Religious, Spiritual sights in St Petersburg
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St Isaac’s Cathedral
The golden dome of St Isaac’s Cathedral, looming just south of pl Dekabristov, dominates the St Petersburg skyline. Its obscenely lavish interior is open as a museum, although services are held in the cathedral on major religious holidays.
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Alexander Nevsky Monastery
The Alexander Nevsky Monastery - named for the patron saint of St Petersburg - is the city's most ancient and eminent monastery. Peter the Great made a mistake when he founded the Alexander Nevsky Monastery on this spot at the far end of Nevsky pr. He wrongly thought that this was where Alexander of Novgorod had beaten the Swedes in 1240. Nonetheless, in 1797 it became a lavra, the most senior grade of Russian Orthodox monasteries.
Today it is a working monastery that attracts the most devout believers - a revered and holy place - and the gravesite of some of Russia's most famous artistic figures.
You can wander freely around most of the grounds, but you must buy tickets f…
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Nikolsky Cathedral
Its picture-perfect canalside setting, baroque spires and golden domes make the ice-blue Nikolsky Cathedral, just south of the Mariinsky Theatre, one of the city’s best-loved churches. Nicknamed the Sailor’s Church (Nicholas is the patron saint of sailors), it contains many 18th-century icons and a finely carved wooden iconostasis. A graceful bell tower overlooks the canal, which is crossed by the Staro-Nikolsky most (from this bridge, you can see at least seven bridges, more than from any other spot in the city).
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Lutheran Church
Tucked in a recess between Bolshaya and Malaya Konyushennaya uls is the lovely Lutheran Church that was built for St Petersburg’s thriving German community in the 1830s. Distinguished by a four-column portico and topped with a discreet cupola, it was turned into a swimming pool in the 1950s (the high diving board was placed in the apse) – but is that worse than using it to store vegetables, as it had been since the 1930s? The church is open to visitors, having been restored beautifully.
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E
Armenian Church of St Catherine
Continuing with a tradition of non-Orthodox churches being welcome on Nevsky pr, the Armenian merchant Ovanes Lazarian paid for the city’s first Armenian church to be erected here in 1771. It was designed and built by German architect Georg Veldten and completed in 1780. The Soviet regime deemed it reasonable to bash the place to bits and install a 2nd floor, which blocked the view of the cupola. The church has been fully restored now, however, and it’s open to visitors.
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Vladimirskaya Church
The 18th-century Vladimirskaya Church, designed by Quarenghi, was used as an underwear factory during Soviet times. It was reconsecrated in 1990 and is now one of the busiest churches in town. For a brilliant view of its amazing onion domes, have a drink in the 7th floor bar of the Hotel Dostoevsky across the road, part of the Vladimirsky Passazh shopping mall. The church’s interiors are also stunning (go upstairs to see the main body of the church).
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SS Peter & Paul Cathedral
SS Peter & Paul Cathedral, in the grounds of Peter & Paul Fortress, has a magnificent baroque interior, quite different from other Orthodox churches, and a landmark needle-thin spire. All of Russia's prerevolutionary rulers from Peter the Great onwards (except Peter II and Ivan VI) are buried here. Peter I's grave is at the front on the right. Nicholas II and his family - minus Alexey and Maria - were the latest most controversial additions in 1998.
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Temple of the Assumption
The attractive 1895 neo-Byzantine Temple of the Assumption is again a working church, although restoration of the interior’s beautiful murals continues. Closed during the Soviet period from 1957, it was turned into the city’s first year-round skating rink. You’ll find a good church shop here selling choral music and freshly baked cakes.
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Mosque
This working mosque, built between 1910 and 1914, is modelled on Samarkand’s Gur Emir Mausoleum. Although a serious place of worship, and decidedly not a tourist attraction, its fluted azure dome and minarets have emerged from a painstaking renovation and are stunning to view from outside.
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Buddhist Temple
The Buddhist temple is a photogenic competitor for the world’s smallest buddhist temple competition.
reviewed
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