Kazan Cathedral: built by a former serf to rival St. Peter’s, it became Russia’s monument to defeating Napoleon
Sulla Nevsky Prospekt di San Pietroburgo, la Cattedrale di Kazan fu voluta dallo zar Paolo I con un decreto del 1800, che indisse un concorso internazionale di progettazione a cui parteciparono architetti come Charles Cameron, Pietro Gonzago e Thomas de Thomon; il conte Alexander Stroganov raccomandò però Andrei Voronikhin, ex servo della gleba dello stesso conte, che non aveva nemmeno partecipato al concorso, e Paolo lo preferì agli altri, tanto che le cronache dell’epoca sottolinearono come la cattedrale fosse opera interamente russa, di architetti, materiali e maestranze, “senza un solo artigiano straniero”. La prima pietra fu posata il 27 agosto 1801, pochi mesi dopo l’assassinio dello zar Paolo I, e i lavori, proseguiti sotto la supervisione dello stesso Stroganov e la sovrintendenza del nuovo zar Alessandro I, si conclusero nel 1811. In stile neoclassico, l’edificio è celebre per il suo colonnato semicircolare rivolto verso Nevsky Prospekt, con un centinaio di colonne corinzie disposte su quattro file secondo le fonti più diffuse, esplicitamente ispirato al colonnato del Bernini in Piazza San Pietro a Roma: la soluzione nacque dal fatto che, per rispettare l’orientamento liturgico ortodosso, con l’altare a est e l’ingresso principale a ovest, il fianco della chiesa si trovava rivolto verso il grande viale, e Voronikhin risolse il problema costruendo su quel lato un colonnato monumentale che desse comunque alla strada una facciata grandiosa; un colonnato gemello sul lato sud era previsto ma non fu mai realizzato. La cattedrale fu costruita per custodire l’icona di Nostra Signora di Kazan, tra le più venerate dell’ortodossia russa, tradizionalmente associata a vittorie militari; l’icona originale fu però rubata nella notte del 29 giugno 1904 dal convento di Kazan (non da questa cattedrale) e, secondo la versione dei ladri al processo, bruciata — un destino generalmente ritenuto probabile ma non definitivamente accertato; l’icona oggi venerata nella cattedrale di San Pietroburgo è dunque una copia, non l’originale. Dopo la vittoria russa su Napoleone nel 1812, la cattedrale divenne un monumento alla campagna: vi fu sepolto nel 1813 il feldmaresciallo Michail Kutuzov, comandante in capo dell’esercito vittorioso, morto quello stesso anno in Prussia durante l’inseguimento delle truppe francesi, e vi furono custodite bandiere e insegne francesi catturate, in parte poi trasferite al Museo Storico di Mosca. Chiusa nel gennaio 1932, la cattedrale riaprì lo stesso anno come Museo di Storia della Religione e dell’Ateismo in epoca sovietica; le funzioni religiose ripresero nel 1992 e l’edificio tornò formalmente alla Chiesa ortodossa russa nel 1996.
About Kazan Cathedral
On St. Petersburg’s Nevsky Prospekt, Kazan Cathedral was commissioned by Tsar Paul I through an 1800 decree, which launched an international design competition attracting architects including Charles Cameron, Pietro Gonzago and Thomas de Thomon; Count Alexander Stroganov, however, recommended Andrei Voronikhin, his own former serf, who had not even entered the competition, and Paul preferred him over the others, so much so that contemporary accounts stressed the cathedral was entirely Russian work, in architects, materials and craftsmen, “without a single foreign master.” The foundation stone was laid on 27 August 1801, just months after Tsar Paul I’s assassination, and construction, continued under Stroganov’s supervision and the oversight of the new Tsar Alexander I, was completed in 1811. In Neoclassical style, the building is celebrated for its semicircular colonnade facing Nevsky Prospekt, with around a hundred Corinthian columns arranged in four rows according to the most widely cited sources, explicitly modeled on Bernini’s colonnade at St. Peter’s Square in Rome: the solution arose because, to respect Orthodox liturgical orientation, with the altar facing east and the main entrance west, the church’s side faced the great avenue, and Voronikhin solved the problem by building a monumental colonnade on that side to still give the street a grand facade; a matching colonnade on the south side was planned but never built. The cathedral was built to house the icon of Our Lady of Kazan, among the most venerated in Russian Orthodoxy, traditionally associated with military victories; the original icon, however, was stolen on the night of 29 June 1904 from the Kazan convent (not this cathedral) and, according to the thieves’ own account at trial, burned — a fate generally believed likely but never definitively confirmed; the icon venerated in the St. Petersburg cathedral today is therefore a copy, not the original. After Russia’s 1812 victory over Napoleon, the cathedral became a monument to the campaign: Field Marshal Mikhail Kutuzov, commander-in-chief of the victorious army, who died that same year in Prussia while pursuing French forces, was buried here in 1813, and captured French banners and standards were kept here, later partly transferred to Moscow’s Historical Museum. Closed in January 1932, the cathedral reopened that same year as the Museum of the History of Religion and Atheism during the Soviet era; religious services resumed in 1992, and the building was formally returned to the Russian Orthodox Church in 1996.
Key facts
- 1801-1811: built by architect Andrei Voronikhin, a former serf, under Tsars Paul I and Alexander I
- Semicircular colonnade facing Nevsky Prospekt, modeled on Bernini’s St. Peter’s Square
- Built to house the venerated icon of Our Lady of Kazan, stolen in 1904 and likely destroyed
- 1813: Field Marshal Mikhail Kutuzov, hero of the 1812 campaign against Napoleon, buried here
- 1932-1992: serves as the Soviet Museum of the History of Religion and Atheism
- 1996: formally returned to the Russian Orthodox Church
History
Kazan Cathedral’s transformation from an imperial commission modeled on Rome into Russia’s national monument to the defeat of Napoleon happened within a single decade of its completion, cementing Kutuzov’s tomb here as a site of state memory alongside its religious function. Its later decades as a Soviet museum of atheism, followed by full restoration to Orthodox worship only in 1996, trace the same arc of state control and religious continuity common to many of Russia’s grandest churches.
What you see
A sweeping semicircular colonnade of Corinthian columns curves toward Nevsky Prospekt, a deliberate architectural solution to an Orthodox liturgical orientation that placed the church’s side, not its entrance, facing the avenue. Inside, Kutuzov’s tomb and the remaining captured French banners commemorate the 1812 campaign, alongside the venerated copy of the Kazan icon at the heart of the cathedral’s devotional life.
Practical information
- Opening hours: generally open daily outside services; check current hours before visiting
- Address: Kazanskaya Ploshchad 2, St. Petersburg, Russia
Getting there
Kazan Cathedral stands on Nevsky Prospekt in central St. Petersburg, easily reached on foot or by metro. GPS: 59°56′03″N, 30°19′28″E.
Nearby
- Nevsky Prospekt — St. Petersburg’s main avenue
- Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood — the onion-domed church a short walk away
- St. Isaac’s Cathedral — another of St. Petersburg’s grand 19th-century cathedrals
Sources
- Wikipedia — “Kazan Cathedral, Saint Petersburg” (en.wikipedia.org)
- Wikipedia — “Our Lady of Kazan” (en.wikipedia.org)
- Russia Beyond — “The Romanov court church: 10 facts about Kazan Cathedral” (rbth.com)
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