48°27′29.71″N 35°03′59.89″E / 48.4582528°N 35.0666361°E
The Saviour's Transfiguration Cathedral (Ukrainian: Спасо-Преображенський кафедральний собор, Russian: Спасо-Преображенский собор) is the main Orthodox church of Dnipro, Ukraine.
History
The foundation stone was laid on 20 May [O.S. 9 May] 1787 by Catherine II of Russia and Austrian Emperor Joseph II, during Catherine's Crimean journey.[1] The event is described in the memoirs of comte de Ségur.
Prince Grigory Potemkin envisioned the church as one of the spiritual centres of New Russia.[1] Ivan Starov submitted to Potemkin his designs for a Roman-style basilica, but construction was postponed until the end of the Russo-Turkish War.
In the early 19th century, Potemkin's plans were revived and updated by Duc de Richelieu, but construction did not start until 1830. The cathedral was built on a smaller scale than originally planned and was consecrated in 1835. The design is attributed to Andreyan Zakharov, chiefly on the ground of its similarity to Zakharov's cathedral in Kronstadt.[1]
The church was closed to worshippers in 1930 and housed a museum of atheism between 1975 and 1988. The building was damaged by an earthquake in 1888 and by bombs during the Second World War.[2]
The belltower
The interior
The Eye of Providence on the pediment
One of the gates to the cathedral compound
Candles burning