A Walk Around Serpukhov

8 points4 km0 hours

Serpukhov has kept the atmosphere of an old merchant town, with its churches, monasteries, and 19th-century mansions. Here, an hour's drive from Moscow, you can feel the measured rhythm of provincial life. Come here for a leisurely stroll through the historic center and to get to know provincial Russia without the bustle of the capital.

Route author

Susanin Team

Things to do

📜 Learn the city's history
📸 Take photos

Route points (8)

St. Nicholas Cathedral in Serpukhov

Point on route “A Walk Around Serpukhov”

Point 3

St. Nicholas Cathedral

🕍 Place of worship • 📜 Historic site

Historical Information

The Cathedral of St. Nicholas the White stands in the historic center of Serpukhov and is among the town's oldest churches. A wooden church is mentioned on this site from the 16th century, and in 1649 residents built the first stone church, the first stone church not only in the posad (the trading quarter) but in all of Serpukhov. The cathedral got the name “Nikola Bely” (“Nicholas the White”) from the limestone blocks used in its masonry. One theory holds that it was designed by builders from Yaroslavl: its forms resemble the churches of that region. In 1713, on the initiative of Mikhail Popov, a decree was issued to build a new stone cathedral. The work was completed in 1721. The old building gradually fell into disrepair, and in the 19th century the cathedral was rebuilt to a design by the Moscow architects F. M. Shestakov and I. T. Tamansky, who worked in the Empire style.

Architectural Features

The Cathedral of St. Nicholas is an example of Moscow Empire style; it is built of brick, plastered, and finished with white stone. The main volume is a cube with a single apse and two side porticoes, crowned by a large domed rotunda. On the west side adjoin a four-pillar refectory and a multitier bell tower. The bell tower became the tallest in town, and it holds the town's largest bell, weighing 5 metric tons (5.5 short tons). Over the years the church changed its appearance several times. In the 19th century side chapels dedicated to St. Alexis of Moscow and St. Cyril of Beloozero were added, and later new altars dedicated to the Mother of God “Helper in Childbirth” and to the New Martyrs of Serpukhov.

The Cathedral's Fate in the 20th Century

In 1924 the church was given the status of a cathedral. In Soviet times it was closed and the bell tower partly destroyed; the premises were used first as a factory and then as a warehouse, which helped preserve the building. After it was returned to the church, a major renovation was carried out: the decoration was restored, the interior space reconstructed, and new bells installed. The cathedral has a memorial cross in memory of the burials of past centuries and the victims of political repression.