Saint Catherine cathedral in Tsarskoye Selo, Orthodox cathedral in Pushkin, Russia
Saint Catherine Cathedral in Pushkin is an Orthodox church built in 1835–1840 to Konstantin Thon's design and rebuilt in 2007–2010 on its original site. It is a five-domed brick structure in the Russian-Byzantine style, with a refectory, a central nave and a bell tower; the interior has three altars.
Nicholas I ordered the cathedral built in 1835 to Konstantin Thon's design, funded by the imperial Cabinet; it was consecrated on 24 November 1840. Soviet authorities closed it in July 1938 and blew it up on 10 June 1939. The first stone of the replica was blessed on 7 December 2006, and Patriarch Kirill consecrated the rebuilt cathedral on 22 June 2010.
The cathedral's patronal feast falls on 24 November (6 December), the date of its 1840 consecration. In 1917, during the Bolshevik shelling of Tsarskoye Selo, the clergy led a procession with prayers for an end to civil strife; the priest Ioann Kochurov was seized and killed, and was buried in the cathedral crypt on 4 (17) November at the parishioners' request.
The cathedral stands in the centre of Pushkin, on the former Sobbing Square laid out in 1842 by gardener Fyodor Lyamin, whose twelve paths converged on the building and 200 grey-trunked poplars were brought from Holland. The parish also includes the Church of the Sign and the Chapel of Saint Igor of Chernigov. Visitors enter a working church, so dress modestly and keep quiet during services.
The cathedral's predecessor stood for just 99 years: consecrated on 6 December 1840 in the presence of Nicholas I, it was closed by decree on 11 July 1938 and blown up with mines on 10 June 1939. The first stone of the replica was blessed on 7 December 2006, and Patriarch Kirill consecrated the rebuilt church on 22 June 2010, the city's anniversary.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 94,045 contributors worldwide.