The Transfiguration Cathedral has been the main temple of Tver for several centuries. In the 12th century there was a wooden church here, and in 1286 the construction of a large stone cathedral began. The Bolsheviks destroyed the cathedral in 1935, but in 2014 its restoration began. By 2023, the work has not yet been completed.
Tver Prince Mikhail Yaroslavich in the 13th and 14th centuries fought with the Moscow princes for the Grand duchy, and the cathedral of such large dimensions emphasized the high status of Tver among the Russian principalities. At that time, large stone cathedrals were only in the largest cities of Russia. However, a century later, the Tver Principality lost its influence and the unification of the Russian principalities into a single state was headed by the Moscow princes.
After Tver became part of the Moscow Principality in 1485, the Transfiguration Cathedral remained the only stone building in the Tver Kremlin. In the Time of Turmoil (1608-1610), the old Transfiguration Cathedral of the 13th century was dismantled, and a new cathedral was built on its foundation.
In 1763, a strong fire occurred in the center of Tver. All the wooden buildings of the Tver Kremlin were completely burned down. The stone Transfiguration Cathedral was also partially damaged, but it was restored. Empress Catherine II ordered the construction of a Travel Palace on the site of the former Kremlin, where she could stay while traveling between St. Petersburg and Moscow.
The Empress always traveled with a large entourage, so the Travel Palace was made in the form of "П". Its edges were built close to the cathedral. Contemporaries noted the lack of symmetry in the arrangement of the palace and the cathedral. The sides of the Christian church are strictly oriented to the cardinal directions. The altar of the church is located on the east side. The Travel Palace was built along the Volga Passage, so the Cathedral stands diagonally from the wings of the palace.
In 1935, the Bolsheviks destroyed the Transfiguration Cathedral. In its place, a square was made and a monument to Mikhail Kalinin was erected. In 2014, the city authorities decided to restore the ancient cathedral. In 2016, the construction of the cathedral began on the old foundation.
