Презентация "St. Sophia Cathedral"

St. Sophia Cathedral

History of St. Sophia Cathedral

Sophia Cathedral with its special and symbolic architecture was built in Polotsk on the right bank of the Western Dvina River in the XI century.

In the middle of the XVIII century it was rebuilt according to the design of architect Jan Glaubitz in the Vilna Baroque style.

The architecture of St. Sophia Cathedral

However, fragments of masonry, almost completely preserved ancient foundations, parts of pillars and walls, frescoes survived from the temple of the XI century and a copy of Leonardo da Vinci's famous “The Last Supper”.

The majestic structure was erected by Byzantine craftsmen and townspeople in 1044 - 1066. A symbol of independence and power of the principality of Polotsk, the temple was like a white ship sailing the Dvina River .

St. Sophia Cathedral today

Nowadays St. Sophia Cathedral is one of the largest cultural centers in Belarus. It hosts services and ceremonies, excursions, concerts and artistic evenings.

The Museum of the History of Architecture of St. Sophia Cathedral was opened in 1987. Here you can see rare exhibits that tell about the history of the temple, the peculiarities of the architecture and its latest restoration. Among them are the fragments of masonry of the XI century, foundations and frescoes.

In 1983, for the first time the concert hall in the Cathedral of St. Sophia, famous for its excellent acoustics, and since 1985 the organ sounds here.

Sightseeing near St. Sophia

Cathedral

Right next to the cathedral there is the Borisov Stone of the XII century, one of the four Belarusian boulders which has images of crosses and ancient inscriptions on it.