The geographical position

Grodno is a regional town in Western Belarus.

The historical reference

The origin of the name of one of the most ancient towns in Belarus is connected with its defense function as previously Grodno was a settlement around a fortress.

The population

Nowadays the population of Grodno is about 350 thousand people.

The attractions

The construction of the Cathedral of the Intercession was dedicated to soldiers that had become victims of the Russian-Japanese War. The architect was M. M. Prozorov and the military engineer Ivan Evgrafovich Savelyev conducted the project. Construction of temples and churches in honor of victims of military activities was generally accepted practice of the time. Besides, in the early XX century, by order of Nicolay I, the temples had to be near barracks where the clergy of a parish was. The construction of a brick building lasted one year and was finished in 1905. The temple was consecrated in the autumn of 1907.

During the Soviet period, the Cathedral of the Intercession was regularly closed in Grodno. In the 1960-s, divine worships were held several times a week, bell-ringing was banned; however, believers continued to support the activity of the temple.

There is a plate in memory of soldiers of the Russian-Japanese War within the temple. In 1993, it was added with a memorial dedicated to soldier-internationalists that had become victims of the Afghanistan War.

The building of Pseudo-Russian architecture has three naves and an apse. The main facade of the temple is symmetrical and crowned with a belfry. It rises 10 meters high and presents an octahedron with an onion dome. There are tents at the sides of the belfry. They are located symmetrically and crowned with domes. The altar part of the building has one central and four corner domes resting on the hip roof. Due to the architect’s idea, the domes are located on an octangular drum. There are blind windows between its sides. The framing of them looks like a corbel arch.

The interior of the temple is divided by twelve columns between which there are arcades. The ceiling has three laps decorated with Old Russian ornamental script. The major part of the floor is tiled. The floor of the porch is ornamented with mosaic. The cornice of the temple is decorated with small denticles under the windows and along the wall.

One of the sanctities of the Temple of the Intercession of Grodno is the icon “The Mother of God of Kazan” in connection with which there is a legend. They say that during the First World War, the occupants wanted to take out the sanctity far beyond Belarus; however, they could not even budge it.

Besides, within the temple there is a copy of the Euphrosyne of Polotsk cross and an icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker.

The early XXI century became a milestone in history of the temple – there were carried out major repairs that let the building be deservedly called one of the most beautiful attractions of the town.