Empress Elizabeth of Russia ordered the cathedral to honor her accession, with help from soldiers of the Preobrazhensky regiment. Mikhail Zemtsov made the original design, and Pietro Antonio Trezzini led construction after Zemtsov's death and changed the design in a Baroque style. The cornerstone was laid on June 9, 1743, and the cathedral was consecrated in 1754.
A fire on August 8, 1825, destroyed the first cathedral, though the exterior walls survived. Vasily Stasov rebuilt it in the Empire style from 1825 to 1829. Its fence uses 102 bronze cannon barrels taken from Turkish fortresses.
The article says it has never ceased to operate as a place of worship. During the Siege of Leningrad, the basement served as an air-raid shelter for 500 people.
Comments