Tver has preserved many unique monuments of Russian temple architecture, the oldest of which - the White Trinity Temple - has been preserved since 1564. Many churches have come down to us since the 18th century. This is the Cathedral of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos, and the temple of the Three Confessors, and the Sorrowful Church, unusual for Tver, the main volume of which is made in the form of a rotunda. Later temples are also of interest from both an architectural and a pilgrimage point of view.
Since the beginning of the 90s, active restoration of ancient temples began, many of which managed to restore their historical appearance. Thus, the Church of the Great Martyr Catherine and the Church of the Nativity of Christ in Rybaki were restored along with the bell towers. In recent years, new churches have been built in Tver, for example, the Church of Mikhail Tverskoy on Memory Island, the Church of Alexander Nevsky and the wooden church of Seraphim of Sarov at the Volyn cemetery.
Operating churches and cathedrals of Tver
List of the most famous and beautiful temples in the city.
Resurrection Cathedral
Laid down in 1913. The construction was carried out at the expense of the royal family and the Nativity of Christ monastery and was timed to coincide with the 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty. The cathedral is stylized as the ancient temples of the Pskov-Novgorod land. Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna was present at its consecration in 1916. From 1936 to 1988, the cathedral was closed. In 2002, the funeral service for the murdered singer Mikhail Krug was performed here. It is the cathedral of the Tver and Kashin dioceses.
Address: Tver, st. Barrikadnaya, 1
Site: sobor-tver.ru
Ascension Cathedral (Cathedral of the Ascension of the Lord)
It has the status of a bishop's metochion of the Tver diocese. The current building of the temple was built in the middle of the 18th century on the site of two burnt down churches - Epiphany and Voznesenskaya. In 1805, a bell tower was added to the church. In the 1920s, all church valuables were confiscated; from 1935 to 1991, the temple was closed. Services resumed in 1993, and in 2005 the cathedral was restored. The interior of the cathedral is decorated with white marble, the walls are decorated with paintings.
Address: Sovetskaya, 26
Site: vosnesenie.ru
Alexander Nevsky Cathedral (Comintern st.)
Construction of a new cathedral on the site of the magnificent church in the name of St. Prince Alexander Nevsky began in 2010. A particle of the relics of the holy martyr Thaddeus, Archbishop of Tver, was laid in the foundation of the temple. In 2013, golden domes with crosses appeared near the temple, and bells were installed on the bell tower. The consecration of the temple took place on December 6, 2017. The iconostasis was made by craftsmen from Nizhny Novgorod.
Address: Comintern, 18 A
Site: sobor-nevskogo.ru
Temple of the Life-Giving Trinity (White Trinity)
The temple was built in 1564 and is the oldest stone building in the city. The church was white, which is why it received such a name among the people. According to legend, there was an underground passage to the Kremlin under it, but only a few secret rooms were found under the arches of the church. The church has preserved the iconostasis of the 18th century and the painting of the late 18th and first half of the 19th century. In the 60s-80s of the XX century, the Trinity Church was the only functioning temple in the city.
Address: Troitskaya, 38
Church of the Three Confessors (Church in honor of the Resurrection of Christ)
The temple was built in 1731 at the expense of the Tver merchant G. Sedov on the site of two dilapidated wooden churches. Its architectural appearance contains features of classicism, baroque and empire style. Before the revolution, the church kept the miraculous icon of the Mother of God "Seeking the Lost", which was given to the temple by the mayor E. Zubchaninov. During the Soviet years, the decoration of the temple was lost, but now this icon has been painted anew and is one of the main shrines.
Address: Tver, Afanasy Nikitin embankment, 38
Website: hram-triispo.ru
Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin
The cathedral is the only surviving building of the Assumption Otroch Monastery, which has existed here since the beginning of the 13th century. It was built in 1722 at the expense of the monastery and its parishioners. In the 30s of the XX century, the River Station was built on the site of the destroyed monastery buildings. Only the Assumption Cathedral survived. In 2009, by the sole decision of the abbot, the cathedral was deprived of the ancient temple painting of the late 18th century, which caused a violent negative reaction from the public, art critics and the media.
Address: Tver, Afanasy Nikitin embankment, 1
Website: otrochmontver.prihod.ru
Temple of Blessed Xenia of Petersburg
A small one-domed church in the name of St. Blessed Xenia was built today - in 2004. This is the first temple in the Yunost microdistrict and the first temple in the Tver region, which boasts a sculptural image of the saint, in whose honor it was consecrated. On February 6, 2007, on the feast day of Blessed Xenia, a sculpture of the saint was installed in front of the entrance to the temple. It was donated to the Tver diocese by the famous St. Petersburg sculptor B. Sergeev.
Address: Pasha Savelieva, 25 A
Website: www.ksenia-tver.ru
John the Baptist Church
Built at the beginning of the 19th century as a cemetery church. The architectural style is early classicism. The bells for the church were cast at the expense of the church head and local benefactors. The heaviest bell weighed 225 pounds. During the Soviet era, the temple was closed; services were resumed only in 1998. The revival of the temple is taking place with the active support of various industrial enterprises and organizations. In 2014, the old paintings of the late 19th century were cleared and restored.
Address: Tver, per. Belyakovsky, 39/46
Site: tver-pervoe-4.cerkov.ru
Vladimirskaya church
Built at the beginning of the 20th century for the first Moscow Life Dragoon Regiment, which had been in Tver since 1865. The church was consecrated as a part of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, which was considered the patroness of the Moscow life dragoons. The temple could hold up to 900 people, it had an oak iconostasis, marble walls and a patterned stone floor. The bell tower had seven bells, the heaviest of which weighed 53 pounds. The revival of the church began in 2002. Now it is a full-fledged temple with many shrines.
Address: Tver, Petersburg highway, 4, bldg. 2
Website: vladimirskaya1904.rf
Sorrowful Church
The Church of the Mother of God Icon "Joy of All Who Sorrow" was built in 1780-1792. Previously, there was an almshouse with a wooden church of the same name. The Stone Mourning Temple differs from other temples in the city with its rotunda base in the classical style and a seven-sided altar. In the XX century, the church porch was dismantled and residential buildings were added. In the 70s, the churches were restored to their original appearance. Services resumed in 1995.
Address: Andrey Dementieva, 1
Church of St. Sergius of Radonezh
Built in 1775-1780 at the expense of the Tver merchant G. Bogdanov on the site of the wooden Resurrection Church. It is located in the area of the historical one-storey building of Zatverechye, and was named after St. Sergius of Radonezh, the icon with the relics of which Archbishop Arseny of Tver brought from the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. During the Soviet years, the temple was closed. Now it is the courtyard of the St. Catherine Monastery.
Address: Tver, Zatverechye settlement, st. Rosa Luxemburg, 19
Church of the Nativity of the Virgin
The stone church was built at the end of the 18th century on the site of the Arkhangelsk Monastery in Vspolye, which was abolished by Catherine II in 1764 due to its decline. The church has a typical for Tver architectural solution "octagon on a quadruple". During the Soviet years, the bell tower was destroyed and the interior was badly damaged. Since 1995, the revival of church life began, restoration has been carried out.
Address: Vagzhanova, 11 A
Church of the Great Martyr Catherine
Catherine's Church was built in 1774-1781 on the site of a dilapidated wooden church. According to legend, the money for the construction was donated by the Empress Catherine II herself.Later, a bell tower was added to the temple and decorated with wall paintings. All this was lost during the years of Soviet power. The temple was returned to the believers in 1989. Currently, it is the main temple of the St. Catherine's convent of Tver, formed in 1996. The restoration has been carried out, the bell tower has been restored.
Address: Kropotkina, 19/2
Church of the Intercession
Built in 1774 on a peninsula in the bend of the Tmaki River in the historic center of the city. A hundred years later, a bell tower was erected near the church, which was blown up in the Soviet years and has not yet been restored. Since 1992, the temple has been returned to the Church and received the status of a bishop's courtyard. At present, the walls are completely painted and the iconostases for all three chapels have been made. One of the main shrines of the temple is the ancient Smolensk icon of the Mother of God from the old iconostasis, which some of the parishioners managed to preserve.
Address: Tver, embankment of the Tmaki River, 1 A
Site: vk.com/club18430832
Church of Mikhail Tverskoy
The white-stone one-domed church in the Vladimir-Suzdal style was built on the Memory Island in 2002 and consecrated in honor of the Grand Duke of Tver and Vladimir Mikhail Tverskoy. The construction was carried out with the participation of the mayor of the city on private donations. The authors of the project are Tver architects V. Kurochkin and A. Barkovsky. Nearby there is a memorial complex dedicated to the Victory in the Great Patriotic War.
Address: Tver, Krasnoflotskaya embankment, 1
Church of Alexander Nevsky in the Chaika microdistrict
Built at the request of residents of the Chaika microdistrict in 2011. It is a single-altar five-domed church 33 meters high. The author of the project is the architect V. B. Mikryukov. The general director of OOO Russkiy Svet AV Strashnov took part in financing the construction. The bells for the temple were cast in the city of Tutaev, the largest of which weighs 450 kg. The first divine service took place in 2012 on the patron saint's holiday - December 6.
Address: Sklizkova, 102 A
Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker
Nikolsky Church in Krasnaya Sloboda was erected at the very beginning of the 20th century for the workers of the Tver paper manufacture. The church was built of red brick in the Russian style, however, due to lack of funds, the initial project was not implemented - instead of five domes, they decided to limit themselves to one. There was a parish school for the children of the factory workers at the church. In the Soviet years, the temple was closed and fell into disrepair; restoration began in the 2000s.
Address: 4th Krasnaya Sloboda, 26
Website: s-droba.wixsite.com
Church of St. Arseny of Tver
Laid down in 2004 at the initiative of residents of the Pervomaisky microdistrict. The consecration of the temple took place three years later. It is dedicated to Saint Arseny, Bishop of Tver, who in 1394 founded the Assumption Zheltikov Monastery near Tver. In those days, near the place where the temple now stands, there was a path of pilgrims, along which the annual procession took place. The tradition of the procession was revived in 2007. In 2017, the temple was expanded.
Address: Stroiteley, 3
Church of the Nativity of Christ in Rybaki
It is one of the oldest churches in Tver, built in 1743 on the site of the burnt Nativity of Christ Church. The funds for the construction of a stone church in Rybatskaya Sloboda were donated by the Tver merchant A. Yankovsky. In 1763, during a terrible fire, the temple burned to the ground along with the parishioners and clergy who were there. The church was restored in 1771, later the iconostasis was restored and the walls were painted. From the 30s of the XX century until 2000, the temple was used for other purposes. Now it has been completely restored along with the lost bell tower.
Address: Volny Novgorod, 11
Website: templerybaki.rf
Temple of the Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon
The two-story white brick temple was built in 2011 on the outskirts of the city near the Regional Clinical Hospital. The construction lasted more than 10 years with private donations supported by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which provided the workers with building materials. An Orthodox sisterhood in the name of the great martyr Paraskeva Pyatnitsa operates at the church, helping the patients of the hospital.
Address: Tver, Petersburg highway, 105 B
Church of the Apostle Luke
The temple-chapel in honor of the Apostle Luke was built in 2009 at the Tver City Hospital No. 4. It is a small white stone church with bright blue roof slopes, a hipped roof and a belfry. Hospital patients can come to the temple at any time, pray for health, talk with a priest and receive spiritual help. The construction of the chapel was a continuation of the Russian tradition of building hospital churches.
Address: Marshal Konev, 71 A
Temple of the Icon of the Mother of God "Joy of All Who Sorrow"
The home church at Zatmachye Avayevskaya hospital was built in 1899, 20 years after the opening of the hospital itself. Funds for the construction of the temple, as well as the entire hospital, were donated by the family of the honorary citizen of Tver, merchant V.P. Avayev. In 2008, the temple was restored almost in its original form - now, instead of the lost five-domed, the temple is crowned with one silver dome. A stone staircase with cast-iron balusters has been preserved in the church.
Address: Tver, Sophia Perovskoy, 54, Center for Specialized Types of Medical Aid. V.P. Avaeva
Site: vk.com/club55776473
Church of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God
The Kazan Church was built a few kilometers from Tver in the village of Vlasyevo according to the typical type of a rural baroque temple. At the church there was a sobriety society, a canteen, a tea house, a library, an orphanage and a parish school. In 1989, after decades of neglect, the temple reopened to the faithful, the domes, bell tower, exterior and interior decoration were restored.
Address: Tver, Vlasyevo village, 34
Site: vk.com/kazanskaya_ikona
Temple of Seraphim of Sarov
Wooden single-altar church in the name of St. Seraphim of Sarov was built in 2005 at the Volyn cemetery. Previously, there was the Church of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which was destroyed in the 30s of the XX century. The remains of more than 70 people who were shot during the years of mass repressions were found near the church. In memory of this, a memorial plate is installed on the western wall of the temple. The shrine of the temple is the icon of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, for which in 2006 the Torzhok gold embroiderers made a new robe.
Address: Volynskaya, 7
Website: serafim-tver.rf
Chapel of John of Kronstadt
A small chapel in the neo-Russian style with a high hipped dome and four small domes was built in 1913 for the 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty. The construction was carried out at the expense of the Orsha monastery. It survived during the Soviet years, although it was used as a kerosene and souvenir shop. In 1990, the chapel was restored and transferred to the Bishop's courtyard. The shrine of the temple is a list with the Feodorovskaya icon of the Mother of God, which was baptized into the kingdom of the first Russian Tsar Mikhail Romanov.
Address: Tver, Tchaikovsky Avenue, 19, p. 1
