Smolny Cathedral

Smolny Cathedral designed by Italian born architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli, is one of the most beautiful churches in St Petersburg. The amazing cupolas rise majestically from its waterside location on the banks of the Neva River on the site once occupied by the Smolyanoi (Tar) yard, where tar was prepared for the shipyards of St. Petersburg.

Peter I's daughter, Empress Elizabeth planned a complexfor St. Petersburg including a monastery, a schools for girls, and the cathedral. Construction on the site commenced on the 30th October 1748 and the cathedral was completed by 1761. As one of the finest Baroque structures in St. Petersburg, its central section rises almost 100 meters and is called the Khram Voskresnya Gospoda (Resurrection Cathedral). After the death of Elizabeth in December 1761, work on the monastery came to a halt. Catherine the Great relieved Rastrelli of his duties and he left St. Petersburg and Russia in October 1763. Rastrelli wanted to construct a 150 meter bell-tower to stand in front of the Cathedral which would have made it taller that the Peter and Paul Cathedral, but his design for the site was never fully realised.

During the 1780's Catherine II ordered the creation of St. Petersburg's and Russia's first school for women, the Institute of Noble Maids, by converting the facilities of the monastery. However, after the Noble Maids found the monastic cells too small, a separate building designed by Giacomo Quarenghi was constructed in the grounds taking the form of a classical palace.

During 1832, Nicholas I commissioned Vasily Stasov to finish the building after the cathedral had fallen into disrepair. Construction was officially completed, and the cathedral consecrated in 1835.

The interior was just as lavish as the Baroque exterior. Cut crystal balustrades lined the steps to the altar, while white marble and sculpted images were used to finish the walls and columns. To the right of the Cathedral stood the regal throne under a canopy, whilst on the other side there was a pulpit carved from white marble and decorated in carvings. The Cathedral's Ark of the Covenant, made from 80 kg of silver, was ordered by Nicholas I. The interior was decorated in numerous icons and paintings including Alexander Venetsianov's famous 'Resurrection of Christ'.

The Smolny institute became the headquarters of the Military-Revolutionary Committee in August 1917 when the Noble Maids were forced to give way to the Bolsheviks. After the revolution, carried out in October 1917, the Cathedral suffered a similar fate to most churches in St. Petersburg. The Cathedral finally closed in 1923 after its valuables were looted in 1922.

In 1972 the Cathedral became a museum for the city, hosting exhibitions after its iconostasis was removed.