St. Nicolas Cathedral in St. Petersburg

Visit St. Nicolas Cathedral in St. Petersburg

Visiting St. Nicolas Cathedral in St. Petersburg is an opportunity to see how majestic the city is. If you want to know the Cathedral of St. Nicolas in Petersburg you can do it with a guide in Spanish who will explain everything related to it as they tour the place. Tour in the Cathedral of St. Nicolas Petersburg is ideal for you.

St. Nicolas Cathedral in St. Petersburg (the cathedral of St. Nicolas de los Marinos) is the first Cathedral to honor sailors in Russia. The history of the cathedral and its sanctuaries is inexplicably linked to the history and traditions of the Russian fleet.

Get to know St. Nicolas Cathedral in Petersburg – history

The existence of St. Petersburg is inseparable linked to the sea. The whole life of this new city was initially centered around the main shipyard: the Admiralty. Behind the esplanade of the Admiralty was the suburb of the sea, where many people lived working on the birth of a powerful Russian fleet. For the officers and employees of the Maritime Department near the Admiralty, several churches were built. There was also a small chapel in the sea settlement in the “squires” of the regimental court. The chapel was consecrated in honor of the sailors’ celestial patron: the holy and miraculous worker Nicholas. This chapel was the only one in the large space behind the Moika river and was therefore notable for its richness of decoration.

In 1743, the chapel was replaced by a wooden church, in which, probably, the throne and the utensils of the chapel dismantled by St. Nicholas were transferred to the new church. There were many people who used to come here. Despite the women and children in the church, 3,384 men of naval employees were registered. In this way, the church existed until the beginning of the year 1761.

In the year 1752, the president of the College of Admiralty, Prince Mikhail Golitsyn, filed a petition in the name of Empress Isabel I to ask permission to build a new Cathedral with donations from the naval agency “for the reward of the honorable memory of the glorious affairs of the Russian navy. “

St. Nicholas Cathedral was built as a “marine regimental church” in the period from 1753 to 1762 in the naval regiment courtyard on the site of the old wooden church according to the project of the architect of the Chevakinsky Admiralty Council. In the cathedral I could fit about five thousand people at a time.

The altar table of the upper church was consecrated on July 20, 1762; in the presence of Empress Catherine II, who gave orders to call the new Cathedral church; Here they celebrated the victories of the Russian fleet. The sacred work of the cathedral: the Greek icon of San Nicolás de Bári from the 17th century with a particle of its remains, is stored in the lower part of the church.

From the year 1870 the Cathedral worked charity work with school; hospitals, orphanages and charity home for women.

After the revolution, most of the valuables that belonged to the church were nationalized. But the temple was not closed and from 1941 to 1990 the cathedral had the title Co-Cathedral.

On the bank of the Kryukov Canal, away from the tourist bustle, is St. Nicholas Cathedral, which surprises with its splendor.The magnificent Baroque building is surrounded on both sides by wide channels and is truly a pearl of St. Petersburg architecture The complex consists of two churches, the lower one, consecrated in the name of Nicholas the Thaumaturgist of Myra and the upper one, consecrated in the name of the Epiphany of the Lord, its full name is Cathedral of the Epiphany of St. Nicholas. Tsar Peter I, surprised by the beauty of the church of St. Nicholas of Astrakhan, expressed his desire to see the same church in the capital. Of course, this is only a legend. Under Peter, only a small wooden church was built here. They began building the 25th cathedral after Peter’s death, and the purpose of the cathedral was quite certain. In 1753, Prince Mikhail Golitsyn asked Empress Elizabeth to build a new church for the naval crew’s lifeguards. of wood that existed until then was completely in ruins. Elizabeth granted the prince’s request and allowed to build a stone church on the model of the church of St. Nicholas. This church, later, became the main temple of the Russian fleet. The construction, designed by the architect Chevakinsky, student of Rastrelli, began in the summer of 1753. In 1758, the bell tower was also erected.

Address:

St. Petersburg, Nikolskaya Square, 1-3

How to get

Sadovaya Metro. When you leave, turn left on Sadovaya Street and walk along it, without turning anywhere around 700 meters. On the right side, when they finish at home, a square will open.

The square runs along the Griboedov Canal, on the other side of which is the St. Nicholas Cathedral.

A slightly longer road from the Sadovaya metro is just along the embankment of the Griboedov Canal. This road will last 5 more minutes, but you can see several bridges. Having turned off the Griboedov Canal near the Kharlamov bridge, on the right, after 100 meters you will reach the northern part of St. Nicholas Cathedral.

St. Nicholas Cathedral schedule

To visit the St. Nicolas Cathedral in St. Petersburg, you should know that it is open during the week from 6:45 to 20:00; normally the lower part of the temple is open. The upper church, where you can see the beautiful decoration; Commemorative plaques for the crews of Russian ships, including “Kursk” and “Komsomolets” submarines, is only open:

On Saturdays and on the eve of religious holidays starting at 6:00 p.m. (Night Watch)
Sundays and holy days after 10:00 (last liturgy)

St. Nicholas Cathedral location