|
KAZANSKY CATHEDRAL
Kazansky was built at the beginning of the 19th
century during one of the many Russian-Turkish wars.
Alexander I decided that building a large duplicate
of St. Peter's in Rome would prove that Russia was a
serious superpower that Turkey shouldn't mess with.
Apparently it worked; the Turks surrendered before
the cathedral's completion and it was decided to not
build a southern colonnade to match the northern one
facing Nevsky.
At the moment the Museum of Religion is housed here.
In socialist times the cathedral housed the
ideologically-slanted Museum of Religion and Atheism
and had a graphic Spanish Inquisition exhibition in
the basement, complete with a pair of legs jutting
out of a cauldron. The current exhibition has a small
section (in Russian only) on the history of
Catholicism and a larger section on Orthodoxy which
includes church art, historical paintings, and
various religious knick-knacks.
Field Marshal Mikhail Kutuzov, hero of the Napoleonic
War, is buried in the cathedral and there are
monuments to him and to General Mikhail Barclay de
Tolli in Kazan Square, facing Nevsky. Note that from
a certain angle, General Barclay de Tolli seems to be
doing something that he shouldn't be doing in public;
this is revenge on the randy general for sleeping
with the sculptor's wife.
Kazanskaya Ploshchad 2. Metro: Nevsky Prospekt. Open
11:00-17:00 (12:00 - 17:00 Saturday, 12:30-17:00
Sunday), closed Wednesdays. Excursion bureau tel: 311
0495. Note: excursions are in Russian and English.
|
Articles 