angelius1979 (CC BY-SA 3.0)
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The charred interiors of this former Lutheran temple inadvertently made it the most popular church in the city.
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The Church of St. Anne, or Annenkirche, is a large Lutheran cathedral located in the heart of St. Petersburg. It stands out from the other buildings on Kirochnaïa Street by its semicircular rotunda with columns and … lines of young people at the entrance, which aim to capture its interiors. Its walls indeed contain a decor worthy of a post-apocalyptic film.
Engraving from 1834
Public domain —
From its inauguration in 1779, Annenkirche was very popular with its parishioners, mostly German, including the painter Karl Brioullov and the court jeweler Karl Fabergé. The church operated a school, an orphan shelter and a hospital.
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In Soviet times, the temple was closed. In 1939, the church was transformed into the Spartak cinema hall, where the best international films were screened. It was the only cinema in Leningrad where it was possible to see “capitalist” films.
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After the fall of the Soviet Union, Sunday religious service resumed in this church “cinema”. This only lasted for a short time, however – from 1992 to 1997.
Ekaterina Borissova (CC BY-SA 4.0) —
In 1998, a first rock concert was organized there. The current rector Yevgeny Raskatov himself admitted to having attended a few rock concerts there in his youth.
Easter, in 2019
Annenharta (CC BY-SA 4.0) —
Screenings in the church also continued until 2001, when the building was bought by a private company, which decided to turn it into a nightclub.
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Read also: All about the five most beautiful churches in Saint Petersburg
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In 2002, the St. Petersburg administration decided to return the church to the Lutherans, after winning a lawsuit against the then owners. However, just weeks after the hearing, a fire broke out in the church, which burned down completely.
Sergey Smolsky / TASS; Alexandre Demiantchouk / Sputnik —
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The facades were restored in 2010, but the entire interior has remained in the same condition. Unexpectedly, these charred interiors drew in tourists and locals alike. Today, on its outskirts, there are real queues of individuals wishing to photograph the old church.
Alexandre Demiantchouk/Sputnik —
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The latter is currently raising funds for the restoration of the building through social networks and crowdfunding. This is how the cross came back to the steeple and a new altar was installed.
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Every week, Annenkirche hosts historical exhibitions, concerts and lectures in exchange for donations. A large Christmas market is also organized each year. Services are now celebrated not only in Russian, but also in English.
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The Sainte-Anne church also continues to attract new faithful thanks to social networks. The rector says in fact that most of the new parishioners came here for the first time not to visit a church, but simply a public space.
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In this other article, discover an elegant Russian church in the Moscow region that looks like a Disney castle.
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