Religion has been playing a significant role in Russian history. Throughout history, many Russian rulers and generals had prayed in their churches or public places of worship. One of the main proofs of religion’s influence in Russia would be the number of churches and cathedrals in the country. You can find dozens of churches and cathedrals in Moscow, which was the capital of Russia from the 14th century until Peter the Great took the throne. Even when Peter the Great moved the capital to St. Petersburg, his newly-founded city, churches, and cathedrals were the first structures that he ordered his architects to build in the city; for example, the Ss. Peter and Paul Cathedral inside the well-known Peter and Paul Fortress is an excellent example of our declaration. The most significant attractions in the tour to Moscow are the cathedrals inside Red Square and the Kremlin, including the St. Basil’s Cathedral, the Cathedral of Annunciation, and several more. We at the Star Travel Group recommend our tourists to visit these places on their tour to Russia.
However, everything had changed when the Bolsheviks took power. The Soviet government had massively against any religion and had strict anti-religion policies. One of which was to destroy all sorts of religious sites and places of worship around Russia, including some of the famous sacred sites, such as Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, which was demolished during the Soviet government. However, even with that strict policies, most Russians were still religious, as they were throughout history. That was one of the reasons why there were still some places of worship that continued to work, even after the October Revolution of 1917, one of which was the Transfiguration Cathedral in St. Petersburg, which you can visit on your travel to Russia.
The Transfiguration Cathedral is an Eastern Orthodox cathedral locates in Liteyny Prospect on Transfiguration Square, which has acquired its name from the cathedral. The Transfiguration church belonged to the Preobrazhensky Regiment. The Preobrzhensky Regiment had helped Empress Elizabeth to a coup against the son of Empress Anna’s two-month-old son, who was the successor of the throne. The church was a gratitude gift from the Empress, who has decided to thank the officers of the regiment that helped her gain power. It was quite common amongst imperial families to ask individual regiments for supporting them in a coup, as many of the corps have participated in imperial court coups throughout history, and Elizabeth of Russia had chosen The Preobrazhensky Regiment as hers.
After her successful coup, she ordered to build a church for the Preobrazhensky Regiment. The work had begun in 1743, and one of the prominent students of Italian architect Domenico Trezzini, the Russian architect Mikhail Zemetsov was commissioned to construct the church. Mikhail Zemetsov had designed the church in the Petrine Baroque style, which he learned from the master of this style. However, because of his sudden death during the construction of the church, Pietro Antonio Trezzini was commissioned to carry his work, and he slightly altered the design to the Baroque style of architecture. The construction of the cathedral ended in 1754. Since the church was blessed on the eve of the holy day of the transfiguration of Christ, it acquired the name of Transfiguration Cathedral. Among well-known masters who had worked in this project, Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli had designed and constructed the iconostasis of the cathedral.
In 1825, a massive fire struck the cathedral, which burned down the entire interior of Transfiguration Cathedral. However, the exterior walls and the iconostasis had been saved. The Russian architect Vasily Stasov commissioned to rebuild the cathedral, which he had done in Empire Style between 1825 and 1829. The Transfiguration Cathedral was always beloved by the people, mainly because of the parish charitable society that began in 1871 at the cathedral, which included an almshouse, cafeteria, children’s shelter, and a school for soldiers’ children.
After the October Revolution, most religious sites inside Russia destroyed, closed, or turned into museums due to the anti-religious beliefs of the Bolsheviks. However, a few churches and cathedrals remained operational even during the Soviet government, and Transfiguration Cathedral was one of them. Though the trophies, banners, guns, and valuable items of the church were moved to Artillery Museum, which is one of the major attractions of the Russia tour, the place was remained open for worship. The relics inside the cathedral are also part of the State Hermitage Museum collection since the 1950s. During the second world war and Siege of Leningrad, a shelter was constructed in the basement of the cathedral, which was capable of holding around five hundred people inside it. It was also one of the main places where the wounded would get medical aid during the war. After the war, the cathedral went under reconstruction, and both interior and exterior of the church restored to their original design.
One of the main features of the cathedral, which is famous among tourists who have visited this cathedral on their tour to Russia, is the fence that Vasily Stasov had constructed around the cathedral in 1832. The fence was monumental to the victory of the Russian Empire in the Russo-Turkish War. It’s one of the features that made Transfiguration Cathedral as one of the attractions of the Russia tour in St. Petersburg alongside its architecture and iconostasis.
We at the Star Travel Group recommend our tourists who have decided to visit St. Petersburg on their tour to Russia to visit this cathedral as well if they have enough time and energy during travel to Russia. We also recommend our travelers to visit our weblog if they want to learn more about top attractive places that they can visit on their tour to Moscow and the St. Petersburg tour. We provide information on the best places to eat, the top shopping centers in Russia, and tips on how to travel to Russia as well. So if you have plans to visit Russia as your travel destination, we are here to help you find the best options and features to include on your trip to Russia.
