Friends, today we are heading towards Primorsky Prospekt in St. Petersburg to see the Church of the Annunciation on the bank of the Bolshaya Nevka River. This small building is located far from the city’s typical tourist routes, but I am sure it will be of interest to those who are passionate about the history of St. Petersburg’s religious architecture — and, of course, to all lovers of the city’s architecture in general.
History of the Church
The first religious building on this site appeared in 1764–1765. At that time, the church was known as the Staroderevenskaya Church “on the Stone Cape.” It was built by Alexey Petrovich Bestuzhev-Ryumin for his peasants, as he owned both the Old and New villages. The church was connected to the first St. Isaac’s Cathedral: the iconostasis from that cathedral was first moved to Bestuzhev-Ryumin’s palace church and later transferred here, to the church on the Bolshaya Nevka.
The first church burned down after a lightning strike at the beginning of the 19th century, but just a couple of years later construction of a new building began, and it was completed in 1809. The architect of the new structure was V. O. Mochulsky. I was unable to find his name in the official directory of architects who worked on St. Petersburg buildings, but according to a local architecture website, this same master participated in the construction of several residential buildings in the city.
In 1900–1901, V. K. Teplov built a belfry and a sacristy here. Interestingly, for a long time the church bells were located on the colonnade of the main building and were only moved to the belfry about a decade later.
The belfry we can see here today is a modern one. The original structure was destroyed in 1947. Based on old photographs and information found online, the new belfry stands in a different place: in the past, it was located much closer to the church itself.
The church was closed in 1937. Later, its premises were remodeled, and its property was transferred to the State Fund. During the Soviet period, the former church building housed a factory producing rubber technical goods and toys. In 1992, the building was returned to the faithful, and the church was consecrated on April 5, 2003.
How to Get There by Metro
The address of the church is 79 Primorsky Prospekt. It is easily accessible from the Staraya Derevnya metro station — the walk takes about 15 minutes. The Church of the Annunciation is active, and according to Yandex Maps, it is open daily from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
After visiting the church, you can take a walk to the nearby Buddhist Temple or Yelagin Island with its palace — a wonderful place for a peaceful stroll. And if you are interested in the history of St. Petersburg’s religious architecture and its surroundings, you will find plenty of tours on this topic available on the Sputnik8 website.
Have a nice trip!
