Russia-1 TV channel reports on the recently reconstructed main Cathedral of Penza, which will become a Golden Trezzini nominee soon.
Spassky Cathedral is a cathedral of the Penza diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church, located in Penza, Russia, on Cathedral Square. Built in 19th century, it was blown up in 1934 after the Bolshevik Revolution and renovated in 2022.
Construction took place in 1790—1824 years and ended with the most grandiose and spectacular building of Penza – the Savior Cathedral, after which the area became known as the Cathedral. In 1923, the Spassky Cathedral was closed, in the following year given over to archive, and the square was called Soviet. In 1934 the Cathedral was blown up.
Stories about the demolition survived in the memories of Penza citizens. There were a lot of militia, so the people were silent. Most were crying. First they dismantled the bell, removed the fixture, and left it hanging on one rope. All the workers refused to do, so the officials started to look for volunteers and finally volunteered a local alcoholic for three quarters (around 9 liters) of vodka. When the bell had fallen free from the ceiling, incredibly loud bang resounded.
Military students were brought to blow up the Cathedral. For all cadets, it was a shock, but orders are orders, they are not to be discussed. At the base of the Cathedral walls, which had a thickness of more than three meters, they drilled the holes and set the charges of ammonal. The first explosion occurred, the pits knocked out, but the building was not destroyed. Charges have doubled, but it did not help. Only on the third attempt, the Cathedral broke into a huge brick blocks, which no one removed until 1947. And they, too, were undermined, so solid was the masonry.
Spassky Cathedral opened in 2022 after years of renovation. It will be nominated for the Golden Trezzini Award in the Best Implemented Restoration / Reconstruction Project Category soon.
The Golden Trezzini Awards for Architecture and Design, established in 2018, are named after Domenico Trezzini (1670—1734), Russian architect of Swiss origin, the first architect of St. Petersburg. The Honorary Chairman of the International Council of the Awards is Mikhail Piotrovsky, director of the State Hermitage.
The motto of the Awards is 'Architecture as Art'. The aim of the Awards is turning the most artistically valuable architectural, design, restoration, scenography, and exhibition projects into museum objects. The Golden Trezzini winning projects, selected by more than 230 experts from 34 countries are transformed into museum exhibits in order to keep and showcase their historical, cultural, scientific and artistic value the best way.
By now, more than 250 works from 40 countries have been approved for participation, and there is only one month left for potential nominees to submit their projects. Applications are open at https://www.goldtrezzini.ru/en/ till September 15, 2022. We invite nominees from all over the world: developers and planners, architects and renovators, designers and interior decorators, theatre artists, as well as students of architecture schools and departments. Participation is free of charge.
The Golden Trezzini Awards Gala ceremony will take place on November, 15, 2022 in St. Petersburg.
2022 Golden Trezzini Awards partners: Strategic partner of the awarding is Etalon Group, Official partners of the Gala evening are Rosseti FGC UES, KADO, and LenRusStroy Construction Corporation. See https://www.goldtrezzini.ru/en/2022partners/ for the complete list of partners.
More news of the Golden Trezzini Awards:
https://goldtrezzini.ru/en/news/
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