Dormition Cathedral in Smolensk
The Cathedral Church of the Dormition (Russian: Успенский собор), dominating the city of Smolensk, Russia, from Cathedral Hill, has been the principal church of the Smolensk bishopric for 800 years.
Monomakh Cathedral
The first brick church on the spot was started by
According to the official
The old cathedral survived the explosion, however. On September 9, 1627, the bishop Lew Rzewuski pleaded Lew Sapieha to preclude "the 500-year-old church" from being converted into a Roman Catholic church, which would violate the terms of Smolensk's surrender to the Poles in 1611. In a 1636 engraving, the cathedral is represented as being covered with a temporary wooden roof.
After Smolensk was recaptured by the tsars and recognized as belonging to Russia in the
New cathedral
The current six-pillared, five-domed edifice was constructed over a period of almost 100 years due to flaws in the original design and its implementation – at one point one of the walls collapsed – but it was eventually completed in 1772. The building’s Baroque design is impressive, especially looking up from the base of a wall.[original research?] Viewed from certain locations it often looks as if it is suspended in the air because it is situated on hill surrounded by trees, concealing the base of the building.
One of the most notable views is inside the cathedral,[original research?] namely the iconostasis that separates the altar from the nave area of the cathedral, which stands almost the height of the interior space. On it there are icons and interspaced with intricate gold-covered wooden decorations including figures of cherubim and columns entwined with vine branches.
According to local legend, when
The cathedral appears in Christian Bot's 2013 novel When we were Heroes, in the context of the 1812 Battle of Smolensk.