Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Tallinn

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The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Tallinn, Estonia, was built to a design by Mikhail Preobrazhensky in a typical Russian Revival style between 1894 and 1900, during the period when the country was part of the Russian Empire. The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is Tallinn’s largest and grandest orthodox cupola cathedral. It is dedicated to Saint Alexander Nevsky who in 1242 won the Battle of the Ice on Lake Peipus, in the territorial waters of present-day Estonia. The current Russian patriarch, Alexis II, started his priestly ministry in the church.

The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral crowns the hill of Toompea where the Estonian folk hero Kalevipoeg is said to have been buried according to a legend. The cathedral is disliked by many Estonians as a reminder of Russian hegemony. The Estonian authorities scheduled the cathedral for demolition in 1924, but the controversial decision was never implemented. The church has been meticulously restored since Estonia regained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.