict rules and excursions can be arranged. Tickets cost between 100-300 rubles. St. Petersburg was planned as a cultural centre, with a spiritual ambience and tolerance towards other faiths. Churches of different Christian denominations were built next to the imperial palaces and within close distance of each other. No other city in Russia has as many places of worship of different faiths as the northern capital. Besides Orthodoxy, St. Petersburg houses Catholicism, Protestantism, Islam, Judaism and Buddhism.
1713-1790
Architect: D. Trezzini
The Holy Trinity Alexander Nevsky Monastery is dedicated to one of the city’s patron saints, Alexander Nevsky. The son of Alexander Nevsky, Prince Andrei, was victorious over the Swedes in 1301 on the banks of the Neva, and in memory of this event, Peter I ordered a monastery to be built on the site of the battle. Later the remains of Alexander Nevsky were brought here. This is one of the city’s largest architectural ensembles and includes 12 churches, a working monastery, three cemeteries (one of which is home to the City Sculpture Museum), and seminary and spiritual academy.
Church services are held daily.
Address: Nab. Reki Monastyrki 1
Tel: (812) 274-1702
www.lavra.spb.ru
1761-1783
Architect unknown
The Cathedral of the Our Lady of Vladimir is one of the city’s ten major cathedrals and is one of the most frequently visited by locals. One of its parishioners was Fyodor Dostoevsky, who lived nearby. The cathedral’s architect is still being debated – either it was Trezzini or Rinaldi. It combines baroque and classical elements and is richly decorated by pillars and cupolas. Next to it stands a 4-storey bell tower, built by Quarenghi. It is one of the city’s best bells. Until the 1920s Vladimir Cathedral housed an important treaure – a copy of the sacred icon of Our Lady of Vladimir, allegedly painted by Luke the Evangelist himself. After the October Revolution the church was closed and pillaged. Restoration work was begun only in 1989, and a year later the cathedral was once again consecrated.
Church services are held daily
Address: Vladimirsky Prospect 20
Tel: (812) 312-96-17
www.vladimirsobor.spb.ru
1801-1811
Architect: A. Voronikhin
The Cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan may remind Europeans and seasoned travellers of the famous St. Peter’s Cathedral in Rome. But this is not plagiarism – such was the desire of the Russian Tsar Paul I – he wanted this church, with its gigantic colonnade, to resemble the main church at the heart of the Vatican. It was built firstly as the capital’s cathedral church, and secondly as to house one of the city’s most holy possessions – the miracle-working icon of Our Lady of Kazan. The cathedral is located on Nevsky Prospect, and since the introduction of night lighting in 2007, it looks particularly impressive at night. Its pillars were made out of gigantic monoliths and each one weighs 30 tonnes. In Soviet times the cathedral was turned into a Museum of Religion and Atheism, but ten years ago it was consecrated anew and is once again the main cathedral church of St. Petersburg. In front of the cathedral are monuments to Barclay de Tolly and Kutuzov, who is buried in the cathedral.
Church services are held daily
Address: Kazanskaya Ploshchad 2
Tel: (812) 318-45-28
www.kazansky-spb.ru
1766-1789
Architect: A. Rinaldi
The Cathedral of the Holy Prince Vladimir on the Petrograd Side is not only a first-class monument of Russian sacred architecture, but also occupies a special place among the city’s orthodox places of worship. It is the only church in St. Petersburg which has continually held services for more than 200 years (except for a few months from 1926-1927). In the 1930s this cathedral was the only working church on the Petrograd Side. For three years from 1938-1941, it held the status of Leningrad’s cathedral church, the seat of the ruling metropolitan. During the 900 days of the Siege, the miracle-working Icon of Our Lady of Kazan was kept in the cathedral, though it has since been returned to Kazan Cathedral.
Church services are held daily
Address: Ul. Blokhina 26
Tel (812) 232-76-25
www.kvsobor.orthodoxy.ru
1818-1858
Architect: O. Montferrand
St. Isaac’s cathedral is to St. Petersburg what the Eiffel Tower is to Paris. From its colonnade in fair weather the whole of the city can be seen clearly. It is one of the greatest domed edifices in the world – with a height of 101.5 metres, length of 111.2 metres and width of 97.6 metres, it is the fourth largest in Europe. The monumental cathedral is closely linked to the Russian monarchy, as it was built during the reigns of three different rulers – Catherine II, Paul and Alexander I. After the completion of the fourth building designed for St. Isaac’s cathedral, it became the cathedral church of the Russian Orthodox Church and remained so until 1922, when it became an anti-religion museum , and from 1937 a historic art museum. Legend has it that during the Second World War, the Nazis used the cathedral’s cupola as a point of orientation during air raids, and tried to leave it alone since the museum’s valuable art was kept in the building’s cellars for the duration of the war.
Church services are held on holidays.
Open for excursions: Mon-Tues, Thurs-Sun 11am-7pm
Ticket office closes at 6pm
Address: Isaakievskaya Ploshchad 4
Tel: (812) 315-97-32
www.cathedral.ru
1883-1907
Architect: A. Parland
This architectural creation is both uncharacteristic and yet however symbolic of St. Petersburg. It is built on the spot where Tsar Alexander II was fatally wounded by terrorists. Some locals dislike its typical Orthodox multi-coloured onion domes, so out of place amid the classical European style buildings of the city, and say they would happily have it beamed away to Moscow and put opposite St. Basil’s cathedral for symmetry. But its unusual history instils respect even in them for this showy, mosaic adorned building. During the 100 years of its existence, the cathedral has met with disaster several times and each time was saved by nothing short of a miracle. It caught fire, it has been used as a store for vegetables, as a morgue and a warehouse, and two attempts were made to blow it up. 27 of its 100 years of existence have been spent under restoration.
No church services are held here.
Open for excursions: Mon-Tues, Thurs-Sun 11am-7pm
Ticket office closes at 6pm
Address: Nab. Kanala Griboedova 26A
Tel: (812) 315-16-36
www.cathedral.ru
1728-1740
Architect unknown
The Sampson cathedral was built in celebration of the victory at Poltava which ended the Great Northern War. Its architecture combines European and pre-Peter I forms, a style unusual for St. Petersburg. The cathedral’s main attraction is its gilded, five-tiered wooden iconostasis, a masterpiece of 18th-century Russian sculpture. Church services are held only on holidays and at weekends.
Open for excursions: Mon-Tues, Thurs-Sun 11am-7pm
Box office shuts at 6pm.
Address: Bolshoi Sampsonievsky Prospect 41
Tel: (812) 294-57-51
www.cathedral.ru
1753-1760
Architect: S. Chevakinsky
The gilded cupolas of this blue and white cathedral and its graceful bell-tower which juts out onto the bank of the Kryukov canal are a true focal point for Kolomna, as this part of St. Petersburg is known, and a wonderful monument to Elizabethan baroque. It was designed as a monument to the naval glory of Russia, and Catherine the Great presented ten icons to the cathedral in memory of Russian naval victories over enemy fleets. The cathedral’s most treasured possession is an image of St. Nikolai Mirlikiisky the Miracle Worker, the patron saint of travellers including sailors. After the 1917 revolution, the cathedral was not closed like many others were, and from 1941-1999 it held cathedral church status. During the Siege, the metropolitan Alexei, the future Holy Patriarch of All Russia Alexei I, was based in the cathedral.
Church services are held every day.
Address: Nikolskaya Ploshchad 1/3
Tel: (812) 714-08-62
1748-1835
Architect B. Rastrelli
The perfect proportions of the graceful Smolny Cathedral leave an unforgettable impression both from a distance and close-up. It looks particularly beautiful when viewed across the Neva from the opposite bank. Catherine the Great founded an institute for noble girls next to the baroque-style cathedral. Today the wonderful white-colonnaded hall of Smolny Cathedral is the setting of concerts by well-known symphonic and chamber orchestras, famous singers and dancers and a children’s choir.
No church services are held here.
Open for excursions Mon-Tues, Thurs-Sun 11am-6pm
Box office closes at 5pm
Address: Ploshchad Rastrelli, 3/1
Tel: (812) 710-31-43
www.cathedral.ru
1712-1732
Architect: P Trezzini
Tsar Peter I founded Russia’s new capital with the order to build the Peter and Paul Fortress on Hare Island on 27 May 1703. On 29 June St. Petersburg’s first church, named after the apostles Peter and Paul, was laid out at the centre of the fortress. (The apostle Peter was the name-day saint of Peter I.) In its current form, the Peter and Paul Cathedral is a monument of Petrine baroque architecture, the tallest church in St. Petersburg, and its spire with an angel has become a symbol of the city on the Neva, along with the ship on the Admiralty’s spire. The cathedral is the resting place of the Russian tsars, starting with Peter I and ending with Nicholas II, with the exception of Peter II and Ivan VI. Many other members of the royal family are buried here.
No church services are held here.
Open for excursions: Mon-Tues, Thurs-Sun 10am-5pm
Address: Peter and Paul Fortress
Tel: (812) 230-64-31
www.spbmuseum.ru
1827-1829
Architect V. Stasov
This cathedral was build on the order of the Empress Elizabeth as thanks to God and the Preobrazhensky Regiment guards in 1754. In 1825, it burnt to the ground and a new church in the empire style was built. Preobrazhensky Cathedral is one of the few in St. Petersburg which has never been closed and which has always retained the purpose for which it was built.
Church services are held daily.
Address: Preobrazhenskaya Ploshchad 1
Tel: (812) 272-36-72
1763-1783
Architects P. Trezzini and J.B. Vallin de la Mothe
Address: Nevsky Prospect 32-24
Tel: (812) 571-57-95, 311-57-95
1870-1880
Architects V. Sobolshchikov, E Vorotilov
Address: 1st Krasnoarmeiskaya 11
Tel: (812) 316-42-55
1906-1909
Architects L. Benois, M. Petetyatkovich
Address: Kovensky per 7
Tel: (812) 272-50-02
1833-1838
Architech: A. Bryullov
Address: Nevsky Prospect 22-24
Tel: (812) 571-24-23
www.st-petri.nm.ru
1803-1871
Architects G. Paulsen, K. Anderson, L. Benois
Address: Bolshaya Konyushennaya Ulitsa 6
Tel: (812) 314-71-61
1764-1859
Architect Y. Felten
Address: Vasilievsky Island, Bolshoi Prospect 1a
Tel: (812) 323-18-52
1910-1913
Architects N. Vasiliev, S. Krichinsky and A. Gogen
Address: Kronverksky Prospect 7
Tel: (812) 233-98-19, 233-95-58
1909-1915
Architect: G. Baranovsky
Address: Primorsky Prospect 91
Tel: (812) 430-13-41
1883-1893
Architects I. Shaposhnikov, L. Bakhman, V. Stasov, L. Benois
Address: Lermontovsky Prospect 2
Tel: (812) 740-19-52
www.jewishpetersburg.ru
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