Kazan Cathedral, St. Petersburg (must see)

Kazan Cathedral is a Russian Orthodox church built between 1801 and 1811 to designs by architect Andrey Voronikhin. Emperor Paul I initiated the project as a new cathedral for the revered Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, which had previously been kept in the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin on the same site.

Paul wanted the new building to evoke the monumental character of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, although Voronikhin adapted the concept to the liturgical requirements and urban setting of an Orthodox cathedral. The cathedral is distinguished by its broad semicircular Corinthian colonnade, which faces the main avenue even though the church’s liturgical entrance remains on the western side and the altar on the east. Inside, monumental columns of polished stone divide the spacious interior, while icons, paintings, sculpture, and decorative stonework contribute to its ceremonial character. After the Patriotic War of 1812, the cathedral became a major memorial to Russian military victory: captured French standards, keys to conquered fortresses, and other trophies were displayed here. Field Marshal Mikhail Kutuzov, commander of the Russian army during the war against Napoleon, was buried in the cathedral in 1813, and his tomb remains inside. The building was closed by Soviet authorities in 1932 and that year became the State Museum of the History of Religion and Atheism. Religious services resumed in 1991, and in 2000 Kazan Cathedral again received the status of the cathedral church of the local Orthodox diocese.

Today, Kazan Cathedral functions as an active Russian Orthodox church and remains closely associated with both the veneration of the Kazan Icon and the memory of the Napoleonic Wars. Visitors can see the principal shrine, Kutuzov’s tomb, surviving military trophies, and the monumental interior while also observing regular Orthodox worship.