Alexander Nevsky Cathedral (Baku)
The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Baku was the largest Russian Orthodox church in the Southern Caucasus from 1898 to 1936 .
history
In view of the ever-growing Orthodox community in Baku, the regional Russian governor suggested building an Orthodox cathedral as early as 1878. A former Muslim cemetery was considered as a building site, but this led to protests and entanglements. After ten years, however, a more or less amicable solution was found, and in 1888, Tsar Alexander III. laid the foundation stone for the new cathedral in a representative ceremony. It was completed in 1898. It was part of a large church building program. Alexander Nevsky Cathedrals were built all over the tsarist empire at that time , and the honoring of this soldier saint was accompanied by political aspects.
The planning of the cathedral in Baku was carried out by the German-born Russian architect Robert Marfeld and his Polish-born assistant Józef Gosławski . The St. Basil's Cathedral and the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow served as models .
During the anti-religious phase of Stalinism , the cathedral was blown up with dynamite in 1936 as a potential focal point for anti-regime religious forces. The Bülbül Music Academy stands in its place today.
literature
- Richard S. Wortman: Scenarios of Power, Myth and Ceremony in Russioan History , Princeton University Press, 2000
Web links
Coordinates: 40 ° 25 ′ 0 ″ N , 49 ° 53 ′ 0 ″ E