Location Central Chişinău Denomination Eastern Orthodoxy Dedicated 15 October 1836 Phone +373 22 226 194 Architect Avraam Melnikov | Country Moldova Dedication Jesus Style Empire Status Cathedral | |
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Address The Great National Assembly Square 12, Chisinau, Moldova Similar National Museum of Ethnogra, Ștefan cel Mare Central P, National Museum of History of, Chișinău Railway Station, Eternitate Memorial Complex | ||
The Cathedral of Christ's Nativity (Romanian: Catedrala Mitropolitană Nașterea Domnului) is the main cathedral of the Moldovan Orthodox Church in Central Chișinău, Moldova. It was commissioned by the governor of New Russia, Prince Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov, and Metropolitan Gavril Bănulescu-Bodoni in 1830. The cathedral was built in the 1830s to a Neoclassical design by Abram Melnikov (who had designed a similar church in Bolhrad). The cathedral was bombed during the World War II, and its bell tower was destroyed by the local Communists in 1962. The new bell tower was constructed in 1997. During the Soviet period, worship was prohibited and the cathedral was transformed into an exhibition center.
Style
This church built by Melnikov is a pure example of neo-classism architecture. The front remains very simple and clear with 6 Doric column for the entrance. Because of the numerous destructions which the cathedral suffered throughout time, the building had received several restorations and shifts in its shape. For instance, the current zinc dome and its cross at the top both are both an addition from 1997 built over the previous structure. The inside was completely blank during the Soviet period but nowadays it sports beautiful painted walls in pure orthodox style.