For the inhabitants of Vologda, the cathedral was considered a shrine, as its history dates back to the temple of 1654. In those years, a pestilence spread throughout Russia, and in order to get rid of it, people began to build churches in cities in one day. The residents of Vologda built the same, and when the pestilence subsided, they swore that they would keep it with the entire city.
Russian Tsars Alexander I and Alexander II visited the Spaso-Vsegradsky Cathedral, and John of Kronstadt served at divine services. All mayors of Vologda swore allegiance to the city here. After the revolution, the cathedral suffered the same fate as many churches: it housed both the Palace of Arts and the Gorky Cinema. In 1972, the temple was demolished by tanks and explosive devices, as the walls were too strong. In 1998, a seven-meter-high Cross of Worship was installed in the place of the altar.
Vologda architects and representatives of the metropolis believe that the cathedral needs to be restored. Funding is expected to come from charitable funds. “It would be right to write on the walls the names of all those who gave their lives on the battlefield. This is the best repository of memory, prayer memory. The Spaso-Vsegradsky Cathedral will become a church in memory of all Vologda residents who died saving their homeland from the invasion of enemies,” Metropolitan Savva of Vologda and Kirillov told Rossiyskaya Gazeta.
Divine services will be held daily in this temple.
First of all, it was decided to erect a wooden chapel of the All-Merciful Savior on the site of the lost building. The work will be carried out within the framework of the international festival “Wood in Architecture”, which will be held for the first time in Vologda from 25 to 27 July. Metropolitan Savva will lay the foundation stone of the chapel on 24 July, and the finished building will be consecrated the next day. The height of the new temple will be 9.5 metres, width and length – 2.5 metres each. The materials used, such as the pine frame and titanium nitride coating of the dome and cross, will ensure durability and resistance to external influences.
As the city’s chief architect Denis Pozdnyakov explained to RG, the chapel will be demolished first by five builders from the Ustyansky district of the Arkhangelsk region.
“We decided to show the skill of the northern carvers in the construction of the chapel. The project was drawn up by the honourable architect, chairman of the department of temple architecture of the Union of Architects of Russia, Mikhail Mamoshin. Perhaps some details need to be made. It has not been finalised yet, but it is a matter of technology,” says Denis Ivanovich.
After the construction around the chapel, the construction of the Spaso-Vsegradsky Cathedral will begin. Its plans are kept in the archive. Specialists will use not only these documents and photographs, but also preliminary drawings by one of the city’s former chief architects, Nikolai Mayorov. Concerned city residents are already looking for the brick from which the temple was built in order to use it as a foundation for the structure.
“The dimensions of the cathedral will be the same, but it is clear that if it is a modern temple, it is possible to foresee a ground floor where there will be a refectory, a conference room and other necessary areas,” explains the architect.
Perhaps the Spaso-Vsegradsky Cathedral will be restored with certain stylistic changes. According to Denis Pozdnyakov, all our ancestors wanted to take part in the decoration of this temple, and therefore, during the work, the authors of the project will decide how to preserve the unique style of the building.
From his point of view, the restoration of the temple in the centre of Vologda is necessary, as the Spaso-Vsegradsky Cathedral on Revolution Square kept the verticality and was the dominant element of the surrounding streets – Pushkinskaya and Kamenny Most. “In general, the temple fixed the axes of the city, gave the city reference points. It is difficult to see any other dominant features here. This is a fair recreation of the city ensemble. It seems to me, as an architect, that it is a necessity. A whole generation of architects who worked before me said that the temple should be returned to its place,” says the chief architect of Vologda, Denis Pozdnyakov.
According to the Vologda administration, Arkhangelsk craftsmen will bring the chapel to Vologda on July 24.
Interestingly, the organizers of the festival “Wood in Architecture” plan to recreate in Vologda a wooden bridge over the Vologda River, which connected the city center with Zarechye in 1847-1901. The project of the Cathedral Bridge is being carried out by architect Denis Dementyev, a specialist in the field of wooden architecture. According to the authors of the project, the bridge will become a tourist area with observation decks.
According to me. or. Vologda Mayor Andrei Nakroshaev, three wooden mansions in the regional center are currently being restored. All the houses are monuments of cultural heritage.
