The most beautiful religious buildings Russia

The Cathedral of the Dormition (Uspenski sobor) was built between 1559 and 1585 on the central square, on the model of the one in Moscow. The work was begun under Ivan the Terrible and completed under Feodor Ivanovich. It is easily recognizable by its five domes: four painted blue, with stars, and a fifth, gilded. Among its 17th century icons are those of Simon Ushakov, one of the three most famous artists of ancient Russia.

The Church of the Savior, in baroque style, dating from 1686-1692, is decorated with carved half-columns, shells and stylized bunches of grapes; its walls are painted with red, yellow, blue and green checks. Inside, there is a beautiful carved iconostasis and some baroque paintings. This is where the Lavra once welcomed the tsars, who never failed to visit the service. The hall, topped by a 17th century groin vault, is very large and richly decorated with a red-brown jasper floor.

The term "laure", of Greek origin, refers to the most important monasteries of the Orthodox religion. This one (ТРОИЦА СЕРГЕЕВА ЛАВРА) was founded in 1340 by Saint Sergius of Radonezh. Lavra, which is included in the UNESCO list of World Architectural Heritage Sites, is the beating heart of the Russian Orthodox faith. There are seven churches, two collegiate churches, a seminary, an ecclesiastical academy, administrative buildings, a former hospital and a museum of applied arts.

This small church at the corner of Red Square and Nikolskaya Street was built in 1636 to celebrate the victory of the Russo-Polish war (1612). It was destroyed by Bolshevism in 1936 and rebuilt identically in 1993. If your stay in Moscow is very short, we recommend this church to get acquainted with the orthodox culture because if its architecture is not exceptional, its icon is very famous and it is a very authentic church.

Built in the 12th century to house a very precious icon of the Virgin, which would become the palladium of the city of Vladimir, the Dormition Cathedral was the main religious centre of all Russia until the middle of the 14th century.
In its present state, the Vladimir Dormition Cathedral is the result of two different eras. It was partially destroyed in a fire at the end of the 12th century, then fortified and rebuilt.

This beautiful little white church has a rare and interesting architecture. It was built in 1476-1477. Its bell tower served, in those troubled times, as a watchtower to scan the surroundings. Each bell has its own name and characteristics. The walls are slightly sloped upwards to slim the construction, and a pretty frieze runs along the whitewashed brick facades. This is where Maximus the Greek, one of the greatest religious philosophers of the Orthodox tradition, was buried in the 16th century.

This beautiful square was designed in the 14th century and is the heart of the Kremlin. The square owes its name to the three cathedrals facing it: the Dormition Cathedral, the Archangel Cathedral and the Annunciation Cathedral, reminding us of the historical links between power and the Church in Russia. On the square there are also the Palace of Facets, the Church of the Deposition of the Robe and the Church of the Twelve Apostles. Ivan's great bell tower still dominates the square, as it did when it was the tallest building in the kingdom.

Armenians were never very numerous in St. Petersburg, but they founded the Armenian Apostolic Church there, independent of the Russian Orthodox Church. St. Catherine's Church was built at the end of the 18th century. It is noteworthy for its baroque facade, its bright colours and its astonishing appearance set on the edge of the wide open spaces of the Nevsky perspective. It is one of the favourites of tourists who stop intrigued by this building with its rather un-religious appearance.

The cathedral was built in the th century instead of two churches dating back to the th and th centuries. Above all, don't miss its frescoes whose restoration was completed well after that of the church of the Resurrection (see below). Inside, in addition to a 1730 baroque iconostasis, which resembles that of the Goritski Monastery, you can see the tomb of Metropolitan Ionas Sisoievitch. Nor do the handles of the doorway of the church of origin, which dates from the th century, fail.

On the right of the Église church, there is a part of the monastery belonging to the seminar, which can only be entered with a special invitation. This part also includes a church and the Academy of Theology.

It was the last church built under Metropolitan Ionas in 1683. Past the entrance of the church, we find the scenes of the Last Judgment. The staircase has thirty-three steps, the number of years that Jesus spent on Earth. This church is the Kremlin's entrance.

The tradition of bells, so vivid in all the cities of the Golden Ring, is even more sensitive here, where carillon requires expert handling. In the Middle Ages, the bells were the safest means of communication, the link between the Kremlin and the population, demanded by jangling to come together on the Red Square in front of the bell. It dates back to the th century and the bells were fondues at that time. The most important of these weighs more than three tonnes. Their use was forbidden after the revolution, around 1928, they were taken down and locked. In the years 1950 to 1990, the bells, however, served little. It was when some party's cleric went to Rostov and showed, after a few glasses of vodka, the desire to hear them. However, we continued to sell the recordings regularly, on discs or cassettes, to perestroika where the bells were again in honour and directly known by all those who had listened to them on tape or vinyl. Rostov coaches learn their art from the monks of Pskov, who are educated in ancient books that describe technical prowess to express tones and half tones. They are now being sounded by hand, by the rope and by pressing the pedals.

It was founded in the middle of the 14th century and belonged to the Narychkin boyars. The Vyssokopetrovskiy Monastery (ВЫСОКОПЕТРОВСКИЙ МОНАСТЫРЬ), i.e. St. Peter's Monastery, is linked to the name of Tsar Peter the Great. When he was born, the Narychkin family, to which the Czar's mother belonged, offered rooms in the monastery, where the Czar's grandfather lived. The history of the monastery is also linked to the war with Napoleon. It must be said that the monastery suffered a lot from the marauders. In the church of Our Lady of Bogolyubovo, French Marshal Mortier condemned Muscovites accused of setting fires in the streets of Moscow. The abbey church of the monastery was built in 1514-1517. Next to the Cathedral is the Church of Our Lady of Bogoliubovo (1684-1687) and the tomb of Ivan and Afanassy Narychkin, who were killed during the Strelet Revolt.

To the south, the church of Saint-Serge-de-Radonège (1690-1694), built in memory of the support given to Peter the Great during the revolt against the Tsar organized by his sister Sofia. Note a beautiful bell tower at the entrance and the Church of the Intercession (Pokrovskaya, 1690-1694). Within the monastery grounds, your attention will be drawn to the Church of Our Lady of Tolga (Tolgskaya). Near the southern gate stands the church of St.akhomiVeliky (1754-1755). The beautiful proportions and fine decoration of this church allow to attribute it to the architect D. Oukhtomsky.

This beautiful church, built in 1693, after the death of Ionas in the baroque Style style, today houses an exhibition of the metropolitan parade clothes.

At the exit of the Kitai-Gorod metro station, you have to look a little bit for this church (ЦЕРКОВЬ ТРОИЦЫ "В НИКИТНИКАХ") deliberately lost in Soviet constructions: one of the techniques set up by the Soviet regime to fight against religious feeling. The church itself is one of the masterpieces of 17th century Baroque architecture: its harmonious proportions and shimmering red and white colours make it one of the stars of photographers and Instagram.

It's a very pretty little church (ХРАМ ВСЕХ ВСЕХ СВЯТЫХ НА КУЛИШКАХ), which seems to have come straight out of a fairy tale and seems a little lost in the middle of the ocean of reinforced concrete that surrounds it. It was erected to celebrate the Kulikovskaya battle that marks the liberation of Russia from Tatar domination. After being almost destroyed by the Poles in 1610, it found its present form in 1680. Visit also the beautiful interior of this place of worship.

Situated in the heart of the city, between trendy restaurants and luxury boutiques, the synagogue building stands out and amazes. It is reminiscent of the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem and has a unique and complicated history like that of the Jews of Russia and the countries of the former Soviet Union. Initially, the synagogue was financed in 1883 by the industrialist and banker Lazarem Solomonovichem and designed by the architect M.N. Chichagov in a Moorish style. In the 1920s the synagogue began its adventures, its Jewish school for boys (the Heder) was closed and in December 1937 Rabbi Moshe Haim Gurtenberg was shot by the GPU (USSR State Police), two years later it became state property. For almost 40 years it served as a centre for amateur artists. In 1991 the synagogue was returned to the Jewish community of Moscow. It was erected by Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson as a representation of the ultra-orthodox Lubavitch movement on Russian territory. The new building of the synagogue on Bolshaya Bronaya Street was built in memory of the Jewish victims of the 20th century.

On the top floor, there is a nice kosher Jerusalem restaurant (Yerousalim) which offers specialities from the Caucasus and the Middle East, including a variety of grilled meat and fish that can be enjoyed in summer on their terrace with a lovely view of the city.

This elegant mosque is a survivor of the anti-religious campaigns (there were only two left in Moscow in 1990, for 80 million Muslims in the USSR). It is in the heart of the former Tatar quarter (as the names of the streets around it indicate). Integrated into the Russian Empire, the Tatars were present in Moscow, especially in trade. In the 20th century, they were persecuted and apart from the mosque, this district has nothing Tatar anymore. During Eid and Navrouz (Persian New Year), the whole street of the mosque is covered with carpets and worshippers.

This church behind the Red Square has a unique historical importance that is not apparent in its simple architecture and dark church. It was created within the monastery founded by Boris Godunov in 1600, before being in the eighteenth century, the breeding ground for Enlightenment education in Russia. The monastery served as the only academy in the country for the study of Latin and Greek before the creation of the Lomonosov University by one of its former students.

Before your visit to the main building of the Tretyakov Gallery, take a few minutes to enjoy the Baroque meditation of this church (Церковь Кли́мента), built in the 17th century, which is the heart of the district. It is a very popular church, where the locals go to meditate before going to work or going out in the evening, especially to listen to beautiful singing during mass. Saint Clement is highly respected and is prayed for the health of the children, the reunification of families and the return of parents.

On the banks of the river Neglinka, it is a charming little wooden church in the cheerful colours built in 1878 in the memory of Catherine la Grande.

This church is one of the oldest in Russia since it dates back to the th century. Built in brick, it was thought to be part of a princely residence because, at that time, the city extended only on the left bank of the Dnieper.

Both are fully restored. The church is dedicated to the holy fathers of a monastery, in the islands of Solovki, with which the Laure maintained relations. This is the only one of the monastery of pyramid form.

Completed in 1783, the church bears witness to the importance of a community that had its gable on the street when the former capital was courting the West. It has an attractive pastel yellow baroque facade with an arch resting on free columns, due to Vallin de la Mothe and Rinaldi. It is here that the last King of Poland, Stanislas Poniatowski, a favourite of the Great Catherine and General Moreau, who died in 1813, has been buried here since 1798. Mickiewicz, Honoré de Balzac, Dumas Sr., Liszt prayed there