In 1703, Peter I laid the foundation of the Peter and Paul Fortress on the shore of the Gulf of Finland. Peter understood that the new Russia needed architecture capable of expressing the ideas of the time. Striving to strengthen the dominant position of the young capital among the cities of Russia, the sovereign conceived a new building that would rise higher than the Ivan the Great Bell Tower and the Menshikov Tower. The new temple was to become the most significant structure of the empire’s capital and be located in the very heart of the Peter and Paul Fortress.

Construction of the temple began on June 29 (July 10), 1703, on the day of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul (in the 21st century, this holiday is celebrated on July 12) on the territory of the newly founded Peter and Paul Fortress. The consecration of the first wooden Peter and Paul Church took place on April 1 (12), 1704. On May 14 (25), 1704, a festive service was held here in honor of Field Marshal B. P. Sheremetev’s victory over Swedish ships on Lake Peipus.

On May 30 (June 10), 1712, the stone Peter and Paul Cathedral was laid. It was built so that the existing wooden church remained inside the new structure. The work was supervised by the Swiss architect Domenico Trezzini. The installation of the spire involved the Dutch master Harman van Bolos. By order of Peter I, construction began with the bell tower. Due to a shortage of labor, peasant flight, and lack of building materials, it was completed only in 1720. However, the bell tower’s spire was later covered with sheets of gilded copper. In 1722, Tsar Peter proudly showed his “paradise” to “foreign ministers,” making them climb to the upper tier of the bell tower. The height of the structure was 112 meters, 32 meters higher than the Ivan the Great Bell Tower.

In August 1720, the clock on the bell tower began to chime. Peter I climbed it repeatedly. He gladly invited foreign guests there, including the Holstein chamber page Bergholz. In his diary, he wrote:

“On August 7, 1721, a large group of those who remained at home climbed the fortress tower at noon, partly to see the chimes, as they were supposed to play the bells at that hour, partly to see all of Saint Petersburg, as it is the tallest tower in the city... The large clock mechanism plays independently every quarter and half hour. When we climbed to the very top of the tower by the bells, the ‘bell player’ gave us a large spyglass through which we could see Peterhof, Kronshlot, and Oranienbaum. Saint Petersburg itself has an oval shape and an unusually large extent, although in many places it is sparsely built up, but if the tsar lives a little longer, it will be fully built up.”

A diary entry from the same year, 1721:

“The fortress church, as I have already mentioned, is the most beautiful and largest in all of Saint Petersburg and has a very tall and beautiful modern bell tower, covered with copper sheets brightly gilded by fire, which produce an extraordinarily beautiful impression in sunlight; but inside this church is not yet fully built. The chimes of this church are very large and beautiful, just like those in Amsterdam, and are said to have cost 55,000 rubles. They play every morning from 11 to 12 o’clock, and also every half hour and hour they play by themselves, driven by a large iron machine with a copper shaft...”

Climbing to the 60-meter height was always a difficult task. To simplify this procedure, Peter I conceived building an elevator in the bell tower, which was a real marvel for that time. During a visit to Dresden in 1711, Peter I met the court mechanic of the Saxon Elector, Andreas Gärtner, who demonstrated to the tsar a lift in his home that raised him from floor to floor. Documents show that on September 17, 1720, cloth was purchased in Gostiny Dvor for a lifting chair. Thus, the elevator in the bell tower of the Peter and Paul Cathedral could indeed have been created. But for unknown reasons, it was either dismantled very quickly or never put into operation at all.

The entire cathedral was completed only by 1733, after the death of Peter I.

From the establishment of the Saint Petersburg Diocese in 1742 until the consecration of St. Isaac’s Cathedral in 1858, the Peter and Paul Cathedral served as the cathedral church, then was transferred to the court department.

In 1756–1757, the Peter and Paul Cathedral was restored after a fire. In 1773, the chapel of Saint Catherine was consecrated. In 1776, the chimes by master B. Oort Kras from Holland were installed on the bell tower.

In 1777, the cathedral’s spire was damaged by a storm. Restoration was carried out by architect Pyotr Paton, and the new figure of the angel with a cross was made by Antonio Rinaldi. 

In the autumn of 1830, the wind tore off sheets from the cross and a wing from the angel on the spire, which almost fell on the fortress commandant, General A. Sukin. Repairing the damage required scaffolding around the bell tower, which involved significant financial and time costs.  At this time, a young roofer from Yaroslavl province, Pyotr Telushkin, submitted a written statement that he would repair all the damage to the cross and angel of the cathedral without erecting scaffolding. Telushkin, as a poor craftsman without the collateral required for contractors on construction work, “pledged — as the ‘Saint Petersburg Gazette’ put it — his life as security for the undertaking he accepted.” He did not set a specific fee for his work, leaving it to the authorities to determine, and only asked for 1,471 rubles for materials needed for the repair. Telushkin’s offer was accepted due to its advantageous terms, although no one hoped for a favorable outcome. Nevertheless, Telushkin successfully completed the task, showing extraordinary physical strength, agility, and ingenuity.

At the time, newspapers were full of descriptions of this feat. In brief, the circumstances of this ascent were as follows. The bell tower spire of the Peter and Paul Cathedral has dormer windows and two small hatches opening outward — the upper one about 8.5 meters from the dormer windows. Telushkin began work on October 8, 1830. Using wooden reinforcements inside the spire, he reached the upper hatch. The cathedral’s spire is covered with gilded copper sheets, joined horizontally by overlapping edges and vertically bent edges; the bends protrude 9 cm from the surface and form stripes along the spire. Telushkin used these protruding ribs to wrap a rope around the spire. Attaching the rope’s end to the internal wooden reinforcements of the spire and wrapping it around himself, he went outside, descended considerably, and then, supporting his body with the rope, moved from rib to rib around and up the spire. This movement required enormous effort, as the protrusions could only be grasped with two fingers (thumb and index), and Telushkin often bled under his nails from the strain. Exceptional physical strength was needed to climb the entire body up on four fingers. Under these extreme conditions, Telushkin managed to encircle the spire and climb up to the hatch, from which he descended. The rope wrapped around the spire could now tightly hold him to it, and by tightening the free end of the rope threaded through a special loop, he could shorten the rope loop on the spire, necessary because the spire tapers upward. This ensured support for his body. But further means of ascent were needed. From the upper hatch to the very orb on which the cross with the angel stands, iron hooks are placed along the spire’s length, spaced 3.2 meters apart and protruding 9 cm from the roof. Telushkin used these hooks for further climbing. Using two ropes and clever knots, he made movable stirrups, which he hung on the nearest hook. With these stirrups, exerting tremendous effort and using various sometimes ingenious tricks, Telushkin reached the orb.

The most difficult part was climbing along the orb’s arc to the cross, where the repair was needed. The spire’s diameter at the orb is just over 0.7 meters, while the orb’s diameter is 2.8 meters. It was impossible to climb directly on the orb. Telushkin tied two new ropes to the spire, made loops in them close to the spire’s surface, and slipped his feet into these loops so he could brace himself against the spire just below the orb, lowering the end of the rope wrapped around the spire that held him tightly. This put him in an inclined position, hanging almost horizontally, facing upward. Hanging thus, Telushkin tied one end of a 13-meter rope he had to the rope wrapped around the spire, coiled the other end, and threw it upward with a strong swing, directing it along an arc from right to left. The rope described an arc in the air, wrapped around the base of the cross, and its loose end hung down to Telushkin. He made a closed loop on it, threaded the other end through it, and pulled the rope until it tightened on the cross. Using this rope, with knots tied in advance, he climbed to the cross.

Telushkin completed the entire ascent in two days: the first day was spent preparing and circling the spire at the hatch, the second on the further climb. Making a rope ladder for regular climbs was no longer difficult, as it could be secured to the cross. From then on, Telushkin climbed to the work site every day, except in very bad weather, for six weeks, carrying his tools in a bag over his shoulder. He reattached the torn sheets, repaired the angel figure, and reinforced the cross. Citizens often came specifically to watch him. One hundred and ten years later, climbers inspected the spire and found Telushkin’s painted inscription on the oak frame of the window, which survived later alterations. In fact, Pyotr Telushkin is considered the first known Russian industrial climber.

He was paid between one and five thousand rubles in assignations for his work. After an article about Telushkin was published in “Son of the Fatherland” by the then president of the Academy of Arts, A. N. Olenin, who observed the craftsman’s work through a spyglass from his window and later spoke with him, all Russia began talking about Pyotr Telushkin, who was nicknamed the “heavenly roofer.” Olenin introduced Telushkin to the sovereign, who rewarded him with money and a silver medal “For Diligence” on the Anna ribbon. There is a legend that he was also given a certificate, which obliged taverns to serve him free drinks upon seeing it, but he lost it; then a special mark was placed under his right cheekbone, and when Telushkin entered a tavern, he snapped his fingers — supposedly this gesture originated from that, symbolizing drinking alcohol.

It is known that Pyotr Telushkin also repaired the ship on the Admiralty spire. In May 1831, he married a serf girl, Iraida Fyodorova. But fame and the flood of roofing orders (worth 300–500 thousand rubles) did not do him any good: he soon became an alcoholic and died in autumn 1833.

In plan and appearance, the Peter and Paul Cathedral does not resemble Orthodox cross-domed or tent-roofed churches. The temple is an elongated rectangular building oriented west to east, a basilica of the “hall” type, characteristic of Western European architecture. The building’s length is 61 meters, width 27.5 meters. Its exterior is simple and expressive. The walls are decorated only with flat pilasters and cherub mascarons on the window casings. On the eastern facade is a fresco by artist P. Titov, “The Presence of the Apostles Peter and Paul before Christ.” The western facade, which forms the base of the bell tower, is adorned with six pilasters on both sides of the main entrance — the portico. Above the altar part is a drum with a dome. The dominant part of the cathedral is the bell tower on the western facade, decorated with pilasters. The first two tiers spread outward, forming a smooth transition from the main cathedral building to the tall tower. The upper part of the tower is crowned with a gilded eight-sloped roof with four round windows in massive white stone frames. Above the roof is an octagonal drum with narrow vertical openings. Above it is a tall, also octagonal, golden crown, and on it, instead of the traditional cross, is a thin golden tower serving as the base for the 40-meter spire. At the very top is a figure of an angel with a cross (the cross is about 6.5 meters high). The figure is 3.2 meters tall, with a wingspan of 3.8 meters and a weight of about 250 kg. The bell tower is also one of the main height landmarks of the city. The Peter and Paul Cathedral, with a height of 122.5 meters, remained the tallest building in Saint Petersburg for a long time.

The cathedral has been repeatedly repaired and rebuilt. Therefore, reconstructing its original appearance is extremely difficult. The sketch, influenced by foreign impressions from the Great Embassy of 1697–1698, was made by the tsar himself. The first project was ordered by Peter I from the Swedish architect Nicodemus Tessin the Younger (1654–1728), modeled after the cathedral in Stockholm. The drawing of the angel crowning the spire (different from the current one) was made by Trezzini, modeled after the weather vane of the town hall in Maastricht (the current, fourth angel after the 1756 fire and subsequent alterations was made in 1857 based on a drawing by sculptor Robert Zaleman). As a result of the reconstructions, the spire’s height was significantly increased, and the originally high Dutch-style roof with a “break” was lowered. This significantly distorted the proportions, making the disproportionately tall drum with a small dome look ugly. A second, upper pair of volutes was added to the western facade. The bell tower underwent significant changes (reconstructions in 1757–1776 and 1857–1859). The attached entrance portico distorted the intended composition of the western facade. The cathedral’s design drawings have not been preserved, but it is known that the tsar ordered the architects’ drawings to be given to engravers so they would depict buildings not yet constructed as if they really existed. It is believed that the most accurate depiction of the Peter and Paul Cathedral before later reconstructions is on an engraving based on a drawing by Mikhail Makhaev from 1753.

It is known that Makhaev used drawings of the cathedral from 1747–1748. The two-tier bell tower in Trezzini’s project, as seen in the engraving, was an autonomous volume, somewhat recessed relative to the Baroque facade, and was not of Russian but Western, tower type. This becomes especially noticeable when compared to the tiered tower of the Church of the Archangel Gabriel in Moscow (Menshikov Tower), which directly preceded the St. Petersburg bell towers. Tiered bell towers are traditional in Russian architecture. Researchers believe [who?] that originally a Western European tower-type bell tower was planned. One variant of Trezzini’s first project (possibly unrealized) is shown in an engraving by Alexei Zubov (1727). Trezzini designed a similar bell tower for the Alexander Nevsky Monastery near Petersburg, also depicted in Zubov’s engraving.

One of the prototypes of the Peter and Paul Cathedral was considered by Boris Vipper to be the stock exchange building in Copenhagen, where Trezzini worked before coming to Russia. The closest prototypes of the bell tower are named as the tower of St. Peter’s Church in Riga (1688–1690; Tsar Peter saw it at the beginning of his first trip abroad), St. Mary-le-Bow Church (1670–1683, C. Wren) and St. Mary-le-Strand Church (1714–1717, J. Gibbs) in London. The greatest similarity to the Peter and Paul Cathedral is the London church of St. Martin, built by Christopher Wren in 1677–1684 (Tsar Peter met architect Wren in London). It has a square tower with volutes on the sides and is topped with a tall spire. The tower, which is very unusual for classical architecture, is placed in the same plane as the western facade. In medieval Italian architecture, the bell tower (campanile) is placed separately from the church building, usually on the south side. In German and most English churches, as well as in Baroque cathedrals in Italy, the tower or drum with a dome is set back and located over the crossing. In the composition of the western facade of the Peter and Paul Cathedral, its lower tier, shown in the engraving based on Makhaev’s drawing (if the absurd portico is mentally removed), another prototype is clearly visible — the facades of Roman Baroque churches (or Jesuit style), in particular Il Gesù, Sant’Ignazio, and typical projects by Carlo Maderno.

It is noteworthy that Trezzini, lacking a strong creative individuality, did not copy anything and cannot be accused of primitive compilation. “Trezzini’s boldness,” wrote Boris Kirikov, “lay in the decisive combination of heterogeneous elements of different origins, fused into a new whole. He boldly placed the northern tower directly above the Italian facade,” surpassing even himself. At the same time, neither the Catholic Trezzini nor the Orthodox Tsar Peter was at all disturbed by the combination in a church building of elements characteristic of Catholic and Lutheran temples. The original type of spire-mast, more pointed compared to Northern European examples, can also be considered born on the banks of the Neva. Such spires were not accidentally decorated with pennants, echoing the pennants of the masts of ships sailing on the Neva. The “needle-like” spires, wooden and covered with copper sheets, created a romantic and representative image of the new city in the simplest way and with minimal cost.

The interior space of the temple is divided by pylons into three naves with powerful columns painted to resemble marble, resembling a ceremonial hall. Marble, jasper, and rhodonite were used in its decoration. The cathedral floor is paved with limestone slabs. The wall paintings are by artists Vorobyov and Negrubov. The stucco decoration was done by Ignazio Rossi and Antonio Quadri, the plafonds in the central nave by Pyotr Zybin, and the paintings on Gospel themes on the cathedral walls under the general supervision of Andrey Matveev were painted by artists Georg Gsell, Vasily Yaroshevsky, Mikhail Zakharov, V. Ignatiev, Ivan Belsky, D. Solovyov, and Alexander Zakharov. The cathedral space is illuminated by five chandeliers made of gilded bronze, colored Venetian glass, and rock crystal. The chandelier hanging in front of the altar is an original from the 18th century; the others were restored after the Great Patriotic War.

The gilded carved iconostasis, almost 20 meters high, was made in 1722–1726 in Moscow. The original drawing of the iconostasis belongs to Domenico Trezzini. The iconostasis was made under the guidance of architect Ivan Zarudny by carvers Trofim Ivanov and Ivan Telega. The iconostasis was transported in parts to Petersburg. Forty-three icons placed in kiots were painted in 1726–1729 by Moscow icon painters M. A. Merkuryev and F. Artemyev. These are images of the holy patrons of Petersburg: Saint Alexander Nevsky, apostles Peter and Paul, holy princes from the Rurik dynasty (Prince Vladimir, Princess Olga, martyrs Boris and Gleb). The icons were painted based on sketches by M. Avramov, organizer and director of the Petersburg Printing House and Drawing School. The iconostasis was made in the Kremlin Armory, brought in parts from Moscow, and assembled in the cathedral. All decorative details and sculptural elements of the iconostasis are carved from linden wood; the frame structure is made of larch.

The iconostasis of the Peter and Paul Cathedral is a very unusual structure. Contrary to the traditions of ancient Russian art, the iconostasis does not look like an altar barrier in the form of a solid wall of icons but as an open Roman triumphal arch from all sides, allegorically expressing the idea of Russia’s victory in the Northern War against Sweden. Along with ornamental carving, the iconostasis includes volumetric sculpture: on either side of the Royal Doors are figures of Archangels Gabriel with a palm branch and Michael with a flaming sword trampling a dragon. On either side of the central icon of the Resurrection of Christ are images of David and Solomon, and above are angels around the Lord Sabaoth. The complex iconography of this structure reveals two main themes — triumphal and dynastic. The Royal Doors of the iconostasis resemble a garden gate in Versailles; they do not close but, on the contrary, open the view to the canopy (ciborium) raised above the altar on four twisted columns, similar to the baldachin over the crossing of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. The upper part of the iconostasis spectacularly extends into the dome space of the temple.

Researchers also note that the spread of “low iconostases” in Russian church architecture is associated with ideas about the “decoration of altar apses in early Christian churches,” and later, in connection with the “Greek project” of Empress Catherine II, with images of Byzantine templons (single-tier altar barriers) “with a straight or curved colonnade in plan.” On the other hand, stylistic connections with Western European Catholic and Protestant churches are obvious. For example, the pulpit, round sculpture, capitals, and other details in the interior of the Peter and Paul Cathedral resemble similar forms in German Baroque architecture of the 17th–18th centuries. Another similar iconostasis was created by I. P. Zarudny in 1721–1725 for the Church of St. Panteleimon the Great Martyr in Oranienbaum (the iconostasis was destroyed during the Great Patriotic War and recreated in 2017). Yet another, imitating the Petersburg one, was created by the Russian actor F. G. Volkov for the Church of St. Nicholas Nadein (merchant Nadei, the church’s patron) in Yaroslavl in 1751.

Opposite the altar by the left column of the Peter and Paul Cathedral in Saint Petersburg is a gilded pulpit for delivering sermons. The wooden pulpit was made in 1732 by master Nicholas Kraskop in the forms of Western European Baroque style. The presence of such an elevated place for preaching in an Orthodox church is due to Western influence. A spiral wooden staircase decorated with paintings illustrating the biblical saying “In the beginning was the Word” leads to the pulpit. The canopy above the pulpit is decorated with sculptural images of the apostles Peter and Paul and the four evangelists. The composition is crowned by a spread-winged dove — a symbol of the Holy Spirit and Divine Word. From the Word to the Spirit — this is the main idea of the pulpit’s decoration. Symmetrically to the pulpit (by the right column) is the Tsar’s place, intended for the emperor and equipped with attributes of monarchical power (scepter, swords, and crown).

For a long time, the Peter and Paul Cathedral was a monument to the glory of Russian arms. For two centuries, it housed captured banners, keys from cities and fortresses taken by Russian troops. At the beginning of the 20th century, these relics were transferred to the Hermitage. Now the cathedral displays copies of Swedish and Turkish banners. The temple has two altars. The main one is consecrated in the name of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul. The second altar is located in the southwest corner and is dedicated to Saint Catherine the Great Martyr.

The bell tower houses 103 bells, 31 of which have survived since 1757. A carillon is also installed there. Carillon music concerts are periodically held in the Peter and Paul Fortress.

In 1919, the Peter and Paul Cathedral was closed, and in 1924 it was turned into a museum. Most valuable items from the late 17th to early 18th centuries (silverware, books, vestments, icons) were transferred to other museums.

During the Great Patriotic War, the Peter and Paul Cathedral was severely damaged. In 1952, the facades were restored, and in 1956–1957, the interiors. In 1954, the building was transferred to the Museum of the History of Saint Petersburg.

Since the 1990s, memorial services for Russian emperors have been regularly held in the Peter and Paul Cathedral, and since 2000, religious services. In 2008, the first Easter service since 1917 was held in the cathedral.

Sources:

https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_and_Paul_Cathedral

 https://walkspb.ru/istoriya-peterburga/zd/petrop-sobor