Saint Petersburg Mosque

There is a little oriental nook in European Petersburg East - Cathedral Muslim Mosque creating the atmosphere of oriental town in the cozy historic center of the city. Although the mosque was created in the 20th century, it does not diminish its outstanding value because St. Petersburg Mosque is one of the largest in Europe. The length of the building is 45 meters, the width – 32 m, the height of the main dome -39 m, the height of the minarets - 48 meters. The highlighted part is the huge dome of turquoise accented by two slender minarets.

The mosque was laid shortly before the First World War, in 1910, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the reign of Emir of Bukhara - Abdul-Akhat Khan. The dome of the mosque in many ways repeats the famous dome of Gur-Emir Mausoleum in Samarkand, the shape and geometrical patterns of the entrance portal were also borrowed from of Samarkand Shahi-Zinda Mausoleum. The walls of the mosque are faced with dark gray granite of rough texture, which makes building look monumentally and relative to the northern architecture of St. Petersburg. The portal, the high dome and the minarets are covered with delicate cerulean ceramics. The facade of the building bears the quotations from the Koran made in fanciful Arabic characters. The interior columns supporting the arches under the dome are lined with green marble. In the center of the prayer hall there hangs a huge chandelier with incused quotations from the Koran. The mihrab is lined with blue ceramics is directed towards the holy city of Mecca. The walls of the mosque are covers with rich ornamental painting.

In 1913 the first prayer was prayed in the mosque in the honor of the 300th anniversary of Romanov dynasty. The Mosque accommodates up to five thousand people. On the first floor there is a huge hall in which men pray, the second floor is for women, the third floor is occupied by Sunday school. The Cathedral Mosque is the active Muslim temple as well as A major religious and cultural center.