Place of the dismantled Alexander Nevsky Cathedral.

It is impossible to imagine Baku at the end of the XIX - beginning of the XX century without the Orthodox Cathedral of Alexander Nevsky.

The idea of building a new large cathedral in Baku arose in the early 1870s of the XIX century, when kerosene began to be produced in large quantities in the city, for which a mass of Russian workers moved from Russia.

On June 16, 1879, with the highest permission of the All-Russian Emperor Alexander II (Alexander Nikolaevich Romanov), fundraising was opened in all cities of the Russian Empire for the construction of a new cathedral church in the city of Baku.

The next Russian Emperor Alexander III, who released from the budget appropriations for the construction of a monumental cathedral in Baku, set a condition for the cathedral to be exceptional in its beauty and luxury.

On July 30, 1888, the project of a new Baku Orthodox Cathedral, developed by the German architect Robert Robert Marfeld (20.10.1852 – 1921), was approved.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the Baku Cathedral was held on October 8, 1888, timed to coincide with the arrival of Emperor Alexander III and his family members in Baku.

The construction of the Cathedral lasted 10 years and was completed in early 1898.

The length of the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral with all the outbuildings was 56 meters, the width was 45 meters. The height inside to the dome was approximately 36 meters. The cathedral was designed for 1700 people.
On October 8, 1898, the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral was consecrated.

In terms of its size, the temple was the second in the world after the Church of Christ the Savior in Moscow.

In 1936, as part of the fight against religion, the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral was destroyed. Three schools were erected on the foundation of the church, which still exist today: the Bulbul Music School, Schools No. 189 and No. 190.