Trinity Cathedral of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra: description, history and interesting facts

To the south-east of the center of St. Petersburg, near the banks of the Neva, is the dome of the majestic Holy Trinity Cathedral, which is an architectural center and an ornament of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. Its noble outlines are familiar and close to every Petersburger. They became the same visiting card of the city, like a boat on the spire of the Admiralty and "the brazen rider who raised Russia".

The monastery, born of the command of Peter the Great

Historical chronicles indicate that in 1710, after visiting the Black River's confluence in the Neva - this is the name of the present Monastyrka river - the Emperor Peter the Great ordered to build there a monastery dedicated to the holy and blessed prince Alexander Nevsky. His desire was not a minute whim. These were the years of the war with Sweden, and the help of the heavenly patron, the more experienced to smash the Swedes, was necessary. The choice of the place for the construction of the monastery was the result of the mistaken opinion that existed in those years that it was at this place that Prince Alexander won his victory.

Having laid "outraged arrogant neighbor" his great city, Tsar Peter set his construction on a broad foot. A master plan was developed, according to which the city streets stretched out in strict geometric order. The best foreign architects were invited to build government buildings, churches and palaces of nobles. The work of thousands of serfs, driven from all over Russia, from the swamps of Finnish marshes rose Northern Venice.

In the midst of the works, when the bastions of the Peter and Paul Fortress were erected and the first ships of the Russian fleet were launched from the recently built Admiralty Shipyard, the Emperor was concerned about the need to create a spiritual center. Tsar Peter wished that honest monks, far from the city noise, constantly prayed for sending down the blessing of God to all his undertakings. In addition, as mentioned above, the war with the Swedes was in full swing, and the memory of the saint who once defeated them, was to inspire the current warriors.

Preparations for the construction of the monastery

For the new monastery, the Emperor personally allocated a large piece of land on the Neva shores, in addition, he was attributed to extensive areas in the Olonets region. Work on the project of the architectural complex was carried out two years later by the Italian architect of Swiss origin Domenico Trezzini.

Project D. Trezzini

Initially, it was planned that a complex of monastic buildings, symmetrically spread out over the entire space allocated to it on the Neva shore, was to become another defensive structure in the southeast of the young capital, so it was built according to all the rules of fortification.

Connect the monastery to St. Petersburg was planned to be laid through the forest thicket road, called the plan as "Nevskaya Pershpektiva" - the future main road Nevsky Prospekt.

The architectural center of the monastery under construction was to become a temple, the place for which was indicated on the plan by Trezzini himself, and from which he intended to begin the laying of Nevsky Prospekt. Creation of the temple project was entrusted to a young German architect who had recently arrived from Germany, but who succeeded in gaining fame for architect T. Schwerfeger, a fervent devotee of the style of German baroque that was fashionable in those years.

The first pancake is lumpy

This first Trinity Cathedral of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, not preserved until now, was a grandiose structure decorated with two bell towers with spiers on the tops. In 1719 a complex of preparatory works began. The construction of the building, which lasted for eleven years, was completed by 1733, but it soon became clear that serious mistakes were made in its layout.

In particular, the ground on which the foundation was erected has not been sufficiently strengthened. As a result, there was an uneven sediment of some parts of the cathedral, which caused the appearance of cracks in its vaults. Established in 1744, the commission came to a conclusion about the real danger of collapse of the building and the impossibility of its exploitation.

The complete dismantling of the temple, begun in 1753 and produced under the guidance of the state councilor Ivan Yakovlevich Rossi, the namesake of the famous Karl Rossi, took two years. After the first Trinity Cathedral of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra in St. Petersburg was completely dismantled, it remained for six years the only incomplete element of the entire monastery complex erected by that time.

The Highest Command of Catherine II

The new phase of the construction of the temple belongs to the reign of the Empress Catherine II, whose command in 1763 was the competition of the projects of the cathedral. It was attended by the most titled architects of the time, such as Yu. M. Felten, AF Kokorin, FF Vist, SA Volkov and several others. None of the submitted works received the highest approval, and the construction project was frozen for another eleven years.

Only in 1774, when further delays were impossible - the monastery was built, and there is no central church - Catherine II ordered to entrust the project of its creation to the Russian architect Ivan Yegorovich Starov. Work on technical documentation took two years, and in 1776, after the highest approval of the project, its author was entrusted with the management of construction. The Empress was personally present at the solemn laying of the cathedral. Right after the end of the celebrations, blessing, they started to work.

Completion of work and consecration of the temple

Four years later two two-tier tower-bell towers rose to the sky. On one of them, southern, at the same time the chimes were installed, and on the other, the northern one, a thirteen-ton bell was raised, which was formerly in the Iver Monastery and cast in 1658. By 1786, the installation work was largely completed, and four years later, required to finish the interior and allow time for the building to rain, consecrated the cathedral.

It was held with extraordinary solemnity in the presence of Catherine the Great herself. At the same time, from the nearby Blagoveshchenskaya church, under the incessant cannon salute, the silver carcass, stored there until now, was stored in the Trinity Cathedral of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, where the holy relics of Alexander Nevsky were located.

The temple is a tribute to the heroes

Since its inception, the Trinity Cathedral of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra in St. Petersburg belongs to the category of so-called capitulatory, that is, the Order Temples. In this case we are talking about the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky. Initially, the limit dedicated to it was located under the southern tower, but in 1838 it was abolished.

As a sign of special respect to all those awarded this award, in 1791 a special hall was opened for them in the Fedorov Corps adjoining the cathedral, and a relief image of the order appeared later on the entrance to the temple.

The beginning of the era of total atheism

With the beginning of the Bolshevik rule, the Trinity Cathedral of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra did not escape the process of universal expropriation of the values belonging to the church. Everything that the new authorities believed to be of value was taken from it, and the building itself was handed over in a year to the Renovationists - representatives of the schismatic movement that appeared after the February Revolution among clergymen who advocated the "renewal of the Church" and tried to get along with the Bolsheviks.

From 1928 to 1933, the Trinity Cathedral of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra belonged to a different branch of the clergy that went down in history as "unremarkable." This group of clerics refused to compromise with the Soviet authorities and prayed in prayer at their services to Metropolitan Sergius (Stargorodsky), who closely cooperated with her. At that time, this seemingly insignificant deviation from the Church Charter could be regarded by the authorities as a political action, and in order to resolve it, it took considerable courage.

The Temple in the Years of the Totalitarian Regime

But in 1933 the Trinity Cathedral of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, whose history is in many respects consonant with the history of most churches and monasteries of that time, was closed. The last divine service was held on December 7. In the building of the cathedral, which is a recognized masterpiece of temple architecture, they set up a propaganda center. In the subsequent period, the premises of the cathedral housed the district housing administration, a warehouse and a museum. Alexander Nevsky Lavra was also abolished.

The Trinity Cathedral was returned to the Orthodox people in 1957, but only on the rights of the parish church and on the condition that the community undertakes at its own expense to perform all necessary works for its repair and restoration. Fortunately, during the years that have passed since its closure, the marble iconostasis of the Pinckety Brothers was not destroyed, which greatly accelerated the restoration of the temple. A year later, when the initial stage of repair was completed, the temple was finally consecrated.

Revival of laurels

The Holy Trinity Alexander Nevsky Lavra itself was revived as a monastery only in 1989. At the same time, the charter was re-adopted and the persons who occupied the main administrative positions in it, such as the economist, dean, sacristan, confessor, and so on, were identified. At the same time, the community, which was in charge of all affairs in the Holy Trinity Cathedral of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, was abolished. This was due to the loss of the status of an independent parish church. Finally, all the buildings that used to belong to the monastery complex were returned to the laurels in 2000.

Temple - decoration of the architectural complex

Today St. Petersburg's Alexander Nevsky Lavra is one of the main historical monuments of the city, the architectural center of which is rightly considered the Holy Trinity Cathedral. This grandiose single-dome structure, which is decorated with two monumental towers-bell towers, is recognized as one of the masterpieces of early classicism. Inside its three powerful pylons, dividing the whole space and giving it a cross-shaped form, support the building's roof. The loggia of the main entrance is decorated with a portico of six Doric columns.

Before the revolution, the cathedral housed paintings painted by the Empress Catherine II and subsequently seized by the Bolsheviks. Among them were the works of many outstanding masters of the past. But even today the Trinity Cathedral of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, whose traditions date back to the 18th century, adorn the work of recognized masters of fine art. Until now, we have preserved the painting of the dome and arches, executed according to the sketches of Quarenghi. Over the southern and northern entrance are bas-reliefs depicting scenes of the Old and New Testaments, the work of the outstanding Russian sculptor F. Shubin. Special attention also deserves the painting of the royal gates, made by famous artists IA Akimov and Y. Mettenleyter.

These masters painting and sculpture decoration of the inner room of the temple fully continued the artistic line, the beginning of which was put by IE Starov. The Trinity Cathedral of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, despite all the losses suffered by him during the years of total God-fighting, remained the highest model of Russian classical art of the 18th and 19th centuries.