St. Nicholas Naval Cathedral — engraving

St. Nicholas Naval Cathedral with the quarter of the Finnish State Secretariat.

"BILDER FRAN FORNA SVERIGE.: NIKOLAI MORSKOJ-KYRKAN MED FINSKA STATS-SEKRETERIATETS QUARTER, S:T PETERSBURG", "Tecknad efter fotografi af O.A. Mankell".

Technique, Material: Woodcut / Paper
Artist: O.A. Mankell,  Engraver: 
Date, Publisher: Stockholm, beginning of the 20th century.
Size: sheet 27x17, image  21x14 cm.

The engraving depicts a view of St. Nicholas Naval Cathedral (official name: St. Nicholas Cathedral of the Epiphany)—one of the most striking examples of Elizabethan Baroque architecture in St. Petersburg . The cathedral was built between 1753 and 1762 by architect Savva Chevakinsky on the naval regimental grounds by decree of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna . It was erected "in recognition of the glorious deeds of the Russian Navy" and from the very beginning was closely associated with the Russian Imperial Fleet, serving as its main shrine.

The architectural ensemble includes a five-domed cathedral with gilded cupolas and a separate four-tier bell tower, 74 meters high, crowned with a tall spire. The cathedral can accommodate up to 5,000 people and is decorated with Corinthian columns, stucco architraves, and balconies with ornate wrought iron railings . Locals affectionately called it "Nikola Mokry" (St. Nicholas the Wet)—St. Nicholas has long been venerated as the patron saint of seafarers.

The engraving also shows the buildings of the Finnish State Secretariat quarter and part of the Kryukov Canal, at whose intersection with the Griboyedov Canal the cathedral stands. The Kryukov Canal was dug in 1719–1720 under the supervision of contractor Semyon Kryukov, whose name has been preserved in the canal's name to this day . This area of St. Petersburg is historic Kolomna, where people associated with the naval department traditionally settled.

Remarkably, St. Nicholas Naval Cathedral is one of the few churches in St. Petersburg that was never closed, even during Soviet times. From 1941 to 1999, it served as the main cathedral of Leningrad . In the garden in front of the cathedral stands the Tsushima Obelisk (1908), erected in memory of the sailors who perished on the battleship "Imperator Alexander III" during the Battle of Tsushima.