Holy Trinity Cathedral


Set peacefully amid trees, this hefty wooden structure is topped with green-roofed towers and almost-golden onion domes. The 1872 stone original was destroyed by an 1890 earthquake. Built on the same foundations a new wooden version, finished in 1895, was turned into a club by the Bolsheviks who also removed its five onion domes in the 1930s. Serious reconstruction began in 1961, but church services only recommenced after 1991. Women need to wear a headscarf to enter.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Pedagogical College

0.06 MILES

Attractive historic building just opposite the cathedral, worth a look though they don't welcome tourists wandering in.

2. Tagay-biy Statue

0.16 MILES

Local hero Tagay-biy, renown as a great warrior who lead the Kyrgyz to victory during the 16th invasion of Kalmyk tribes, is memorialised in statue form…

3. Merchant's Home

0.17 MILES

This two-storey home with an ornate balcony is one of the most attractive historic structures in town, but sadly isn't open to the public.

4. Karakol History Museum

0.19 MILES

Occupying an archetypal 1887 Russian house, this museum has a few Scythian bronze artefacts, local tools and musical instruments. Taxidermists' victims…

5. Lenin Statue

0.32 MILES

Keep an eye out for the small statue of Lenin along Gebze, overlooking the university.

6. Radio & TV Office

0.41 MILES

This historic building still serves as the office of the local Radio and TV company, which is not open to the public.

7. Dungan Mosque

0.58 MILES

A tip-tilted triple roof, carved-layered eaves and wooden exterior pillars give this colourful 1910 mosque the look of a Chinese Buddhist temple…

8. Victory Park

0.7 MILES

In addition to the standard monument of Victory on a plinth, memorialising the end of WWII, Karakol's Victory Park also includes an interesting monument…