Sightseeing

ALEXANDER NEVSKY MONASTERY Functioning nowadays as an orthodox monastery, the Alexander Nevsky Laura was founded by decree of the Emperor Peter I in 1710 on the site, where in 1240 Grand Prince and military commander Alexander Yaroslavich won a major victory in the war with Sweden on the Neva river, for which he was given the title Nevsky and canonized by the Orthodox Church as the Holy Patron of Russia. Intended to become the religious center of the country with the relics of Alexander Nevsky brought from Vladimir in 1724 (in 1790 the relic was transferred to the newly built and sanctified St Trinity Cathedral), the monastery also became one of the first large architectural ensembles in the northern Russian capital. Designed by Domenico Trezzini, the St Trinity Alexander Nevsky Monastery ensemble, which includes such architectural masterpieces as the Church of Annunciation, the Trinity Cathedral and 3 cemeteries, was built under the supervision of numerous talented architects: Theodor Schwertfeger continued to fulfill Trezinni’s plan in the 1720s; architect Pietro Trezzini was involved in the project from 1741 to 1750; Mikhail Rastorguyev led the construction in the period of 1755-1774 after the half-built Trinity Cathedral which was about to collapse was demolished; and Ivan Starov between 1776 -1790 contributed to the construction of the monastery as well. With 12 churches located on its grounds, the Alexander Nevsky monastery was created as ecclesiastical educational center of the St Petersburg eparchy: in 1719, by decree by Peter I the first printing-house in the Northern capital attached to the monastery was organized, in 1726 the Slavic, Greek and Latin Seminary was established, and on December 18, 1797, due to decree of Paul I, the monastery was elevated to the status of Laura – a monastery of the highest rank. At the same time the Seminary was raised to the Academy rank thus becoming a higher theological educational institution standing in one line parallel with those of Kiev, Moscow and Kazan. According to Peter the Great’s will, the territory of Laura was intended to become a burial ground for the Imperial Family's members and court nobility, for prominent state and church figures, for military leaders, for outstanding scientists and eminent art figures – thus appeared the St Lazarus Cemetery in 1717, where the graves are adorned with magnificent tombstones and monuments of marble, bronze and granite, and the Tikhvinskoye Cemetery, founded in 1823, was turned into a necropolis of eminent art figures in 1835. Enjoying the favour of all Russian emperors and empresses, the Alexander Nevsky Monastery could not remain intact during the Soviet period and it had to overcome numerous hardships: dozens of the Laura's black clergy were shot by the walls of the cloister and became martyrs of the Red Bolshevists terror, the churches went closed, all the buildings were confiscated in accordance with this decree of separating the Church from the State, and its main treasure – the remains of Alexander Nevsky - were taken to the Museum of Atheism located in the building of the Kazan Cathedral. In the 1930s the museum of the Leningrad Necropolis, which was reorganized into the Museum of Urban Sculpture in 1939, was founded on the territory of the monastery, and only in 1956, after the Stalin’s death, the monastery with its stunning Trinity Cathedral, where divine services were resumed again, was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church. In 1987 St Nicholas cemetery church was reopened and the Alexander Nevsky relic were returned to the Laura in 1989. Nowadays services are being performed in the both temples of the Alexander Nevsky Laura, some important reconstruction works are being held on its territory; sewing, joiner's, icon-painting and baguette-making workshops have been opened in the cloister recently. There is also an increase in the number of the monastery monks.

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