The Lutheran Church of St. Nicholas (Gatchina) is located in one of the most beautiful suburbs of Saint Petersburg in the city of Gatchina. Currently, three languages are used for conducting services: German, Finnish and Russian. Musical evenings are also held, and you can listen to beautiful organ music.
Sunday service begins at 10 a.m. with the ringing of the bell at Gatchina Lutheran Church. When you come to the service, you have the opportunity to listen to the magnificent choir and one of the best organs.
The parish was founded in 1789. The Church of St. Nicholas was opened in 1828. Now it houses a Lutheran parish, which was founded in 1794 by Emperor Paul I. the Church was shared by Lutheran and Catholic parishes, whose members were German and Polish Catholics. Later, Ingermanland Finns and Estonians from the surrounding villages became parishioners. Initially, services were held in German, Estonian and Finnish. Over time, there were more Russian-speaking parishioners than those who spoke Estonian, and services were held in Russian. Parishioners are people of different nationalities.
The building has a clear, sustained style-classicism. It was designed by architect Domenico Quadri under the direction of Alexey Baykov. The parish had a population of 2,500 in 1919. In a very difficult period for the history of our country, when all the churches were closed, and the same fate befell the Church of St. Nicholas in 1938. During the war, the Church was severely damaged by fires and bombing, and it was restored in 1959.
Now this building is an architectural monument of Federal significance. Monthly organ concerts have become a great tradition. The building has excellent acoustics, so you can fully enjoy the music of Bach, Vivaldi, Schubert… here you can hear various musical instruments: violin, cello and, of course, the organ. As pastor Viktor Vorontsov says, “Our organ is the pride of the parish.” Every year, the international festival “Singing pipes” is held, which attracts the best musicians from different countries. You can find out about the concert schedule on the website of St. Nicholas Lutheran Church.
One of the interesting facts of the Church is that the altarpiece “the Risen Jesus” was painted by the famous Finnish artist Eila Blom-Nieminen.
We invite you to visit the Church of St. Nicholas in Gatchina. You will not only plunge into the history of the Lutheran parish, but also listen to the most beautiful organ and choir of the Gatchina district.
Authors: Anastasia Cherenkova, Veronika Beketova
Location : St.Petersburg
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