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Kazan
Cathedral
or
Kazanskiy
Kafedralniy
Sobor
(Russian:
Каза́нский
кафедра́льный
собо́р),
also
known
as
the
Cathedral
of
Our
Lady
of
Kazan,
is
a
cathedral
of
the
Russian
Orthodox
Church
on
the
Nevsky
Prospekt
in
Saint
Petersburg.
It
is
dedicated
to
Our
Lady
of
Kazan,
one
of
the
most
venerated
icons
in
Russia.
Construction
of
the
cathedral
started
in
1801
and
continued
for
ten
years
under
the
supervision
of
Alexander
Sergeyevich
Stroganov.[2]
Upon
its
completion
in
1811,
the
new
temple
replaced
the
Church
of
Nativity
of
the
Theotokos,
which
was
disassembled
when
the
Kazan
Cathedral
was
consecrated.
The
architect
Andrey
Voronikhin[3]
modelled
the
building
on
St.
Peter's
Basilica
in
Rome.[2]
Some
art
historians
assert
that
Emperor
Paul
(reigned
1796-1801)
intended
to
build
a
similar
church
on
the
other
side
of
Nevsky
Prospect
that
would
mirror
the
Kazan
Cathedral,
but
such
plans
failed
to
materialize.[citation
needed]
Although
the
Russian
Orthodox
Church
strongly
disapproved
of
the
plans
to
create
a
replica
of
a
Catholic
basilica
in
Russia's
then
capital,
several
courtiers
supported
Voronikhin's
Empire
Style
design.
After
Napoleon
invaded
Russia
(1812)
and
the
commander-in-chief
General
Mikhail
Kutuzov
asked
Our
Lady
of
Kazan
for
help,
the
church's
purpose
altered.
The
Patriotic
War
over,
Russians
saw
the
cathedral
primarily
as
a
memorial
to
their
victory
over
Napoleon.[3]
Kutuzov
himself
was
interred
in
the
cathedral
in
1813;
and
Alexander
Pushkin
wrote
celebrated
lines
meditating
over
his
sepulchre.
In
1815
keys
to
seventeen
cities
and
eight
fortresses
were
brought
by
the
victorious
Russian
army
from
Europe
and
placed
in
the
cathedral's
sacristy.
In
1837,
Boris
Orlovsky
designed
two
bronze
statues
of
Kutuzov
and
of
Barclay
de
Tolly
which
stand
in
front
of
the
cathedral.
In
1876
the
Kazan
demonstration,
the
first
political
demonstration
in
Russia,
took
place
in
front
of
the
church.
After
the
Russian
Revolution
of
1917
the
authorities
closed
the
cathedral
(January
1932).
In
November
1932
it
reopened
as
the
pro-Marxist
"Museum
of
the
History
of
Religion
and
Atheism".[4]
or,
as
one
contemporary
writer
put
it
more
baldly,
"Leningrad's
largest
antireligious
museum",
complete
with
Spanish
Inquisition
waxworks
.
Services
resumed
in
1992,
and
four
years
later
the
cathedral
was
returned
to
the
Russian
Orthodox
Church.
As
of
2017
it
functions
as
the
mother
cathedral
of
the
metropolis
of
St.
Petersburg.
The
cathedral's
interior,
with
its
numerous
columns,
echoes
the
exterior
colonnade
and
is
reminiscent
of
a
palatial
hall,
being
69
metres
in
length
and
62
metres
in
height.
The
interior
features
numerous
sculptures
and
icons
created
by
the
best
Russian
artists
of
the
day.
A
wrought-iron
grille
separating
the
cathedral
from
a
small
square
behind
it
is
sometimes
cited
as
one
of
the
finest
ever
constructed.
The
cathedral's
huge
bronze
doors
are
one
of
four
copies
of
the
original
doors
of
the
Baptistery
in
Florence,
Italy
(the
other
three
are
at
Grace
Cathedral
in
San
Francisco,
United
States,
at
the
Nelson-Atkins
Museum
of
Art
in
Kansas
City,
United
States,
and
at
the
Florence
Baptistery
itself).
The
Kazan
Cathedral
is
considered
to
be
the
model
for
the
neoclassical
style
of
Helsinki
Cathedral,
one
of
the
most
iconic
landmarks
of
Helsinki,
Finland.
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