Peter and Paul Cathedral - uVisitRussia
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Peter and Paul Cathedral

In 1726 a cathedral bearing the name of the Apostles Peter and Paul was built on the spot where one made of wood had been constructed in the middle of the 16th century. People nicknamed the cathedral the Hanging Gardens of Kazan because of the large amount of stone-like plasterwork adorning its walls. This outstanding example of Baroque architecture was made thanks to merchant Ivan Mikhlyayev, whose house (now Kazan's oldest civil building) is located nearby.

Parishioners financed the repair of the cathedral several times following a number of fires. The cathedral was in a seriously dilapidated condition when it was renovated between 1888 and 1890. Plasterwork was repaired and the foundation was raised. Its present-day appearance is what has been preserved since then.

After the 1917 Revolution the cathedral became the center of the Orthodox community and relics and church items from different closed churches were collected here. In 1938 it was decided to turn the cathedral into an anti-religion museum and lecture hall. However, instead of this, the party archives were housed here. It later was used as a planetarium and also as restoration workshops. It was only in 1989 that liturgical services began again.