Alexander Nevsky Cathedral
Onion-domed Orthodox cathedral of 1900 on Toompea hill, richly decorated with mosaics and eleven bells.
The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral stands on Toompea hill, directly opposite the castle that houses the Estonian parliament. It was built between 1894 and 1900 to designs by the St Petersburg architect Mikhail Preobrazhensky, during the period when Estonia formed part of the Russian Empire. The richly modelled historicist exterior draws on Russian Revival motifs and carries mosaic panels above its entrances, while five onion domes are topped with gilded crosses. The belfry holds eleven bells, the largest weighing about fifteen tonnes.
Inside, the church is arranged around three gilded iconostases and lit by stained glass, with icons and mosaics produced in Russian workshops. Plans to demolish the building were prepared in 1924, after Estonian independence, but were never carried out, and the cathedral fell into disrepair during the Soviet decades before restoration work began in 1991. It remains an active Orthodox cathedral and the seat of the Tallinn eparchy. Visitors are admitted outside services, and photography indoors is not allowed.
Highlights
- Five onion domes and mosaic panels set above the entrances
- Eleven bells, the largest about fifteen tonnes and Tallinn's heaviest
- Three gilded iconostases with icons made in Russian workshops
- Faces Toompea Castle, seat of the Estonian parliament
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