The stormy history of the formation of the Russian state left a lot of unusual, large-scale and even mystical structures. One of these monuments, survived for more than one century, shrouded in secrets and legends - the Smolny Cathedral in St. Petersburg. This is where we will head today on our virtual journey.
Smolny Cathedral in St. Petersburg - how to get there?
So, where is the Smolny Cathedral? It is located on the left bank of the Neva at Rastrelli 1 and is part of the Smolny Monastery. To get here is quite simple, you just need to get to the metro station "Chernyshevskaya", and then change to either a bus (46 or 22) or a trolleybus number 15. It is also possible to get to the cathedral from the metro station "Ploshad Vosstaniya", taking bus number 22 or trolleybus №5. Those who want to walk along Peter can walk to the cathedral from the above-mentioned metro stations on foot, but they will have to spend at least half an hour on the road.
Smolny Cathedral in St. Petersburg - mode of operation
Smolny Cathedral is open for visitors six days a week, except Wednesday, and its working hours are as follows: in summer from 10 am to 7 pm, and in winter from 11 am to 6 pm. The winter schedule of the cathedral works from September 16 to April 30 inclusive.
Smolny Cathedral in St. Petersburg - history
The history of the Smolny Cathedral begins in the last decade of the first half of the 18th century. Then the daughter of Peter I, who ascended the throne, set out to build a monastery in the place of the Smolny Palace, partially burned down in 1744. The place for construction was not chosen by chance - it was in the walls of the Smolny Palace that the stormy youth of the future autocrat passed and it was here that she wanted to spend the last years of her life. The construction of the Smolny monastery, including the cathedral, was entrusted to the greatest architect of the time - FB Rastrelli. In 1748, Rastrelli began to work, taking for the basis of the highest order the Moscow Assumption Cathedral. Rastrelliysky idea of the cathedral was grandiose, but not all plans of the architect was destined to be realized. The five-tiered bell tower planned by the master remained a project because of Rastrelli's death in 1771. All the work on the construction of the Smolny monastery stretched for as long as 87 years, only in 1835, finally culminating in interior decoration of the premises. The main reason for this was the banal shortage of funds - as is known, in 1757 Russia entered the Seven Years' War. Elizabeth Petrovna never lived to see the consecration of her child, having passed away in 1761. The cathedral was consecrated already in the reign of Catherine the Great in 1764, which opened in its walls educational institutions for girls of noble and philistine origin: Smolny and Alexandrovsky institutes. During the Soviet era, the Smolny Cathedral, like most other churches, was closed, and in its walls there was a warehouse. In the 70s of the 20th century the iconostasis and the property of the cathedral were transferred to museums. Divine services in the cathedral resumed only recently, only in 2010.
Smolny Cathedral in St. Petersburg - legends
Of course, the cathedral with such a difficult fate, just could not help becoming an excuse to create legends. For example, many consider the cathedral a real amulet for the city on the Neva. The fact is that the whole history of the cathedral is closely intertwined with the number 87. It was so many years that the construction of the temple was going on, for so many years there were services in it, and exactly the same it stood closed. In numerology, the numbers 8 and 7 symbolize the shield and the sword. Perhaps that is why the first in the Soviet Union anti-nuclear bomb shelter was installed in its cellars. Another legend says that the construction of the cathedral was delayed for so long because one of the craftsmen put in their hands. Like, after that the cathedral was desecrated, and there was nothing else to do but wait until it could be cleared.
St. Petersburg is famous for its famous palaces, for example, Yusupovsky and Sheremetyevsky .
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