Results Churches cathedrals basilicas and chapels Saint-Petersburg (Санкт-Петербург)

NOTRE-DAME-DE-KAZAN CATHEDRAL

Church – Cathedral – Basilica – Chapel
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Ploshchad' Kazanskaya, 2, Saint-Petersburg (Санкт-Петербург), Russia
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2024
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2024

Inspired by Saint-Pierre-de-Rome, its darkness and acoustics are magnified by the depth of the orthodox songs

Thought to be a copy of Saint Peter of Rome, the construction of Notre-Dame-de-Kazan was decided at the beginning of the 19th century by Paul the First. If the austere lines of the double colonnade only partially evoke the Vatican, Russians like to sit, as in Rome, on the small benches installed in the garden in front of the cathedral. Inside, the volumes are impressive and the glow of the candles seems more intense because of the darkness that reigns in the church.

The decoration is rich, but the new look of the iconostasis owes nothing to chance - the original iconostasis was melted down by the Soviets in the 1930s, before the cathedral was turned into a museum of Atheism for 60 years. As if to chase away the memory of this fate, a line of fervent believers crowded in front of the icon of the Virgin of Kazan who gave victory to the Russian armies defending the homeland, from Ivan the Terrible to Kutuzov, who defeated Napoleon in 1812 thanks to the fire that destroyed Moscow while the Great Army was there. One willingly sacrifices to the cult of the fatherland: memories of the great patriotic war waged against the French troops are piously preserved (notably the standards and trophies of the Grande Armée ravished by the Russian troops during the rout of the Berezina).

As a result, the cathedral looks like a Russian replica of the chapel of the Invalides. Marshal Kutuzov, the great strategist of the War of 1812 against Napoleon's armies, is buried in this temple erected to the glory of the imperial army by Tsar Alexander I. At the same time, he honoured the memory of his father Paul I, whose murder he never forgave himself for having tacitly condoned. The iconostasis of the cathedral was made of solid silver. Plundered by the French, then taken over by the Cossacks, it is finally melted down by the Soviets and sold abroad. The commemorative importance of the Cathedral grows with the inauguration of the monuments to Kutuzov and Barclay of Tolly, another hero of the War of 1812. In 1813, Kutuzov was buried in the northern chapel, where he had gathered a year earlier in front of the icon of the Virgin of Kazan, imploring him to save the homeland. Monuments in honor of the two heroes have been erected on Kazanskaya Square since 1837.

The volumes also give the cathedral a very beautiful acoustics which is revealed during the daily orthodox liturgies with low chanting.


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Members' reviews on NOTRE-DAME-DE-KAZAN CATHEDRAL

4.5/5
16 reviews
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Balbec
Visited in may 2019
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ICONE DE LA VIERGE DE KAZAN
L'iconostase attire toujours une foule de fidèles bien que ce soit une réplique de l'original fondue par les soviétiques . Une grande ferveur règne dans cette cathédrale remplie d'icônes magnifiques assez étonnantes . Entrée gratuite
Barnabs
Visited in december 2018
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Magnifique et imposante cathédrale ! Allez y a 7 heures du matin, il n’y a personne et les offices orthodoxes sont magnifiques.
Pauline1005
Visited in october 2018
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Cette église est gratuite car elle appartient à l'église et non pas à l'état comme celle de de Saint Sauveur sur le Sang Versé. Elle est située sur la Perspective Nevsky, et sa façade est face à la rue, mais lorsque vous y pénétrez, vous comprenez que l'intérieur n'est pas agencé de cette façon.
N'hésitez pas à venir y écouter les chants orthodoxes, vous serez transportés dans un autre monde.
nimar42
Visited in june 2018
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La Cathédrale est classique,très grande mais un peu triste et sombre!
tivoli
Visited in january 2018
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La cathédrale se trouve sur la perspective de la Nevki. Elle est de style russe et roman. Il y a toujours une longue file de fidèles qui attendent leur tour pour prier devant l'icône miraculeuse. A ne pas rater surtout lors des chants de noël.

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