Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral, Kazan, Respublik Tatarstan, Russia
The Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul of Kazan is undoubtedly the most valuable architectural monument and the one of the spiritual symbols of Kazan. It stands on a rising ground and attracts one’s attention with its magnificent majesty and peculiar decoration.
The composition of the temple and its bell-tower performs so-called Russian or «naryshkin» baroque, which was widely spread over Russia at the end of the 17th – the beginning of the 18th century. The similar compositions can be found in the land of Kazan: the Pyatnitskaya (in the name of Great Martyr Parasceva of Iconium) church is in Kazan, and the church of Potanikha is in Vysokogorsky district of Tatarstan.
It is significant that both churches were built by sponsorship of the merchant Mikhlyaev. The cathedral’ s decoration, and first of all the multitude of facade details as well as its bright coloration, well presented till now, makes it inimitable. Unfortunately, the names of builders who raised the cathedral are unknown.
The majority of art experts point out that the cathedral’ s decorations are similar to the ones of the Ukrainian type, which were built in the Ukraine at the first half of the 18th century. It is quite possible that the Ukrainians built the cathedral, but the cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul is not a mechanical imitation of any other style. Most details of its appearance look quite unique and reach far beyond the limitation of any style.
One more notable detail is the front staircase, which leads to the upper altar of the temple and faces the yard. Perhaps, the matter is that the modern layout of the streets of Kazan differed much from those when the cathedral had to be constructed. The modern street of Dzhalil did not arise yet, and from the opposite side there was a lane, which disappeared now. The Mikhlyaev’s house faced the front entrance of the cathedral and the side-chapels of the ground and of the first floor.
At the end of the 18th century the regular layout was introduced. The architectural appearance of the cathedral was aptly supplemented with the fence that was built along Petropavlovsky lane (Dzhalil street now) by the project of Mikhail Korinfsky in 1850.
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