The Russian Orthodox Cathedral of Alexander
Nevsky sits at Lossi plats 10, on the top of Toompea (Dome Hill)
in Tallinn, overlooking the Old Town. Situated opposite the country's
parliament building, the cathedral was erected between 1894-1900 on
a grass square which had previously held a memorial to Protestant
reformist Martin Luther. Local tradition also stated that the
Estonian national hero, Kalevipoeg was said to have been buried in
the square.
In October 1897, Bishop Agafangel (1858-1928) was
appointed to the cathedra of Riga and Mitava. The Baltic States were
controlled by the Russian empire, and the Orthodox Church was involved
in a concerted effort to repopulate them with Orthodox places of
worship, following their dismissal at the conclusion of the Livonian
Wars in the 1500s, when all Russians had to leave the Baltics. The
bishop now led the movement to repopulate the region with Orthodox
churches.
For the construction of the cathedral, voluntary
donations from the Russian empire were combined state treasury funds
to pay the 600,000 rouble costs. In 1898 Bishop Agafangel consecrated
churches in Sillamäe and Valga, and in 1900 he participated in the
consecration ceremony for Tallinn's Alexander Nevsky Cathedral,
which was held on 30 April 1900. The cathedral's architect was
Michail Preobrazhensky (1854-1930), the adjunct-professor of the
Academy of Arts.
The five-cupola three-altar cathedral itself was
dedicated to the prince of Novgorod, Alexander Yaroslavitz Nevsky
who, on 5 April 1242, won the Battle of the Ice on the shores of
Lake Peipsi, which is part of Estonia's eastern border. This victory
halted the eastwards advance of the German crusaders. The cathedral
was built in the Russian revival style which mimicked medieval
Russian churches, and was a symbol of imperial Russia's dominance in
the country.
The main body of the building, which can
accommodate 1,500 people, was constructed in local limestone which
was bound with cement mortar and faced with Segersdorf bricks. The
collection of eleven bells form the most powerful ensemble in
Tallinn. They were cast at the Vassily Orlov bell foundry in St
Petersburg at total weight of about 27 tons. Such was the weight of
the biggest bell that it took 500 soldiers heaving on ropes to raise
it up to the belfry.
Estonia achieved independence in 1918. The state
nationalised many buildings which belonged to the nobility, especially
manor houses, and the cathedral was lucky to escape demolition in 1924.
During the period of German occupation in 1941-1944 it was closed.
Following the 1944 Soviet invasion and re-occupation, church services
were resumed in May 1945 and the cathedral again became the focus of
Orthodox ecclesiastical life in Estonia.
