Saint Lazarus Orthodox church in Vienna, Eastern Orthodox church on the Russian section of the Zentralfriedhof, Vienna, Austria
Saint Lazarus Orthodox Church is a square, single-nave church on the Russian section of Vienna's Zentralfriedhof, built in the Russian style to a design by M. T. Preobrazhensky. It has a cylindrical bell tower topped by an onion dome, a semicircular apse and three tiers of keel-shaped kokoshnik gables. The foundation stone was laid on 8 September 1893 and the church was consecrated on 9 May 1895.
The initiative came from archpriest Mikhail Raevsky, rector of Vienna's embassy church from 1842 to 1884, who obtained permission in 1867 and began collecting donations for a large stone Orthodox cathedral. He died in May 1884 before seeing it built; the 22,000 roubles gathered paid only for a small cemetery church. The foundation stone was laid on 8 September 1893 on the Russian plot of the Zentralfriedhof, and the church was consecrated on 9 May 1895. It served as the community's main church only until Saint Nicholas Cathedral was consecrated in 1899, after which it became an auxiliary church.
The church is attached to Saint Nicholas Cathedral and served as Vienna's main Russian Orthodox church only until 1899, when the cathedral opened. On Lazarus Saturday, the church's patronal feast, a procession circles the building. In summer, when fewer services are held at the cathedral, believers are invited to pray here.
The building is located within the Zentralfriedhof cemetery and is accessible to visitors, especially during religious services. It helps to check service times before visiting to ensure a respectful experience and to see the interior in its active state.
The church was the main Russian Orthodox church of Vienna for only four years, until St Nicholas Cathedral was consecrated in 1899; it then became an auxiliary cemetery church. Its square single-nave plan, cylindrical bell tower and onion dome were designed by M. T. Preobrazhensky, with a local architect named Wagner as builder.
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