Vsegradsky cathedral (Vologda)

The very first wooden church was built on the 18 of October, 1654, following the Russian tradition of ‘one-day’ churches. Such buildings were constructed in one single day, using powers of all the citizens, and thus thought to be pure from evil and disease. The church in Vologda was aimed to free it from the plague outbreak, which lasted for 7 weeks and took many lives. When the church was finished, the plague miraculously stopped.[3] Amazed by this, the citizens asked local icon painter to create an icon in gratitude for God's mercy. The icon was also created in one day, it became the most important relic in the city.[4][1]

The name Vsegradsky in translation from Russian means ‘by all town’, because the money and the effort for construction were given by all the citizens.[2][1]

In 1688 the small church could no longer take all the pilgrims, so it was rebuilt in stone right on top of the wooden carcase. Meanwhile, the church remained active and the liturgical services were continued. The construction was finished in 1691, but due to an unknown reason in 1692 the cathedral crashed. Then it was rebuilt in 1698, in 1718 the interiors were decorated with frescoes.[1]

In the 19th century the cathedral was changed several times, gradually it completely lost its original view. In 1840-1842 the refectory and the 'warm' church were rebuilt. In 1851-1853 the building underwent a full-scale reconstruction when all the frescoes were repainted, the altar enlarged, the windows widened and the floors replaced.[3]

Tank demolishing the church in 1972[5]

The cathedral was closed in 1924, since 1925 the building was used as an art centre. In 1932 it was redeveloped into a cinema with two movie halls. In 1971–1972 it was destroyed. Tanks were used for demolition because the XVI-century walls were too thick for demolition charges.[6][2]