The Cathedral mosque in St. Petersburg: a religious shrine and one of the most beautiful buildings in the northern capital

Russia is not only a multinational, but also a multi-country. In addition to very rare and wild religious worldviews , perhaps all religions are represented in it. If we take into account how many Tatars, Kazakhs and other Central Asian settlers live on Russian territory, no one is surprised at the intention of Muslims to have their place of worship in the place of residence. So the mosque in St. Petersburg, in principle, simply reflects the ethnic composition of the population and at the same time is a work of architectural art.

St. Petersburg Muslim Church

This refers to the one that is called "Cathedral." Until the 9th year of the current millennium it was generally the only mosque in St. Petersburg. However, it is still considered one of the most monumental and capacious in Europe. Three-storey building can accommodate up to five thousand visitors. The huge hall, located at the very bottom, is intended for praying men. The second floor is reserved for women-mummulents, and on the third floor there is a spiritual Muslim educational institution - madrasah. There, the basics of Islam, Tatar and Arabic are studied. Officially, the Cathedral mosque in St. Petersburg now belongs to the Sunni community, but any Muslim can use it. And people of other faith are allowed to go there unobstructed if they are interested in Islam and respect Muslim traditions. In particular, a woman should be dressed modestly, her head should be covered with a handkerchief (not a hat or a cap), she is allowed to listen to the service only in the women's department. Visit this mosque in St. Petersburg at 2 and 6 pm, when zuhr and asr are held, on Friday - at 3, during juma-namaz.

The Tatar deposit

We can say that the most famous mosque in St. Petersburg is due to the existence of the perseverance and consistency of the Tatars. They tried to obtain permission from the authorities to build a prayer house, beginning in 1798. Then they were denied, but they did not leave requests and admonitions. Already in 1803, a draft "Tatar Mosque" was proposed for consideration. In St. Petersburg, he remained unembodied, although all architectural calculations were made - from the fence to the location of the interior. At that time, the withdrawal of Muslim places for religious rituals was already urgently needed: the servants in the Winter were mostly from the Tatars. However, it was not until 1881 that the Mahometan Ahun named Bayazitov received permission to build a mosque in St. Petersburg.

The difficult history of the Muslim temple

The beginning can be considered to be the year 1904, when a meeting with the emir of Bukhara led the Russian tsar to authorize Bayazitov to erect a Muslim church. When they started building the first mosque in St. Petersburg, Gur-Emir, a temple in Samarkand, was taken as a model. However, this was not a stupid copy - the architects tried to combine the teachings of the Koran and the trends of European culture. This was greatly facilitated by the granite facing of the walls of the structure, it gave the structure a rather strict appearance, which is absent in the traditional eastern architecture. In 1913, the first service was held in the mosque, despite the fact that the construction was not yet completed. Islamic religious leaders timed it to a significant date - 300 years since the founding of the Romanovs' house. In 1914, the world war began, and the construction was significantly braked, as a result of which the work continued until 1918, and regular services began only in the 20th. After 1930, the first (and only) Cathedral Mosque in St. Petersburg went to the state fund and did not carry a religious burden until 1956, when it was transferred to the Muslim community. And since 1968 it is also recognized as an architectural monument.

New mosque (Kolomyazhskaya)

The cathedral mosque since 2009 is not the only cult construction of the Muslim sense. Of course, the new mosque is much smaller than the "first swallow", but a thousand worshipers can accommodate in the state. The name of the church was due to its location - the district Kolomyaga in the north of the city. The building permit was issued in the fifth year of this century, but the temple began to operate only four years later. In the plans of the founders - the placement in the nearest building of the Islamic Institute, focused only on men and designed to study spiritual Islamic disciplines.

Perhaps, these are the most important mosques in St. Petersburg. Addresses of them: Kronversky Ave, 7 - for Sobornaya (go by subway to "Gorkovskaya"), Parachute Street, 7 - for Kolomyazhskaya. There you can walk from the stations "Pioneer" or "Specific". Faithful Muslims probably know other, smaller churches for the odnoverets, but they have unless the regional significance.

Future plans

There was a news that Muslim religious figures are going to build the highest temple of their faith in Porforovo cemetery. The top of the minaret is planned to be 200 meters high, the complex should include a cultural Islamic center with excursions for the younger generation. The site of future construction is chosen for high density reasons in the area of the population professing Islam. However, there is a huge number of opponents of the project. The main hitch is that the old cemetery is reserved for building - according to the law, nothing can be placed on it, except parks and parks, so as not to disturb the ashes of the deceased.

Will the idea of Muslim activists be realized? Time will tell.