Smolensk Assumption Cathedral

The cathedral stands on Cathedral Hill, where Vladimir Monomakh began the first brick church in 1101: a large six-pillared building that took several decades to finish and was consecrated in 1150, under his grandson Rostislav. In 1611, at the end of the siege of Smolensk, a store of gunpowder exploded and part of the old church collapsed; an engraving of 1636 shows it under a temporary wooden roof, and in 1674, its bricks too decayed to reuse, it was pulled down. The present six-pillared, five-domed cathedral was begun in 1677 under the supervision of the architect Alexey Korolkov and took almost a century to complete. Built in the baroque style high on the hill, it can be seen from far off, and from some places, where trees hide its base, it seems to hang in the air. Inside, the iconostasis and the furnishings in the Kievan baroque style survive.

Background

The Cathedral of the Dormition stands on Cathedral Hill above Smolensk and has been the main church of the Smolensk bishopric for 800 years. Vladimir Monomakh began the first brick church on the site in 1101, a large building on six pillars resembling his cathedral in Vladimir; it was consecrated under his grandson Rostislav in 1150. Badly damaged in the siege of 1609-1611, the old church appears under a temporary wooden roof in an engraving of 1636 and was pulled down between May and July 1674. Its successor, with six pillars and five domes, was built in the Baroque style over almost a century and completed in 1772.

Source: Wikipedia, "Dormition Cathedral in Smolensk"

What's there

• The iconostasis - five tiers of icons in gilded wooden carving, with cherubim and columns twined with vines, rising almost to the vault; Sila Trusitsky's woodcarvers made it around 1740.
• The exterior - a six-pillared, five-domed baroque church high on Cathedral Hill, seen from far off.
• The relics of Saint Mercurius of Smolensk - the heavenly patron of the city, with his iron sandals, his only relic to survive.
• The Smolensk Shroud - made in 1561 in the workshop of the Staritsky princes.

When to go

May to September. One to two hours. It is the cathedral of the Smolensk diocese; the gate church of the Epiphany in its ensemble, with a wooden top, dates from 1785-1787 and was meant for services in the cold season.

Before you go

Korolkov enlarged the building and departed from the design, so that the high apses pulled away from the main body; work stopped in 1679, after one of the walls collapsed, and resumed only in 1732. Eight years later the church was finished under seven blue domes with golden stars, and in the 1740s its interior was painted in the baroque style. After the central and western domes collapsed in 1761, the architect Pyotr Obukhov rebuilt the top in 1767-1772, keeping the traditional five domes. In 1812, by local legend, Napoleon had a guard set over the cathedral.

Nearby

The cathedral's ensemble also includes the bell tower of 1767-1772, by Pyotr Obukhov, and to the south the bishop's court with the church of St John the Baptist, built in 1699-1703 and rebuilt in the 1780s. The Smolensk fortress wall, built in 1595-1602 under the architect Fyodor Kon, encloses the city centre; about 6.5 km (4 mi) long, it survives in part. In a straight line, Smolensk railway station is about 1.6 km to the north-west.

Key facts