7 most BEAUTIFUL Catholic & Protestant churches in Russia (PHOTOS)

1. Roman Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Moscow)

This is the largest Catholic church in Russia and was built in the early 20th century in the neo-Gothic style with donations from the Polish diaspora. Its architect was also Polish –  Foma Bogdanovich-Dvorzhetsky, who also designed the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Samara.

During the Soviet era, it housed a dormitory, a vegetable warehouse and a research institute. The cathedral was returned to the Catholic Church in the early 1990s at the initiative of the same Polish diaspora.

2. St. Andrew's Anglican Church (Moscow)

Moscow's only Anglican church was built in the 1880s from designs by British architect Richard Neill Freeman. This typical English Victorian church stood out against the backdrop of Moscow and became one of the city's landmarks.

During the Soviet period, thanks to its excellent acoustics, the ‘Melodiya’ recording company used it as a studio. In 1994, at the personal request of Queen Elizabeth II, President Boris Yeltsin returned the building to the local English community.

3. Church of the Holy Rosary (Vladimir)

This church was built in 1894 at the initiative of Poles living in Vladimir, based on designs by local architects Andrei Afanasyev and Ivan Karabutov. It’s built in the neo-Gothic style.

During the First Russian Revolution of 1905-1907, revolutionaries, posing as parishioners, used the church for their secret meetings. Therefore, in the USSR, the church was considered a monument to revolutionary history.

4. Evangelical Lutheran Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul (Moscow)

This stone Protestant church appeared in Moscow in the 18th century. In 1863, its bell, a gift from German Emperor Wilhelm I, was raised in the tower.

In the early 20th century, the church was significantly rebuilt in the neo-Gothic style and consecrated as a cathedral. The design was created by Russian-British architect William Walcott, known for his work on the façade of the ‘Metropol’ hotel.

In the late 1930s, a cinema operated there and, later, film strips were filmed. The cathedral's historical appearance was only restored in the early 2000s.

5. Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (Samara)

Built in 1906, this Catholic church is also known as the Polish Church. It was built in the neo-Gothic style according to designs by Foma Bogdanovich-Dvorzhetsky.

Until 1913, the church's crowning glory was an organ imported from Austria and, today, a copy of Salvador Dalí's painting ‘Christ of Saint John of the Cross’ can be seen displayed in it.

6. Church of St. Paul (Vladivostok)

This Lutheran church in the North German Gothic style was built in 1909 with funds from German merchants who had settled in the Russian Far East. The architect was also German – Hugo Georg Junghändel, who designed many houses and mansions in Vladivostok, Khabarovsk and Ussuriysk.

During Soviet times, the building housed the Naval History Museum of the USSR Pacific Fleet. Cannons were placed at the gate and a bust of Lenin was placed on the altar.

In 1997, Germany designated the church a "Monument of German culture abroad" and has since donated funds for its maintenance and reconstruction.

7. Catholic Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Kursk)

The construction of a Catholic church in Kursk was lobbied by the governor in the late 19th century by a local Catholic priest named Father Georgy Motuzz and proposed a design for the church. In 1896, the neo-Gothic church was completed.

Famous artist Kazimir Malevich was married and his daughter was baptized in the church. During Soviet times, it was looted and closed. Restoration of the church began in 1993, along with the revival of the Catholic community in Kursk.