Near the famous Syuyumbike tower and the presidential palace, there is a rare monument of Russian early Baroque architecture. An unusual two-stage building looks like a pyramid, and therefore stands out from other attractions of the Kazan Kremlin. Today the church has a museum.
Construction history
Construction documents, plans and drawings of the Vvedenskaya Church have not survived. Archaeologists have found that a deep and solid foundation of massive blocks of hewn limestone was laid in the 16th century.
View of the Palace Church on the territory of the Kazan Kremlin
It is believed that during the time of the Kazan Khanate, a mosque of the Tatar prince Nurgali stood on this place. When Kazan fell, the mosque was destroyed, and an Orthodox church was built on a stone foundation. In the city plan, drawn up in the second half of the 18th century, opposite the old church there is a note “temple facing from the mosque”. However, not all researchers are sure of the veracity of this version.
When the governor's palace existed on the territory of the Kremlin, the church with a side-chapel in honor of the Entry into the Temple of the Mother of God was the home temple for the families of the Kazan governors. The palace and the church building were connected by a covered passage-gallery. In addition to the governors, the old church served as a parish temple for servants and palace guards. Divine services were conducted by a priest who lived in the palace, and the psalmists were invited from other temples in the city.
Due to severe fires, the building was rebuilt several times. After a fire in 1749, the Vvedensky temple was completely restored, and in 1815 the fire was so strong that the church burned down. This was the time when Russia was going through the aftermath of the devastating war with Napoleon. There was not enough money for everything, and the destroyed temple was left as it is.
For more than 30 years, the church stood with charred walls. To prevent the stone building from being empty, a powder warehouse was placed in it. In 1836, the Russian emperor Nicholas I visited Kazan, and on the initiative of the tsar, the Vvedenskaya church began to be rebuilt.
The project of the new temple was prepared by the Kazan architect Foma Ivanovich Petondi. He completely redesigned the building, relocated the main entrance, changed the shape of the galleries and decorated the interiors in the strict traditions of classicism.
In 1859, the church was opened as a house and consecrated in honor of the Descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles. Then the Kazan temple had three thrones - the main one was located on the second floor. On the ground floor there was a throne dedicated to Nicholas the Wonderworker, and in the gallery, in the north of the church, to the Holy Martyr Tsarina Alexandra. From the middle of the 19th century, the church began to be called the Palace Church.
In 1918, when Kazan was taken by the Red Army, the old church was plundered first, so the icons and church vestments were not preserved. During the years of Soviet power, believers were not allowed inside. The building was used as a dining room and the interior was completely redesigned. The last restoration of the unique building was carried out in 2001-2002.
Architectural features
The palace church in the Kazan Kremlin is one of the few surviving monuments of Russian early Baroque architecture. The temple, 27 m high, is built in two steps and looks like one standing next to Syuyumbike tower... The walls are built of large bricks and covered with a layer of plaster.
The one-headed quadruple stands on a high two-tiered basement. Along the perimeter, the squat church is surrounded by a covered gallery-porch and a gulbische. Old architectural elements were borrowed from Russian wooden towers. Initially, the galleries were open, but then they were glazed. Due to the massive basement, the facades look representative, but inside the temple is quite small.
The church is decorated with semi-columns with lush capitals, elegant platbands and figured ornaments. A small poppy-onion without a cross rises on a neat octahedral drum and is decorated with intricate oak wreaths.
Useful information for tourists
Nowadays, one of the iconic sights of Kazan does not belong to the Orthodox Church. Since 2006, inside the building there have been expositions of the museum, which are devoted to the history of the statehood of the Tatar people and the Republic of Tatarstan. Here you can learn how the local population lived in the Middle Ages, during the revolution and during the Great Patriotic War, about the history of the emergence of the national theater and the family traditions of the Tatars.
The museum regularly hosts interesting master classes for children and adults. Visitors will participate in doll making, glass painting and embroidery on fabric.
The doors of the museum are open from Monday to Thursday, Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 to 18:00, and on Fridays from 11:00 to 20:00.
A ticket to the exhibition hall on the 1st floor costs 80 rubles, and an excursion costs 300 rubles. Tickets for the second floor of the museum cost 150 rubles for adults and 100 rubles for university students and pensioners. For the excursion you need to pay 500 rubles. A single ticket will cost 200 rubles for adults, 150 rubles for beneficiaries. A tour of all the halls costs 600 rubles. Free admission for children under 18. The ticket office stops working half an hour before closing.
Dome of the Palace Church
How to get there
The ancient temple stands in the Kazan Kremlin, in the historical center of the city. It is easy to walk here from the Kremlevskaya metro station. You need to move along Bauman Street, and along the territory of the Kremlin - along Sheinkman Passage. The high Syuyumbike tower serves as a good landmark. Many city buses and trolleybuses make a stop in front of the entrance to the Kremlin, so it is easy to get to the temple by ground transport.
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