Cathedral of St. Nicholas (Mozhaysk)

The Cathedral of St. Nicholas is the cathedral in Mozhaysk city of Moscow region, Russia, located in the territory of former Mozhaysk Kremlin. The first church on its place was constructed in the early 12th century; then it was rebuilt and restored several times. The current building was constructed in 1802–1814 and consecrated to Saint Nicholas in 1816. It significantly differs from typical Russian Orthodox churches and is one of the very few Neo Gothic cathedrals in the country.

The first fortified detinets existed in the Mozhaysk as early as in the 12th century. The ricetto entrance to the fortress had a gate tower with a small church inside. This fact is based on archaeological evidence — Byzantine amphorae for oil and wine. One of the first stone buildings within the Kremlin walls was St. Nicholas Cathedral, built in the early 14th century. It was named 'Nikolskiy', later — 'Staro-Nikolsky'. It very much resembled the Dormition Cathedral in Zvenigorod. The wooden statue of Saint Nicholas of Mozhaysk was carved for that cathedral, but later moved to the Church Over-the-gates.

At the end of the 15th century the St Nicholas Gates with the Church of the Elevation of the Holy Cross were built. The stone for the construction was brought from Myachkovo. There are several versions regarding the precise date. According to Russian historian Grigory Mokeev, the church was built in 1470 under the rule of Prince Yury Vasiliyevich of Dmitrov. Another scientist A. G. Savin names years 1481–1493, under the command of Andrey Vasilyevich Bolshoy of Uglich. Based on the examination of masonry, S. A. Sharov-Delone and I. I. Kondratyev attributed the church to 1460s. The very first written evidence of the church goes back to 1536. In 1618 the fortress was blasted, the gates and the Church of the Elevation of the Holy Cross were almost destroyed. In 1624—1626 the Kremlin was rebuilt.

Church data from Wikidata (CC0). Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).