The Transfiguration Cathedral of Rybinsk is an outstanding example of classicism. Both the size of the cathedral and its architectural appearance are worthy to decorate any capital. However, in the 19th century Rybinsk was one of the trade centers of Russia, and local merchants definitely wanted to build a large cathedral in the city.
The first stone Transfiguration Cathedral of Rybinsk was built on the site of a wooden church in 1660. In 1767, Catherine II traveled along the Volga and attended divine services in that cathedral. However, by the beginning of the 19th century, the cathedral was dilapidated and required reconstruction.
After the construction of the Mariinsky water system, the city of Rybinsk began to get richer. Local merchants allocated money for the construction of a bell tower. It was built in a strict classical style in 1804. Its height reaches 93 meters. Now it is one of the five tallest bell towers in Russia, and at the time of construction it was second in height only to the spire of the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg and the Great Lavra Bell Tower in Kiev, which at that time was located on the territory of the Russian Empire.
The dilapidated squat cathedral of the 17th century was very dissonant with the classical bell tower, so the question of building a new cathedral was very acute for the residents of Rybinsk A few years after the bell tower was built, the old cathedral was dismantled. The new Transfiguration Cathedral was founded in 1838. Financing was provided by a group of Rybinsk merchants. They turned to the architect Avraham Melnikov, rector of the Academy of Arts of St. Petersburg.
In 1818, he participated in a competition for the construction of St. Isaac`s Cathedral in St. Petersburg. The project of Auguste Montferrand was selected at the competition, and the project of Abraham Melnikov took third place. However, this project was really good, and the Rybinsk merchants chose it for the construction of a cathedral in their city. The first service was held there in 1851.
In Soviet times, the cathedral began to be dismantled, since the construction of the Rybinsk Bridge across the Volga was planned at this place. However, the WWII prevented the implementation of these plans, and after the war the bridge was built 150 meters downstream.
However, the cathedral has already been partially dismantled. It was first made into a hostel, and then a river station. The bell tower was preserved because there was a clock on it. In 1963, the domes of the Transfiguration Cathedral were restored, but the building housed the State Archive of the Yaroslavl region. In 1999, the cathedral was returned to the church, and in 2007, after restoration, divine services began again in it.
