10 largest churches in Russia

The dimensions of these Christian Orthodox churches are amazing. And some of them have been around for hundreds of years.

10 PHOTOS

1. Cathedral of Christ the Savior, Moscow.

The largest cathedral of the Russian Orthodox Church is located in Moscow and can accommodate up to 10,000 people. This is an exact copy of the cathedral, built back in 1882 in honor of the victory of the Russian Empire over Napoleonic France. The original church was blown up by the Bolsheviks and was replaced for a long time by a public pool before the cathedral was rebuilt after the collapse of the USSR.

2. The main cathedral of the Armed Forces of Russia, Kubinka, Moscow region.

The third tallest Orthodox cathedral in the world, 103 meters high, is directly related to the history of World War II: some of its elements, including the steps, were forged from molten German weapons; some of Hitler's personal belongings have been preserved inside, including his military headdress. The black-and-green cathedral made of metal and bronze opened its doors in 2020 near Moscow, quickly becoming the most talked-about cult site in the country.

3. Kazan Cathedral, St. Petersburg.

One of the most famous symbols of St. Petersburg is the family church of the royal dynasty of the Romanovs, built in the image of St. Peter's Cathedral in Rome. In Soviet times, the cathedral, ironically, housed the Museum of Religion and Atheism, and today it is one of the largest functioning cathedrals in the country.

4. St. Isaac's Cathedral, St. Petersburg.

The construction lasted 40 years, until 1858, it took 100 kg of pure gold to finish the main dome. However, residents of the northern capital found the cathedral terribly hefty, believing that it overshadows the buildings surrounding it. It took a while for people to get used to its enormous size, although today it is impossible to imagine the cityscape of St. Petersburg without St. Isaac's Cathedral.

5. Smolny Cathedral, St. Petersburg.

The cathedral broke all construction records, taking 87 years to complete, with construction often halted due to lack of funds and changes in architects, among other delays. Originally conceived as a monastery, it turned into a privileged educational institution - the Institute for Noble Maidens. Today it serves as a church and has an interesting optical illusion: the closer you come to it, the smaller it seems.

6. Trinity Cathedral, St. Petersburg.

The cathedral was partially built with the personal funds of Tsar Nicholas I. The blue domes were decorated with gold stars on his orders. But in the Soviet Union, the building was closed and remained unscathed only thanks to a lucky coincidence - it was planned to demolish it, the site was allocated for the city crematorium, and then the cathedral was handed over to the Soviet Ministry of Telecommunications, who simply used it as a warehouse.

7. Transfiguration Cathedral, Khabarovsk.

It is called the "Pearl of the Far East". From the ground to the top, it reaches 95.5 meters, which is close to the level of a skyscraper. The cathedral was built in 2004 with donations from the residents of Khabarovsk.

8. Annunciation Cathedral, Voronezh.

The appearance of the cathedral in Voronezh is associated with the foundation of the city in 1586 when it was still made of wood. Since then, it was rebuilt many times, changed places, and completed again, until one day it became the tallest building in the city. His crosses are visible from almost anywhere in the city.

9. Alexander Nevsky (Novoyarmorochny) Cathedral, Nizhny Novgorod.

The cathedral at the intersection of the Volga and Oka rivers did not survive the atheistic 1930s, in the end, it was closed, and all its wooden treasures were used for firewood. His basement has been converted into a storage room. During the war, an anti-aircraft battery was placed on its roof. In 1992, the building was restored to its former splendor.

10. Savior on Spilled Blood, St. Petersburg.

The church was built on the site where Tsar Alexander II was mortally wounded in 1881. Inside there are mosaics with a total area of seven square kilometers.