The Peter and Paul Cathedral, part of the ensemble of the Peter and Paul Fortress, the famous and most recognizable brand of St. Petersburg, is one of the oldest churches in the Northern Capital. It was built by the Swiss-born Italian architect Domenico Andrea Trezzini, commissioned by Peter the Great. Why did Peter need to build this cathedral?
In the year of the founding of Petrograd, the architect Trezzini, by order of Tsar Peter, laid a wooden church named after Saints Peter and Paul on the territory of the Peter and Paul Fortress, which was necessary at that time to protect the conquered Neva lands during the Northern War with Sweden. With the construction of this cathedral on the banks of the Neva, Orthodoxy returned, since the Swedes, who have long dominated the primordially Russian territories, adhered to Lutheranism. Peter ordered Domenico Trezzini to begin the construction of the cathedral from the bell tower, not the altar. This decision of the sovereign was due to the need to use it as a viewing platform, from where it would always be possible to notice in advance the attack of the Swedish army. In addition, Peter wanted to build an architectural ensemble on the banks of the Neva, significantly different from those already existing in Russia in its style and decoration. The examples of Western architecture struck the imagination of the Russian sovereign during his foreign trips to Europe, therefore the Peter and Paul Cathedral, to which this structure belongs, has the features of European buildings. In its original form, the Peter and Paul Cathedral managed to stand until April 1756. On the night of April 29-30, 1756, the temple was destroyed by a lightning strike. A decree was immediately issued on the prompt restoration of the shrine. The new stone bell tower has been restored for several decades. During the reign of Catherine II, the temple began to be restored according to the original design of Domenico Trezzini, but the new wooden structure of the spire, increased from 112 to 117 meters, was made according to the project of Brouwer. In addition, already during the reign of Peter the Peter and Paul Cathedral became the official burial vault for the Russian tsars. The remains of the last Russian Emperor and his family were also buried here. Therefore, this shrine is not only an architectural, but also a national, ideological heritage of the Russian people.
