Trinity Cathedral of the
Alexander Nevskij Monastery
The bell-tower of the cathedral (122.5 m high) is surmounted
with a gilt copper spire crowned with a weather-vane in the form
of a flying angel holding a cross. In the 1720s, a clock with
chimes of 35 bell was mounted in the bell-tower. From 1776, the
clock struck the quarter, the half and the hour, and then chimed
the melody "How Glorious"; it also played the national
anthem "God Save the Tsar".
The main church of the St. Alexander Nevsky Monastery founded
by Peter the Great in 1710-1713 to commemorate the victory of
the Russian troops in the Neva battle of 1240. Built in 1776-1790
by the architect Ivan Starov. The cathedral was closed in 1933.
However, at persistent demands of believers it was given back
to the Church in 1955 and reconsecrated on 12 September 1957,
the feast day of St. Prince Alexander Nevsky.
