Vitebsk, Assumption Cathedral: photo and history

The Holy Dormition Cathedral in Vitebsk is one of the unique architectural structures of Belarus. The Orthodox church is located on the bank of the Western Dvina on the Uspenskaya mountain. From her and got its name of the cathedral.

History

The Uspensky Cathedral (Vitebsk) has great popularity in Belarus and abroad. The history of this place dates back to the fifteenth century. The very same mountain, which used to be called Lysa, was used for many centuries to build religious buildings - sanctuaries.

The first mention of the wooden church, erected on the mountain, date back to the beginning of the fifteenth century. Then it was called the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin. In the seventeenth century, it was handed over to the Uniates. A few years later the Uniate Archbishop was killed, and the temple was devastated by the townspeople. The church was dismantled by a court decision, and a little later the residents of Vitebsk restored it at their own expense.

According to some reports, the church burned down in the middle of the seventeenth century, and after a while a new wooden church was built in its place. But the structure quickly lost its original appearance. Then a resident of Vitebsk, Judge Adam Kissel, for his own money built a temple and founded in it a Basilian monastery. But in the eighteenth century the city was burned with the temple. Adam Kissel again restored all the buildings.

Unfortunately, this was not the only fire in the history of the cathedral. Soon he burnt again. The place remained deserted for about twenty years.

The first stone church

The Holy Dormition Cathedral in Vitebsk was in no hurry to restore. Only in 1743 it was decided to build a stone church. The project was developed by the Grodno architect Iosif Fontani. The temple was to become a valuable building of the architecture of the city, as it was believed that the author of the development took as a basis one of the temples of Rome and practically copied it. But the construction stopped almost immediately, and only after the reunification of Vitebsk with the Russian Empire did the first shifts appear. The church built in 1777 was consecrated only ten years later.

The Cathedral of the Assumption was named after the order of Paul I about the transfer of the monastery to the Orthodox authority. But the difficulties on the way to the cathedral did not end. During the Patriotic War of 1812, the French hospital was set up in the temple, all values were destroyed. After the war, it was restored and became a vivid sight of the city.

In the middle of the twentieth century, Soviet power came to Vitebsk. The Assumption Cathedral was closed, and a few years later it was blown up early in the autumn morning.

At the same place, a workshop for a machine-tool plant was built, but soon it was abandoned and demolished.

Restoration of the Holy Dormition Cathedral

In the early nineties of the twentieth century, Belarusian architects developed a plan for the restoration of the cathedral. In 1998, the patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexy II, on the site of the destroyed church, laid the capsule and consecrated the first stone.

Archaeologists were able to accurately determine the location of all parts of the temple. Also on this site were found human remains, which most likely belong to the victims of the NKVD or the German Gestapo. The remains are buried next to the cathedral. On one of its walls a memorial plaque and a cross are installed.

Restoration of the temple began in the summer of 2000. Three years later the first liturgy was held in the lower tier of the cathedral that was being completed. In 2005, this tier was completed, and a year later the first floor was ready. By the end of 2007, the walls of the second floor and the bell tower were erected.

In the summer of 2008, ten bells were consecrated and installed on one of the towers, the largest ones weighed up to two tons. Domes and crosses were soon installed.

Later, work began inside the temple, decorative lighting appeared. Eleven bells were installed on another tower. Among them is the heaviest bell in Belarus, it weighs more than five tons. Great help in rebuilding the temple had Russian patrons. During the construction of the cathedral visited the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill.

In 2011, the whole Vitebsk triumphed. The Assumption Cathedral was completely reconstructed. The grand opening was held on the eve of the great holiday - the Annunciation.

Residents and tourists are always happy to come to the temple, because only here you can hear the sound of more than 20 bells. He is proud of his construction of Vitebsk. The Assumption Cathedral was consecrated on September 30, 2011 by the Metropolitan of Minsk and Slutsk Filaret in the service of all the bishops of the Belarusian Orthodox Church.

Legends

There are many legends associated with the temple. One of them says that under the cathedral there is an underground passage leading to the Western Dvina.

This is due to the fact that in the eighteenth century, during the construction of the temple, systems were created to divert the accumulated groundwater from the cellars into the river. The bends were so high that a person could go through them in full growth. Over time, the outlets stopped clearing, so a large amount of water was collected in the cellars.

Features of the architecture of the cathedral

Originally, the temple was built in the Baroque style. Due to the volumes of the naves (elongated rooms, bounded from two sides by columns or pillars from neighboring ones) a voluminous structure of the cathedral was formed. The silhouette of the building was decorated with three lanterns: one was located above the main dome, the other two - above the towers.

For the design of the facade used arches, niches, cornice belts. The composition was completely completed in the nineteenth century. On the second tier there is a gallery. The last naves were divided into chapels. The total height of the cathedral reaches more than fifty meters.

A masterpiece of architecture

Surprising tourists with its architecture Vitebsk. The Assumption Cathedral is one of the unique Belarusian buildings. This is the only temple in Vitebsk, the lower tier of which is located underground. After experiencing many difficulties, the temple still revived and became even more beautiful. Residents of Vitebsk very much appreciate this wonderful place.

One of the Soviet demolitionists of the church, Peter Grigorenko, said that, seeing this miracle, many knelt.

Transformed modern Vitebsk. Uspensky Cathedral is changing with him. He attracts not only his external solemnity, but also the internal decoration, which creates a special atmosphere of warmth in the temple, blesses good deeds.

Many local historians compare the Belarusian cathedral with Russian buildings and highly appreciate its beauty. Some call it a masterpiece of architecture.