The Chesma Church is located on Moskovsky Avenue, in the south of St. Petersburg. It is consecrated as the Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist. However, everyone calls it the "Chesma Church", since it was built on the site where Empress Catherine II was informed in 1770 about the victory of the Russian fleet over the Turkish fleet in the Battle of Chesma.
The Chesma Church was built in a Neo-Gothic style, absolutely not typical of the Russian church tradition. It is usually indicated in all lists of the most unusual churches in Russia. The cross-domed layout of the church has been preserved, as required by the Byzantine rite of worship, but the appearance of the church resembles a small Gothic castle.
From the 16th to the 20th century there were 12 wars between Russia and Turkey, but the war of 1768-1774 was one of the most important. Russia won this war and annexed vast lands on the left bank of the Dnieper. Chersonesos, Nikolaev and many other cities were founded on these lands.
On June 24-26, 1770, the Battle of Chesma took place in the Aegean Sea, near the island of Chios (now it belongs to Greece). The Russian fleet was commanded by Alexey Orlov, the brother of Ekaterina`s favorite Grigory Orlov. The Turkish fleet was twice as powerful and numerous as the Russian one. However, the commander of the Turkish fleet, Pasha Hassan Bey, made the erroneous decision to take refuge in the Chesma Bay, under the protection of coastal batteries.
Russian sailors sent 4 small vessels filled with combustible materials into the bay and were able to set fire to several Turkish ships. As a result, the entire Turkish fleet burned down in this fire. This was the first victory won by the Russian fleet over the Turks. Previously, Russian sailors defeated only the Swedes in the Northern War.
In the summer of 1770, Catherine II was traveling to Tsarskoye Selo, and 7 miles from St. Petersburg she met a messenger who reported this significant event. In those years, there was a swampy area in this place, but Catherine ordered the construction of the Chesma Travel Palace, as well as the Chesma Church. Then she came here many times.
The Chesma Travel Palace was built from 1774 to 1777, and the Chesma Church opposite it was built during 1777. The project of both buildings was prepared by architect Yuri Felten. He was an assistant to the famous Francesco Rastrelli during the construction of the Winter Palace, but then he became a famous architect. All the palaces of Rastrelli were built in the Baroque style, and Felten decided to build the Chesma Palace and the Chesma Church in the Neo-Gothic style.
The son of Empress Catherine, Paul I, did not like the Chesma Palace and I decided to establish there an almshouse. However, under Paul I and Alexander I, the Chesma Palace remained a travel palace. Only in 1830 an almshouse was opened there. It existed until 1919, then the premises of the almshouse were converted for the keeping of prisoners.
In 1946, the palace was restored and now it houses the Leningrad Institute of Aerospace Instrumentation. As for the Chesma Church, it has been preserved to this day in its original appearance since the time of Catherine II.
