Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral

This is a majestic temple, one of the bright architectural sights of Sumy.

The history of the construction of the Savior-Transfiguration church originates from the foundation of the city itself. In the sixties of the 16th century, a wooden church dedicated to the Transfiguration of the Lord was built to the north of the modern cathedral. She was burnt after one of the Tatar raids. However, in its place thanks to the founder of Sumy, Colonel Gerasim Kondratiev was built a new temple. The last reconstruction in 1882-1892 gave the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral the view that it has today.

The first thing that you pay your attention to, looking at the Transfiguration Cathedral, is a five-tiered bell tower. Its height is 56 meters, which allows you to view from there the entire central part of the city. Be sure to take this opportunity. On the upper tier of the bell tower are chimes, designed like the Kremlin model. It ends with a golden dome.

The entire architectural composition of the temple does not have a clearly defined single style of construction. It harmoniously intertwined features of the Renaissance, Classicism and Baroque. This indicates different times of construction of various annexes of the cathedral.

The Savior-Transfiguration church has a two-tiered structure. The first tier is dedicated to the Transfiguration of the Lord. The second is built in honor of the Annunciation of Our Lady.The cathedral's facade is framed by a double portico, on both sides of thecentralentrance there is a mosaic masonry. Four central columns are decorated with capitals in the Corinthian style. Another unique detail of the cathedral are eight three-meter cast-iron sculptures located on four sides near the main dome of the church and the bell tower. The central arch is decorated with figures of apostles. Pavel looks to the north-east, Peter - to the southeast, while two absolutely identical statues of Prince Vladimir Equal-to-the-Apostles look to the south and northwest. On the four sides of the bell tower are the sculptures of the evangelistsLuke, Mark, John and Matthew.

Inside the Savior's Transfiguration Cathedral is no less interesting. Pay attention to the four-tiered marble iconostasis with the addition of Sumy malachite. Above him worked sculptor Sergei Orlov and a talented church artist Vladimir Makovsky. The walls of the church are decorated with paintings of Klavdia Lebedev and Anatoly Shorokhov. There is also a local relic, which, as the residents of the city say, protects all the Sumy people. ThisKorsun Icon of the Mother of God, known as"Insipid". This name was given to the icon for the ability to return the eyes of the blind.

The Transfiguration Cathedral is located on one of the central pedestrian streets of the city - Sobornaya, 31. You can reach it from any part of the city.