Kazan Cathedral is one of the most beautiful and mysterious churches in St. Petersburg. This is one of the most famous landmarks of the city. An architectural monument of the 19th century, during the war of 1812 it served as a repository for keys from the liberated cities. Sometimes it seems that the number of columns is impossible to count. How many are there really?
Kazan Cathedral is located on Nevsky Prospekt, it is difficult to miss it. The majestic building is considered not only one of the largest cathedrals in Russia, but also in Europe. It was erected on the site of the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary by order of Paul I and Alexander I (the temple can be called a long-term construction).
Emperor Paul I wished to build a cathedral in St. Petersburg that could compete with St. Peter's in the Vatican (the main Catholic church in the world). Kazan cannot be called a copy of the main shrine of the Vatican, it is very different. The St. Petersburg version of the cathedral has 96 Pudozh travertine columns on the outside and 56 pink granite columns on the inside. Since the church was not completed in St. Petersburg, the number of columns does not correspond to the project.
The competition for the construction of the cathedral (by order of Paul) was attended by: Pietro Gonzago, Andreyan Zakharov, Charles Cameron, Giacomo Quarenghi, the Mikhailov brothers, Luigi Rusca, Vasily Stasov, Giacomo Trombara, Jean Toma de Thomon (and little-known architects).
It was held in 1799, and Charles Cameron was recognized as the winner. Construction did not begin, the emperor changed his mind and did not approve the project.
The construction of the Kazan Cathedral began in August 1801 (old style), Alexander I was present at its foundation. The building was designed by the former serf Count Alexander Strogonov (president of the Imperial Academy of Arts), who studied with Vasily Bazhenov in Moscow.
Andrei Voronikhin received his freedom from Count Strogonov and studied in Paris and Geneva (from 1786 to 1790), his design for the cathedral had many shortcomings.
The inexperienced architect's assistant was the architect and engraver Nikolai Alferov, the chairman of the board of trustees during the construction was Count Stroganov himself (he considered the cathedral as his life's work and an opportunity to glorify his name, as the president of the Academy of Arts).
The construction was completed in 1811, the cost of the work is estimated at 4.2 million rubles. The temple was built for 10 years according to the project revised by the experienced architect Ivan Starov. There is a version that Voronikhin developed his project taking into account the developments of Bazhenov, Charles Cameron and Pietro Gonzago. It is still not known which cathedral became the prototype of the Kazan one, it does not look like any other famous Catholic church.
In September 1811, Metropolitan Ambrose consecrated the church; in January of this year, the architect Andrei Voronikhin was awarded the Order of St. Vladimir, 4th degree.
The design of the cathedral clearly shows the "Latin cross" and the colonnade in the form of an hourglass (historians often call it a Masonic temple), this is explained by the fact that Stroganov and Voronikhin were prominent Russian Masons.
The project was not implemented due to lack of funds, in 1834 the iconostasis was installed (not according to Voronikhin's project).
