Orthodox St. Petersburg (cathedrals of the Christmas part)

What can you expect?

The route begins in the first and most important of the St. Petersburg monasteries - the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, founded personally by Peter the Great. You will get acquainted with seven churches, including the Annunciation Church, the oldest surviving church of St. Petersburg, built in 1717-1724 according to the project of Domenico Trezzini. You will visit four necropolises, including Lazarevskoye and Tikhvin cemeteries, where the enlightened scientist M.V. Lomonosov, architects Carlo Rossi and Giacomo Quarenghi, writer F.M. Dostoevsky, composer M.I. Glinka and many other world famous Petersburgers are buried. If you have enough time, we also advise you to look into one of the exhibition halls of the Museum of Urban Sculpture, where you can find interesting exhibits.

Leaving the Lavra, you will cross Alexander Nevsky Square, above which stands an equestrian statue - a monument to the patron saint of St. Petersburg, and continue on your way along Sinopskaya Embankment. At the intersection with Bakunin Avenue, there is a small chapel of the icon of the Mother of God “Joy to all who mourn”. It was built in the 30s of the XIX century and is part of the courtyard of the Valaam Monastery.

It is time to delve into the Peski of St. Petersburg. The first on the route through this historical district will be the Church of the Shestakov Icon of the Mother of God, which was restored in 2000 by Georgian community, and now, in worship, you can hear the Georgian language.

The next item is the Chapel of the Life-Giving Trinity, located in the courtyard of the Institute of Hematology and Transfusiology. In the 19th century, this church served the Holy Trinity Community of Sisters of Mercy, the first charitable community not only in St. Petersburg, but throughout Russia.

Nearby, on 5th Sovetskaya Street, stands the Church of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary at the courtyard of the Old Athos St. Andrew's Monastery. And on the neighboring, 6th Sovetskaya, right now, according to historical documents, in its original architectural appearance, the main church of the district is being recreated - the Church of the Nativity of Christ on Sands. 

Moving further along Suvorovsky Prospekt, you exit the Pesky district, but do not leave the Christmas part. In the courtyards between Suvorovsky Prospekt and Kirochnaya Street there is a small, cozy church dedicated to the memory of the last Russian monarch - the Church of the Holy Martyr Tsar Nikolai.

To the north, on Tverskaya Street, the church in the Pskov-Novgorod style stands out for its unusual architecture for St. Petersburg. This is the Church of the Sign of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Znamenskaya), which belongs to the Neva Old Believers Pomeranian community.

And finally, the end point of your route - the majestic Smolny Cathedral, a monument of Elizabethan Baroque, built two hundred years ago according to the project of the famous architect F.B. Rastrelli! You can not only see the temple inside and out (and on Saturday and Sunday, you can also go on a tour of the cathedral), but also go up to the belfry and see the whole city center from a bird's eye view. The belfry is open for visits every day, no prior appointment is required.