Peter and Paul Cathedral representative article. Interesting facts about the Peter and Paul Fortress. Peter and Paul Cathedral of the Peter and Paul Fortress

The architecture of the Peter and Paul Cathedral is fraught with many unexpected things. This majestic building, towering regally above the old city center, is known to every Kazan resident. From everywhere you can see the majestic crowned dome of the Cathedral of Peter and Paul and its constant companion, the bell tower. Its first floor was occupied by the Kazan Planetarium for many years, and many residents recognized the temple building by this sign, although, of course, this was hardly its main attraction. First of all, the cathedral is a wonderful architectural monument of the early 18th century, protected by the state, an integral element of the silhouette of Kazan, its rich culture and history.
The Cathedral of Peter and Paul can be considered one of those few fortunate monuments of human genius that cannot leave anyone indifferent. Who was the creator of this building when it appeared? Alas, we don’t know the names of these people, just as we don’t know the names of other talented architects who decorated Kazan with the Syuyumbike and Spasskaya towers travel tower The Kremlin, the Mardzhani and Apanaev mosques and many other monuments: the Kazan archives, which could have told about them, perished in the flames of numerous fires.

Peter and Paul Cathedral Kazan is located on M. Jalil Street, 21; before the 1917 revolution, the street was called Petropavlovskaya after the cathedral.
During the reign of Peter I, wonderful churches in the Russian Baroque style were created throughout Russia: the church Life-Giving Trinity in Trinity-Lykovo near Moscow (1697), Church of the Resurrection in Kadashi in Moscow (1687), cathedral Holy Mother of God V Nizhny Novgorod(1719). The Peter and Paul Cathedral of Kazan is one of the most striking examples of the style of the Peter the Great era, and is exceptional for regional architecture.

The Peter and Paul Cathedral has always been the most impressive in the necklace of Kazan churches; all Russian emperors, starting with Catherine II (except Nicholas II), and almost all famous people, regardless of religion, who visited Kazan - descriptions of the cathedral are given in the works of Alexander Humboldt and Alexandre Dumas, Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin was here, Fyodor Ivanovich Chaliapin sang in the cathedral choir.

The temple complex includes the cathedral itself, a bell tower, and a clergy house.

History of the Cathedral of Peter and Paul
A wooden church of the same name has stood on this site since 1565. The history of the new cathedral is connected with the name of Peter I. On May 27 - 30, 1722, on his way to the Persian campaign, Peter I visited Kazan. This was Peter I’s third visit to the city, the first took place in 1695 during the Azov campaign, the second in 1708 when the Admiralty was opened in Kazan. The Emperor stayed with the famous Kazan merchant and philanthropist, owner of a cloth factory, Ivan Afanasyevich Mikhlyaev, whose 2-story brick house was located next to the wooden Peter and Paul Church, which stood on the site of the modern cathedral. On May 30, Peter I celebrated his 50th birthday in Kazan. In memory of this event and in gratitude for the trust of the sovereign, who gave him the management of unprofitable state-owned cloth factories, Ivan Afanasyevich decided to erect a new magnificent cathedral in the name of St. Peter and Paul in stone, an unprecedented height and luxury for Kazan and the entire Volga region.

4 years local forces They were building a church, using as a basis the usual plan of a Posad church, of which many were built in Kazan and throughout Russia, but they did not take into account that the traditional design of the temple does not imply great height, and as a result, at night the vault of the temple collapsed. Having learned about this, the tsar sent builders from Moscow (it is assumed that Florentine architects also arrived along with the Moscow craftsmen) and already in 1726, Metropolitan of Kazan and Sviyazhsk Sylvester (Kholmsky) solemnly consecrated the new temple (about which there was a corresponding inscription on the wooden cross kept in the sacristy of the Peter and Paul Cathedral before the coup of 1917).

Peter and Paul Cathedral

Fires and restoration of the cathedral
The cathedral was severely damaged by fires in 1742, 1749, 1815, 1842, and in 1774 it was plundered by the Pugachevites. It suffered especially badly after the fire of 1815, when the lower church and the northern limits on the 1st and 2nd floors burned out; the 25-meter iconostasis of the main church miraculously survived, although with great losses.
After the fire of 1815, the cathedral was restored by the diligence of the headman, the Kazan merchant Savely Stepanovich Zaitsev.

After another fire in 1824, the cathedral again needed restoration, which was carried out at the expense of the next headman - the merchant Vasily Nikolaevich Unzhenin, whose descendants benefactored and supported the temple throughout the 19th century.
In 1824-25, the icons on iron sheets that decorated the outside of the cathedral were restored by the famous Kazan artist “titular councilor, Vasily Stepanov, son of Turin.” Vasily Stepanovich also renewed some icons in the iconostasis and the refectory part of the temple.

Restoration 1864
By 1864, the parishioners of the cathedral had raised a large sum for the restoration of the cathedral. Elder N. Unzhenin personally donated another 5,000 rubles.
In 1864-67. The carving of the iconostasis was completely restored, including the disassembly of the iconostasis, by the Arzamas workshop, later the Kazan merchant of the 2nd guild, M.A. Tyufilin (the cost of the work was 11,000 silver rubles). In the altar, master Tufilin recreated a throne, an altar and a carved gilded canopy, rising above the throne on four columns. Before the closure of the temple in 1938, there were icons on the canopy valances: from the east, from the side of the high place - St. Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostom, from the side of the royal gates - the Savior blessing the bread and cup, from the south side - St. Gregory Dvoeslov, from the side of the altar - St. Apostle James. Tyufilin also made carvings in the refectory part of the temple above the arch of the central opening and arranged icon cases for the choir icons there.

The wall images, painted on iron sheets and framed with stucco, were also very dilapidated from time and fires. In 1865-67. A new painting was made on new 12-pound iron sheets by Nikolai Alekseevich Meguntov, a student at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture; 1,225 rubles were spent on the work.
Meguntov also updated the local coloring of the temple walls ( with total area 1524 square, arshin, including 600 square meters on the porch and stairs. arsh., and a total of 2124 square meters. arsh. (236 square fathoms)) covering them with adhesive paint: blue in the altar, light yellow in the central part of the temple, light pink in the refectory. Meguntov also restored the stucco decorations of the cathedral’s interior; another 775 rubles of church money were spent on this work.

All the icons in the bottom row of the iconostasis, except for the temple one - St. Peter and Paul, were renewed by the famous Kazan icon painter, “a common tradesman of the city of Arsk” Timofey Terentyevich Gagaev, and in the remaining tiers of the iconostasis, due to losses, they were rewritten by Gagaev again. Another 3,300 rubles of parish money were spent on this work.
In 1867, the restored temple was consecrated by Archbishop of Kazan and Sviyazhsk Anthony (Amphitheater).
However, the restoration affected only the interiors, the facades of the cathedral were very dilapidated, covered with numerous cracks, especially the northern aisle, the cracked walls of which “moved away” from the main temple, the cathedral could turn into ruins.

Peter and Paul Cathedral (Kazan)
Peter and Paul Cathedral before 1917
Archpriest Gabriel Fedorovich Melanovsky, rector of the Peter and Paul Cathedral at that time, limited himself in everything, collecting funds for the restoration of the facades of the cathedral. Anticipating his imminent death, Fr. Gabriel donated 18,000 rubles of personal savings for the restoration of the Peter and Paul Cathedral. At the same time, the elder Unzhenin planned to begin restoration, but the estimate turned out to be huge, and only after collecting additional funds in 1888, with the blessing of Archbishop of Kazan and Sviyazhsk Pavel (Lebedev), the construction committee began a major restoration of the facades.
In 1889-90 civil architect Mikhail Nikolaevich Litvinov (later the caretaker of the building of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow) prepared a restoration project based on drawings made back in 1815 by the Kazan provincial architect A.K. Schmidt, the author of the design of the Spassky Church-monument on Kazanka.
The 2-story northern aisle was completely dismantled and rebuilt from brick, and not from stone as before. The porch (open gallery) from the west has been restored. The main work consisted of laying a new foundation under the walls of the cathedral and bell tower. All the cracks in the walls were fixed and the old bricks in them were replaced with new ones.

All stucco on the external facades was also restored and all 87 icons on the facade and 4 on the bell tower that originally existed were restored. The painter I. N. Khrustalev “from the 3rd class of the Academy of Arts” painted icons on the drum of the head of the dome and in the top row of the octagon. The remaining icons on the facades were painted by S. A. Kiselev, a 4th grade student at the Academy of Arts.
In 1890, the crosses were gilded and, with the permission of the Moscow Archaeological Society, the roof was painted in two colors, green and vat paint, in a checkerboard pattern. The wall on 3 sides of the open gallery is decorated with tiles. The local background of the cathedral facade is painted with golden ocher, white stone carved decorations and stucco moldings are painted with a whole range of colors and shades, in the nature of which M. Fechner sees the influence of “local predilection for a bright combination of colors.”
Under the floor of the first floor there was a stove and pipes that heated the upper temple. Colored glass was inserted into the windows - yellow in the altar and blue in the church, in the shape of a cross.

On the bell tower, “master Kazan merchant Pyotr Ionov Klimov” installed a new clock (only the dial remained from the old ones at that time), and the decorations carved from white flask stone and alabaster were restored.
Under the bell tower, the chapel over the family tomb of the temple builder Ivan Afanasyevich Mikhlyaev was restored and, as before, three doors were built in it: from the east, west and north, above them - kokoshniks made of brick and white stone. A separate passage led to the bell tower through a door in the southernmost wall. The church yard was paved with cobblestones, and a wrought-iron fence with icons was installed on the street.

Cathedral after 1917
At the end of 1930, the rector of the Peter and Paul Cathedral, Archpriest Andrei Bogolyubov, was arrested for “anti-Soviet activities,” which included seeking financial assistance in 1928 from the former headman of the Peter and Paul Cathedral, hereditary honorary citizen of Kazan Peter Vasilyevich Unzhenin, who emigrated to China after the Bolshevik coup. For the help that the community received from Harbin in 1928, the 67-year-old priest, who came from a peasant family, was sent to the camps by the Communists.
In 1931, a campaign to close the temple began. In 1931, at a meeting of the group committee of political education, Comrade Shisranova spoke, who, due to the urgent need for living space in general and for cultural institutions in particular, demanded that the cathedral be transferred “for a club, reading room or library,” for which a resolution was sent to the regional council of the SVB. The very next day, the SVB sent comrade. Kornilov with an anti-religious lecture on the topic “On Religion and the Cultural Revolution” to a pasta factory, TatStroyobedinenie and a confectionery factory, and in the following days a number of other organizations, campaigning for “liberation from the priestly shackles of that mass of the population that has not yet realized the harm and lies of religion” . All reports from such events were collected in order to have a complete package of documents for closing the temple.

Meanwhile, in Kazan, the new government consistently closed churches, and the Peter and Paul community accepted believers from closed churches: the Kazan-Bogoroditsky Monastery, the Georgian Church, and the Feodorovsky Monastery. From closed churches, icons, utensils, and banners were brought to the cathedral, including a shrine with part of the relics of the Kazan Saint Barsanuphius.
In 1938, mass arrests of priests took place in Kazan, including the arrest of the clergy of the St. Peter and Paul Cathedral, Archpriest Vasily Petrovich Ivanovsky, who served in the Russian Orthodox Church since 1908, and deacon Ivan Fedorovich Gavrilov. Soon, during Great Lent (03/11/38), the 63-year-old archpriest of the cathedral, Mikhail Fedorovich Zosimovsky, addressed the commission on religious issues at the Tatarstan Central Executive Committee with a request to the executive secretary of the cultural commission, Mustafin, “I ask the cultural commission to remove me from registration as a full-time clergyman” due to “my serious illness.” .

In the same year, the KGS secretly issued a decree: “to transfer the building to the Central Museum of the TASSR for an anti-religious museum (ground floor) and a lecture hall with the installation of a Foucault pendulum (second floor). The congregation will be moved to the empty building of the Cemetery Church.<…>This resolution shall be submitted for approval by the Presidium of the Supreme Court of the Tatar ASSR.”
In 1939, the cathedral was closed, the Foucault pendulum was never installed, and the Partarchive was placed in the temple. The tomb of the temple builder of the cathedral, merchant Mikhlyaev, was plundered.
In 1964, a planetarium was opened in the lower Sretensky Church of the Peter and Paul Cathedral, for which the ties that strengthened the vault were barbarously cut off.
In 1967, the restoration workshops of the State Museum of the TASSR were located in the upper church. In the upper church, in front of the iconostasis, there was a billiard table, in the altar - the so-called. "red corner" and conference room.

Revival of the cathedral
In the late 1980s, through the joint efforts of the diocese and the Kazan intelligentsia, it was possible to achieve the return of the cathedral to the Church. A special role in the campaign for the return of the temple was played by the editor-in-chief of the then most influential city newspaper “Evening Kazan” Andrei Petrovich Gavrilov. On July 25, 1989, the temple was consecrated by Bishop Anastasius of Kazan and Mari. The church received the cathedral in a ruined state, the roof was torn off in places and the brickwork was falling out. First of all, the carving of the lower tier of the iconostasis was restored, the royal gates were recreated, the roof and damage to the facade were corrected.

Architecture of the Peter and Paul Cathedral

Not every monument appears immediately as a completed architectural work. On the contrary, in most cases, only long-term, and sometimes centuries-long, restructuring gradually improves its appearance (or, conversely, irrevocably distorts it). In its finished form, the monument appears as the fruit of the joint activity of many people, each of whom put a grain of their labor into it. Sometimes restorers intervene, and then the building is carefully cleaned of traces of the activities of people who thought more about adapting it to their needs than about preserving its beauty. This is what happened with the Peter and Paul Cathedral: it did not immediately acquire its familiar appearance. Its construction began with failure.
They took as a model an ordinary, ubiquitous townsman temple, many of which were built in the 17th and early 18th centuries both in Kazan and in its environs. They took it and, apparently, did not think about the fact that with an increase in the height of the building, it would inevitably be necessary to make changes to the proportions and composition of the building, and to use other building structures. When laying out the upper vault, the entire structure collapsed: the lack of experience of the local architects, who had not previously encountered such an unusual task, affected it. The construction was completed in 1726 by a team of experienced craftsmen who urgently arrived from Moscow. They, apparently, dressed the temple in magnificent baroque “clothes”, so characteristic of Moscow architecture of that time.
The Cathedral of Peter and Paul is sometimes compared to the church in Fili and the Stroganov Church in Nizhny Novgorod - typical works of “Russian Baroque”. However, in contrast to the innovative architects of these buildings, the Kazan temple is similar to them only in its structures and external decorative decoration, but its composition is conservative. The bell tower is another matter. Even if this multi-tiered tower appeared at the same time as him, it is unlikely that it was built by the same craftsmen. The entire organic structure of its architecture speaks of a different professional approach of its creator, a different school of architecture. Apparently, the leader of this period of construction (perhaps it was precisely the same architect who came from Moscow to complete the construction of the temple after its collapse), set himself the goal of correcting the impression of the unsuccessful proportions of the already erected building by contrasting it with a slender tower - a technique that has long been used, for example , in the east during the construction of mosques. The combination of a decorated bell tower directed upward with a lavishly decorated heavy church created a wonderful ensemble, which was apparently worked on by an architect of European training. His goal was not only to veil the flaws in the composition of the completed church, but also to give the entire complex a more modern baroque look. And he coped with this task brilliantly, decorating Kazan with a magnificent temple for centuries. The European education of the architect who erected the bell tower can also be guessed from other signs: the second tier of the tower is decorated with deep niches for statues - a technique that is by no means in the spirit of Russian traditions and is rare even in the capital, not only in the provinces. Perhaps these statues were never installed, although I remember that in one of the pre-revolutionary books about Kazan, they talked about the sculptures that decorated these niches.

bell tower of the Peter and Paul Cathedral

The slender bell tower, which according to Kazan tradition stood at some distance from the church, was used by Mikhlyaev as a majestic tombstone for himself: in its basement there is a crypt with a merchant’s sarcophagus, looted later, in our time, by local vandals.
The main facade of the church was originally not where we now approach it, but just on the opposite side, where through the arch that has been preserved to this day, the merchant and his family walked past the bell tower to the main staircase to the temple. This is exactly how the Peter and Paul Cathedral is depicted in a lithograph by the artist Eduard Tournerelli, published in London in the first half of the last century. Perhaps, during the further reconstruction of this section of the city, it would be necessary to take into account this initial plan of the architect and restore the approach to the monument from the Gostiny Dvor, as if continuing the inspection of the museum’s exhibition.

The architecture of the Peter and Paul Cathedral is fraught with many unexpected things. Its forms, which have long been familiar to us, turn out to be, upon closer examination, very, very original, reflecting local traditions inherent in the culture of the Kazan region. First of all, these are the original keel-shaped outlines of the roofs above the apses of the main building, the scallops of which are decorated with openwork fringe made of pressed tin. In the Moscow Baroque of the early 18th century, where, it would seem, one should look for their origins, there are no such forms. But in Kazan architecture they were used throughout the 18th century, including in the architecture of Tatar mosques.
But most amazing of all is the coloring of the facades of the temple, which clearly replaced the lush stucco molding so characteristic of other works of Russian Baroque. We will not find such a combination of colors in the church architecture of other regions of Russia, while in the coloring of Tatar mosques, although a little later, these same colors predominated: an ocher-yellow background with blue, green, white and red details. This is hardly a coincidence. After all, the colors of medieval buildings in Central Asia, whose architecture has influenced the architecture of the Volga region since ancient times, were based on similar principles. This is confirmed by numerous finds of Bulgar tiles, and archaeological studies of ancient settlements of the ancestors of the Kazan Tatars. Apparently, the painting of the walls of the Peter and Paul Cathedral somehow reflected ancient local traditions, indicating the sometimes invisible influence of Tatar culture on the formation of the appearance of Kazan architecture.

Peter and Paul Cathedral (Kazan)
Picturesque icons and multi-colored tiles on the facades of the temple and bell tower are surprisingly organically woven into this extravaganza of colors, turning them into a unique work of art. The loss of some of these paintings in last years significantly impoverished the perception of the monument.
The interior of the temple is striking in its splendor and size. Time has spared almost all the details of the rich decoration of the temple.
One cannot help but admire the magnificence of the iconostasis, almost as high as a four-story building, which completely occupied one of the walls of the central room. Interweaving vines, flower garlands, twisted columns are carved from wood and sparkle with gilding. The continuous carpet of plant patterns is interspersed with paintings depicting biblical and evangelical subjects. The decorative style of carving of the iconostasis allows us to date it to the beginning of the 18th century, but the absence of icons from that time indicates otherwise.
Apparently, the iconostasis still burned during the devastating fires of the 18th and 19th centuries, which did not spare the Peter and Paul Cathedral. Subsequently, it could be reconstructed from remains and analogies. Today, this masterpiece of creativity by unknown masters of the past, which miraculously survived the terrible thirties, when the magnificent interiors of almost all the churches of Kazan and Sviyazhsk disappeared without a trace, can be seen by us, Kazan residents of the 21st century. The church building was rebuilt several times. Major restoration work on this monument was undertaken in late XIX century, when the building, damaged by the last fire, was carefully restored according to ancient drawings and on the basis of a scrupulous field study. The author of the restoration project was provincial engineer M.N. Litvinov, and artists I.N. Khrustalev and S.A. Kiselev helped him in restoring the paintings. Traces of this restoration are easy to read: the restored walkway, awnings and openwork valances on the church and bell tower, stylized in the characteristic “pseudo-Russian” forms of that time, and many interior details. On the bell tower, these valances are even inappropriate: they contradict the laconic forms of its facades and hide the details of the cornices. The last work on the restoration of the temple was carried out in the 1960-80s and was reduced mainly to replacing damaged coverings and painting the facades.

Architectural ensemble

Cultural heritage of the Russian Federation, object No. 1610032003 object No. 1610032003
Initially, the main approach to the cathedral was from the Spasskaya Tower and the Gostiny Dvor, and it was the northern side that was planned by the architects as the main facade of the temple: from the north to the second floor, to the main chapel of St. Peter and Paul, leads up to a straight front staircase (destroyed by fire in 1815, restored in 1888-90). To the left of the stairs, a chapel with a temple in the name of the Burning Bush (until 1848 in the name of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist) on the first floor and the “Life-Giving Source” on the second, complements and emphasizes the height of the main volume of the temple, with steps decorated with stucco quadrangle, octagon, and two heads directed upward. Above the octagonal cornice, instead of the stone finials typical of the Baroque, the Peter and Paul Cathedral has light patterned forged gratings. From the north and west, the cathedral is surrounded by an open gallery, which turns down to the south side, to the lower church in the name of the Presentation of the Lord. At the gallery level, magnificent multi-colored stone floral patterns are complemented by yard-long painted tiles. Over time, the approach to the temple from the north was built up with houses, and now the main entrance to the cathedral is from the south.

Bell tower of the Cathedral of Peter and Paul
Cultural heritage of the Russian Federation, object No. 1610032002 object No. 1610032002
Soon after the construction of the cathedral, a 49-meter (21 fathoms and 1 arshin without a cross, with a cross 22 fathoms and 2 arshins) 6-tier bell tower was erected to the northeast of it. In the 2nd tier, in the niches of the south-eastern and north-western corners of the quadrangle, there were sculptural images of the Evangelists. The multi-colored baroque decor of the bell tower was not inferior to the cathedral: under each of the 8 windows of the “lantern” of the bell tower in a square recess there are blue, star-shaped tiles with yellow and white flowers, above each window of the bell tower, in all its tiers there are white stone kokoshniks.
In 1888-1890 in the penultimate tier, the opening hours of Pyotr Ionovich Klimov were established. Before the revolution, there were 10 bells on the bell tower, on the largest there was an inscription: “In the blessed reign of the Most Pious Autocratic Sovereign Emperor Alexander Pavlovich and all Russia, with the blessing of His Eminence Ambrose, Archbishop of Kazan and Simbirsk and various orders of the cavalier, this bell was re-cast in the reigning city, Kazan, to the Cathedral Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul. Weighing 189 pounds. 34 lbs. Copper 161 pounds. came from the previous broken large bell, and the rest was added, and the re-transfusion was also paid for with a fee from willing donors. The Kazan merchant Ivan Efimov Astrakhantsev rang this bell in 1825.” On the bell there were bas-relief icons: on the north side - the Presentation of the Lord; from the south - the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God; from western St. apostles Peter and Paul; from the east - the image of the Annunciation with the upcoming Kazan saints: St. Gury, Herman and kneeling Barsanuphius.

On the second bell there is an inscription: “this bell was cast in the reigning city of Kazan, in the factory, Serey Kornilov, to the Church of Peter and Paul, with the donation of Peter and Nikolai Molostvov and the diligence of the parishioners and the diligence of Archpriest Viktor Petrovich Vishnevsky and the church elder, Kazan merchant Savely Stepanovich Zaitsev, in 1835, June 10th day, 99 poods.”
On the third bell: “come people to the Temple of the Salvation of our God. Lil master Peter Nikitin Kiryukhov. Weight 54 pounds. and 17 pounds.”
On the fourth bell, weighing 15 pounds and 11 pounds. bas-relief icons, to the east the Exaltation of the Holy Cross by Constantine and Helen, to the west the Crucifixion, to the south the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, to the north St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. Inscription: “This bell was cast in Kazan, in the factory of Ivan Kiryukhov.” The pre-revolutionary bells were destroyed; recently a new 3-ton bell of Yaroslavl casting, the same as it was before the revolution, was installed on the bell tower.

Priest's house
Cultural heritage of the Russian Federation, object No. 1610032001 object No. 1610032001

Mikhlyaev House
Cultural heritage of the Russian Federation, object No. 1600145000 object No. 1600145000
On the western side of the cathedral, on the territory belonging to the garment factory, there is the house of the merchant Mikhlyaev, built in the 17th century - the oldest monument of civil architecture in Kazan, where Peter I stayed in 1722. From the house there was a direct passage to the temple, and from the north the house adjoined small church of Cosmas and Damian. According to Mikhlyaev’s will, the house was given to the cathedral, but due to an error in paperwork, it passed to Mikhlyaev’s heirs, the Dryablovs.

Iconostasis
The main decoration of the Peter and Paul Cathedral is the majestic, modern temple, 25-meter 7-tier iconostasis. The magnificent baroque gilded carving of the iconostasis was made by master Gusev, the wooden gilded Royal Doors were made using the technique of through carving. All icons are written on a gold background. According to the head of the cathedral, Kazan merchant P.V. Unzhenin, an eyewitness to the renovation of the iconostasis in 1865-1867, only one of all the icons in the iconostasis has survived without renovations - this is the temple icon of Sts. The Supreme Apostles Peter and Paul. On three icons in the local row, the faces and robes were renewed: this is the icon of the Savior in the image of the Tsar and the Great Bishop, with a scepter and orb, the Jerusalem icon of the Mother of God on the throne and the icon of the Dormition of the Mother of God. The remaining icons of the iconostasis, due to large losses due to fires, were rewritten by Gagaev again, in 1865-1867

Sacristy and cathedral utensils
Before the revolution, the sacristy contained utensils donated by the cathedral’s patron Ivan Afanasyevich Mikhlyaev and other Kazan benefactors, of which we can especially highlight:

Three altar crosses:
Silver gilt, reliquary cross from 1693, decorated with pearls and 19 emeralds.
Another “gold, silver and magarites decorated,” as indicated in the inscription, is an altar cross-reliquary.
On the third cross was engraved: “This honorable cross was placed in the Sretenskaya church at the Kazan Peter and Paul Cathedral after the fire that occurred on September 3, 1815 of the Kazan military orphan department by the head of Lieutenant Colonel Alexei Andreevich Kopylov.”
Gospel (1681), with 5 fractions. The Gospel frame is decorated with “blue yacht” and other gems. The inscription on the gospel: “This honest and most sacred Gospel was built into the holy church in Kazan of the glorious holy and supreme apostles Peter and Paul from the patronage of the reverent and honest lord Ivan Afanasyev’s son Mikhlyaev, in the year of God 1726 March on the 25th day.”
Mikhlyaev also donated a silver censer, reminiscent of the shape of the cathedral itself, 3 priestly vestments (3 phelonions of “grass thin brocade” with pearl-embroidered crosses on the shoulder and 3 stoles) and a surplice studded with pearls; liturgical vessels, tabernacle.
The liar with the inscription “Peter Michlaeff” is believed to be a personal gift from Peter I to Ivan Afanasyevich.
Analog icon of St. Peter and Paul, enclosed according to legend by the temple builder I. A. Mikhlyaev, on the margins of the icon are images of the venerable Alexander Nevsky, John of Damascus, Alexander of Svirsky and Kirill of Belozersky.
The cathedral was illuminated by a huge 5-tier chandelier with 40 candles weighing 50 pounds, decorated with gilded leaves on all tiers, also donated by the Mikhlyaevs. The weight of this chandelier was determined when, around 1867, church elder Vasily Nikolaevich Unzhenin decided to gild this chandelier - the carters undertook to transport it to the workshop of the Tula merchant Lev Alekseev Lyalin at an agreed price for each pood of the total weight of the chandelier. (lost, for more details see Seizure of Church Property in Russia in 1922).
Large silver lamps in front of the icons in the bottom row of the iconostasis are a donation by Ivan Dryablov (1761). On each lamp there was an inscription carved in block letters: “On the 1st day of January 1761, this lamp was supplied from the Kazan Cloth Factory by Ivan Fedorovich Dryablov to the Cathedral Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul.”

Shrines of the cathedral

Revered icons
Before the revolution, the cathedral had revered icons: the Image of the Mother of God “Life-Giving Source” in the chapel of the same name and the Image of the Mother of God “Helper of Sinners”.
Icon of the Mother of God “Helper of Sinners” on back side had inscriptions: in white paint - “A copy of the Miraculous and Myrrh-Streaming image of the Helper of Sinners, to whom in 1848, in the month of May, was given by Lieutenant Colonel Dmitry Boncheskul, to the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, in Khamovniki, on the occasion of the great miracles that took place”; in ink: - “To the Church of Peter and Paul. In Kazan. Brings as a gift Dimitry Nikolaev Boncheskul of 1858 on May 15th” “C: G: Moscow”. In 1860, through the diligence of the elder Unzhenin, a chasuble was made for the icon, as evidenced by the inscription: “donated by the Kazan merchant Vasily Nikolaich Unzhenin, 1860, July 28th, an ark weighing 10 pounds. 17 gold."
In the altar of the upper church there was an ancient Vladimir icon of the Mother of God in a gilded silver frame; the chasuble and crown of the Mother of God were decorated with pearls. The inscription on the icon: “On the 22nd of January 1727, this image of Vladimir Btsy gave as a treasure in Kazan to the Cathedral Church of Peter and Paul. Kazan merchant Pyotr Ivanov son of Zamoshnikov.” The fate of these icons after the closure of the temple is unknown.
In the lower row of the iconostasis of the upper church there is a revered icon of St. of the Apostles Peter and Paul, the only one that has survived without renovations from the original iconostasis.

The Peter and Paul Cathedral contains the relics of locally revered Kazan saints, discovered in 1995 during excavations of the “cave” of the Transfiguration Monastery in the Kazan Kremlin:
in the upper temple - Saint Jonah and Nektary of Kazan (XVI century), father and son of the Zastolbsky boyars - associates of St. Gury of Kazan;
V lower temple relics of St. Ephraim, Metropolitan of Kazan (†1614), successor at the Kazan department of the schemm. Hermogenes, later Patriarch of All Rus'. Saint Ephraim blessed the army of K. Minin and Prince D. Pozharsky for feat of arms with a copy of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God (now located in the Yelokhovsky Cathedral in Moscow). In 1613, Metropolitan Ephraim crowned Mikhail Feodorovich Romanov.
In the altar of the lower Sretensky Church are the relics of St. Epiphanius, Archbishop of Jerusalem.

Those wishing to examine this ancient pearl of church architecture of Kazan, rejuvenated by the efforts of restorers, will not be disappointed, for the fabulous beauty of the iconostasis and paintings, the beautiful carving of the facades have no equal far beyond the borders of Kazan and will help to understand the depth of the abyss into which our culture fell, destroying the best works of the “class alien” culture of the past. And if there are still desecrated and disfigured churches on the streets of Kazan, which were once the decoration of the city, with rusty, crumpled lace steel grilles, crumbling stucco decorations on the facades, let the architecture of the Peter and Paul Cathedral show us all with our own eyes how this Beauty can be saved and preserved for themselves and for future generations.

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source of information and photo:
Team Nomads.
author of the article: Niyaz KHALITOV, Honored Scientist of the Republic of Tatarstan, professor, doctor of architecture.
http://history-kazan.ru/
Malov E. A. Historical descriptions of churches in Kazan. Kazan, 1884. - Issue. 1. - P. 20.
http://temples.ru/
Chronicle of the Peter and Paul Cathedral in Kazan
M. Fechner Great Bulgars, Kazan, Sviyazhsk. - M.: Art, 1978
http://sobory.ru/
Archpriest Vladimir Mukhin History of the closure of churches and monasteries in Kazan in the 20s - 30s of the XX century. Part 1
Clearance list for 1900. F. 4, op. 132, case 59
Wikipedia website.

The Peter and Paul Cathedral, located on the territory of the fortress of the same name, is the most important attraction Northern capital, and its visit is included in many sightseeing tours of the city on the Neva. Built in the style of the temple, it was built according to the architect's design and its construction was completed in 1733.

Story: majestic and Paul appeared on the site of a wooden church founded in 1703, which appeared on the territory simultaneously with the creation of impregnable earthen ramparts. After the ceremonial consecration in June 1733, the temple stood in its original form for just over twenty years, since in 1756 its building was damaged due to a fire caused by a lightning strike. The fire damaged the spire of the cathedral, as well as the chimes located on the facade of the temple, and only twenty years later a new mechanical clock appeared on the building. They were performed by the outstanding master from Holland O. Crass, and the chimes played the national anthem of the Russian State every hour.

The Peter and Paul Cathedral was often visited by members of the imperial family, and even the sovereign was often present at the funeral services. And inside the temple a royal tomb was created, where the remains of members of the imperial family, starting with Peter the Great, rested. Since 1865, the ancient tombstones have been replaced with the same type of white marble sarcophagi, on which gilded crosses are carved.

Since 1924, the majestic Peter and Paul Cathedral has become a museum, but many valuable items, including rare books and silver utensils, have been transferred by the authorities to other museum collections. Divine services in the luxurious temple began to be held again only in 1990, but the cathedral has still not lost its status as a museum, and unique collections are collected in its separate hall for the convenience of visitors.

Interior: The Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg attracts the attention of visitors thanks to its luxurious interior, and the interior decoration resembles the decoration of the halls royal palace. Pylons painted to resemble natural marble delimit the temple into three separate naves. On the walls of the building you can see religious paintings made by painters G. Gzel, M. A. Zakharov and A. Matveev, A. Quadri and I. Rossi worked on the stucco decoration, but the carved iconostasis becomes the real “pearl”.

It stands out thanks to its graceful lines and lightness, as well as the bright gilding characteristic of the Baroque style. All the icons for the luxurious iconostasis were made by the Moscow master A. Pospelov. And opposite the altar, visitors to the best church in the city on the Neva can see a beautiful gilded pulpit, which is decorated with sculptures of two angels. The royal seat is located symmetrically to it, and for its decoration crimson velvet was used, where an embroidered and gilded carved crown flaunts.

Bell tower: when visiting the Peter and Paul Cathedral, you should pay attention to the majestic bell tower 122.5 meters high, which is crowned with a thin golden spire, decorated with an unusual figurine of a flying angel. The spire of the high bell tower was erected by the Dutchman G. van Boles, and after the angel-weathervane was damaged in 1829 during a severe storm, it was entrusted to the roofer Peter Telushkin.

To climb to the top of the sharp spire, the master used only a rope, so the emperor rewarded the brave roofer for his courage. Thus, he was allowed to drink absolutely free of charge in any tavern in the Russian State. In 1858, it was decided to replace the wooden structures that made up the spire with reliable metal elements. According to the design of the architect Zhuravsky, the structure was rebuilt in the form of a truncated octagonal pyramid, which was connected using rings.

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Peter and Paul Cathedral, located on the territory of the Peter and Paul Fortress in, is one of the symbols of the city on the Neva. Rising on Zayachiy Island, connected to the Petrogradskaya side via the Ioannovsky Bridge, it is perfectly visible from any point on the embankment and constantly serves as a permanent photographic object for numerous tourists and residents. Northern Palmyra. One of the central elements of the cathedral is the figure of a flying angel on a three-tiered bell tower, crowned by a grandiose spire, specially ordered by the royal will and executed by the Dutch virtuoso master Harman van Bolos, who worked a lot for the glory of the cultural capital.

The foundation stone for the cathedral itself took place on May 30, 1712. The author of the project was the outstanding architect Dominico Trezzini, who worked on it for 20 years. The building was erected on the site of an old wooden church, and after a fire that happened in the 70s of the 18th century, many important structural elements underwent changes. The main advantage of the interior today is considered to be the gilded carved iconostasis created by Ivan Zarudny, as well as carvers Trofim Ivanov and Ivan Telega. The icon painters were Andrey Merkulyev Pospelov and Philip Artemyev Protopopov. On the walls and ceiling, attention is drawn to paintings of gospel scenes, drawn mainly by domestic painters.

In the post-revolutionary years, the cathedral came under the jurisdiction of the Museum of the Revolution, and in the period from 1930 to 1940, the warehouse of the Central Book Chamber was located here. In 1954, the cathedral was transferred to the State Museum of the History of Leningrad. For many years, the temple personified the glory of Russian weapons, storing captured banners, as well as keys to captured fortresses and cities. At the beginning of the 20th century, these holy relics joined the Hermitage collection. You can admire the city from the observation deck of the bell tower, located at an altitude of 42 meters.

Another significant object of the cathedral is Grand Ducal Tomb, where representatives of the Russian imperial house are buried, including Peter I, Grand Duchess Ekaterina Petrovna, Princess Marfa Matveevna, Empress Elizaveta Petrovna, Nicholas II and members of his family, as well as other Russian rulers and royalty. Nowadays, the Peter and Paul Cathedral enjoys great attention not only from numerous tourists, but also from St. Petersburg residents themselves. Excursion program through the territory of the Peter and Paul Fortress, necessarily includes a visit to this place and allows you to learn a lot of interesting things not only about the structure itself, but also about history

For those who nevertheless went to the most unusual monument to Peter, some facts about the Peter and Paul Fortress will be interesting, with the foundation of which the history of St. Petersburg began.

1. Fortress - The core of the city, its root, its foundation. It was from Hare Island that the history of St. Petersburg began. It was the day of the foundation of the fortress - May 16 (27 according to the new style) 1703 - that is considered the day the city was founded.

De Guerin was one of the most promising foreigners in Russian service. For example, he participated in the successful capture of Narva in 1704. But then de Guerin escaped, he was even arrested, then he changed his mind, asked Peter the Great for forgiveness - he refused.

2. Botny House

The boat was built in 1688 and was called "Saint Nicholas". It was on it that Peter the Great learned to sail and began to comprehend the complex science of navigation.

The boat, as the “grandfather of the Russian fleet,” was then preserved, and in 1766 it was transported from Moscow to St. Petersburg, where a special house was built for it. Before that, it stood on a special pedestal in the Kremlin: Peter the Great himself installed it there as a monument on the occasion of the Nystad Peace Treaty.

Previously the gun was on Sovereign Bastion fired at the moment the work began and ended. The midday shot was invented in Sevastopol, and the tradition reached St. Petersburg only in 1865.

The tradition was interrupted for more than 20 years in 1934. Then it was resumed in connection with the 250th anniversary of the city. Several times the cannon fired at inopportune times. For example, in honor of the return of the Aurora from the docks. Now not only an officer on duty, but also, for example, an honorary citizen of the city can fire a howitzer.

4. Peter and Paul Cathedral

At first there was a wooden temple, built in six months in 1703 - 1704. The current stone cathedral began to be built according to the design of Domenico Trezzini in 1710. And to this day it is one of the tallest buildings in St. Petersburg. During construction, for the convenience of workers, Peter the Great even proposed to build an elevator inside the bell tower. But in the end they did without him.

At first, the temple was supposed to be crowned with an ordinary cross, but in the end Trezzini proposed installing an angel holding a cross on the spire. The original version is noticeably different from the modern one. Then the angel held the cross with both hands. The current version appeared at the end of the 19th century.

5. "Chronicle of catastrophic floods"

After the Nevskaya Pier was ennobled in the 1780s, marks began to be left in the arch leading to it, associated with the most serious floods in the history of the city.

The highest water rises in 1752, 1777, 1788, 1824, 1924 and 1974 are now recorded there.

6. Mint

Memorial signs, medals and coins are still printed here. It all started with the Grenadier Bastion, where coinage was transferred from Moscow in 1724.

A large building in the style of late classicism for the mint was built only in 1806. After this, it was here that, until 1941, absolutely all the medals and decorations of the Russian Empire and then the Soviet Union were printed. Only with the beginning of the Blockade, part of the production was transferred to Krasnokamensk, and part was organized on the territory of Moscow. Most of the employees of the Leningrad Mint went to the front.

The building itself, at the same time, organically merged into the ensemble of the Peter and Paul Fortress. Largely due to its architectural simplicity.

7. Prison of the Peter and Paul Fortress

The main political prison of several eras. The planting of the bastion and Alekseevsky ravelin in Trubetskoy began almost immediately after the construction of the fortress. One of the first prisoners was Tsarevich Alexei. Princess Tarakanova and Radishchev were sitting here. In 1825, the prison of the Peter and Paul Fortress received participants in the Decembrist uprising, and 40 years later Chernyshevsky came here, who completed his famous manifesto “What to do?”

The famous Trubetskoy Bastion prison, which has now become a museum, has received almost two thousand political prisoners over 40 years since the 1870s. Then the revolutionaries were replaced by former ministers of the Provisional Government, followed by members of the royal family who were soon shot. And then, with the beginning of the Red Terror, the executions of new political prisoners became widespread; the remains of the murdered are still found during excavations to this day.

8. Museum of Cosmonautics

The choice of such an unusual place to house the cosmonautics museum is not accidental: in the 1920s, the famous gas-dynamic laboratory was located here, where future geniuses of aeronautics and rocket science conducted their experiments: Glushko (the museum was later named after him), Tikhomirov, Langemak, Petropavlovsky, Artemyev and other.

Now there is one of the most representative exhibitions in Russia related to the history of space exploration: from Kibalchich’s first guns to tubes of food for astronauts, as well as suits, helmets and other things that we usually see only on TV.

9. Ioannovsky Bridge

In its place was the very first bridge built in St. Petersburg. It was floating and was placed on small barges: if surrounded by the Swedes, the crossing could easily be burned.

Subsequently, when the Peter and Paul Fortress ceased to be a defensive structure, the old crossing was replaced with a new one, wooden, on a stone base. For a long time the bridge bore the name Petrovsky, and at the end of the 19th century it became Ioannovsky.

Since it is still made of wood, smoking is not allowed here. In addition, next to one of the supports there is a figurine of a hare, installed in 2003, on the pedestal of which it is customary to throw coins for good luck.

Peter-Pavel's Fortress . Baroque

Cathedral of St. Apostles Peter and Paul - Peter and Paul Cathedral

Pam. arch. (federal)

1712-1733 - architect. Trezzini Domenico

see Peter and Paul Fortress ( continuation)

The height of the cathedral is 122.5 m; the spire is 40 m. The cathedral is consecrated, services are performed according to a special schedule, and the rest of the time it functions as a museum.

Wooden Church of St. Apostles Peter and Paul was founded on June 29 (July 12), 1703, Peter's Day, in the center of Hare Island. The temple with a bell tower in the form of a pointed tower in the “Dutch style” was consecrated on April 1, 1704. In 1709-1710. The church became cruciform in the “three spitz” plan and was expanded.

The construction of the new stone cathedral began on June 8, 1712 according to the design of D. Trezzini. In 1719, under the leadership of the Dutchman H. van Boleos, the assembly of the wooden structures of the bell tower spire was completed. In 1724, the spire and small dome of the bell tower were covered with copper sheets gilded through fire by the Riga master F. Tsifers. According to Trezzini's drawing, a copper cross with the figure of a flying angel was made and installed above the apple of the spire. The height of the bell tower became 106 m.

This is a three-nave temple. A bell tower was erected above the western span of the middle nave, and an octagonal drum above the eastern one. The design of the facades uses the idea of a smooth transition from the first tier to the second through the introduction of lateral volutes. A copper plaque by artists A. Matveev and A. Zakharov with the image of the apostles Peter and Paul was placed in the attic. Wooden sculptures were installed above the attic, completed with a beamed pediment. The oval window in the lower part of the eastern facade is decorated with a stucco image of cherubs in the clouds. Facades of the cathedral in the 1730s. were painted pink.

Wooden Church of St. App.
Peter and Paul.
Rice. N. Chelnakova, 1770s.

Cathedral of St. App. Petra
and Pavel. 1841
Lithogr. A. Duran.

The rise of P. Telushkin
on the bell tower spire.
From the engraving beginning. 1830s

Photo -
S. M. Prokudin-Gorsky,
beginning XX century

View of Petropavlovsky
cathedral until reconstruction in 1858
Added - .

Plan of the cathedral.

New bell for the cathedral
St. Apostles Peter and Paul.
1905

Raising the bell
to the bell tower
Petropavlovsky
cathedral, 1905.

Removal
camouflage
cover from the dome.
1944
Added - .

In 1756, a fire destroyed the wooden spire and roof, the clock and bells were destroyed, and the western portico was destroyed. In 1757, over the altar, according to a drawing by V.V. Fermar, master builder A. Antonietti erected a brick dome topped with an onion dome. The facades were painted grayish-green. Since 1762, the bell tower has been restored by the Office of the Construction of the Alexander Nevsky Monastery. By order of Catherine II - in the same forms. The laying of the stone tiers was completed in 1770. According to the design of the Danish master B. P. Bauer, a new wooden spire, lined with gilded copper sheets, was erected in 1773. The chimes, made by watchmaker B. F. Oort Crass in Holland in 1757-1760, were installed in 1776 by watchmaker I. E. Roediger.

In 1777, the spire was damaged by a storm. The correction was carried out according to the drawings of the architect. P. Yu. Paton. The new figure of an angel with a cross, based on a drawing by A. Rinaldi, was made by master K. Forshman.

In 1778, under the leadership of academician Leonhard Euler, work was carried out to equip the spire with a lightning rod.

In 1779, in the western part of the cathedral, the chapel of St. Catherine. The ceiling of the chapel was painted in 1830 by I. E. and F. A. Pavlov.

At the beginning of the 19th century. century, renovation work was carried out in the cathedral with the participation of architect. L. Ruska, D. Visconti, A. I. Melnikov, I. I. Charlemagne, artists V. K. Shebuev and D. I. Antonelli.

In 1829, a storm again damaged the angel figure on the spire. Roofer Peter Telushkin carried out repairs without erecting scaffolding. The repairs carried out in October-November 1830 went down in the history of domestic technology as an example of Russian ingenuity and courage.

In 1856-1858 According to the design of engineer D.I. Zhuravsky, instead of a wooden one, a metal spire was built. Inside the spire, a spiral iron staircase leads to a hatch in the casing, located at a height of 100 m above the apple, a six-meter cross with an angel (sculptor R. K. Zaleman?) The weather vane angel rotates around a rod installed in the plane of the figure itself. The volumetric parts of the angel are made by electroplating, the remaining parts are stamped from forged copper. Gilding was carried out under the leadership of the chemist G. Struve by the Korotkovs’ artel of merchants. Angel height - 3.2 m, wingspan - 3.8 m

At the same time, the chimes were overhauled. The work was carried out by the Butenop brothers. Since 1859, the chimes played music by composer D. Bortnyansky every fifteen minutes, and at noon and midnight - the anthem “God Save the Tsar,” written by A. F. Lvov.

In 1911, the facades were repainted sandy.

The silhouette of the elongated bell tower after the reconstruction became very impressive; it is difficult to believe that the changes were made by one engineer without architectural and artistic education and experience.

After the revolution, services were stopped, and in 1919 public access to the cathedral was prohibited. In 1927, the cathedral building was transferred to the Museum of the Revolution. Since 1954 it belongs to the Museum of the History of Leningrad. In 1955-1957 Scientific restoration was carried out according to the project of I. N. Benois. In 1987-1995 artists L.N. Sokolov and Yu.I. Trushin carried out the restoration of paintings and icons. In 1991-1995, restoration of the angel and cross was carried out. In 1996-1998 The Catherine's chapel was restored according to the project of architect. A. E. Gunich and S. S. Nalivkina. The family of the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II is buried there.

In 1999-2001, the figure of the angel was restored again.

(based on materials , , )

Decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated February 20, 1995 No. 176 “On establishing a list of objects of historical and cultural heritage of Federal (All-Russian) significance:Historical and cultural reserve "Peter and Paul Fortress -State Museum of the History of St. Petersburg"

Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated 10.07. 2001 No. 527: Peter and Paul Fortress: o. Zayachiy, Peter and Paul Fortress

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