History of construction. Architecture of the Kazan Cathedral in the northern capital

Cathedral of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God (Kazan Cathedral) in St. Petersburg, built in 1801-1811 by the architect A. N. Voronikhin to store the revered copy of the miraculous icon of the Mother of God of Kazan. After Patriotic War 1812 acquired the significance of a monument to Russian military glory. In 1813, commander M.I. Kutuzov was buried here and the keys to the captured cities, standards, banners, Davout’s marshal’s baton and other military trophies were placed, some of which are kept in the cathedral today. During construction, St. Peter's Cathedral in Rome was taken as a model. WITH outside The cathedral has 182 columns made of Pudost stone, inside the temple there are 56 columns of the Corinthian order made of pink Finnish granite.

Photos are clickable, with geographic coordinates and linked to a Yandex map, 02.2014.

1. Modern view of the Kazan Cathedral from above

2. The initial project of the Kazan Cathedral, not completed. It was planned to build two colonnades - northern and southern, only the northern one was implemented

3. Panorama of the northern facade of the Kazan Cathedral

5. Pediment "All-Seeing Eye"

6. Dome of the cathedral. The cross crowning the dome rises 71.6 m above ground level. The Kazan Cathedral is one of the tallest domed buildings. The dome is supported by four powerful pillars - pylons. The diameter of the dome exceeds 17 m. During its construction, Voronikhin, for the first time in the history of world construction practice, developed and used a metal structure

9. Colonnade of the Kazan Cathedral, includes 96 columns

10. In front of the cathedral in 1837, according to the design of the sculptor Orlovsky, monuments to Kutuzov and Barclay de Tolly were erected. During the Great Patriotic War, they were camouflaged and soldiers passing by them gave them a military salute. Near the monuments they swore an oath of allegiance to the Motherland.

11. Bas-relief “The flow of water from a stone by Moses in the desert”, I.P. Martos

12. Bas-relief "Appearance to Moses in burning bush", P. Scolari based on the model of I. Komander

13. Monument to M.I. Kutuzov

14. The facades of the cathedral are lined with gray Pudost stone. Pudost stone is calcareous tuff mined near the village of Pudost, Gatchina region. Leningrad region(the quarries were exhausted in the 1920s), its deposits date back to the late Pleistocene and formed on the site of a small lake. Pudost stone is easily processed and changes color depending on the light and weather, taking on various shades of gray and yellowish-gray. The stone is interesting in that the original viscosity was preserved inside, while outer part acquired the hardness of baked brick. For the cladding of the Kazan Cathedral, 12 thousand cubic meters of Pudost stone were required

15. Mummers

16. Capital of a column of the Kazan Cathedral

17. A person compared to the columns of the Kazan Cathedral, there are 182 external columns in total. The columns are assembled from blocks of Pudost stone, and the joints between them are worn out. Due to the fragility of the stone, immediately after the creation of the columns it was covered with so-called Riga alabaster, but this did not help the preservation of the columns

18. Bronze statue of St. Vladimir, the baptist of Rus', in his left hand he holds a sword, and in his right hand a cross, trampling on a pagan altar. Sculptor S.S. Pimenov, 1807, cast by Ekimov

19. Bronze sculpture of St. Andrew the First-Called, sculptor V.I. Demut-Malinovsky, 1807, cast by Ekimov

20. The two-meter base of the cathedral and its colonnades are made of huge blocks of Serdobol granite. Stairs leading to the colonnade were made from slabs of red-pink rapakivi granite

21. Bronze statue of Alexander Nevsky, sculptor S. Pimenov, 1807, cast by Ekimov. At Alexander’s feet is a sword with a lion, the emblem of Sweden, and a Russian shield rests on it.

22. Sculpture of John the Baptist, sculptor I.P. Martos, 1807, cast by Ekimov. All four statues took 1,400 pounds of bronze.

23. Bas-relief "Adoration of the Magi" on the northern portico, F.G. Gordeev

24. Each such column weighs 28 tons, height is about 14 meters

25. Capital

26. Column close up

27. Cross on the dome

28. Cathedral Doves

29. Monument to Barclay de Tolly, on top is the high relief “Copper Serpent” by I.P. Prokofiev

30. Bas-relief “Giving the tablets to Moses on Mount Sinai”, P. Scolari based on the Lactman model

31. The carved portal of the northern doors of the temple is made of Ruskeala marble. The northern gates of the cathedral are cast in bronze, modeled after the famous “Gates of Heaven” of the 15th century in the Florentine Baptistery (Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence, Ghiberti), V. Ekimov. This is a copy, but with the plots mixed up

32. Bronze compositions on Old Testament subjects on the original in Florence, cast from left to right in pairs:
1 "The creation of Adam and Eve. Their fall into sin and expulsion from paradise."

2 "The sacrifice of Abel and his murder by Cain."

3 "The killing of the Egyptian by Moses and the exit of the Jews from Egypt."

4 "Abraham's sacrifice to God of the son of Jacob."

5 "Isaac's blessing upon Jacob."

6 "The sons of Jacob in Egypt buying grain from Joseph."

7 "The Jews in the Desert and Moses Legislating on Mount Sinai."

8 "Encircling the ark around the walls of Jericho, destroying Jericho."

9 "The defeat of the proud Nicanor, who threatened to destroy Jerusalem."

33. Inside the temple there are 56 columns of the Corinthian order made of pink Finnish granite with gilded capitals. The interior of the cathedral is divided by granite monolithic columns into three corridors - nave. The central nave is four times wider than the side naves and is covered with a semi-cylindrical vault. The side naves are covered with rectangular caissons. The ceiling is decorated with rosettes imitating painting in the form of a stylized flower. They are made of French alabaster, the only material, according to A.P. Aplaksin, “which hardly had anything foreign in it, except for the name; no other materials of non-Russian origin were used for the entire construction... were not used.”

34.

35. Commemorative plaque with the inscription “Began 1801 by the permission of PAUL I”

36. Memorial plaque with the inscription “The care of ALEXANDER I died in 1811”

37. In 1812, honorary trophies were delivered to the Kazan Cathedral: French military banners and the personal staff of Napoleonic Marshal Davout. The Kazan Cathedral began to turn into Russia's first museum of military relics of 1812 on the initiative of Kutuzzov. At the same time, Russia was at war with Persia and 4 Persian banners taken near Lankaran were brought to the cathedral. At the beginning of the 20th century. In the inventory of the cathedral there were 41 French banners and standards, 11 Polish ones, 4 Italian ones, 47 German ones, as well as 5 military badges - 3 French and 2 Italian. Total - 107 banners and standards. Field Marshal M.I. Kutuzov was buried here on June 11, 1813. Above the grave there are 5 standards and one banner, which have survived to this day. Later, a painting by the artist Alekseev “The Miracle of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God in Moscow” was placed above the grave. The painting depicts the liberation of Moscow by the militia under the leadership of K. Minin and Prince D. Pozharsky in October 1612 with the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God

38. Kutuzov's grave

39.

40. After the successful liberation by Russian troops under the command of M.B. Barclay de Tolly of Western Europe, from Napoleon, keys from French fortresses taken by Russian troops began to arrive in the cathedral. 97 keys were placed on the walls of the cathedral, most are now in Moscow, but 6 sets of keys are located above the grave of M.I. Kutuzov: from Bremen, Lubeck, Aven, Mons, Nancy and Gertrudenberg

41. Banner and standards of the Napoleonic army, keys to European cities

42.

43. Standard

44. Standards of the Napoleonic army

45. Keys to Mons

46. Keys to Nancy

47. Keys to Lubeck

48. Keys to Aven

49. Keys to Bremen

50. Keys to Gertrudenberg

51. Royal Doors

Kazan Cathedral is an outstanding monument of Russian architecture of the early 19th century.
Previously, on the site of the cathedral on Nevsky Prospekt near the Catherine Canal there was a small stone church built by the architect M. G. Zemtsov in 1733–1737. Due to the construction of the cathedral, the church was demolished, and here, after the demolition of several buildings, a vast city square emerged.

History of the creation of the Kazan Cathedral

In 1799, a competition was held to develop a design for a new cathedral. On November 14, 1800, the project executed by A. N. Voronikhin was approved. The building was founded on August 27, 1801. The construction of the cathedral lasted a whole decade.
The cathedral has a Latin cross shape in plan. In accordance with tradition, its altar part faces east. The northern facade of the cathedral faces Nevsky Prospekt, adjacent to which is a grandiose colonnade of 96 Corinthian colonies arranged in four rows. It covers a wide semi-circular area in front of the cathedral. The wings of the colonnade are closed by monumental portals designed as through passages. Voronikhin intended to repeat the colonnade on the southern facade of the cathedral, but its construction did not materialize.

The interior of the cathedral is divided into three naves. Colonnades of two rows of Corinthian columns carry barrel vaults. Four powerful pylons serve as support for girth arches and sails that support the drum and dome, which consists of three shells. The lower one has a wide hole with a diameter of 6.7 meters. The second, middle, shell is cut through at the base with lucarne windows, illuminating the space between the two vaults. The outer shell of the dome is made of wrought iron on metal base in the form of radially diverging ribs. This is the first in the world metal dome. A slender and light dome on a high drum, processed with pilasters, rises above horizontally deployed colonnades, topped with a wide belt of entablature and balustrades.

Decoration of the Kazan Cathedral

In external design The cathedral makes extensive use of sculpture. The relief panel above the eastern passage “Moses pouring out water in the desert” was executed by I. II. Martos, above the western one - “The Raising of the Copper Serpent” - I. P. Prokofiev. The frieze on the attic of the church apse, depicting the “Entrance into Jerusalem,” belongs to J. Rachette.
The author of the bas-reliefs “The Annunciation”, “Adoration of the Shepherds”, “Adoration of the Magi”, “Flight into Egypt”, placed in the northern portico, was F. G. Gordeev. There are four bronze statues in the niches. Two of them - “St. Vladimir" and "Alexander Nevsky" - cast according to the models of S. S. Pimenov, the statue of "John the Baptist" - according to the model of I. P. Martos and "St. Andrew the First-Called" - according to the model of V. I. Demut-Malinovsky.

The casting of the statues was entrusted to the best Russian foundry worker of the early 19th century - V. P. Ekimov. Not all of the sculptures conceived by Voronikhin were made and not all survived. At the porticoes of the northern colonnade, plaster statues of the archangels Michael and Gabriel were installed on surviving pedestals. They were supposed to be made of bronze, but in 1827 the figures were removed, and since then the pedestals have been empty. Of the bas-reliefs inside the cathedral, only two have survived: “Procession to Golgotha” by F. F. Shchedrin and “The Capture of Christ by the Soldiers in the Garden of Gethsemane” by J. Rachetta.

The bas-reliefs and statues on the facades of the cathedral are outstanding works of Russian sculpture that have great independent artistic value. Statues of St. Vladimir and Alexander Nevsky are the best of Pimenov’s works.

In 1805–1806, the northern doors were cast in bronze for the cathedral, reproducing the “Doors of Heaven” of the Baptistery in Florence by the famous 15th-century Florentine sculptor Lorenzo Ghiberti. Plaster cast The Academy of Arts acquired these doors in 1774. The casting and embossing of the bronze copy of the doors was carried out by Ekimov. The order of placement on the doors has been changed. Boponikhin created a different frame for them.
In interior design Along with sculptors, the cathedral was attended by such outstanding Russian painters as V. L. Borovikovsky, V. K. Shebuev, O. A. Kiprensky, A. E. Egorov, A. I. Ivanov, S. A. Bessonov. They were filled with images for the cathedral iconostasis.

After the cathedral building was transferred to the Museum of the History of Religion and Atheism in 1932, the paintings in it were added to the collection of the State Russian Museum. The “Last Supper” written by S. A. Bessonov, placed on the arch of the altar, and works by artists A. I. Ivanov, G. I. Ugryumov, S. Shchukin and F. I. Yanenko remained in place.

The facades of the cathedral are lined with Pudost stone. The cathedral's columns, capitals, entablature, balustrades, bas-reliefs, etc. were made from blocks of the same stone. The stone was also used very successfully in the interiors of the cathedral.
Magnificent colonnades of 56 Corinthian columns, hewn from monoliths of pink Finnish granite, create the main artistic effect of the interior design of the cathedral. The columns were broken out and processed at the beginning of the 19th century by the famous master of stone work, Vologda peasant Samson Sukhanov. The bronze capitals of the columns were cast at the Ch. Berd plant by foundry worker Taras Kotov.

Grave of M. I. Kutuzov

In 1813, the hero of the Patriotic War of 1812, Field Marshal M. I. Kutuzov, was buried in the cathedral. The coffin is installed in the crypt in the northern aisle near the wall, to the right of the entrance. Above the grave there is a red marble board with an inscription embedded in the wall. A large painting by F. Ya. Alekseev above this board depicts “ Procession near the Kremlin after the liberation of Moscow from Polish invaders in October 1612.”
The cathedral housed numerous trophies of the Patriotic War of 1812-1815: 107 banners and standards, keys to 8 fortresses and 17 cities, as well as the baton of Marshal Davout. Thus, the Kazan Cathedral acquired the character of a memorial structure.
The significance of the Kazan Cathedral as a monument to the Patriotic War increased even more after monuments to field marshals M. I. Kutuzov and M. B. Barclay de Tolly were erected on the square in front of the northern facade.
The square near the cathedral was a traditional place for revolutionary demonstrations. The first of them took place on December 6, 1876. One of its organizers was G. V. Plekhanov. In memory of this, a memorial plaque was installed on the façade of the cathedral, and the square was named after Plekhanov.

The cathedral was significantly damaged during the Great Patriotic War. Its cladding has deteriorated over time. All facades of the cathedral were restored in 1964-1968. The dome of the cathedral, originally covered with tinned iron, was covered with sheet copper in the 1950s.
The construction of the cathedral was of great urban planning importance. They were an important stage in the formation of development and enrichment of the appearance of Nevsky Prospekt.

March 12th, 2016 , 12:12 pm

The Cathedral of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God (Kazan Cathedral) in St. Petersburg was built in 1801-1811 by the architect A. N. Voronikhin to store the revered copy of the miraculous icon of the Mother of God of Kazan. After the Patriotic War of 1812, it acquired significance as a monument to Russian military glory. In 1813, commander M.I. Kutuzov was buried here and the keys to the captured cities, standards, banners, Davout’s marshal’s baton and other military trophies were placed, some of which are kept in the cathedral today. During construction, St. Peter's Cathedral in Rome was taken as a model. On the outside of the cathedral there are 182 columns made of Pudost stone, inside the temple there are 56 columns of the Corinthian order made of pink Finnish granite. Photos are clickable, with geographic coordinates and linked to a Yandex map, 02.2014.

1. Modern view of the Kazan Cathedral from above

5. Pediment "All-Seeing Eye"

9. Colonnade of the Kazan Cathedral, includes 96 columns

11. Bas-relief “The flow of water from a stone by Moses in the desert”, I.P. Martos

12. Bas-relief “Appearance to Moses in the Burning Bush”, P. Scolari based on the model of I. Commander

13. Monument to M.I. Kutuzov

14. The facades of the cathedral are lined with gray Pudost stone. Pudost stone is calcareous tuff mined near the village of Pudost, Gatchina district, Leningrad region (the quarries were exhausted in the 1920s), its deposits date back to the late Pleistocene and were formed on the site of a small lake. Pudost stone is easily processed and changes color depending on the light and weather, taking on various shades of gray and yellowish-gray. The stone is interesting because the original viscosity was retained inside, while the outer part acquired the hardness of baked brick. For the cladding of the Kazan Cathedral, 12 thousand cubic meters of Pudost stone were required

15. Mummers

16. Capital of a column of the Kazan Cathedral

18. Bronze statue of St. Vladimir, the baptist of Rus', in his left hand he holds a sword, and in his right hand a cross, trampling on a pagan altar. Sculptor S.S. Pimenov, 1807, cast by Ekimov

19. Bronze sculpture of St. Andrew the First-Called, sculptor V.I. Demut-Malinovsky, 1807, cast by Ekimov

20. The two-meter base of the cathedral and its colonnades are made of huge blocks of Serdobol granite. Stairs leading to the colonnade were made from slabs of red-pink rapakivi granite

21. Bronze statue of Alexander Nevsky, sculptor S. Pimenov, 1807, cast by Ekimov. At Alexander’s feet is a sword with a lion, the emblem of Sweden, and a Russian shield rests on it.

22. Sculpture of John the Baptist, sculptor I.P. Martos, 1807, cast by Ekimov. All four statues took 1,400 pounds of bronze.

23. Bas-relief "Adoration of the Magi" on the northern portico, F.G. Gordeev

24. Each such column weighs 28 tons, height is about 14 meters

25. Capital

26. Column close up

27. Cross on the dome

28. Cathedral Doves

29. Monument to Barclay de Tolly, on top is the high relief “Copper Serpent” by I.P. Prokofiev

30. Bas-relief “Giving the tablets to Moses on Mount Sinai”, P. Scolari based on the Lactman model

32. Bronze compositions on Old Testament subjects on the original in Florence, cast from left to right in pairs:
1 "The creation of Adam and Eve. Their fall into sin and expulsion from paradise."

2 "The sacrifice of Abel and his murder by Cain."

3 "The killing of the Egyptian by Moses and the exit of the Jews from Egypt."

4 "Abraham's sacrifice to God of the son of Jacob."

5 "Isaac's blessing upon Jacob."

6 "The sons of Jacob in Egypt buying grain from Joseph."

7 "The Jews in the Desert and Moses Legislating on Mount Sinai."

8 "Encircling the ark around the walls of Jericho, destroying Jericho."

9 "The defeat of the proud Nicanor, who threatened to destroy Jerusalem."

34.

35. Commemorative plaque with the inscription “Began 1801 by the permission of PAUL I”

36. Memorial plaque with the inscription “The care of ALEXANDER I died in 1811”

38. Kutuzov's grave

39.

41. Banner and standards of the Napoleonic army, keys to European cities

42.

43. Standard

44. Standards of the Napoleonic army

45. Keys to Mons

46. Keys to Nancy

47. Keys to Lubeck

48. Keys to Aven

49. Keys to Bremen

50. Keys to Gertrudenberg

51. Royal Doors

Classical ideals have accompanied Russian culture since the reforms of Peter I. However, in the 18th century they did not take root so organically. Only at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th century, the harmony of antiquity for some time became a natural form of development of Russian architecture and interior design, making them part of the pan-European classics.

The work of the architect Andrei Voronikhin coincided with this period of time. He came from the serfs of Count A.S. Stroganov, was born on October 28, 1759 in the Urals, began his education in Moscow, and graduated from the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts. In 1786, Stroganov sent Voronikhin along with his son and his teacher J. Romm abroad. Their arrival in Paris coincided with the beginning of the Great French Revolution. Voronikhin and Stroganov Jr. joined the Jacobin club, and the count renounced his title and took the name Citizen Ocher.

In 1790, the newspaper Revolution of Paris reported that Gilbert Romm, Ocher, Karamzin and Voronikan went to Ermenonville to venerate the ashes of Rousseau. At that time, Russian artists and architects often went to Europe to study. But Voronikhin was not going to some academy to work under his supervision. He accompanied the young nobleman just to study in Geneva, then in Paris, to join Europe. Having learned that his son had become a Jacobin, Count A.S. Stroganov decided that he had fully assimilated the fruits of European enlightenment, and immediately returned him to Russia. Voronikhin also came with him to begin working as a home architect.

In 1793, Voronikhin began work by redesigning the interior design of the Stroganov Palace in St. Petersburg (a monument of Russian architecture by B.F. Rastrelli). Fortunately, Voronikhin also turned out to be a talented draftsman, thanks to which even now one can see the design of the buildings as it seemed to him initially. The uniqueness of Voronikhin’s architectural approach was that, while preserving the strict features of the ancient model, he, at the same time, sought to make it convenient for home living, because the owner is, first of all, a person at home. Voronikhin understood the classics not as an attribute of only a palace or a museum; he understood them as a part of life. This understanding remained with him almost until the end of his life. This is, for example, the lantern cabinet in the Pavlovsk Palace (1803). The first and main feeling from this verified, strictly classic interior— intimacy.

In Voronikhin’s interior design there was a successful combination of classical harmony and home comfort. Unfortunately, many of the architect’s buildings have not survived. The Stroganov dacha on the Black River (1797) was destroyed. All that remained was an oil painting by the architect, which he submitted to the academy to apply for an academic title, and a number of sketches. But even in these works the originality of Voronikhin’s handwriting can be traced. In essence, a dacha is a country palace. But the architect turned its facade towards the river, thanks to which the architectural creation found harmony with nature, turning into an estate. The Peterhof cascade of fountains, rebuilt by Voronikhin, was later changed again by A.I. Stackenschneider. It was also planned to rebuild the palace in Strelna, built at the beginning of the 18th century by N. Michetti, but these plans were not fully implemented.

Voronikhin remained in history, first of all, as the author of the Kazan Cathedral. Back in the time of Catherine II, a decision was made to build a new cathedral on the site of the old Church of the Kazan Mother of God. Work resumed under Paul I. It was decided not to limit the order to any architect, but to organize a competition for the design of the building. And so, in 1799, the Academy of Arts, headed by Count A.S. Stroganov, held a competition in which J. Thomas de Thomon, P. Gonzaga and Charles Cameron were invited to participate. Cameron was preferred. However, a month later, Voronikhin’s project was unexpectedly approved, not without the personal intervention of his patron A.S. Stroganov. Thus, without officially participating in the competition, the architect emerged victorious in the competition. The new imperial decree of November 22, 1800 read: The architect Voronikhin is to build buildings...

Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg. 1801 - 1801 A. Voronikhin.

According to the terms of the competition, the Kazan Cathedral was supposed to have as its prototype the Cathedral of St. Peter's in Rome. This had not only artistic, but also political significance. The idea of continuity between the capital of the Russian Empire and Rome has its roots in medieval history. The new capital, St. Petersburg, like Moscow, was supposed to evoke associations with the Eternal City, to be the Third Rome. It is no coincidence, therefore, that the main temple of the Christian world was chosen as a model for the St. Petersburg Cathedral. Thus, the task arose to create an architectural complex and a square framed by a colonnade. Here the main difficulty arose. Traditionally, the main entrance to the church was the western one, which was adjoined by a colonnade, as was done in St. Peter's Cathedral. However, the Kazan Cathedral was located along the line of Nevsky Prospekt and faced it on the north side. If in the Kazan Cathedral the colonnade adjoined the western side, then the cathedral would not open in the direction of the city, but, on the contrary, would be closed in relation to it.

To appreciate Voronikhin’s skill, one can compare his project with that of Thomas de Thomon. In the latter, the colonnade was planned to be connected to the northern side of the building, but otherwise it was a classic version of St. Peter's Cathedral. The temple turned out to be centric. With this approach, the western entrance, given that the colonnade was adjacent to the north, completely lost its significance. Moreover, the cathedral assumed only one point of view from the north. This was contrary to the canon, traditions, and aesthetic principles of the classics, where the architectural ensemble necessarily assumed several points of view. Another architect, Charles Cameron, designed the building in the form of a rotunda, round in plan, with a low colonnade at the western entrance. Finally, P. Gonzaga decided to place the colonnade near the southern entrance. But in this case, the urban planning essence of the project was lost: the ensemble was in no way connected with Nevsky Prospekt. Voronikhin solved the problem differently, finding an original way out of the situation.

Walking past the Kazan Cathedral today, we, as a rule, do not think about why it is a basilica, that is, a rectangular, elongated building in the shape of a cross. Meanwhile, this form is quite unexpected. Basilicas were built in Russia only at the beginning of the 18th century and by the time of Voronikhin they were almost forgotten. Both the church and the aesthetics of classicism, with its desire for correctness, gravitated towards a centric form. But thanks to the plan in the form of a basilica, the architect managed to save the western entrance. Pushed forward by the elongated western arm, it seemed to have left the zone of influence of the colonnade, acquiring independent significance. As in St. Peter's Cathedral, the colonnade in Tomon's design is one and a half times lower than the portico of the cathedral. However, having used the form of a basilica, Voronikhin could no longer repeat this decision, because a rectangular temple would break the symmetry of the semicircular area formed by the colonnade. That determined the shape of the basilica, and the basilica determined the size of the colonnade. The architect needed to close the body of the temple, hide it, and he increased the height of the columns to the size of the portico. At the same time, the architect practically severed the connection between the cathedral and the colonnade. When looking at the square from the north, the elongation of the cathedral remains unnoticeable in front of us - a centric temple with a dome in the center. From the south and west, on the contrary, we do not see the colonnade. This is truly an architectural ensemble that can be perceived from different points of view.

Let's turn to creative path Voronikhin. By the time the cathedral was created, he had managed to redesign the interior of the Stroganov Palace, build a dacha on the Black River and rebuild the Peterhof cascade. For all its scope, these were chamber works. And suddenly an unusually precise, verified urban planning solution. How to explain its occurrence? Having been abroad, Voronikhin practically did not encounter European academies. It is possible that while he was in Moscow, even before traveling abroad, he communicated with the great architect V.I. Bazhenov. It is difficult to say whether he studied with Bazhenov in the literal sense of the word. But Bazhenov’s influence on Voronikhin is obvious. One glance at Bazhenov’s drawing of the porch for the temple from F.V. Karzhavin’s album is enough to recognize it as a prototype of the portico of the Kazan Cathedral.

A majestic semicircular colonnade can also be found in the design of the Pavlovsk Hospital, executed by Bazhenov. Modern masters see similar motives of borrowing in such close ones. In the era of classicism, everything was different. This style strived for uniformity in architectural language; at that time they treated the same motives as naturally as they now treat the use of words combined lexically. From Bazhenov, Voronikhin could have borrowed the portico and colonnade, but not the urban planning solution. He designed a completely new type of square: as if adjacent to the avenue, and not opening or closing it, as in traditional solutions. And here, Voronikhin’s impressions of the central Parisian squares affected.

So, a major urban planning decision... What remains of the old Voronikhin, who had previously developed as if differently, from his past understanding of the classics? On the plan of the cathedral, completed by him in 1811, a colonnade was also envisaged on the south, which was not built. What can be seen in the architect's drawing? The building seems to dissolve on a white field of paper. Thin lines denoting the body of the temple, the columns, do not allow one to see the volume, the wall. On the plan of the Admiralty by A. Zakharov, each volume is a powerful rectangle painted over with ink. This is also felt in real buildings. For Zakharov, the main thing is the weight of the geometric volume. Voronikhin, as it were, has no walls at all, everything is dissolved in space, which actively interacts with the volumes. A majestic building, a large-scale building devoid of oppressive power. It has the same lightness and subtlety of refined lines as in the project.

Portico of the Mining Institute. 1806 - 1811 A. Voronikhin.

In the XVIII - 19th centuries, the architect is, first of all, the author of the project. And the rare monuments, the construction of which Voronikhin himself supervised, were always distinguished by special precision, when every line, every detail was thought through. From the beginning of construction, the architect moved to one of the houses on Nevsky Prospekt and supervised the construction until his death in 1814. And although the cathedral was completed after his death, the stamp of special thoughtfulness betrays his personal presence.

The Kazan Cathedral has become an important landmark of St. Petersburg. Voronikhin created a monument so significant that it overshadowed the rest of his work. The Mining Institute, built in 1806 - 1811, which could bring fame to any architect, loses in comparison with the Kazan Cathedral. The architect hid here with a single facade a group of outbuildings created before; he, in fact, only owns the façade. This is a very tactful building, it is included in the majestic panorama of classical porticoes on the Neva embankment; the task facing him was carried out masterfully. But here there is no longer the lightness that strikes the colonnade of the Kazan Cathedral. The history of Russian architecture in the first third of the 19th century is rich in outstanding monuments and names. Here: Zakharov’s Admiralty, the Russian General Staff, the Thomas de Thomon exchange. But even in this constellation of names, Andrei Voronikhin’s Kazan Cathedral stands out for its freedom, sophistication and rare originality.

In preparing the publication, materials from the article were used
“Classics of Andrei Voronikhin” by G. Revzin and Yu. Revzina, M. 1989

The history of the construction of the Kazan Cathedral is the most important milestone in the history of St. Petersburg urban planning. Erected in a very short time, the majestic monument of Russian architecture amazes many generations of people with its splendor and beauty. The Kazan Cathedral was built according to the design of the architect Andrei Nikiforovich Voronikhin from 1801 to 1811. It was built on the site of Nevsky Prospekt, where the modest Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary was located. One of the main St. Petersburg shrines was kept in this church - miraculous icon Kazan Mother of God. The cathedral was built by order of Emperor Paul I precisely for this icon, like the Cathedral of St. Petersburg. At the request of Paul I, the external outline of the cathedral resembles the Church of St. Peter in Rome. A clear indication of this is the single-domed structure and the presence of an external colonnade, which is uncharacteristic for Orthodox churches of the Moscow period. Thousands of workers were involved in the construction of the cathedral. These were mostly quit-rent serfs. Among them were many talented masons, lapidaries, and blacksmiths. The cathedral was built from materials exclusively of domestic, mainly Karelian, origin. The working conditions were extremely difficult, there was practically no equipment. Despite this, within ten years the largest temple in St. Petersburg at that time was erected - 71.5 m high with unique internal external columns carved from huge granite monoliths, weighing up to 30 tons each, an outstanding monument of Russian architecture. At the same time, the Kazan Cathedral is a monument to the work of Russian craftsmen, ordinary people who did everything possible in the name of the Motherland and Orthodox faith. The construction of the Kazan Cathedral became a major milestone in the history of St. Petersburg urban planning. It is from here that the golden period of Russian architecture begins, and St. Petersburg finally takes on the appearance of the capital of a great empire. Nevsky Prospekt becomes not just a “prospect” connecting the Alexander Nevsky Lavra with the city center, but the main city thoroughfare. The construction of the cathedral became a school of excellence for new generations of architects, engineers and urban planners. Without relying on this experience, it would have been impossible to create such majestic architectural structures as the creations of K. Rossi, O. Monferand, V. Stasov and other architects of the first half of the 19th century V.

Church of the Nativity of the Virgin.

In 1733-1737 On Nevsky Prospekt, the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary was built on the model of the Peter and Paul Cathedral. Its author was supposedly the architect M.G. Zemtsov, the creator of the Church of Saints Simeon and Anna. The Kazan Icon of the Mother of God was transferred to it, and therefore this church was often called the Kazan Cathedral. The building, rectangular in plan, was stretched along the avenue. Above the entrance stood a multi-tiered bell tower with a spire, which was balanced by a tall octagonal drum with a dome. Not only ordinary services were performed in the temple, but also bishop's services, as well as weddings of persons of the royal dynasty. On July 3, 1739, “the legal marriage of Her Highness the Blessed Empress Princess Anne with His Serene Highness Prince Anton Ulrich, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg” took place there. One of the most dramatic events in Russian history of the 18th century is associated with the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin. - Catherine II came to power in 1762 as a result of a palace coup. On June 28 at 8 o'clock in the morning, the Guard, the Senate and the Synod swore allegiance to the new empress within the walls of the Kazan Cathedral (Church of the Nativity of the Virgin). Events such as the conclusion of peace, victories over the enemy and others were often celebrated in the temple. Yes, after completion Russian-Turkish war 1768-1774 The empress addressed the St. Petersburg Archbishop with the following words: “Reverend Bishop Gabriel! Tomorrow, that is, Sunday, I intend to offer prayers of thanks to the Almighty for the gift of peace in the Church of the Kazan Mother of God. Catherine. 1774. August 2. St. Petersburg.” A prayer of thanks was served here on the occasion of A.V. Suvorov’s brilliant victory near Focsani over the superior forces of the Turks. Among other important events related to the history of the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, it should be noted the wedding of the future Emperor Paul I with the Princess of Hesse-Darmstadt, who was named Grand Duchess Natalya Alekseevna at holy confirmation. The wedding, as well as the bride’s joining of Orthodoxy, was performed by His Eminence Gabriel. Several descriptions of the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, given by foreigners who lived in St. Petersburg, have been preserved. From them we can judge that the temple was indeed one of the most noticeable in St. Petersburg. Here is what Abbot Georgel writes about the interior of the temple: “The Kazan Cathedral is very richly decorated: the sovereigns generously endowed it with jewelry. On solemn days, I saw more than a thousand burning candles there, in addition to many lit lamps made of gold or silver that blaze in front of the altar.” "...The bell tower above the church is wooden and with a tin-covered pinnacle and has a height of 28 fathoms. In the bell tower, the clock is struck on the bell on the wall clock located in the church. In this church, thanksgiving prayers are sent in the summer for the well-being of adventures at court and in the state." However time is running and the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary is gradually deteriorating. In addition, luxurious palaces of the St. Petersburg nobility appear on Nevsky Prospect. Among them, the palace of Count Stroganov, built by the great Rastrelli, stands out. Wonderful churches also appear, only heterodox ones - the Church of St. Catherine by the architect Wallen-Delamot, the Armenian Church of St. Catherine by the architect M. Felton. It was necessary to create an Orthodox church on Nevsky Prospect that would be more magnificent than all the buildings surrounding it. For the first time we thought about this heir to the throne Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich. In 1781, the heir to the throne went to travel around Europe. The attention of the Grand Duke is drawn to Rome - the “eternal city”, attracting artists and poets. Note that the future emperor had excellent artistic flair. Rome delighted Paul with its monuments and remaining traces of the great Empire. Rome was once the world center of Christianity. Here, on Vatican Hill, in 67 AD, the faithful disciple of Christ was crucified and buried - the Apostle Peter, brother of the first baptist of the Scythian-Slavic lands and the founder of the future Constantinople Church of St. Andrew the First-Called, in whose name the first and highest order was established Russian Empire. Peter means "stone" in Greek. Christ himself will give this name for firmness in faith to Simon, the son of Jonah, who passionately loves Him: “And I say to you, as you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.” (Gospel of Matthew, 16, 18). And so, at the burial site of St. Apostle Peter, the “stone of faith,” a majestic temple was erected in the 16th century according to the design of Michel Angelo Buonarotti, Bramante, and Raphael. He made a stunning impression on the heir Russian throne. The greatness of the temple and its beauty artistic decoration, the splendor of Bernini's colonnade that forms St. Peter's Square - all this delighted him. Addressing his companions, the “Count of the North,” for such was the august traveler’s incognito, expressed the wish that “the Archbishop of Moscow serve in such a church in Moscow.” This thought sank deeply into the heart of the Orthodox Tsarevich. He returned to her after his accession to the throne. But now the idea of creating a temple similar to the Roman one is taking on different shapes.
The place of its construction should be St. Petersburg, not Moscow. The Russian "city of St. Peter" should become the northern Rome. Not only political considerations, but also the religious sentiments of the Emperor played a major role in making this decision. Rome after the French Revolution, and especially after the invasion of Napoleonic hordes into Italy, lost its importance for a long time spiritual center Catholic Europe. The Pope becomes a prisoner of the leader of republican and virtually atheistic France. Sending troops to Italy led by the great Suvorov, Paul dreams of fulfilling the mission of liberator of Christian Europe from the republican-atheistic invasion. To emphasize his solidarity with Catholic Europe, he, the Tsar of Orthodox Rus', becomes Grand Master of the Catholic Order of St. John of Jerusalem. The idea that St. Petersburg should take sovereign rights from Moscow ancient Rome, increasingly takes over the Emperor’s thoughts. It is in the capital of the Great Orthodox Empire that there should be a temple similar to the Roman one. But since there was already a temple in the capital in the name of St. Apostle Peter, the new temple should be dedicated to the Most Holy Theotokos.

Competition for designs for a new cathedral.

In November 1800, Paul I ordered the erection of a cathedral church in the name of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God instead of the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary. This decision was preceded by a competition for best project of the new temple, held in 1799. This competition was attended by the outstanding architect of strict classicism Charles Cameron, the architect Jean Thomas de Thomon, who had just arrived in Russia, and the decorative painter, master of park construction, Pietro Gonzago.
However, none of the competitors was able to find a solution that would satisfy the monarch’s requirement to include a colonnade similar to the Roman one in the project. More than all the projects, Pavel liked the project of Charles Cameron, who planned to cover the area in front of the western facade of the cathedral with low colonnades without access to Nevsky Prospekt. In November 1800, Paul instructed the St. Petersburg governor von Palen: “I instructed the architect Cameron to draw up a project for the Kazan Church in St. Petersburg. I am notifying you of this so that you can assist him by making an order. Paul is favorable to you.” However, an unexpected turn soon took place. On November 14 of the same year, the emperor approved another project of the Kazan Cathedral, drawn up by the little-known Russian architect A.N. Voronikhin. The former serf of Count A.S. Stroganov in 1797 received from the Academy of Arts the title of academician of perspective and miniature painting, and only in 1800, at the recommendation of the President of the Academy Stroganov, the title of architect. It is possible that Paul I’s choice between the projects of Cameron and Voronikhin was reflected in his dislike for Cameron, who enjoyed the favor of Catherine II. At the same time, the emperor took into account the opinion of Count Stroganov, who played a decisive role in approving Voronikhin’s project.
After a long creative search, Voronikhin finds original solution. Voronikhin's project is indeed very reminiscent of St. Peter's Cathedral in Rome. However, the colonnades of the Roman temple, added by Bernini a hundred years after the long construction of St. Peter's Cathedral, play a supporting role, only forming the square in front of the cathedral. And Voronikhin’s colonnades are organically connected with the massif of the cathedral and include the cathedral in the ensemble of Nevsky Prospekt. The dome is slimmer and lighter than the dome of St. Peter's Cathedral, and in many ways resembles the dome of the Parisian Invalides or the Church of St. Genevieve (Pantheon). In addition, the colonnades of the Kazan Cathedral hide a certain asymmetry of the temple. By Orthodox tradition The main entrance to the cathedral is the western one, opposite which, on the eastern side, is the altar. Therefore, at the Kazan Cathedral, which represented a Latin (elongated) cross in plan, the main entrance is oriented not towards Nevsky Prospekt, the city’s main communication route, but towards the narrow Bolshaya Meshchanskaya Street. The dome is not located in the center of the temple, but is significantly shifted away from it towards the east. This asymmetry is hidden by colonnades. The cathedral building itself is hidden behind them. Only the dome is visible, located between the two wings of the colonnade, creating the visual illusion of its central position in the building itself. The project envisaged the construction of two colonnades - on the northern and southern sides of the temple and the creation of three squares around the temple - on the northern, southern and western sides. The colonnades end with side portals - passages from the embankment of the Catherine Canal and Bolshaya Meshchanskaya Street. In connection with the start of construction, the entire surrounding area was reconstructed. The cathedral was built to the south of the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, which remained in place until the end of construction of the cathedral. Work began on November 22, 1800, eight days after Voronikhin’s project was approved. Paul I ordered: “To build the Kazan Church according to the plan we have formulated, we order that a special commission be formed, in which the President of the Academy of Arts, Actual Privy Councilor Count Stroganov, Infantry General and Prosecutor General Obolyaninov, Privy Councilor Chekalevsky will be present, and the architect Voronikhin will carry out the construction.” . By January 1801, a cost estimate was drawn up and construction time was determined. The commission determined the expenditure estimate in the amount of 2,843,434 rubles. and, obeying the command of the Emperor, undertook to build the cathedral in three years. Pavel personally determined the architect's salary to be three thousand rubles a year. The amount was large at that time, considering that a working mason received no more than three hundred rubles a year.

Construction of the ensemble of the Kazan Cathedral.

Two weeks after the project was approved, Voronikhin compiled an inventory of work and registers of materials necessary to begin construction. From the very first days of construction of the cathedral, the Commission entrusted control over it to the famous architect Ivan Yegorovich Starov, as “who produced magnificent buildings and knew how to strengthen buildings in practice.” Academician Mikhailov was appointed head of the drawing workshop, Chizhev was in charge of earthworks, stone works foreigners Ruigi and Ruska, Academician Filippov was entrusted with checking the quality of materials; for pouring water and driving piles, Voronikhin appointed proven people who had proven themselves with honesty and hard work, foreman Zheleznyakov and Popov. The case began with clearing the area for the building. On the site where the cathedral was supposed to be located, eleven small houses were crowded together. Their owners were given five hundred rubles upon relocation. In winter we started digging ditches. The contractor Karpov undertook to remove four thousand cubic fathoms of earth. According to Count A.I. Ribopierre: “Paul I began the construction of the Kazan Cathedral; the plan was drawn up by the Russian architect Voronikhin; he built it under the leadership of Chief Chamberlain Count A.S. Stroganov. Paul was in a hurry, urging the workers; however, he did not have to complete the construction cathedral: it was completed under Alexander Pavlovich." Indeed, soon an event occurred that changed a lot in the history of Russia, but did not affect the Kazan Cathedral. On March 11, 1801, Paul I died. Voronikhin was afraid that the new emperor would stop construction, but Alexander I completely shared his father’s thoughts on the significance of the new temple in the life of the capital. A large and complex job was underway to pump water from the Catherine Canal using the ingenious invention of the savvy Vologda excavator Chusov, and then the equally complex and labor-intensive securing of the soil with piles for the foundation. Paul I did not have time to lay the foundation stone for the building before his death, although a gilded plaque with gold letters was prepared, announcing that “the most pious, autocratic Great Sovereign, Emperor Paul the First of all Russia, in his fifth year of reign, and of the Grand Master in his third summer, - laid the foundation of the holy temple." However, Alexander I had to lay the foundation for the temple. The Tsar treated the foundation as the first most important event of his reign. On August 27, 1801, the Emperor, the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, the Grand Dukes, surrounded by the most prominent nobles, were present at the foundation stone of the building. The emperor laid the first brick with a monogram and splashed a solution of lime on it with a silver spatula. Two weeks after this, the Emperor went to Moscow for his coronation, and construction of the cathedral was underway full swing. Simultaneously with the laying of the foundation, stone quarrying work began. The main building material was Pudost stone, mined near Gatchina in the village of Pudost. It bore a resemblance to the Italian travertino stone that lined the walls of St. Peter's Basilica. This stone is easy to mine and can be sawed and cut. Extracted from the earth, it quickly hardens. Regarding the use of Pudost stone during construction, a dispute arose between Voronikhin and the construction controller Starov. The latter believed that the porosity and sponginess of the stone, which also differs in color by three grades, was dangerous in the St. Petersburg climate. Voronikhin, with the support of Stroganov, emerged victorious in the dispute. On the advice of experienced mason Samson Sukhanov, he resorted to a kind of putty - rubbing the surface of the Pudost stone with Riga alabaster and covering the outside with grayish-yellow paint, imitating the main shade of the Pudost stone. The outer walls of the cathedral are lined with this stone; the capitals of the outer columns, frieze, platbands, etc. are made from it.

Interior decoration of the cathedral.

As for interior decoration cathedral, here Voronikhin widely uses marble from the Olonets and Vyborg provinces, as well as porphyry, jasper and especially Finnish granite, mined in the Puterlax area near Vyborg. All work on marble and granite was supervised by the same Samson Sukhanov, already widely known for his work in St. Petersburg, Tsarskoye Selo, where he created a magnificent terrace, and Pavlovsk. The main work on marble in the Kazan Cathedral, first of all, the finest marble carvings decorating the royal place, is the work of the talented self-taught Samson Sukhanov. The base of the building is a high plinth made of large monoliths of gray Serdobol (Sortavala) granite. The floor inside the building is lined with gray Ruskeala marble from near Sortavala and pink Belogorsk marble (from near Kondopoga in Karelia). The floors and steps of the altar, pulpit, and royal seat are lined with crimson Shoksha quartzite (Karelia). The same rock, together with black shungite shales, was used as inserts in the floors of the cathedral. In addition, Estonian dolomites, Altai porphyries and other rocks of exclusively domestic origin were used in the decoration of the cathedral. Special attention deserves the internal columns of the cathedral, which are both its main load-bearing part and the main decorative decoration. Voronikhin himself visited the mines and quarries where the stone used in the construction of the cathedral was mined. In the fall of 1801, the wedding of Voronikhin and draftsman Mary Lond took place in the palace of A.S. Stroganov. The newlyweds went on their honeymoon to the Karelian Isthmus. Having visited these places, Voronikhin came to the conclusion that durable and beautiful Vyborg granite would become the best material for the manufacture of columns in the interior of a cathedral under construction. Vyborg granite is called rapakivi in Finnish, which means “rotten stone”. Apparently it was named so due to the fact that its outcrops on the surface of the earth were often in swamps that smelled of rot. The Vyborg rapakivi granite massif is the largest in the world. The breaking of granite near Vyborg began in 1803. People sent by a commission from St. Petersburg worked at the breaking sites. These were mainly Russian peasants from Yaroslavl, Vologda and other nearby provinces. The number of workers at the Vyborg scrap mill reached 350 people. Granite breaking technique at the beginning of the 19th century. not much different from the times of antiquity: metal wedges and rods for drilling, sledgehammers, gates, pulleys, log rollers. The breaking process required a lot of time, experience and dexterity of the mason. First, the top layer of rock was removed, exposed to prolonged exposure to sun, frost, rain and winds, exposing the granite in its original form. Then, in the sheer rock, the shape of a parallelepiped was outlined in size, supposed to be separated from the rock. Then came the long, painstaking and dangerous processing. With the help of rollers and wagons, the column blanks were loaded onto ships, which delivered them to St. Petersburg. The long journey ended on the banks of the Neva at the Admiralty. After unloading, the columns were again moved using rollers to the workshop on Konyushennaya Street, where, as a result of processing, they acquired a completed appearance. The removal, processing and delivery of one column with a height of 10.7 m cost 3,000 rubles. A total of 56 columns were delivered and installed. Foreigners living in Russia were amazed by the Russian workers who built the Kazan Cathedral. "They, these simple men in torn sheepskin coats, did not need to resort to various measuring instruments: having inquisitively looked at the plan or model indicated to them, they accurately and gracefully copied it. The eye of these people is extremely accurate. There was a rush to complete the construction; despite winter time and 13-15 degrees below zero, work continued even at night. Holding the lantern ring tightly between their teeth, these amazing workers climbed to the top of the scaffolding and diligently carried out their work. The ability of even ordinary Russian people in the technique of fine arts is amazing." Meanwhile, it became clear that the cathedral could not be built within the original deadline set by Paul I. The scope of work was too extensive, and there were clearly not enough funds. In addition, the pace of construction was negatively impacted influenced by foreign political events, those continuous wars that Russia waged at the beginning of the 19th century. Nevertheless, the work was carried out on a wide front and its pace increased. Great difficulties were brought to Voronikhin in 1804, when his dispute arose with Starov over the strength of the under-dome ceilings he had designed and overlapping the passages of the colonnade. It got to the point that it was necessary to build a model of the passage, one-third of the natural size, from the same materials. The model passed the tests perfectly, which strengthened Voronikhin’s authority, but could not but affect the pace of construction. Only in 1808, after After the death of Starov, Voronikhin was introduced to the commission and received broad independence.Here, again, his support from Count Stroganov had an impact. In the same 1808, which began with an overexpenditure of 832,000 rubles, it turned out that another 1,352,384 rubles would be needed to complete the work. The government had to issue new appropriations. However, the work went faster. The year 1811 arrived. The dome had already been erected, and the internal Finishing work. People in the city spoke with delight about the new cathedral, and periodicals often wrote about it. “The entire fenced area around the temple under construction,” wrote a contemporary, “as well as the entrance to its interior...remained open to the curious...I sometimes happened to enter a building that was in ruins and one could not help but marvel at the wealth lavished on its interior decoration.” In this regard, in March 1811, the Commission addressed Stroganov with a letter in which it asked to prohibit the admission of unauthorized persons into the cathedral as interfering with construction. By the autumn of 1811, the construction of the cathedral was basically completed. True, there was still more finishing work to be done, and the Commission’s debt reached 176,500 rubles, but Stroganov hoped to receive not only this amount, but also to obtain permission for the second stage of work, the cost of which exceeded 2 million rubles. The talk was, first of all, about the construction of the southern colonnade of the cathedral. But the main goal of construction was achieved - the temple was erected. On September 15, 1811, almost 10 years after the foundation of the cathedral, on the day of the coronation of Alexander I, the cathedral was solemnly consecrated. The consecration was performed by Metropolitan Ambrose of Novgorod and St. Petersburg himself. Two years later, the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, already located on the territory of the new cathedral, was dismantled. The life of the new temple has begun.