Alexander Nevsky Cathedral - Tallinn, Estonia

Source by Diego Delso

The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is located at Lossi plats in Tallinn. In orientation to Old Town Tallinn, it is at the Southern end of Old Town in the area called Toompea. The Cathedral is flanked on the south by the Estonian Parliament building, to the east by Kiek in de Kok and to the north by Toompea Castle.

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Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is a Russian Orthodox church that was built in 1900. The onion shaped domes atop the spires give the church a very different feel from the medieval architecture that is found throughout Tallinn. The church exudes opulence and appears to have spared no expense. The ornate structure was designed by Russian architect Mikhail Preobrazhenski.

Source by Ethan Doyle White

The cathedral has a broad entrance into a decent-size ante room outside the entrance to the main chapel. A wooden guardrail separates tourists from the pews. Behind the guardrail to the left is a large urn filled with holy water. The urn has several spigots for dispensing water. I was surprised to see people filling water bottles from the urn, but not nearly as surprised to see a gift shop inside the chapel. The gift shop carried a variety of items to include candles. I do not know much about Russian Orthodoxy, but it seemed like a very secular setting.

Source By Pudelek (Marcin Szala)

The interior of the church consists of a massive ceiling that stretches high up into the central spire. From the main floor, visitors can see a walkway that may be one hundred feet high. Looking up will almost make you dizzy. The church spires house eleven bells, with one bell weighing fifteen tons. The intricate detail of the architecture and mosaics seem to cover every square inch of the interior.

During my visit, scaffolding was up around part of the spires. It appears that the building has been given a face lift. I am not sure if the construction is basic maintenance or if I caught the tail end of major reconstruction. The outside appearance was impeccable, so I figure it was routine maintenance. The scaffolding prevented me from getting great pictures from the ground level, but I managed to get some great shots from atop Kiek in de Kok. The cathedral is an architecturally appealing building.

Source By Ethan Doyle White

Alexander Nevsky Cathedral does not charge admission. They do, however, charge for candles (at the tourist shop). I think the holy water was free, but did not ask. The tourist shop in the middle of a chapel was a bit surreal for me, but did not take away from my enjoyment of the rich quality and intricate detail of the church. It provided a stark contrast in style to the medieval feel of Tallinn. I would definitely recommend a visit...the price is right (free).