The ensemble of Smolny Cathedral Resurrection of all educational institutions , even in its unfinished form ( was not built an enormous tower height of 140 m to 18 m above the spire of Peter and Paul Cathedral bell tower ) makes an indelible impression.
For he admired from afar , having a strange and mystical properties like \
Uzhe izdaleka on vyzyvaet voshishchenie, obladaya strannym, misticheskim svoĭstvom kak by \u0026laquo;umenʹshatʹsya\u0026raquo; pri podhode k nemu, ne utrachivaya svoyeĭ velichestvennosti.
said that the architect Giacomo Quarenghi, member of the opposite view of the architecture , despite his uncompromising character and outright hostility to the Rastrelli , stopped opposite the main entrance to the Smolny Cathedral, turned to face him, took off his hat and exclaimed:«Ecco una chiesa ! \,
Even without experiencing reverence for Baroque architects professional paid tribute to this creation of Rastrelli, the perfection of its proportions and exquisite decor.
The tower exterior wall monastyryaDocheri King Peter I and Grand Duchess Elizabeth, the future empress Smolny Dvor was well known .Here, in the Smolny Palace, she spent her childhood years . Here, in the reign of Anna Ivanovna , she lived under the constant supervision of Biron. According to legend, the all-powerful duke , hiding behind a fence in the simple clothes of German craftsman, personally oversaw the Elisabeth , suspecting her of conspiracy .And it is here that Elizabeth conceived to build a monastery in order , moving away from the madding crowd , live and pray in the environment of 120 girls and orphans.
The construction of the Smolny monastery were built on an unprecedented scale . But the Seven Years' War begins with Prussia, and construction of the church stops.The queen is dead, and without waiting for the consecration of the Smolny Cathedral .
For the time being of the Smolny Cathedral , as it were forgotten. He stood without interior and consecrated 60 years.
in 1764 on the orders of Empress Catherine II, the Smolny Convent base and Educational Society of Noble Ladies , and in 1765 - Meschanskoy school - the first women's education in Russia. For them, the blessed church of St. Catherine and St. Zacharias and Elizabeth, still decorated in the previous reign.Catherine in the north- east tower belonged to the rectory and the refectory and the corps was decorated with the splendor and wealth:by Empress Catherine II in his gilt moldings were released 22 000 Dutch guilders of gold , in the church , as well as in court temples , it was established \pri imperatritse Yekaterine II na pozolotu yego lepnyh ukrasheniĭ bylo otpushcheno 22 000 zolotyh gollandskih gulʹdenov, v tserkvi, takzhe, kak v pridvornyh hramah, bylo ustanovleno \u0026laquo;tsarskoe mesto\u0026raquo;, a obraza na ikonostase sootvet·stvovali angelam-hranitelyam tsarskoĭ familii i datam ih vosshestviya naprestol:
The Tower of the outer wall of St. monastyryaHram sail on a temple in place of traditional evangelicals were depicted St .martyr Daria, Agatha , Anastasia and Catherine , \muchenitsy Darʹya, Agafʹya, Anastasiya i Yekaterina, \u0026laquo;zhiznʹyu koih uteshalasʹ tsesarevna (Yelizaveta Petrovna) v dni glubokoĭ skorbi, ispytannoĭ v yee Smolʹnom dvortse, v biblioteke koego znachat·sya zhiznyeopisaniya etih muchenits\u0026raquo;, pisal vposledstvii nastoyatelʹ tserkvi K. Znamenskiĭ.
In the North Building at the end of XVIII century were Auditorium and Theater , at the east - room headmistress of the Educational Society. When Empress Maria Feodorovna in the east building located her apartment and the apartment is the maid of honor Nelidova .
Smolny Cathedral was consecrated on July 22, 1835 by Metropolitan Seraphim, with the main altar Resurrection and aisles of St. Mary Magdalene and St. Elizabeth . The temple could accommodate 6000 people.
angular church monastyryaV honor of this event was struck medal , depicting the facade of the cathedral from the wings, with the inscription: \
Uglovaya tserkovʹ monastyryaV chestʹ etogo sobytiya byla vybita medalʹ, izobrazhayushchaya fasad sobora s fligelyami, s nadpisʹyu: \u0026laquo;1748-1835, okonchen v pamyatʹ Imperatritsy Marii Fedorovny\u0026raquo;, i s drugoĭ storony \u0026ndash; Hrista Spasitelya v hrame,blagoslovlyayushchego detyeĭ.At the request of the late Empress , the cathedral was designed for students of all educational institutions. The ceremony was attended by 2016 consecration of the church buildings of military students , 348 students in civilian schools and 1280 pupils of the Office of Maria .
From the beginning of the XX century Smolny Cathedral acquired the character of the parish .In 1923, as well as the four houses and an orthodox Lutheran church Smolny , it was closed .
The description and photos are taken from the official site of the cathedral www. cathedrale. ru.
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