The Cathedral of the Holy Wisdom of God or Saint Sophia Cathedral in Harbin is a former Russian Orthodox church located in the central district of Daoli, Harbin City, Heilongjiang, China.
The Cathedral of the Holy Wisdom of God in Harbin, China. Built in 1907 and expanded from 1923–32, it was closed during the Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution periods, and turned into a museum in 1997.
The ornate Christ the Savior Cathedral in Birky, Ukraine, ca. 1894, was the inspiration for the St. Sophia Cathedral in Harbin.
St. Sofia church in Harbin before reconstruction
Cathedral of Holy Wisdom, Harbin 16
The Cathedral of Christ the Savior was a Russian Orthodox Cathedral near the village of Borki which was built to commemorate the survival of the Russian Imperial family in the 1888 Borki train disaste
Saint Sophia Cathedral, Harbin
…53.3 meters (175 feet) tall, occupies an area of 721 square meters (0.178 acres), and is an example of Russian Revival architecture, inspired by the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Birky, Ukraine. The main structure is laid out like a cross with the main hall topped with a huge green-tipped dome. Under the bright sun, the church…
The Cathedral in 1894
The first church at the site, with pilgrims
The consecration of the now-restored chapel in the presence of the Tsar and Tsarina, with the elaborate railway platform