Irkutsk: Polish Roman Catholic Cathedral
Polish Roman Catholic Cathedral is one of three churches on the territory of the historical center of Irkutsk.
The population of Irkutsk city has always been multinational. In the 1860s eastern portion of Poland was ruled by Russian tsar and de facto was a part of extensive Russian Empire. Poles rebelled several times against Russian Empire. In 1863 after one of such rebellions had been suppressed, about 30,000 polish intellectuals were exiled to Siberia for hard labor and permanent settlement. They lived in the vicinity of Irkutsk. The church was founded in 1826, but originally it was wooden. The disastrous 2-day fire of Irkutsk happened in 1879 destroyed nearly 80% of all wooden buildings of the city. The Roman church was not an exception.
The new stone structure appeared on the same place in 1883. It was built by architect Tamulevich with the help of the exiled Poles. In fact it is a fusion of Roman, Gothic and Baroque architectural styles. There are two Roman Catholic churches in Irkutsk now, the second one was built in 2000 on the left bank of the Angara River in the residential area.
The population of Irkutsk city has always been multinational. In the 1860s eastern portion of Poland was ruled by Russian tsar and de facto was a part of extensive Russian Empire. Poles rebelled several times against Russian Empire. In 1863 after one of such rebellions had been suppressed, about 30,000 polish intellectuals were exiled to Siberia for hard labor and permanent settlement. They lived in the vicinity of Irkutsk. The church was founded in 1826, but originally it was wooden. The disastrous 2-day fire of Irkutsk happened in 1879 destroyed nearly 80% of all wooden buildings of the city. The Roman church was not an exception.
The new stone structure appeared on the same place in 1883. It was built by architect Tamulevich with the help of the exiled Poles. In fact it is a fusion of Roman, Gothic and Baroque architectural styles. There are two Roman Catholic churches in Irkutsk now, the second one was built in 2000 on the left bank of the Angara River in the residential area.
