ALEXANDER
NEVSKY LAVRA
Alexander Nevsky Lavra is one of the largest architectural
ensembles in the city. It is located at the end of Nevsky
Prospect, between Alexander Nevsky Square and Obvodny Canal,
at the confluence of the Monastyrka River and Neva River.
In 1710, Peter the Great ordered to build the Monastery of
the Holy Trinity and Saint Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky in
honor of the victory over Sweden won in 1240. In 1713-1714
the first wooden Annunciation Church was put up on the left
bank of the Monastyrka River, and in 1717 the construction
of the monastery was started.
In 1724, the remains of Alexander Nevsky were, on Peter's
order, moved from the city of Vladimir to the Annunciation
Church, newly built in stone. In 1790, the silver shrine with
the relics was moved to the Holy Trinity Cathedral. Later
the shrine was moved to the State Hermitage, and as of the
remains of the Grand Duke, for a long time they were kept
in the Museum of Religion and Atheism in the Kazan Cathedral.
In 1989, the remains of Alexander Nevsky were moved with the
religious procession to the Holy Trinity Cathedral of the
lavra for the second time.
Peter I assigned utmost importance to the monastery. It became
the center of training priests of high rank for the most important
Orthodox Churches in Russia. In 1720, the printing works were
established in the monastery, and then the Slovenian school
for middle class children was founded. In 1726, the Slavonic,
Greek and Latin Seminary was opened and, finally, the Theological
Academy started to function on the territory of the monastery.
In 1797, the monastery got the lavra status, which is the
highest status for the orthodox monastery. By the end of the
18th century, the lavra became the cultural and religious
center of Petersburg. It was the place for storing holy remains,
ancient manuscripts, old books, icons in precious frames,
bumper church plate.
The ensemble of the lavra includes various monastery buildings.
Along with the temples and gardens Alexander Nevsky lavra
contains several cemeteries: Lazorevskoe Cemetery, dating
back to the 18th century, Tihvinskoe Cemetery, where the outstanding
persons such as Dostoevsky, Lomonosov, Karamzin, Chaikovsky,
Komissarjevskaya and others are buried, and Nikolskoe Cemetery
founded in 1861. From the very beginning of its existence
Alexander Nevsky Lavra was considered to be the main burial
place in Imperial Russia. The members of royal family, priests,
outstanding governors and commanders are buried there. Suvorov,
Bezborodko, Quarenghi, Voronikhin, Rossi are buried here to
name just a few. Some of the lavra temples are built in the
middle of the cemeteries. The oldest lavra construction is
the Annunciation Church, put up in 1717-1722 to the architect
Tresini's design. On the grave of the beloved sister of Peter
the Great, Natalia Alexeevna, the Lazarevskaya Church in stone
was constructed.
The compositional center of Alexander Nevsky Lavra is the
Holy Trinity Cathedral, designed by architect Starov. After
the end of the construction works and the cathedral sanctification
the composition of the lavra was completed. The Holy Trinity
cathedral is crowned with a large dome. The monumental shapes
of the temple harmonically fit the buildings of the monastery.
Among the icons of the cathedral one of the most honored one
is the icon of St Seraphim Sarovsky.
After the revolution of 1917 the monastery was closed down.
Many of the historical relics and works of art were moved
to the Hermitage, the Russian Museum and other places. In
1923, the Necropolis-Museum was established on the part of
its territory. Since 1939 it was called the Museum of City
Sculpture.
Before the revolution on the territory of Alexander Nevsky
lavra 12 churches functioned. Nowadays only 2 churches are
open for prayers. The Holy Trinity Cathedral is the functioning
orthodox temple. Alexander Nevsky lavra is the monastery belonging
to Saint Petersburg eparchy. On the territory of the lavra
Anatoly Sobchak, the first mayor of Saint Petersburg, is buried.
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