Chesme Church - a unique architectural structure

Among the huge number of churches in St. Petersburg, and perhaps even all of Russia, there is one special, the architecture of which strikes with its uniqueness, is the Chesme Church. In appearance it resembles a toy house made of cardboard, painted in a white-red strip. Today it is an active Orthodox church, representing a magnificent architectural monument, built in a pseudo-Gothic style. He rises on the street of the Leningrad City Council, between Moscow Avenue and Yuri Gagarin Avenue.

By itself, the Chesme Church, more precisely, the entire complex of structures, is an equilateral triangle, in the corners of which are attached round towers. In the center is a large round hall. Massive walls are decorated with lancet window and door apertures. The building can be compared with a medieval knight's castle. At the beginning of the XIX century the building was slightly rebuilt. He had extensions - three outbuildings, which with their appearance slightly simplified the palace. The facade of the building is decorated with openwork white stone ornaments. Five drums end with domes, on which miniature spiers are fastened. Each of them carries an apple with an openwork cross. In one of the drums there is a large bell, whose weight is slightly less than 100 000 kg, 7 small bells are located in the other chapter. At the entrance to the building there is a marble plaque with a special inscription.

The Chesme Church has its own legend. According to her, the place on which this building was erected was chosen not accidentally. Here, on the seventh verst of the tract, which led from the capital to Tsarskoe Selo, one messenger informed the empress of the glad tidings of the glorious victory. It is for this reason that the temple was laid in place of the receipt of such news in 1977. The construction of the church was completed by the 10th anniversary of the victory in the Battle of Chesma. Solemn lighting was made by Metropolitan Gabriel. The Empress herself was present at this event.

In 1919 the Chesme Church was closed. And five years later the bells were removed and sent for remelting. From the domes removed the crosses and put a sculpture image, consisting of ticks, hammer and anvil. Here, until 1930, the Glavnauka archive was located, and then the carpenter workshop of the Road Institute opened. In addition, in the same year a fire broke out in the building, as a result of which the interior of the church was completely destroyed, including the iconostasis. The building suffered no less in the war period. Only in the 1960s began the restoration of the temple as a monument of architecture.

The Chesme Church (St. Petersburg) has a strict, and at the same time, simple interior decoration. An exact replica of the iconostasis was restored, which was done according to the drawing of Yu. M. Felten. The main attraction of the church is the collection of old Italian icons. The most famous of them: "The Crucifixion of the Savior", "The Holy Prince Dmitry", "John the Baptist". They are the most popular among numerous tourists.

This St. Petersburg church is now an architectural monument of federal significance. Among the houses, sports and educational institutions, office buildings, there is a cult object, which has a rather unusual appearance. Near the church there is the Chesma cemetery, where not only the soldiers who participated in the Suvorov campaigns were buried, but also those who took part in all combat battles taking place on this territory.