St. Nicholas Naval Cathedral, Karosta

St. Nicholas Cathedral
The Naval Cathedral Church of Saint Nicholas
Sv. Nikolaja Jūras katedrāle
56°33′11″N 21°00′45″E
Location	Liepāja
Country	Latvia
Denomination	Russian Orthodox Church
History
Status	Active
Founded	1901
Dedication	Saint Nicholas
Dedicated	1903
Architecture
Functional status	Church
Architect(s)	Vasily Kosyakov
Style	Russian Revival architecture
Years built	1901-1903
Groundbreaking	1901
Completed	1903
Construction cost	₽530,000
Specifications
Capacity	1,500 people
Dome height (outer)	54 m (177 ft)

The St. Nicholas Naval Cathedral (Latvian: Sv. Nikolaja Jūras katedrāle) (Russian: Свято-Николаевский морской собор) is a Russian Orthodox cathedral church located in Karosta in the north of Liepāja, Latvia.

Construction

The cathedral was built in the style of 17th century traditional Russian churches with a central dome representing Christ with 4 smaller domes representing the four evangelists on designs made by Vasily Kosyakov. It was built to serve as the cathedral church of the Russian navy stationed in Karosta. The cornerstone was laid in the presence of a number of dignitaries including Tsar Nicholas II of Russia. The cathedral was completed two years later in 1903 and was formally consecrated and dedicated to the patron saint of seafarers in the presence of the Tsar himself.

Detail of the back of the cathedral

WWI

The cathedral's belongings, including bells and icons, were transported to Russia during the outbreak of WWI, for safe keeping. The rest of the items were stolen by the Germans who invaded Latvia. After independence in 1918, the church was converted into a Lutheran church to serve the Latvian navy personnel.

Soviet Occupation

The cathedral continued to function as place of worship until the Soviet re-occupation of Latvia in 1944. The Soviets prohibited anyone entering the Karosta area which was turned into a secret Soviet navy territory. Consequently, the cathedral was converted into a gymnasium, a cinema and a recreation and entertainment room, referred to as the 'red corner' for the needs of sailors and soldiers. The interior of the central dome was closed to eliminate the acoustics which made it difficult for navy personnel to hear movies in the cinema.

Independence

After Latvia's independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, the cathedral was given back to the Latvian Orthodox Church under the authority of the Russian Orthodox Church with the first service taking place that same year in December.

Mosaics and Paintings

The mosaics were designed by V. Frolov, while the wood carvings and gilding of the iconostas were made by P. Abosimov. The paintings of the central and the right-side altar spheres were made by F. Railyan and the frescoes of the left-side altar spheres were painted by M. Vasilyev.