The first church in the northern capital was built on the personal order of the emperor at the very beginning of the eighteenth century. And after eight years of construction, the temple was consecrated. Later, its status was raised, as a result, the Holy Trinity Cathedral became the main one in the city on the Neva. The Holy Trinity was the first heavenly patron of the Northern Capital, which is why this temple was dedicated to her. In the history of our state, it was very significant, since it was here that the first emperor Peter the Great ascended the throne, all royal decrees sounded from here.
The early years of the cathedral
Today this cathedral, which gave the square its name, does not exist. And once it was the center of urban life, because it was surrounded by the main commercial and government institutions.
The first Russian emperor personally took care of it, even personally took part in its arrangement. That is why there was a memorial plaque in the wooden church saying that it was built by the sovereign emperor in honor of the victory over the Swedes near Vyborg.
ChurchIt was designed by the architect Domenico Trezzini. For a long time, masquerades, mass celebrations, parades and reviews of troops were held in front of this temple. The clock, which was removed from the Moscow Sukharevskaya tower, was strengthened on the bell tower.
Importance of the temple
Here, in the presence of the royal family, all significant state solemn services were held (a peace treaty with the Swedes and the end of the Northern War), and the sovereign was granted the title of emperor. Alexei's funeral service took place right there and Tsarevich Peter was declared heir to the throne. For a long time, the main shrine of the city, the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, stayed in the cathedral.
Building a new cathedral
Being made of wood, the Trinity Cathedral in St. Petersburg quickly decayed. As a result, twenty-one years after the erection by the Office of the building, it was decided to remove the clock and hour bells. And after six years, due to the impossibility of repairing, the cross, broken and bent over due to weather conditions, was removed. At the same time, a decree was issued on the construction of a stone temple, but, unfortunately, this project was not implemented.
According to the will of Elizabeth, the cathedral was dismantled, and in its place a new church was erected according to the design of Hermann van Boles. Consecrated in May 1746, the Trinity Cathedral in St. Petersburg was not like the one that was in Peter's time. It consisted of two log cabins in two logs with lime pouring between them. The building was boarded up on the outside. It was painted with oil paint and plasteredinside. The roof was covered with iron sheets, and the two-tiered bell tower was completed with an onion dome. Another crowned the dome over the main volume of the temple, the diameter of which was equal to its area.
Later, by order of the Chancellery, the Trinity Cathedral was surrounded by a fence that prevented cattle walking around the square. But a year and a half after the consecration, the temple burned to the ground.
Fire recovery
Five years after the fire, Empress Elizabeth ordered the temple to be moved from the Summer Garden (material was used) to the site of the burnt church. As a result, according to the drawing of van Boles, the cathedral was restored again.
The construction was carried out according to the project of Volkov, but, despite the desire to recreate the building in its original form, the Trinity Cathedral in St. Petersburg differed significantly from the old one in terms of internal layout and size, as well as its appearance. It was much smaller than Peter's church.
Major overhaul
A hundred years after the construction of the main temple of the Northern capital, he again needed restoration. It was led by the architect Ruska, thanks to whom the cathedral became warm, with double log walls, the gaps between them were filled with lime. And twenty years after that, Filippov had to repair the damage caused by the flood.
New overhaul
Trinity Cathedral in St. Petersburg was restored once again by order of the emperor-reformerAlexander II. A stone foundation was laid under the temple, and a new bell tower was built. But, at the behest of the ruler, the cathedral was to remain wooden forever.
Another fire and construction competition
At the beginning of the twentieth century, the temple again suffered from a fire that arose due to a malfunction of the chimneys. As a result, the bell tower and the vestibule, the dome, the attic, the roof were damaged, only the altar part remained intact. The bells melted due to the intense fire. After that, services were held in a temporary church, which stood until the very end of the restoration.
Famous architects of that time convinced the authorities of the inexpediency of restoring the cathedral in a pre-fire form. As a result, it was decided to implement the plans that arose in the past centuries to build a stone church. The construction committee for its construction was headed by Prince John Konstantinovich, and the empress personally patronized him. The masters were given an incredibly difficult political and artistic task - to build a large temple, which has not been in the country so far.
Six architects working in the neo-Russian style participated in the announced competition for the best project. As a result, the work of Pokrovsky was recognized as the best by the judges. But the final decision was still up to the Empress, who was delivered the projects of all the authors to the Alexander Palace in Tsarskoye Selo.
The funds used for the restoration of the temple were allocated under the supervision of the Restoration Workshop of the Leningrad Department of Glavnauka. And the restoration project was made by Katonin on the basis of historical documents.
For greater monumentality, the Trinity Cathedral in St. Petersburg received thirteen domes, nine of which illuminated the temple, and four were reserved for the placement of bells. The main dome with a cross had a height of thirty-five fathoms. The facade was divided into seven strands on each side.
As for the surviving remnants of the pre-fire church, they, according to the decision of the Synod, should have been transferred to the courtyard of the Shamorda Kazan Amvrosinsky Monastery in Strelna. This was done against the opinion of the Emperor's Archaeological Commission, but due to the poverty of this body, his opinion was not taken into account.
But six months before the revolution, John Konstantinovich resigned his position as chairman of the committee. A few days later, an unknown person made a request to the Provisional Government with a request to return the project for the restoration of Katonin. As a result, according to these documents, the Holy Trinity Cathedral was restored in the form it was before the last fire.
Temple demolition
This beautiful building with a squat dome has long been a landmark of the city on the Neva and a monument to its social and spiritual life. Despite the recent restoration, the temple was closed, and a few years later, by decision of the Regional Executive Committee, the Holy Trinity Cathedral was dismantled. St. Petersburg with its Trinity Square were replanned over time, and a new building with a lawn surrounding it was built on the site of the once standing temple.
About twenty yearsago, the idea of restoring the temple was actively discussed, but a number of reasons prevented its implementation. At the very beginning of our century, a small chapel in honor of the Holy Trinity was built on the corner of the square.
