The Assumption or Dormition Cathedral was the main Orthodox church of
Kharkiv
Kharkiv ( uk, wikt:Харків, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine.Annunciation Cathedral in 1901. The cathedral stands on the University Hill by the bank of the Lopan River and dominates the entire downtown. The Neoclassical cathedral bell tower, built in the 1820s and 1830s to a height of 90 meters, remained the tallest building in the city until the 21st century. The cathedral is the only building in Kharkiv visited by almost all Russian Emperors starting with Catherine the Great.
History
17th century
In 1656 when the Kharkiv Fortress was rebuilt most of its territory was given to the citizens to build their houses. The northern part of the district was given for construction of the future church. It is first mentioned in a 1658 military report of the voivode Ofrosimov, who wrote to Moscow about shipments of wood for the construction. That church was austere and only had paper icons. Research of later centuries discovered multiple human remains near the church that proves it had its own cemetery nearby.
Kharkiv was growing rapidly and by 1685 the city authorities started construction of the stone Assumption church. The old wooden church was preserved as a small chapel. By 1687 the new building was ready. Its outlook and design were reminiscent the in
Izium
Izium or Izyum ( uk, Ізюм, ; russian: Изюм) is a city on the Donets River in Kharkiv Oblast (province) of eastern Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Izium Raion (district). Izium hosts the administration of Izium urban ...
, presumably built by the same crew. The Assumption church was consecrated in 1688 by the
Belgorod
Belgorod ( rus, Белгород, p=ˈbʲeɫɡərət) is a city and the administrative center of Belgorod Oblast, Russia, located on the Seversky Donets River north of the border with Ukraine. Population: Demographics
The population of B ...
Metropolitan Archbishop Avramiy. It became one of the first stone buildings in the city.
18th century
On March 3, 1733, Kharkiv suffered the most disastrous fire in its history. It destroyed more than 300 households with all buildings, all shops, ruined the St Nicholas church and almost burned down the Assumption church. Only its walls remained intact while all the interiors, the roof and domes were destroyed. However, by 1734 the church was restored.
In 1770 dangerous cracks were found in the church walls that could not be repaired. On May 14, 1771, a cornerstone for the new cathedral was laid. The design of the future building was inspired by the St Clement's Church in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...
. In Spring 1778 the altar was consecrated in honor of
Our Lady of Kazan
''Our Lady of Kazan'', also called ''Mother-of-God of Kazan'' (russian: Казанская Богоматерь, translit=Kazanskaya Bogomater'), is a holy icon of the highest stature within the Russian Orthodox Church, representing the Virgin Ma ...
, though the construction was not completed yet. On September 27, 1780, it was reconsecrated in honor of
Dormition
The Dormition of the Mother of God is a Great Feast of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic Churches (except the East Syriac churches). It celebrates the "falling asleep" (death) of Mary the ''Theotokos'' ("Mother of ...
. The ceremony was attended by the general
Pyotr Rumyantsev
Count Pyotr Alexandrovich Rumyantsev-Zadunaisky (russian: Пётр Алекса́ндрович Румя́нцев-Задунайский; – ) was one of the foremost Russian generals of the 18th century. He governed Little Russia in the na ...
.
The cathedral was built when the pompous Baroque style was going out of fashion and was gradually replaced by
classicism
Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for a classical period, classical antiquity in the Western tradition, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. In its purest form, classicism is an aesthet ...
. The eclectic combination of those styles showed itself in the cathedral. It boasted a gilded icon screen, carved from limewood to
Rastrelli Rastrelli may refer to the following persons:
* Antonio Rastrelli (politician) (1927–2019), Italian politician
* Antonio Rastrelli (born 1945), Italian Olympic swimmer
* Carlo Bartolomeo Rastrelli (1675–1744), Italian sculptor who emigra ...
's
Rococo
Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...
design, in Baroque fashion and at the same time the facades were reserved and strict.
Alexander I Alexander I may refer to:
* Alexander I of Macedon, king of Macedon 495–454 BC
* Alexander I of Epirus (370–331 BC), king of Epirus
* Pope Alexander I (died 115), early bishop of Rome
* Pope Alexander I of Alexandria (died 320s), patriarch of ...
". The cornerstone was laid on August 2, 1821. The main altar was consecrated on November 5, 1833. On October 1, 1841, the gilded cross crafted by Moscow master Lukinov was installed on the bell tower.
The tower used to be the second tallest building in Ukraine after the Great Lavra Bell Tower. The seat of the local bishop was moved from the older Intercession Cathedral to the Dormition Church in 1846. A large French
clock
A clock or a timepiece is a device used to measure and indicate time. The clock is one of the oldest human inventions, meeting the need to measure intervals of time shorter than the natural units such as the day, the lunar month and t ...
was installed in the bell tower in 1856. Overall, more than 110,000 rubles were spent on the construction.
20th century
In 1924 the bell tower as the highest building of the city was used to install an antenna for the first Soviet radio station. Later the transmission device was moved inside, and the frescoes were significantly damaged. During the 1920s the church wooden altar was moved to , where it burned during the
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
. The authorities closed the cathedral on February 17, 1930. All five domes were destroyed, the bells were removed from the tower. The building was used as a warehouse, then it was given to the city administration offices.
The belfry was further damaged by a
tornado
A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, altho ...
in 1975. The cathedral was restored in the late 1970s and reverted to the
Ukrainian Orthodox Church
The history of Christianity in Ukraine dates back to the earliest centuries of the history of Christianity, to the Apostolic Age, with mission trips along the Black Sea and a legend of Saint Andrew even ascending the hills of Kyiv. The first Chr ...
in 2006. The local bishopric shares it with a philharmonic society which had a Rieger–Kloss organ installed in the building back in 1986.
21st century
During
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. ...
, on March 2, 2022, Russian missile hit the church where civilians were hiding from the bombings.
Gallery
File:Uspensky Cathedral03.jpg, Side view, 2008
File:Харків, Успенський собор.JPG, The bell tower in the night, 2014
File:Kharkiv Organ.jpg, The pipe organ in 2009
File:Uspensky sobor s Moskovskoy.jpg, View from Moskovskaya str., 1860
File:Успенський собор взимку, аерофото.jpg, Aerial photo, 2021
File:Lopansky bridge, Kharkiv, XIX.jpg, Lopasnky bridge and the cathedral in the 1900s
List of tallest Orthodox churches
This is a list of tallest Orthodox church buildings in the world, all those higher than 70 metres.
Traditionally, an Orthodox church building is crowned by one or several domes with Orthodox crosses on the top of each. The overall height of th ...