The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral (russian: Александро-Невский Собор;

Azeri Azerbaijanis (; az, Azərbaycanlılar, ), Azeris ( az, Azərilər, ), or Azerbaijani Turks ( az, Azərbaycan Türkləri, ) are a Turkic people living mainly in northwestern Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan. They are the second-most nume ...

: ''Aleksandr Nevski Başkilsəsi'', often referred to as ''Qızıllı kilsə'' – "The Gilt Church") was the main

Russian Orthodox Russian Orthodoxy (russian: Русское православие) is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, whose liturgy is or was traditionally conducted in Church Slavonic language. Most ...

cathedral in

Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world an ...

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

from when it was completed in 1898 until its destruction in 1937 during the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

era under

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet Union, Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as Ge ...

. The cathedral was the biggest Russian Orthodox structure ever built in the

South Caucasus The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Arme ...

History

In 1878, Valery Pozen, the governor of the

Baku Governorate The Baku Governorate, known before 1859 as the Shemakha Governorate, was a province ('' guberniya'') of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire, with its center in the booming metropolis and Caspian Sea port of Baku. Area (1897): 34,400 s ...

within the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...

, expressed his concern to Baku mayor Stanislav Despot-Zenovich about the shortage of praying space for the city's growing Russian community. The

Most Holy Synod The Most Holy Governing Synod (russian: Святѣйшій Правительствующій Сѵнодъ, Святейший Правительствующий Синод) was the highest governing body of the Russian Orthodox Church betwee ...

supported his idea of building a new cathedral and suggested that it should be erected on Persidskaya Street (present-day Mukhtarov Street), on a vast piece of land, which would have been formed after demolishing an old Muslim cemetery that had been abandoned in 1859. This led to a 10-year debate between the Russian authorities and the Muslim community of Baku. All proposed alternatives were turned down by the authorities, and at the end Muslim leaders put aside their objections to the building of the cathedral on the cemetery site. On 10 July 1886, Emperor Alexander III officially approved the transfer of the land to the church on 10 July 1886. The first draft of the design, by the German-born architect Robert Marfeld, was approved on 30 July 1888. On 8 October 1888, Alexander III and his family (including his elder son, future Emperor

Nicholas II Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov; spelled in pre-revolutionary script. ( 186817 July 1918), known in the Russian Orthodox Church as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer,. was the last Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Pol ...

) visited

for the ceremony of laying the first stone.Baku and the Germans
by Tamara Humbatova. Ch. 9. 2004. Retrieved 23 December 2006 The ceremony was attended by Baku's Christian, Muslim and Jewish elite.

Construction

The cathedral was one of a series built across Eastern Europe in honour of Saint Alexander Nevsky. It was designed by Marfeld and his apprentice, Polish-born architect Józef Gosławski. The

Saint Basil's Cathedral The Cathedral of Vasily the Blessed ( rus, Собо́р Васи́лия Блаже́нного, Sobór Vasíliya Blazhénnogo), commonly known as Saint Basil's Cathedral, is an Orthodox church in Red Square of Moscow, and is one of the most p ...

and the

Cathedral of Christ the Saviour The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour ( rus, Храм Христа́ Спаси́теля, r=Khram Khristá Spasítelya, p=xram xrʲɪˈsta spɐˈsʲitʲɪlʲə) is a Russian Orthodox cathedral in Moscow, Russia, on the northern bank of the Moskv ...

were used as models for the exterior and the interior of the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral respectively. However, the funding provided by the emperor was not enough to finish the construction. Donations worth 200,000 roubles collected from the residents of Baku made it possible for the construction to continue. It is noteworthy, that despite previous disagreements, about 75 percent of that money was donated by Muslims, including 10,000 roubles from Zeynalabdin Taghiyev. Another 1,000 roubles were provided by the Jewish community of Baku. The building of the cathedral was finally completed in 1898. Its domes, crosses and the main arch were made of pure gold. At 81 meters high, 55 meters long and 44 meters wide, it was the largest Russian Orthodox place of worship in the entire

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historica ...

at the time.

Final years

The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral remained the primary centre of

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or " canonical ...

life in Azerbaijan in the early Soviet era, much to the Soviet government's displeasure. In the 1930s, the cathedral was ordered to be blown up with dynamite along with the

Armenian Apostolic , native_name_lang = hy , icon = Armenian Apostolic Church logo.svg , icon_width = 100px , icon_alt = , image = Էջմիածնի_Մայր_Տաճար.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , a ...

Saint Thaddeus and Bartholomew Cathedral Saint Thaddeus and Bartholomew Cathedral ( hy, Սուրբ Թադևոս-Բարդուղիմեոս Մայր Տաճար, russian: Церковь Святого Фаддея и Варфоломея, az, Surp Tadevos-Barduğimeos Erməni Kilsəsi), al ...

. Located not far from

City Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

, the site where the Nevsky Cathedral once stood is now occupied by the Bulbul School of Music.

References

{{Reflist, 2 Churches completed in 1898 Religious organizations established in 1898 Eastern Orthodox churches in Azerbaijan Cathedrals in Baku Destroyed churches Demolished churches in the Soviet Union Former religious buildings and structures in Azerbaijan Russian Orthodox cathedrals 19th-century Eastern Orthodox church buildings Churches in Baku

1898 establishments in the Russian Empire Buildings and structures demolished in 1937 Demolished buildings and structures in Azerbaijan Russian Orthodox Church in Azerbaijan

History

Construction

Final years

See also

References