Surprisingly, despite their picturesque nature, the Babigon Hills long remained on the sidelines of attention from the august owners of Peterhof. Indeed, it was hard to compete with the water spectacle of the Lower Park, whose magnificence was framed by the waters of the Gulf of Finland.

As with Peterhof in general, the person who changed the attitude towards the southern surroundings of Peterhof was Emperor Nicholas I. It was under him that the splendor of the imperial residence began to extend southward towards the Babigon Heights, forming the Meadow Park with numerous authentic buildings. The villages surrounding the Babigon Heights, located on palace lands, received new names derived from the diminutive names of the royal children. It seemed that everything here bore the mark of the sovereign’s care for his peasants. Village huts were built at the expense of the palace treasury and represented ornate structures in the pseudo-Russian style. However, over time, a lack of a spiritual dominant in the surrounding area became felt.

According to legend preserved by the old-timers, Emperor Nicholas I, once passing through Babigon, decided to build a church here as a place for nurturing pastoral care for the “verbal sheep.” The matter was not put off: in April 1851, an order was given to build the church; in June, the Stakenschneider project was approved; and on August 11, the solemn laying of the new temple dedicated to Saint Queen Alexandra—the heavenly patroness of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna—was performed. At the laying, gold and silver coins minted in 1851 were placed in a stone cup: 20 gold imperials, silver coins including 50 rubles, 30 half-rubles, 80 quarters, and 100 two-grivenniks, grivenniks, and five-kopeck coins each. The cache was sealed with a gilded plate inscribed: “By the order of Emperor Nicholas I, a church was laid in Babigon, near Peterhof, in the name of the Holy Faithful Queen Alexandra, year 1851, August 11.” A stone specially brought from Palestine, from the banks of the Jordan River, was embedded in the church’s foundation.

The solemn laying of the church was conducted in the presence of the Emperor, the august family, numerous retinue members, residents of Peterhof, and peasants from nearby villages. Nicholas I, laying the church, said with tears in his eyes: “I thank the Lord for allowing me to lay the foundation of this temple; God knows if I will live to see it completed.” And later, as if foreseeing his imminent end, Nicholas I urged the builders on, certainly wishing to witness the consecration of the new temple. Looking ahead, it should be noted that the emperor’s wish, who did so much for Peterhof, was fulfilled: the temple was consecrated in August 1854, and six months later Nicholas I passed away…

The construction of the temple proceeded very quickly. The building was erected by the end of 1852, and finishing works were completed in August 1854. On August 31, 1854, in the presence of Nicholas I and members of the royal family, the solemn consecration took place.

The interior of the Alexandrovskaya Church contained many relics. First of all, the church received a wooden carved iconostasis, previously located in Peter the Great’s palace in Dubki on the northern shore of the Gulf of Finland, from where it had been moved to the Hermitage. The composition of the church utensils was also remarkable, some made from precious stones and silver according to original designs. For example, the pyx with a reliquary in the form of a pedestal with eight columns made of red Siberian jasper was crafted by masters of the Yekaterinburg faceting factory. Some items for the church were made of pure silver, including a vase with an inscription sent in 1853 by the Viceroy of the Caucasus from the first silver ingot smelted at the Alagir plant. Later, the church’s treasury also included items from the burial of Nicholas I, as well as items belonging to Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. An indisputable decoration of the church was a beautiful bronze chandelier adorned with crystal decorations.

The built church could accommodate up to five hundred worshippers and served as a parish church for the residents of the surrounding villages. The area around the church was landscaped. Next to the church were the priest’s house, with a bathhouse and garden; the sexton’s house; and a wooden building for the prosphora baker. Behind them, a wooden guardhouse for church watchmen was erected. Nearby was a reception room for providing first aid to sick peasants. The church clergy were also responsible for teaching literacy to peasant children in the church rural school located near the temple.

Along with the church, four stone houses were symmetrically built opposite it in the village of Kostino, three of which housed clergymen, and the fourth was a school.

It was founded by Nicholas I on January 17, 1855, to teach peasant children literacy and the Law of God, with a priest of the church appointed as teacher for these purposes.

With its impressive capacity, the Alexandrovskaya Church was at the same time cozy and picturesque. Perhaps that is why, even after the death of Nicholas I, it remained the favorite place of prayer for his wife, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, who visited it every year. She maintained this habit until her last summer stay in Peterhof in 1860, remaining attentive to the needs of the church and its parish.

The last Russian Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, wife of Emperor Nicholas II, also loved to visit the church at Babigon, praying there annually during her stays in Peterhof. Thus, in June 1914, during her last summer season in Peterhof, she visited the church twice with her friend, lady-in-waiting Anna Vyroubova, each time having a special divine liturgy served for the empress. At that time, no one could have imagined the changes that would occur in the fate of the country and the church…

The storms of revolution quickly reached the Orthodox shrines. By decree of January 20, 1918, the church was deprived not only of property and sources of income but also of legal entity status. All church property was transferred to the direct control of local Soviets, which handed it over according to inventories for free use by parishioners numbering at least 20 people under specially drawn contracts. According to this document, the “twenty” assumed responsibility for the church building, church utensils, and were granted the right to invite clergymen. In fact, the “twenty” became the executive and administrative authority in matters of the parish’s economic activity.

On April 3, 1922, the church “twenty,” formed from among the parishioners, accepted under contract from the Peterhof district executive committee of the Council of Workers’, Peasants’, and Red Army Deputies the indefinite and free use of “the Alexandrovskaya Church located in the village of Babigon with liturgical items, according to a specially certified inventory.”

At a parish meeting held at the end of 1924, a monthly salary of 15 rubles was assigned to the priest, Father Nikolai Posunko, assisted in conducting services by Tatyana Borisovna Kalistratova, one of the church “twenty” members.

Also in 1924, the procedure for evaluating church property began. In November, a commission consisting of mounted junior policeman Sgibnev of the Oranienbaum volost, Chairman of the church council Nikolaev, head of the local village council Mikhailov, and a duo of representatives from the “Red Sower” school, Bolshakov and Bromberg, conducted an evaluation of the church inventory. This evaluation was immediately questioned by members of the parish council, who declared it inadequate. Their opinion was not changed by a repeated evaluation in February 1925. It turned out that in both cases, the commission was led by Bromberg, a teacher at the local Finnish school, who had his own idea of the value of church property. The alternative valuation presented by the “twenty” was rejected by the commission chairman on the grounds that no justificatory documents for the acquisition of church property remained in the archives. This was inevitable: the church, built by imperial order, was constructed by the Court Department, and many items were made by the Peterhof palace administration or donated by private individuals. Considering these facts, the “twenty” representatives petitioned for the appointment of an appraisal commission from the neighboring Strelna volost executive committee, where part of the parish was located and local appraisers had already gained some experience.

However, local authorities did not intend to allow democracy in matters of church property valuation. Initially, the Oranienbaum volost executive committee sent a directive to the church “twenty” to immediately sign the inventory valuation act of the Alexandrovskaya Church property. When the general parish meeting forbade its representatives to sign the inventory with the executive committee’s prices, the Presidium of the Trotsky district executive committee duly appreciated the principled stance of the Babigon church “twenty,” terminating the contract for the use of the church premises with them in January 1926 and transferring it to another group of believers. The corresponding resolution was approved by the Presidium of the Leningrad Provincial Executive Committee on February 27 of the same year. On April 15, a contract was concluded to transfer the church building to the new “twenty,” which only partially duplicated the previous one…

Despite all difficulties and the gradual tightening of conditions, regular services were held until 1938, and the church was finally closed in 1940. By that time, Stakenschneider’s creation was intended to be converted into a club with a cinema hall. It is quite possible that films could have been regularly shown under the temple’s roof, but everything changed with the outbreak of war…

The fighting and artillery shelling did their “black work”: the church lost its roof and part of the bell tower; the small southwestern domes and the domes of the large cupola collapsed. In the building, deprived of windows and doors, the wind blew, much of the plaster and stucco decoration of the facades and interiors was lost, and all the painted decoration and iconostasis were irretrievably destroyed.

In the post-war period, the church never awaited restoration; instead, it was turned into a workshop for the local sovkhoz and, simultaneously, a vegetable storage. In the last years of the Soviet era, the building remained abandoned, continuing to slowly deteriorate. The altar foundation—coins minted in 1851—was also lost…

A new chapter in the church’s history began in 1991 when it was returned to the diocese. By that time, Stakenschneider’s creation presented a sad picture: ruined interiors of the temple, the remains of brick vaults miraculously held on a damaged foundation.

A long process of restoration and repair began. Despite all difficulties, by 1995 the Church of the Holy Martyr Alexandra was reconsecrated. A few years later, regular services resumed and patronal feasts began to be celebrated.

Much time has passed. The exemplary Nicholas villages have been replaced by modern settlements. But, as in the nineteenth century, the Babigon Heights are still adorned by the Belvedere and the Alexandrovskaya Church, whose silhouette is especially well seen during walks in the Meadow Park. The painstakingly restored church, the last Peterhof building of Emperor Nicholas I, remains dear to both local residents and visitors to the settlement.

Sources:

https://a-121.ru/пастырское-слово-на-бабигонском-холм/

http://www.agia-alexandra.ru/

https://www.citywalls.ru/house28693.html