Where is the Kazan Cathedral located. The architecture of the Kazan Cathedral in the northern capital

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The orography of the bottom of the Indian Ocean is primarily determined by the mid-oceanic ridges that divide the Indian Ocean into African, Asian-Australian and Antarctic segments.

The African segment of the bed, bounded in the east and southeast by the West Indian and Arabian-Indian median ridges, has a particularly difficult topography. Of the large ridges of the segment, we note the Mascarensky, Amirantsky, Cheyne, as well as the Medingley Upland, lying northeast of the Mascareiskiy ridge. In addition to linearly oriented uplifts, there are many individual mountains... Some of them protrude above the sea level and form islands.

Most of the Mozambique Strait, also in the described segment, belongs to the submarine margin of the African continent; its southern part, bounded by the Madagascar and Mozambique ledges of the submarine continental margin, forms a rather isolated oceanic basin with a maximum depth of 6046 m.A small flat abyssal plain is located on the border with the submarine margin of the continent; the rest of the bottom of the basin has a hilly relief. To the north and east of Madagascar, which has a typical continental structure, the Somali Basins are located. Mascarene and Madagascar. The Somali basin is the largest (maximum depth - 5477 m is confined to the Amiranta Trench). In its northern part there is a narrow blocky Chain ridge, connected with the Owen Fault Zone, which crosses the middle ridge to the north. A significant part of the bottom of the basin is a flat abyssal plain.

The Mascarene depression (maximum depth of 5342 m) is separated from the Somali by the Amirant and Mascarene ridges. In the western part of the basin, the relief is leveled; in the eastern part, hills, seamounts and ridges abound, genetically related to numerous faults that obliquely cut the Arabian-Indian ridge. The uplifted Gromelin Atoll and the sharp fluctuations in the depths indicate a significant differentiation of the vertical movements of the bed.

The relief and geological structure of the Maskarensky ridge are very interesting. In essence, it is a heterogeneous morphostructure consisting of several flat-topped shallow-water massifs. Its northernmost part is formed by the Seychelles Bank with the islands of the same name, a real microcontinent, composed of granites, which are 600 million years old. To the south, the Saia de Malia bank is located with a minimum depth of 7 - 20 m above it. Inspection of the bank (Fedorov and Danilov, 1980) showed that it is composed of sedimentary carbonate rocks (the base of the Paleogene strata) with a thickness of more than 1600 m, overlying basalts. Bank Nazareth has a similar structure. The island of Mauritius with an underwater base is a volcanic mountain range.

Mysterious formation - Amiranta ridge, in outlines very similar to an island arc, moreover, accompanied by the Amiranta "trench". The tops of the seamounts that form the ridge are crowned with coral structures.

The Madagascar Basin (maximum depth 5815 m) has a predominantly ridge-hilly relief. The earth's crust and within the basin is broken by numerous faults. The most significant of them is the Mauritius fault, with which modern volcanism is associated (Reunion Island).

General information

The Indian Ocean is mainly located south of the Tropic of Cancer, between Eurasia in the north, Africa in the west, Australia in the east, and Antarctica in the south. The border with the Atlantic Ocean runs along the meridian of Cape Agulhas (20 ° E to the coast of Antarctica (Queen Maud Land)). The border with the Pacific Ocean runs: south of Australia - along the eastern border of the Bass Strait to the island of Tasmania, then along the meridian 146 ° 55'E. to Antarctica; north of Australia - between the Andaman Sea and the Strait of Malacca, further along the southwestern coast of Sumatra, the Sunda Strait, the southern coast of Java, the southern borders of the Bali and Sava Seas, the northern border of the Arafura Sea, the southwestern coast of New Guinea and the western border of the Torres Strait ... Sometimes the southern part of the ocean, with a northern boundary from 35 ° S. sh. (based on the circulation of water and atmosphere) up to 60 ° S. sh. (by the nature of the bottom topography), refer to the Southern Ocean, which is not officially distinguished.

Seas, bays, islands

The area of ​​the seas, bays and straits of the Indian Ocean is 11.68 million km (15% of the total ocean area), the volume is 26.84 million km (9.5%). Seas and main bays along the coast of the ocean (clockwise): Red Sea, Arabian Sea (Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman, Persian Gulf), Laccadive Sea, Bay of Bengal, Andaman Sea, Timor Sea, Arafura Sea (Gulf of Carpentaria), Big Australian Gulf, Mawson Sea, Davis Sea, Commonwealth Sea, Sea of ​​Astronauts (the latter four are sometimes referred to as the Southern Ocean).

Some islands - for example, Madagascar, Socotra, Maldives - are fragments of ancient continents, others - Andaman, Nicobar or Christmas Island - are of volcanic origin. The largest island in the Indian Ocean is Madagascar (590 thousand km). The largest islands and archipelagos: Tasmania, Sri Lanka, Kerguelen archipelago, Andaman Islands, Melville, Mascarene Islands (Reunion, Mauritius), Kangaroo, Nias, Mentawai Islands (Siberut), Socotra, Groot Island, Comoros, Bater Tiwi Islands ( ), Zanzibar, Simeulue, Furno Islands (Flinders), Nicobar Islands, Qeshm, King, Bahrain Islands, Seychelles, Maldives, Chagos Archipelago.

History of the formation of the ocean

In the early Jurassic times, the ancient supercontinent of Gondwana began to split. As a result, Africa with Arabia, Hindustan and Antarctica with Australia were formed. The process ended at the turn of the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods (140-130 million years ago), and a young depression of the modern Indian Ocean began to form. During the Cretaceous period, the ocean floor expanded due to the movement of Hindustan to the north and a reduction in the area of ​​the Pacific and Tethys oceans. In the Late Cretaceous, the split of the united Australian-Antarctic continent began. At the same time, as a result of the formation of a new rift zone, the Arabian plate broke away from the African plate, and the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden were formed. At the beginning of the Cenozoic era, the growth of the Indian Ocean towards the Pacific stopped, but continued towards the Tethys Sea. At the end of the Eocene - the beginning of the Oligocene, the Indian subcontinent collided with the Asian continent.

Today, the movement of tectonic plates continues. The axis of this movement is the mid-oceanic rift zones of the African-Antarctic Ridge, the Central Indian Ridge and the Australian-Antarctic Rise. The Australian plate continues to move northward at a rate of 5-7 cm per year. The Indian plate continues to move in the same direction at a speed of 3-6 cm per year. The Arabian plate moves northeast at a speed of 1-3 cm per year. The Somali plate continues to split off the African plate along the East African rift zone, which moves at a speed of 1-2 cm per year in a northeasterly direction. On December 26, 2004, in the Indian Ocean off the island of Simeolue, located off the northwestern coast of the island of Sumatra (Indonesia), there was the largest earthquake on record, with a magnitude of up to 9.3. The reason was the shift of about 1200 km (according to some estimates - 1600 km) of the earth's crust at a distance of 15 m along the subduction zone, as a result of which the Hindustan plate shifted under the Burma plate. The earthquake caused a tsunami, which brought tremendous destruction and a huge number of deaths (up to 300 thousand people).

Geological structure and bottom topography

Mid ocean ridges

Mid-ocean ridges divide the Indian Ocean floor into three sectors: African, Indo-Australian and Antarctic. Five mid-oceanic ridges are distinguished: the West Indian, Arabian-Indian, Central Indian, East Indian ridges and the Australo-Antarctic uplift. The West Indian Ridge is located in the southwestern part of the ocean. It is characterized by underwater volcanism, seismicity, a riftogenic crust and a rift structure of the axial zone; it is cut by several oceanic faults of submeridional strike. In the area of ​​the island of Rodrigues (Mascarene archipelago) there is a so-called triple junction, where the system of ridges is divided to the north into the Arabian-Indian ridge and to the southwest into the Central Indian ridge. The Arabian-Indian Ridge is composed of ultrabasic rocks; a number of submeridial-striking intersecting faults have been identified, with which very deep depressions (oceanic troughs) are associated with depths of up to 6.4 km. The northern part of the ridge is crossed by the most powerful Owen fault, along which the northern part of the ridge experienced a displacement of 250 km to the north. Further west, the rift zone continues in the Gulf of Aden and north-northwest in the Red Sea. Here the rift zone is composed of carbonate deposits with volcanic ash. In the rift zone of the Red Sea, strata of evaporites and metalliferous silts were found, associated with powerful hot (up to 70 ° C) and very salty (up to 350 ‰) juvenile waters.

In the southwest direction from the triple junction, the Central Indian Ridge extends, which has a well-pronounced rift and flank zones, ending in the south with the volcanic plateau Amsterdam with the volcanic islands of Saint-Paul and Amsterdam. From this plateau to the east-southeast extends the Australian-Antarctic uplift, which looks like a wide, weakly dissected arch. In the eastern part, the uplift is dissected by a series of meridional faults into a number of segments displaced relative to each other in the meridional direction.

African Ocean Segment

The submarine edge of Africa has a narrow shelf and a distinct continental slope with marginal plateaus and continental foot. In the south, the African continent forms projections extended to the south: the Agulhas Bank, the Mozambique and Madagascar ridges, folded by the earth's crust of the continental type. The continental foot forms a sloping plain extending south along the coast of Somalia and Kenya, which continues into the Mozambique Channel and borders Madagascar to the east. In the east of the sector is the Mascarene ridge, in the northern part of which are the Seychelles.

The surface of the ocean floor in the sector, especially along the mid-ocean ridges, is dissected by numerous ridges and hollows associated with submeridional fault zones. There are many volcanic underwater mountains, most of which are built on coral superstructures in the form of atolls and underwater coral reefs. Between the mountain rises there are the ocean floor hollows with hilly and mountainous relief: Agulhas, Mozambique, Madagascar, Mascarene and Somali. In the Somali and Mascarene basins, vast flat abyssal plains are formed, where a significant amount of terrigenous and biogenic sedimentary material enters. In the Mozambique Basin, there is an underwater valley of the Zambezi River with a fan system.

Indo-Australian Ocean Segment

The Indo-Australian segment covers half the area of ​​the Indian Ocean. In the west, in the meridional direction, the Maldives ridge passes, on the summit surface of which the Lakkadiv, Maldives and Chagos islands are located. The ridge is composed of continental type crust. Along the coast of Arabia and Hindustan, there is a very narrow shelf, a narrow and steep continental slope and a very wide continental foot, mainly formed by two giant cones of removal of turbid flows of the Indus and Ganges rivers. These two rivers carry 400 million tons of debris into the ocean. The Indian cone is pushed far into the Arabian Basin. And only the southern part of this basin is occupied by a flat asbyssal plain with separate seamounts.

Almost exactly 90 ° E. The blocky oceanic East Indian Ridge stretches for 4000 km from north to south. The Central Basin, the largest basin in the Indian Ocean, is located between the Maldives and the East Indian Ridges. Its northern part is occupied by the Bengal fan (from the Ganges River), to the southern border of which the abyssal plain adjoins. In the central part of the basin there is a small ridge Lanka and the seamount Afanasy Nikitin. To the east of the East Indian Ridge, there are the Cocos and West Australian basins, separated by a blocky sublatitudinally oriented Cocos Rise with the Cocos and Christmas Islands. In the northern part of the Coconut Basin, there is a flat abyssal plain. In the south, it is bounded by the Western Australian Rise, which drops abruptly to the south and gently plunges under the bottom of the basin to the north. In the south, the Western Australian Rise is bounded by a steep scarp associated with the Diamantine Fault Zone. The Ralom zone combines deep and narrow grabens (the most significant are the Ob and Diamatina) and numerous narrow horsts.

The transitional area of ​​the Indian Ocean is represented by the Andaman trench and the deep-water Sunda trench, to which the maximum depth of the Indian Ocean (7209 m) is confined. The outer ridge of the Sunda Island Arc is the underwater Mentawai Ridge and its continuation in the form of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Underwater outskirts of the Australian mainland

The northern part of the Australian continent is bordered by the wide Sahul shelf with many coral structures. To the south, this shelf narrows and widens again off the coast of southern Australia. The continental slope is composed of marginal plateaus (the largest of them are the Exmouth and Naturalists plateau). In the western part of the Western Australian Basin, the Zenith, Cuvier and other uplifts are located, which are pieces of a continental structure. Between the southern submarine margin of Australia and the Australian-Antarctic Rise, there is a small South Australian Basin, which is a flat abyssal plain.

Antarctic Ocean Segment

The Antarctic segment is limited by the West Indian and Central Indian ridges, and from the south by the shores of Antarctica. Under the influence of tectonic and glaciological factors, the Antarctic shelf is deepened. Large and wide canyons cut through a wide continental slope, along which supercooled waters flow from the shelf into abyssal depressions. The continental foot of Antarctica is distinguished by a wide and significant (up to 1.5 km) thickness of loose sediments.

The largest bulge of the Antarctic continent is the Kerguelen Plateau, and, in addition, the volcanic uplift of the Prince Edward and Crozet Islands, which divide the Antarctic sector into three basins. In the west is the African-Antarctic Basin, which is half located in the Atlantic Ocean. Most of its bottom is a flat abyssal plain. The Crozet Basin, located to the north, has a large hilly bottom relief. The Australian-Antarctic Basin, lying to the east of Kerguelen, is occupied by a flat plain in the southern part, and abyssal hills in the northern part.

Bottom sediments

The Indian Ocean is dominated by calcareous foraminiferal-coccolith deposits, which occupy more than half of the bottom area. The widespread development of biogenic (including coral) calcareous deposits is explained by the position of a large part of the Indian Ocean within the tropical and equatorial zones, and, in addition, the relatively shallow depth of oceanic basins. Numerous mountain rises are also favorable for the formation of limestone sediments. In the deep-water parts of some depressions (for example, Central, Western Australian) deep-water red clays occur. The equatorial belt is characterized by radiolarian oozes. In the southern cold part of the ocean, where conditions for the development of diatom flora are especially favorable, siliceous diatom deposits are present. Iceberg sediments are deposited near the Antarctic coast. At the bottom of the Indian Ocean, ferromanganese nodules are found to be significant, confined mainly to areas of red clay and radiolarian ooze.

Climate

In this region, four climatic zones are distinguished, elongated along the parallels. Under the influence of the Asian continent, a monsoon climate is established in the northern part of the Indian Ocean with frequent cyclones moving towards the coasts. High atmospheric pressure over Asia in winter causes the formation of a northeast monsoon. In summer, it is replaced by a humid southwestern monsoon, carrying air from the southern regions of the ocean. During the summer monsoon, winds are often stronger than 7 (with a repeatability of 40%). In summer, the temperature over the ocean is 28-32 ° C, in winter it drops to 18-22 ° C.

In the southern tropics, the southeastern trade wind dominates, which does not extend north of 10 ° N in winter. The average annual temperature reaches 25 ° C. In the zone 40-45 ° S lat. Throughout the year, the western transport of air masses is characteristic, it is especially strong in temperate latitudes, where the recurrence of stormy weather is 30-40%. In the mid-ocean, stormy weather is associated with tropical hurricanes. In winter, they can also occur in the southern tropical zone. Most often, hurricanes occur in the western part of the ocean (up to 8 times a year), in the regions of Madagascar and the Mascarene Islands. In subtropical and temperate latitudes, the temperature reaches 10-22 ° C in summer and 6-17 ° C in winter. From 45 degrees and further south are typical strong winds... In winter, temperatures here range from -16 ° C to 6 ° C, and in summer - from -4 ° C to 10 ° C.

The maximum amount of precipitation (2.5 thousand mm) is confined to the eastern region of the equatorial zone. There is also an increased cloudiness (more than 5 points). The least rainfall is observed in the tropical regions of the southern hemisphere, especially in the eastern part. In the northern hemisphere most clear weather is typical for the Arabian Sea. The maximum cloud cover is observed in Antarctic waters.

Hydrological regime

Surface water circulation

In the northern part of the ocean, there is a seasonal change in currents caused by monsoon circulation. In winter, the Southwest monsoon current is established, beginning in the Bay of Bengal. South of 10 ° N. sh. this current passes into the Western Current, crossing the ocean from the Nicobar Islands to the shores of East Africa. Further, it branches: one branch goes north into the Red Sea, the other - south to 10 ° S. sh. and, turning to the east, gives rise to the Equatorial Countercurrent. The latter crosses the ocean and off the coast of Sumatra is again divided into a part that goes into the Andaman Sea and the main branch, which between the Lesser Sunda Islands and Australia goes to the Pacific Ocean. In summer, the southeastern monsoon provides the movement of the entire mass of surface water to the east, and the Equatorial Countercurrent disappears. The summer monsoon current begins off the coast of Africa with a powerful Somali current, to which the current from the Red Sea joins in the Gulf of Aden. In the Bay of Bengal, the summer monsoon current is divided into north and south, which flows into the South Tradewind Current.

In the southern hemisphere, the currents are constant, without seasonal fluctuations. Driven by the trade winds, the South Tradewind Current crosses the ocean from east to west to Madagascar. It intensifies in the winter (for the southern hemisphere), due to the additional feeding of the waters of the Pacific Ocean flowing along the northern coast of Australia. At Madagascar, the South Passat Current forks, giving rise to the Equatorial Countercurrent, Mozambique and Madagascar currents. Merging southwest of Madagascar, they form the warm Agulhas current. The southern part of this current goes into the Atlantic Ocean, and part of it flows in during the Western winds. On the approach to Australia, the cold West Australian Current departs from the latter to the north. Local gyres operate in the Arabian Sea, the Bengal and the Great Australian Bays, and in Antarctic waters.

The northern part of the Indian Ocean is characterized by a predominance of semi-diurnal tide. The amplitudes of the tide in the open ocean are small and on average 1 m.In the Antarctic and subantarctic zones, the amplitude of the tides decreases from east to west from 1.6 m to 0.5 m, and near the coast it increases to 2-4 m. The maximum amplitudes are observed between islands, in shallow bays. In the Bay of Bengal, the tide value is 4.2-5.2 m, near Mumbai - 5.7 m, near Yangon - 7 m, in northwestern Australia - 6 m, and in the port of Darwin - 8 m. In other areas, the amplitude of the tides about 1-3 m.

Temperature, salinity of water

In the equatorial Indian Ocean, surface water temperatures are around 28 ° C year-round in both the western and eastern parts of the ocean. In the Red and Arabian Seas, winter temperatures drop to 20-25 ° C, but in summer the Red Sea sets maximum temperatures for the entire Indian Ocean - up to 30-31 ° C. High winter water temperatures (up to 29 ° C) are characteristic of the coast of northwestern Australia. In the southern hemisphere at the same latitudes in the eastern part of the ocean, the water temperature in winter and summer is 1-2 ° lower than in the western one. Water temperatures below 0 ° C in summer are noted south of 60 ° S. sh. Ice formation in these areas begins in April and the fast ice thickness reaches 1-1.5 m by the end of winter. Melting begins in December-January, and by March the waters are completely cleared of fast ice. In the southern part of the Indian Ocean icebergs are widespread, setting in some cases north of 40 ° S. sh.

The maximum salinity of surface waters is observed in the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea, where it reaches 40-41 ‰. High salinity (more than 36 ‰) is also observed in the southern tropical belt, especially in the eastern regions, and in the northern hemisphere also in the Arabian Sea. In the neighboring Bay of Bengal, due to the desalting effect of the Ganges runoff with Brahmaputra and Ayeyarwaddy, salinity is reduced to 30-34 ‰. Increased salinity correlates with the zones of maximum evaporation and the least amount of atmospheric precipitation. Decreased salinity (less than 34 ‰) is characteristic of the Arctic waters, where the strong desalination effect of melt glacial waters affects. The seasonal difference in salinity is significant only in the Antarctic and equatorial zones. In winter, desalinated waters from the northeastern part of the ocean are carried by the monsoon current, forming a tongue of low salinity along 5 ° N. sh. This language disappears in the summer. In Arctic waters in winter, salinity slightly increases due to salinization of the waters in the process of ice formation. Salinity decreases from the surface to the bottom of the ocean. The bottom waters from the equator to the arctic latitudes have a salinity of 34.7-34.8 ‰.

Water masses

The waters of the Indian Ocean are divided into several water masses. In the part of the ocean north of 40 ° S. sh. distinguish the central and equatorial surface and subsurface water masses and their underlying (deeper than 1000 m) deep. To the north up to 15-20 ° S. sh. the central water mass is spreading. Temperature varies with depth from 20-25 ° C to 7-8 ° C, salinity 34.6-35.5 ‰. Surface layers north of 10-15 ° S. sh. make up the equatorial water mass with a temperature of 4-18 ° C and a salinity of 34.9-35.3 ‰. This water mass is characterized by significant horizontal and vertical movement rates. In the southern part of the ocean, there are subantarctic (temperature 5-15 ° C, salinity up to 34 ‰) and Antarctic (temperature from 0 to -1 ° C, salinity due to melting ice drops to 32 ‰). Deep water masses are divided into: very cold circulating masses, formed by the sinking of the Arctic water masses and the influx of circulating waters from the Atlantic Ocean; South Indian, formed as a result of subsidence of subarctic surface waters; North Indian, formed by dense waters flowing from the Red Sea and the Gulf of Oman. Deeper than 3.5-4 thousand m, bottom water masses are widespread, forming from the Antarctic supercooled and dense salty waters of the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf.

Indian Ocean

Kazanskaya sq., 2

1733-1736; 1801-1811

Christmas (Kazan) Church

Where it is now Kazan Cathedral, at the beginning of the 18th century there was a perevedenskaya settlement. Near the intersection Nevsky prospect and rivers Krivushi there were wooden buildings of the hospital and the houses of its employees. A chapel was built at this hospital in 1710, and two years later a wooden church of the Nativity of the Virgin appeared in its place.

On August 24, 1733, a personal decree of Empress Anna Ioannovna was issued on the construction of a new stone church here. The author of the project of the stone church of the Nativity of the Virgin is often called M. G. Zemtsova... But later research proves that he was an architect I. Ya. Blank... The temple was founded on September 6 of the same year. The brick walls of the temple were already erected by September 1734, after which the carpenter Johann Goering signed that:

"he makes carpentry work on the bell spitz, rafters, lanternin, he will cover the roof with shingles, the dome and lanternin and spitz will be covered with boards according to the drawing; yes, with carpentry work, he makes windows and doors from the face and inside, capitals and bases, cimazy, basaments, architraves, triglyphs , cornices, staircases and porches, wooden and clock circles and with carved work and with the exact bolas, except for carved statues, completely creates the cleanest work according to the drawing "[Cit. by: 5, p. 265, 266].

The cornice of the Nativity Church was decorated with sculptures of the apostles and other saints. All architectural elements were executed in the Doric order.

The construction of the temple was completed in September 1736, when the dome was covered with tin. The solemn consecration of the church took place on June 23, 1737 in the presence of the Empress.

The multi-tiered bell tower (58 meters high) of the new Nativity Church has become a noticeable decoration of Nevsky Prospekt. Its spire echoed the spire of the tower built at the same time. Admiralty... A garden was organized around the temple, surrounded by a fence of brick pillars and a wooden trellis.

On July 2, 1737, the Kazan Icon was brought here Mother of God... This relic, which belonged to Tsarina Praskovya Fyodorovna, was brought to St. Petersburg even during the reign of Peter I in 1708. Before transfer to new temple it was kept in a wooden chapel on Posadskaya street, then in the Trinity Cathedral on Trinity Square... The consecration of the church took place on June 13 (according to the historian P. Ya. Kann) or on July 3, 1737. The second option seems more logical if we take into account the date of the transfer of the Kazan icon here. Anna Ioannovna was present at the ceremony. According to the icon kept here, the people began to call the church "Kazan".

During the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna, the church received the status of a cathedral, the temple officially began to be called Kazan. In the second half of the 18th - early 19th centuries, he was the main one in St. Petersburg. In 1739, Princess Anna Leopoldovna and Prince Anton Ulrich were married here. In 1745 - the future emperors Peter III and Catherine II. Since then, members of royal family... In 1762, after a palace coup in the Kazan Cathedral, Catherine II took the oath of allegiance to the guard. In 1773, the Kazan Church became the wedding site of the future Emperor Paul I and the Princess of Hesse-Darmstadt.

Construction of the Kazan Cathedral

By the end of the 18th century, the building of the Kazan Cathedral had become dilapidated and no longer corresponded to the appearance of the ceremonial Nevsky Prospekt that had taken shape by that time.

A competition for the design of a new church was held in 1797-1800. The task for the architects who participated in it was extremely difficult. At the request of Paul I, it was supposed to resemble St. Peter's Cathedral in Rome, built by Michelangelo Buonarroti and other prominent architects of the Renaissance. The new Kazan Cathedral was bound to receive a colonnade similar to the one that Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini added to the Cathedral of St. Peter. Among the tasks set for the architects was the need to fit the new monumental building into the already formed architectural space. By Orthodox traditions the altar was supposed to face the east, and the main facade - to the west, that is, not to Nevsky Prospekt, but to Meshchanskaya (now Kazanskaya) Street.

The competition was attended from the very beginning C. Cameron, P. Gonzaga and A. N. Voronikhin... In 1800 he arrived in St. Petersburg J. F. Thomas de Thomon, who also managed to submit his project.

Initially, Charles Cameron's project was accepted by Paul I. But with the support of Count A.S. Stroganov, who was responsible for the construction, the work was entrusted to Andrei Nikiforovich Voronikhin. His project was approved by Paul I on November 14, 1800. This decision was widely discussed in the society. It was especially pointed out that Voronikhin was a former serf of the Stroganovs (he received his freedom in 1786).

In 1800, the "Commission on the construction of the Kazan Church" was created, headed by Count AS Stroganov. She received the broadest powers. The commission disposed of all the appropriations for the construction of the cathedral; state brick factories, Olonets marble quarries and materials from the Pella manor were transferred to it.

In 1801, she reported to the emperor about the need to build a bell tower and houses for the clergy. To this request, Paul I refused: "In Rome, Peter does not have a bell tower, and we do not need anything even more! As for the clergy, these will not be left without housing." Later, the clergy got a residential building on the corner of Nevsky Prospekt and Kazanskaya Street ( Nevsky prospect, 25). The bell tower was never built, the bells were placed in the openings on the cathedral colonnade.

Paul I was no longer present at the laying ceremony for the Kazan Cathedral, since he was killed in March 1801. On August 27, his son, the new emperor, Alexander I, participated in the bookmark. The newspaper "Severnaya Pochta or New St. Petersburg newspaper" described the celebration as follows:

"Last August, on the 27th day, the foundation was laid for the holy temple in the name of the Most Holy Theotokos, her miraculous icon of Kazan, with the Highest presence of THEIR IMPERIAL MAJESTIES, THE STATE EMPEROR ALEXANDER PAVLOVICH, the wife of HIS MOTHER OF THE Empress Empress HERE Sovereign Tsarevich and Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich, Empress Grand Duchess ELENA PAVLOVNA and the Wife of Her Most Serene Crown Prince of Baden-Baden Karl Ludwikha, Wife of His Princess Amalia Friderick and His Surname, as follows: Upon the arrival of THEIR IMPERIAL MAJESTIES, at 1 o'clock in the afternoon at the entrance to the Cathedral of Kazan Majesty, at the entrance to the Cathedral of Kazan Majesty and Our Lady His Eminence Ambrose, Metropolitan of Novgorod, St. Petersburg, Estland and Vyborg, His Grace Irenaeus, Archbishop of Pskov and Riga, and all the noble clergy in vestments. also by the Members of the Commission, which was imperially established for the construction of this church, in the preceding of which THEIR IMPERIAL MAJESTIES and Their Imperial Highnesses were pleased to follow to the place designated for the construction of the above-mentioned temple, where a marble stone was prepared with hollows made inside it for the position in the first medals with a chest image of HIS IMPERATO THE MAJESTIES OF THE STATE EMPEROR ALEXANDER PAVLOVICH and with the inscription on the back signifies the foundation day of the temple on August 27, 1801 and gold and silver coins of various denominations, secondly, jasper and agate bricks with a monogram of THEIR IMPERIAL MAJORITIES and finally the following inscriptions of the following with gold placards, and finally the following

“The Lord's Summer 1801 August 27th day, the foundation was laid for this holy temple in the name of the Most Holy Theotokos, her miraculous icons of Kazan, by the command of the blessed memory of the Sovereign Emperor Pavel Petrovich, during the reign and with the Highest presence of the Most Pious Autocratic, the Most Holy Father of All Saints of Russia, the Spouse of All Saints of Russia STATE EMPRESS ELISAVETA ALEXEEVNA and the Mother of HIS Pious STATE EMPRESS MARIA FYODOROVNA, in the first summer after the Ascension to the Throne of HIS IMPERIAL MAJORITY. - Built by Architect Voronikhin. "

After the blessing of water and the prayer service, when THEIR IMPERIAL MAJESTIES and Their Imperial Highnesses deigned to proceed to the aforementioned place prepared for the bookmark, the Members of the Commission had the good fortune to offer THEIR MAJESTIES and Highnesses, as well as the Most Serene Princes and Princesses of Baden , which were placed on richly decorated tables, namely: Mr. Ober-Chamberlain, Senator, the President of the Imperial Academy of Arts and the Chevalier Count Stroganov - medals and coins. Mister Privy Counselor, Quartermaster and Cavalier Hodnev - scapula, Mr. Real State Counselor and Cavalier Starov - jasper and agate bricks with the monogram of THEIR IMPERIAL MAJESTIES Names. Mr. State Councilor Pushkin - a hammer, and in conclusion a gilded bronze plaque with an inscription Mr. Collegiate Architect Assessor Voronikhin. In the position of HIS IMPERIAL MAJESTY, the first stone was fired both from the St. Petersburg fortress and from the Admiralty, one hundred and one shots from the cannons. Finally, all this triumph was concluded with the proclamation of many years for the Highest health and with these exclamations THEIR IMPERIAL MAJESTIES and Their Imperial Highnesses, with other High Persons, deigned to return with the same order. "[Quoted from: 7, pp. 5-7]

Initially, the Kazan Cathedral was planned to be built by 1804, but in reality the work was delayed for more than 10 years. The cathedral was under construction to the south of the Nativity Church, all this time it continued its work. The existing buildings at the corner of Nevsky Prospekt and Meshchanskaya Street and near Zimin Lane were demolished (11 private houses). For each of them, the owners were paid 500 rubles.

Preparations for the construction took place against the backdrop of patriotic enthusiasm. This was the reason that Count Stroganov proposed to build the Kazan Cathedral only by the forces of Russian craftsmen, only from domestic building materials.

At the time of construction, Voronikhin moved to house No. on Nevsky Prospect.

At first, construction workers lived outside the city in dugouts. Some of them were housed in barracks on Konyushennaya Square... The overwhelming majority of builders were serfs and were forced to give all their earnings to their owners. Yaroslavl and Vologda province supplied masons to the construction site, Kostroma region - carpenters, Olonets region - cutters, Belarusian regions - excavators.

The working day of the builders of the Kazan Cathedral in the summer was set from 4 in the morning to 9 in the evening. In winter - from 5 am to 8 pm. The lunch break was 2 hours in summer and 1 hour in winter. For seasonal workers, the season began in the spring and ended in October. Many of them signed a new contract and promised to return to next year... At the same time, the employee's passport was taken away, an "advance payment" was issued. The salary during the construction of the Kazan Cathedral was approximately equal to the average in the city. Bricklayers were paid up to one ruble per working day, but not in silver, but in bank notes. One banknote then cost about 80 kopecks. An eyewitness recalled:

"The workers who come to summer jobs - builders, carpenters, masons, plasterers, start work at 5 am and continue it until 9 pm, with a two-hour lunch break ... They spend the night outside the city, in yards or stables, on the ground. food consists of water, kvass, bread, flour or cucumbers; they exert themselves excessively to collect a little money and, upon returning home, immediately bury it in the ground so that their masters or managers could not take it away, and an accident or death is buried forever in the ground silver. " [Quoted. according to: 3, p. 32]

Not only quitrent peasants worked at the construction site. For example, to decorate the church in 1810, a serf artist Taras Ivanov was bought from the landowner Teplov for 1,000 rubles.

The builders of the Kazan Cathedral often suffered from their lack of rights. A document has survived - a complaint from the builders Mokhnatkin and Chobykin, whom the contractor not only cheated and deprived of their passports, but also ordered them to be chained in slingshots. The Chief of Police ignored this complaint.

Foreigners described Russian workers as follows:

"They, these simple peasants in tattered sheepskin coats, did not need to resort to various measuring instruments; having looked inquisitively at the plan or model indicated by them, they copied them accurately and gracefully. The eye meter of these people is extremely accurate. time and 13-15 degrees of frost, the work continued even at night. Tightly gripping the ring of the lantern with their teeth, these amazing workers, climbing to the top of the forests, diligently performed their work. The ability of even ordinary Russians in the technique of fine arts is amazing. " [Ibid.]

The military governor of St. Petersburg, Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov, rendered great assistance in the construction of the temple. At the first request of Voronikhin, he provided territories for workshops and warehouses, allocated soldiers for urgent and time-consuming work.

Due to the fact that the main entrance to the Kazan Cathedral according to the rules Orthodox Church was supposed to be arranged not from the side of Nevsky Prospekt (from the north), but from the side of Kazanskaya Street (from the west), Voronikhin made entrances on both sides of the building. The northern colonnade of the cathedral architecturally united the building with Nevsky Prospekt. The side portals of the colonnade served as driveways towards the embankment of the Catherine Canal and Kazanskaya Street.

The cathedral project was not fully implemented. When its construction was coming to an end, the architect proposed to build a colonnade on the south side of the building, which would repeat the north, consisting of 96 columns. This idea was noticed even in the notebook of Alexander I for 1819, where he plans the most significant buildings in the center of St. Petersburg. But the southern colonnade was never built.

Back in 1805, part of the land from the west of the cathedral was liberated, which until then had belonged to the garden of the Orphanage. One of his outbuildings was demolished here. From the summer of 1811 to November 1812, an artistic fence was erected on this site. The figures of the apostles Peter and Paul were supposed to stand on the pedestals at the edges of the lattice. For them, near Vyborg, two granite blocks weighing about 1,500 poods were made. One of them drowned while loading on a barge, and the second fell from the platform while transporting it to the church along the streets of St. Petersburg. For several decades, a piece of rock was blocking Aptekarsky lane... In the end, this stone came in handy for building a foundation. Savior on Spilled Blood... The drowned block in 1911 was used to make the pedestal of the monument to Admiral S.O. Makarov in Kronstadt.

Construction work was completed in 1811. The last service was held in the old Nativity Church on 26 August. Immediately after it, the Kazan icon was moved to a tent set up nearby, after which they began to dismantle the old temple. On September 15, the Kazan Cathedral was consecrated. The Petersburg press described it this way:

"Yesterday's feast of the most sacred coronation of the Sovereign Emperor and Sovereign Empress was marked here with a special celebration, on the occasion of the consecration of the newly built Kazan Cathedral Church on that day. This celebration took place in the most brilliant way in the presence of His Imperial Majesty and the entire August Family. the new Cathedral, the troops of the local garrison stood in the parade.All places were dotted with people on all sides, to whose concourse the most beautiful weather was also favorable. Holy Relics for the new church, and two other Bishops, raising the Holy Icon of the Mother of God, walked around it the most magnificent Temple, during the construction of which, it seems, all the arts argued among themselves to perfection. "[Quoted from: 7, p. 11]

Count Stroganov gave Alexander I the keys to the new church. Its architect A.N. Voronikhin was awarded the Order of Anna of the second degree and a life pension.

From the moment the construction of the Kazan Cathedral was completed and until 1826, a wooden obelisk was located in front of the colonnade. Voronikhin assumed the presence of a stone monument here, but due to lack of funds, this was not carried out.

Facades and interiors

In the decoration of the Kazan Cathedral were used: Olonets marble, Vyborg and Serdobolsk granite, Riga limestone. In the outer facing of the walls - Pudost limestone (from a quarry near the village of Pudost, eight kilometers from Gatchina). In total, 12,000 cubic meters of this stone were needed. The bricklayer brigade was led by Samson Sukhanov.

The length of the building from west to east is 72.5 meters, from north to south - 56.7 meters. Kazan Cathedral has become the most high temple early 19th century. Its height with a dome is different sources indicated differently. Thus, the book "Nevsky Prospect" states that it is 62 meters. The historian P. Ya. Kann in the article "Kazanskaya Ploschad", as well as A. A. Ignatenko in the book "Kazan Cathedral. Pages of History" give a different number - 71.6 meters. The dome is over 17 meters in diameter. For him, for the first time in the world construction practice, Voronikhin applied metal structure... The outside of the dome was originally covered in dark gray tinned iron.

Four bronze sculptures were placed in the niches of the northern portico: Prince Vladimir (sculptor S. Pimenov), Andrew the First-Called (V. I. Demut-Malinovsky), John the Baptist (I. P. Martos) and Alexander Nevsky (S. Pimenov). At the feet of the latter is a sword with a lion, the symbol of Sweden. The Russian shield rests on the lion.

The bronze doors of the entrance on the north side of the building are a copy of the doors of the baptistery (baptismal house) in Florence, by Lorenzo Ghiberti (15th century). Their casting and minting was carried out by Vasily Yekimov after the completion of the construction of the Kazan Cathedral. For this he needed 182 pounds and 39 pounds of copper. But Ekimov was not given a consultant who would tell him how to correctly place ten biblical scenes on the doors. He ended up doing it arbitrarily. The "Florentine Gate" was installed in its place in 1811.

The northern attics above the side aisles are decorated with panels, in the center of which is depicted Moses. The panel above the eastern passage, called "The Outflow of Water by Moses in the Desert", was created by I.P. Martos. Above the western passage there is a bas-relief "The Brazen Serpent in the Desert". It was created by I.I.Prokofiev. The author of the bas-reliefs of the northern portico ("Annunciation", "Adoration of the Shepherds", "Adoration of the Magi", "Flight into Egypt") was FG Gordeev.

Two of the bas-reliefs inside the temple have survived: "The Procession to Golgotha" by FF Shchedrin and "The Taking of Christ by Soldiers in the Garden of Gethsemane" by D. Rachette.

The main altar was dedicated to the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God. The side-altar on the right side was consecrated in the name of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos, where the iconostasis from the old Nativity Church was transferred. On the left side there was a chapel in the name of Saints Anthony and Theodosius.

The hall of the Kazan Cathedral really looks like a hall of a palace. The icons for the Kazan Cathedral were painted by V. Borovikovsky, O. Kiprensky, A. Ivanov, F. Bryullo, K. Bryullov. The interior of the building is decorated with 56 monolithic columns of red granite quarried on the island of Sorvali near Vyborg. The bronze capitals of the columns were created at the Ch. Byrd factory by the foundry worker Taras Kotov. The floor in the hall is covered with several thousand plates of Shoksha stone and Olonets marble. One of the first visitors described the interior of the Kazan Cathedral:

"New paintings and all sculptural works in this Temple are the works of Messrs. Academicians and members of the same Academy, namely: G. Shebuyev painted a vault in the dome with the image of the Lord Almighty in Glory, and two images of Saints Basil the Great and Gregory the Theologian under this dome ; G. Egorov, local images of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos and the Descent of the Holy Spirit; G. Bessonov, the image of the Last Supper; the Royal Doors of the large iconostasis were painted by G. Borovikovsky. " [Quoted. by: 7, p. 29]

Stone pedestals, still standing on both sides of the colonnade, were intended for sculptures of the archangels Michael and Gabriel. The sketch of the figures was commissioned by Academician A.I. Ivanov back in 1803. But the Commission for the construction of the cathedral rejected Ivanov's work. New project created by the sculptor I.P. Martos. By the time of the opening of the temple, he had made figures from plaster, covered them with bronze paint, counting on the future casting of figures from bronze. But it was not possible to replace them with bronze ones. The plaster archangels were so dilapidated that they had to be removed in 1824.

Changed the fate of the cathedral Patriotic War 1812 Originally built for the icon, it has turned into a repository for war relics. Before taking command of the Russian army, Field Marshal M.I.Kutuzov prayed in the cathedral. War trophies were brought here, including 107 army banners and regimental standards of Napoleon's troops, 94 keys from the conquered eight fortresses and 17 cities, the rod of Marshal Davout. To date, there are six trophy banners and 26 keys in six bunches left here.

In December 1812, General Platov, through Kutuzov, handed over silver to the church, which the Russian army took from the retreating French. The field marshal proposed, according to the desire of the soldiers, to make four figures of the Evangelists from precious metal for the interior decoration of the Kazan Cathedral. The models of the figures were made by I.A.Martos, but this project was not liked by the Chief Prosecutor of the Synod A.N. Golitsyn. A few years later, it was decided to use silver for the manufacture of a new iconostasis. But due to construction St. Isaac's Cathedral there was no money for this work. The original iconostasis was replaced by a silver one only in 1836. It was created by an architect K. A. Ton.

The rush during construction quickly led to the shedding of the plaster inside the building. In 1814, it had to be removed, and with it the bas-reliefs with images of the Evangelists decorating the iconostases. They were replaced by painting on plaster.

Kazan Cathedral before 1917

On December 21, 1812, when Russian troops reached the borders of the empire, the Kazan Cathedral became a place to celebrate the complete liberation of the Russian land from the conquerors. In February 1913, the keys of the city of Warsaw arrived at the Kazan Cathedral, which were brought to the capital by General Vasilchikov.

A special event for the Kazan Cathedral was the funeral of Field Marshal M.I.Kutuzov on June 13, 1813. His grave is located opposite the Kazan Icon.

Kutuzov died on April 16, 1813 in the city of Bunzlau. There his body was embalmed, for which the entrails were taken out and buried in the local cemetery. Subsequently, a legend arose that the field marshal commanded to bury his heart at the place of death, on the Saxon Route, so that the soldiers could see that his heart remained with them. This myth was dispelled in 1933, when the opening of Kutuzov's coffin took place:

ACT. Leningrad, 1933, September 4th day. A commission consisting of: Director of the Museum of the History of Religion of the USSR Academy of Sciences - prof. Bogoraz-Tana V.G., scientific secretary of the museum Blakanov V.L., head. Funds of the Museum Vorontsov K.K., in the presence of a representative from P.P. OGPU Comrade Borozdin P. Ya. Have drawn up the present act on the following.
The crypt was opened, in which Kutuzov M.I. was buried. The crypt was in the basement of the museum. Upon opening the crypt, a pine coffin (covered with red velvet with gold trimmings) was found, in which there was a zinc coffin, screwed in with bolts, inside which a skeleton with the remains of rotted matter was found. On the left, a silver jar was found in the heads, in which there is an embalmed heart. The entire autopsy process was photographed - 5 images were taken.
This act is drawn up in 2 copies [Quoted. by 2, p. 96] ...

The Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God was hung over the grave of Kutuzov. Alexander Nevsky Lavra.

The Kazan Cathedral was the place from where the Emperor and his family members were sent to the army. The return of Alexander I to the capital began with his visit. Until the end of the war with Napoleonic France, the temple remained a place to celebrate the most significant victories of the Russian and allied troops. On September 2, 1813, the capture of Berlin was celebrated here, one year later - the victory at Brienne and the capture of Danzig. In April 1814 and July 1815, the capture of Paris was celebrated here.

Kazan Cathedral played important role in the life of the royal family. V Isaac's Cathedral members of the royal house were baptized, in Petropavlovsk- they were buried, but here - they were crowned. Every year in March, the accession to the throne of Alexander I was celebrated here. procession to the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. This day was considered a day off in St. Petersburg.

In the 1840s, the dome of the Kazan Cathedral was covered with light green paint. Later, its coating imitated bronze.

On October 26, 1893, the funeral service for Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was held at the Kazan Cathedral. Due to the huge number of people who wanted to say goodbye to the composer, it was decided to let visitors into the temple with tickets. In total, 8,000 were given out. At the liturgy, only Tchaikovsky's music was used, which was performed by the Imperial Opera Choir. From Kazan Cathedral funeral procession proceeded to the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, where the composer was buried.

The candle lighting of the temple was replaced with electric lighting in 1903.

In 1910, a proposal was considered to restore the figures of the archangels Michael and Gabriel on the pedestals near the colonnades. But neither the government nor the clergyman of the Kazan Cathedral had the money for this.

About two weeks before the February Revolution of 1917, at the initiative of the Public and Mobile Theater, a memorial service for V.F. Komissarzhevskaya was served in the Kazan Cathedral.

Kazan Cathedral after 1917

For some time after the October Revolution, the administration of the temple continued to develop its religious activities... At the very beginning of 1918, the rector of the Kazan Cathedral, Archpriest Philosopher Ornatsky, planned to build here a cave church named after St. Hermogenes, which would have to repeat the dungeon of the Chudov Monastery in Moscow, where St. Hermogenes died.

But very soon the policy of the Soviet government in relation to the church led to the fact that there could be no question of its development. On the contrary, the number of parishioners was decreasing. As noted in 1924, on the feast of the Kazan Icon, there were only 60 people in the cathedral, mostly old women. Due to the sharp decrease in the number of the parish, donations were also reduced. The clergy did not have enough money to maintain the building.

In the spring of 1924 Soviet government took care of the state of architectural monuments, which continued to include the Kazan Cathedral. Then the poor condition of the roof of the building was revealed, which on September 23 was supplemented with water in the basements due to the devastating flood. Subsequent restoration of the walls and interiors of the cathedral was carried out by architects A.P. Aplaksin, A.A.Parland, artists N.A.Bruni, E.K. Lipgard.

In April 1932, the Kazan Cathedral was closed to believers. At the request of the USSR Academy of Sciences, work began in the Kazan Cathedral to arrange the first museum on the history of religion and atheism for the 15th anniversary of the October Revolution. The Kazan Icon of the Mother of God was transferred to Prince Vladimir Cathedral, other valuable icons, paintings and church utensils - to the Russian Museum. Only the "Last Supper" by S. A. Bessonov on the vault of the altar remained in the church, as well as the works of artists A. I. Ivanov, G. I. Ugryumov, S. S. Shchukin and F. I. Yasnenko, as well as a painting by F. Alekseev over the grave of Kutuzov. The dome cross was replaced with a ball with a lance. The opening of the museum did not take place on time, it happened on November 15. By the fall of 1933, the building received artistic illumination.

In the fall of 1941, an exhibition entitled "The Military Past of the Russian People" was held near the colonnade of the church. The Museum of Atheism was temporarily closed, its place was taken by the exhibition "The Patriotic War of 1812", which worked throughout the war. One of the departments of the headquarters of the Leningrad Front is located in the basement of the building. During the blockade, Kazan Cathedral was hit by three shells, the dome and roof had more than 1600 holes. In 1951, its overhaul began under the leadership of Ya. A. Kazakov. The interior works were carried out in 1952-1956, the facades were repaired in 1964-1968.

On January 6, 1990, for the first time in the practice of national television, a live broadcast of the Christmas all-night vigil was carried out from the Kazan Cathedral. Similar Christmas and Easter TV broadcasts are now held annually.

Since 1991, the Kazan Cathedral has been reopened for divine services, and the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God has been returned to it. In 1994, the golden cross reappeared on the dome of the cathedral. On April 6, 1998, the Kazan Cathedral was "returned to its voice"; a bell cast at the Baltic plant was installed on its belfry. In 2000, the Kazan Cathedral became the main cathedral church of St. Petersburg, and the Kazan Icon was returned here. The Museum of the History of Religion has moved to a building on Pochtamtskaya Street. By 2003 (the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg), the masters of the Baltic Shipyard cast a four-ton bell with a height of more than two meters, which became the largest bell of the Kazan Cathedral.