Legendary Moscow Cathedral commemorates tragic date

One of the most famous Moscow churches, the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, is commemorating 75 years since it was demolished. Luckily, the church has since been 'raised from the dead'.

The story of the Cathedral symbolises the whole story of the Russian Orthodox Church in the USSR and modern Russia.

In 1931, the main Russian Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, built as a memorial for all the Russians who fought and were killed in the Patriotic War of 1812, was obliterated to become a construction site for the Palace of Soviets. The decision was in line with the anti-religious policy of the USSR.

The Palace was never built, as the Second World War broke out. Instead, in the late 50s an open-air swimming pool, the largest in Europe, was opened there.

It was only after the fall of the Soviet Union in the 1990s that the pool was demolished, and the revival of the church began. The new version of the legendary cathedral was built from scratch in 2000.

Restorers tried to make it absolutely identical to the former cathedral. They used the original architectural design and archive photos and video. Even marble stones with the names of the fallen war heroes of 1812 were made with the same spelling mistakes.

At the same time, the new Cathedral of Christ the Saviour was built using the latest technologies, including up-to-date engineering and telecommunication systems.

In addition, though many icons and paintings that used to decorate the cathedral a century ago survived, new ones are being made, making the new cathedral more than just a symbol of the past.

As a result, the new Cathedral of Christ the Saviour is now regarded as one of Moscow's most remarkable sites. It is again the largest Orthodox cathedral in Moscow.