31/12/2022
🇪🇪 𝐀𝐥𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐍𝐞𝐯𝐬𝐤𝐲 𝐂𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐧, 𝐄𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐚
Perched on the top of Toompea Hill in Tallinn's Old Town is the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral - an Orthodox Cathedral built in 1900. During its construction, Estonia was part of the Russian Empire, which is why it is built in the typical Russian Revival style.
Alexander Nevsky, who the cathedral is named after, was the grand prince of Kiev from 1236-1252 and is heralded for his command at the Battle of the Ice. This battle forced the invading Teutonic Order - German knights part of the Northern Crusades - to give up all territorial claims of Russian lands. Nevksy's victory not only affirmed Russia's territorial claims, but also Eastern Orthodoxy's domination in the region - and not Western Catholicism.
But as you might be able to guess, the building of the church wasn't supported by most Estonians at the time. The period in which it was constructed saw a large number of "Russification" policies enacted throughout the Russian Empire which Estonians saw as threatening to their local heritage and culture. It was so unpopular that locals planned to demolish the cathedral once they gained independence, but due to lack of funds and the large number of Russians who fled the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, it was never torn down.
