Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary

The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary in Moscow is the largest Catholic church in Russia. It is built of red brick in the Northern Gothic style. The cathedral was founded in 1901, and services there began in 1911. Services are held in the cathedral in many languages, as well as organ music concerts. 

At the end of the 19th century, two Catholic churches were located in Milyutinsky Lane in Moscow, but they could not accommodate all parishioners. The Council of the Roman Catholic Church appealed to the Moscow governor with a request to build a large cathedral for 5000 people. He gave such permission on the condition that the Catholic Church would be far from the most revered Orthodox shrines, and also there would be no chimeras and monsters in the decor of the cathedral, which are on many Gothic cathedrals in Europe. 

The project of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary was prepared by the Russian architect of Polish origin Thomas Bogdanovich-Dvorzhetsky. The temple was built in the late Gothic style, and the original appearance was different from the decor of the cathedral, which we see now. It was decided to build the cathedral on Malaya Gruzinskaya Street near the Belorussky railway station. The largest Polish diaspora lived in this area.  

The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary was built in compliance with all architectural canons of the Gothic style. The building is built in the form of a Latin cross with a long nave and side transepts. The walls of the nave are lightened by arcbutanes. Thanks to this, you can see traditional stained-glass windows for Catholic churches in the walls. Despite the absence of chimeras on the outer walls, the decor of the cathedral looks very impressive. 

One of the largest in Russia organs of the Orgelbau Kuhn company has been installed in the cathedral. It was transferred from the Cathedral of Basel (Switzerland) as a gift to the Moscow Catholic community. As in many Catholic churches, organ music concerts are held in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Moscow. Sometimes small ensembles perform here with chamber concerts.