Cathedral`s Mosque of St. Petersburg

One could see quite well the dome and minarets of the Cathedral`s Mosque of St. Petersburg, which is near the Trinity Bridge, from the Neva embankment. The mosque, which was built in 1914, strongly resembles those of Bukhara and Samarkand.

For nearly two centuries after the foundation of St. Petersburg there was no mosque in the city, although by the second half of 19 century a rather big Muslim community had been formed there. The first request for the construction of the mosque was forwarded in 1881, when the son of Bukhara emir Said Mir Alim went to Petersburg for the crowning of Alexander II. However, the actual preparation works for the construction of the mosque began only 20 years later, when Said Mir Alim became the emir of Bukhara and came to St. Petersburg to meet Nicholas II in 1904.

The emir assigned 312 thousand roubles for purchase of land and creation of the project. The laying of the foundation stone took place on February 10, 1910 and was timed to the 25th anniversary of the emir enthronement. The first religious service was held during the celebration of 300th anniversary of the House of Romanov in the unfinished building of the Cathedral`s Mosque of St. Petersburg in 1913. The construction was finished a year later and regular religious services began only in 1920.

Architecturally, the Cathedral`s Mosque of St. Petersburg mosque looks very much like the famous Gur-Emir Mosque of Samarkand. The ribbed dome of 39 meters covered by turquoise majolica is dominated by two 48-meter minarets. The entrance portal of the mosque strongly resembles that of the Shah-i-Zinda mausoleum in Samarkand.