Kazanskaya Square, 2
Architect  V.Voronikhin 

The Cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan is an 
outstanding example of the early 19th-century 
Russian architecture. It was erected on the site 
of a small stone church to hold the ancient icon 
of Our Lady of Kazan, and was named after it.In 
1800 Emperor Paul I issued an order for a 
cathedral to be built after the model of 
St.Peter's Cathedral in Rome. The design was 
entrusted to A.Voronikhin, who had formerly 
been Count Stroganov's serf, later to become 
the professor of architecture in the Academy of 
Arts.The well-proportioned, light cupola on a 
high drum, reaching the height of 62 m, crowns 
the central part of the building and 
counterbalances the colonnade, spreading 
horizontally. This was the first cupola in the 
world to be built of ferro-concrete structures.