Tula is one of the oldest Russian cities. This is reflected in the Tula temples, which stand out for their architectural integrity, harmony, beauty of decoration. Many of them are recognized as architectural monuments of federal significance.
The Tula temple architecture was greatly influenced by the architecture of larger cities - St. Petersburg and Moscow. Some of the buildings were built in a style typical of the St. Petersburg school of architecture. And other temples are a vivid example of traditional old Moscow and Byzantine architecture. Now in Tula there is an active restoration of churches destroyed during the Soviet period, and new churches are also opening.
Operating churches and cathedrals of Tula
List of the most famous and beautiful temples in the city.
Holy Assumption Cathedral
This is the main temple of the city, which was built in 1902 on the site of an older stone church. The cathedral was built in the pseudo-Russian style, of red bricks, with a lot of decorative elements and black domes. Attention is drawn to his painting - presumably, the authors were students of the famous artist V. Vasnetsov. In 2012, the temple was consecrated anew.
Address: Tula, st. Mendeleevskaya, 13
Transfiguration temple
The temple was built in the style of Russian classicism - with colonnades and large windows. On the east side there was a bell tower, which has not survived to this day. The main shrine of the church is the Tula icon of Nicholas the Wonderworker. According to legend, in the 16th century, it was found by one of the Dnieper Cossacks, who promised to build a temple and then place an icon there. The temple is included in the list of cultural heritage sites of federal significance.
Address: Mendeleevskaya, 13 A
Assumption Cathedral of the Tula Kremlin
The cathedral was built at the end of the 18th century. It is distinguished by its simplicity of architectural design combined with rich decorative design. At the main entrance on the west side there is a Russian coat of arms carved out of stone - a two-headed eagle. Inside the temple is decorated with highly artistic paintings. Initially, the cathedral had a seven-tiered iconostasis. Now his icons are kept in the Tula Art Museum.
Address: Mendeleevskaya, 8/2
All Saints Cathedral
This is the city's cathedral, which was built in the first half of the 19th century. The place for the construction was chosen in such a way that the temple was visible from all points of the city. The style of the building is Russian classicism. Nearby there is a high multi-tiered bell tower, which is decorated with four figures of angels. The main shrines of the cathedral are the ancient Kazan icon of the Mother of God, and the image of Nicholas the Wonderworker by the Athonite masters. The temple is included in the regional list of architectural heritage.
Address: Leo Tolstoy, 79
Church of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos
The church is considered the oldest in the city. It was built in the 17th century and is a five-domed church built in the tradition of Moscow church architecture. Nearby there is a multi-tiered bell tower with a hipped roof. In the narthex of the temple, a white slab has been preserved on which the name of the builder of the church, Hieromonk Theodosius, is carved.
Address: Blagoveshchenskaya, 4
Site: blagohram.ru
Nikolo-Zaretsky temple
This temple was built in the 18th century by order of Nikita Demidov, one of the founders of the Demidov dynasty of industrialists and merchants. The style of the building is Petrine Baroque. In 1734, a chapel was added, which for many years served as a burial vault for the Demidov dynasty. In 1996, it became part of the Demidovs Necropolis memorial complex, which also includes the Demidovs and Tula Territory exhibition hall.
Address: Tula, per. Armory, 12
Temple of Alexander Nevsky
The temple was built in 1886 in the style traditional for Russian-Byzantine church architecture. The decoration was modest - there were no rich wall paintings, the frescoes were located only under the dome. The walls were decorated with sayings from the Holy Scriptures. In Soviet times, the building housed a labor school, then a bakery shop. Now the temple has been restored, services are held in it.
Address: Tula, St. Alexander Nevsky Square, 1
Site: aleknew.cerkov.ru
Temple of Sergius of Radonezh
The church is included in the list of cultural heritage sites of regional importance. The building is made of red brick in a pseudo-Byzantine style. In 1901, the walls of the temple were painted; now the frescoes have been completely restored. Next to the church there was a bell tower, on the sixth floor of which there was a church library. Now the temple has been restored, services are being held.
Address: Oktyabrskaya, 78
Temple of the Twelve Apostles
This is an ancient temple, founded in 1903. It was richly decorated - the floor was paved with Metlakh tiles, there is a multi-tiered gilded iconostasis. The walls are decorated with copies of paintings on spiritual themes. Among the revered shrines are the icons of the Mother of God "Three-handed", Tikhvin and Bogolyubskaya, as well as the image of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. During the Soviet period, the temple was not closed.
Address: Oboronnaya, 92
Site: vk.com/club59564644
Church of the Holy Primate Apostles Peter and Paul
The temple attracts attention with its unusual architecture for Tula churches. It was built in the form of a rotunda, typical of Moscow classicism. Later, a bell tower with four tiers was built next to it. On the top, there were clocks on all sides. Now work is underway to restore the temple and the upper tiers of the bell tower.
Address: Lenin, 28
Site: petrapavlatula.ru
Church of Saints Florus and Laurus
The church was built in the late 18th - early 19th centuries. The building is a mixture of two styles - baroque and classicism. The main shrine of the temple is the Bogolyubskaya icon of the Mother of God, which was revered as miraculous. Since St. Flor and Laurus were considered the patrons of horses and horse breeding; on the day of their memory, people came to the temple to consecrate the horses. During the Soviet period, the temple was closed, but now it has been restored and is open to believers.
Address: Mosina, 1
Site: vk.com/club114028219
St. Elias Church
The building of the temple was built in the pseudo-Russian style in the middle of the 18th century, and was distinguished by its rich decoration. It contained many ancient icons revered in Orthodoxy. According to legend, the image of the Holy Mother of God was donated to the temple by Empress Elizabeth Petrovna. During the Soviet period, many icons and church utensils were lost. In 2006, the temple was returned to the believers.
Address: Cominterna, 6
Site: vk.com/club24161952
Church of St. Alexis
The temple was founded during the visit of Patriarch Alexy II to Tula in 1999. In 2001, construction was fully completed. The building is decorated with two gilded domes, shaped like ancient military helmets. The temple is located on the territory of the Tula Artillery Institute. It has a library and a Sunday school.
Address: Tula, Lenin Avenue, 99 A
Site: paremia.ru
Temple of Seraphim of Sarov
The church was built in 1905 at the expense of the Tula merchants Ermolaev-Zverev. The main part of the church decoration was the iconostasis - multi-tiered, made of pine wood with carvings and gilding. The Royal Doors were also gilded. There was a shelter for homeless children and old people at the temple. Now the temple is functioning. It contains many shrines - a particle of St. Seraphim of Sarov, his half-length icon with a particle of relics.
Address: Friedrich Engels, 32 A
Site: serafim-sar-tula.ru
Temple of Demetrius Thessaloniki
The temple was opened in 1801 as a cemetery church for the poor and needy. It was distinguished by its modest decoration and laconic architectural form. A little later, a refectory and a bell tower were added to the building. There was a Sunday school at the church. During the Soviet period, the Church of Dmitry Solunsky was one of the four active churches in the city.
Address: Kladbischensky, 1 A
Site: vk.com/public71650738
St. Nicholas Church on Rzhavets
The name of the temple comes from the Rzhavets River, which previously flowed in the place where the temple was built. The building was erected by the architect who built the Assumption Cathedral of the Tula Kremlin. Therefore, the similarity of both temples is visible. The central element of the decoration of the temple was a gilded multi-tiered iconostasis. In 1991, the building was taken under state protection as a cultural monument of regional significance.
Address: Revolution, 6 B
Holy Protection (Feodosievsky) temple
The construction of the temple began in 1903, but due to lack of funds and the outbreak of the First World War, the building was not completed. In Soviet times, the temple was given over to a warehouse. In 1991 the church was returned to the believers. The building was badly damaged in a fire in 1993, while church relics were miraculously saved - part of the mantle of St. Theodosius, and the icon of John of Tula.
Address: Kalinina, 10 A
Temple of the Donskoy Icon of the Mother of God
It is a stone temple with a height of more than 16 meters, which in an extremely short time was built on the site of the foundation of the original temple. The older church, built in the 19th century, was demolished at the height of the anti-religious campaign in the 1920s. At the same time, the stone bell tower was demolished. In the early 90s, archaeologists discovered the foundation of the first temple, and by 1995 the construction of the new church was completed.
Address: Marata, 39 A
Church of the Nativity of the Virgin (Prechistensky Church)
The church was built in the 19th century and is an architectural monument of early classicism. The decor of the temple is typical for this style - it is a modest floral ornament. During his reign, a bell tower was built, which was later demolished along with the carved temple fence. In 2002, the restoration of the building began; now it is a functioning temple.
Address: Demidovskaya, 56 A
Website: tula.prihod.ru
Holy Ascension Church
The temple building was built in the Baroque style, typical of the period of its construction. Due to the extended construction period, the front facades are distinguished by elements of classicism. In the temple were revered shrines - part of the relics of the martyr Panteleimon and the icon of the Sorrowful Mother of God. In 1992, after a long desolation, the temple was returned to the believers.
Address: Oruzheiny, 12
Temple of Equal to the Apostles Prince Vladimir
St. Vladimir's Church belongs to the new churches of Tula - its construction was completed in 2009. The initiators of the creation of the temple were employees of the Tulamashzavod enterprise. In 2011, a bell tower was erected next to the temple, and a little later a bronze monument to Prince Vladimir was erected. The building was built in the Old Russian style. Despite the fact that the church is located on the territory of a regime enterprise, the entrance to it is free.
Address: Mosina, 2
Site: vk.com/club18290175
Cathedral of the Icon of the Mother of God Mammal
This is the central cathedral of the Shcheglovsky Monastery of the Theotokos, built in 1864. The lower side-altar is consecrated in the name of St. Martyr Panteleimon. The building is distinguished by a wealth of decorative elements - kokoshniks, arched windows. The main temple shrine is the image of the Mother of God "Mammal", which is revered as miraculous. The church also houses many other revered shrines in Orthodoxy.
Address: Liza Chaikina, 1
Church of St. Michael the Archangel
The temple is a small wooden church built on the territory of the Tula State University campus. The consecration took place in 2011. The initiator of the creation of the temple was the leadership of the university. Previously, the university also had a home church in the name of St. Vera, Nadezhda and Lyubov, which was located on the third floor of one of the buildings. Now, in honor of these saints, one of the thrones of the new church has been consecrated.
Address: Tula, Lenin Avenue, 84 D
Church of John of Kronstadt
The temple was built in 2011-2012. This is a small church built in the tradition of Russian wooden temple architecture. It is located on the territory of the oldest medical institution in Tula - the D. Vanykin emergency hospital. The temple was built with donations from citizens and representatives of various organizations.
Address: Friedrich Engels, 13 A, bldg. sixteen
Spassky temple
This temple is also called the Church of the Savior on the Mountain - because of its location on a hill. The church was built in 1807-1809 as a cemetery church at the Spassky cemetery. The building is designed in the classicism style. During the Soviet period, the church was one of four active. In 1991, the building received the status of an architectural monument of regional importance.
Address: Tula, Malye Gonchary st.
Website: spass.prihod.ru
Holy Kazan Church
The original St. Kazan Church was destroyed during the Soviet period. It was a late classicism building, richly decorated. It contained many church relics and objects of historical value - a carved silver icon of the Mother of God, and other ancient images. Now in Tula there is a new church in the name of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, which is located on the Odoevskoe highway.
Address: Tula, Odoevskoe highway, 52 A
Temple of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God
The church is located at the Smolensk cemetery. This is one of the new Tula temples - its construction began in the 90s. Now the temple has been rebuilt and acquired a more harmonious appearance. It is a small one-domed church decorated in light white and gold colors. The style of the building corresponds to the ancient basilicas of Byzantium.
Address: Tula, Novomoskovskoe highway, 66 A
Holy Sign Church
The temple in the name of the icon of the Mother of God "The Sign" was built in 1905. The building is richly decorated in the style traditional for Russian temple architecture - kokoshniks, twisted columns, flies. At the same time, the volumetric space inside the church is characteristic of classicism. In 1991, the temple was taken under state protection as an architectural monument of regional significance.
Address: Arsenalnaya, 5 A
Temple of Dmitry Donskoy
This is a temple on the territory of the Tula Kremlin, which opened after restoration in 2015. A high stone bell tower, destroyed during the Soviet period, has been restored earlier. The wall paintings are made in the style of Palekh icon painters. There is another church in the city named after St. Dmitry Donskoy. This is a regimental temple, opened in 2017 on the territory of the 51st regiment of the Guards Airborne Division.
Address: Komsomolskaya, 190/1
Site: hramdd.ru
Temple of the Icon of the Mother of God Reigning
This is a small temple built in the traditional Russian style - with decorative kokoshniks and arched windows. A particularly revered shrine of the temple is the image of the Mother of God, which received the name "Sovereign" - according to legend, it was found in 1917, on the day of the abdication of Nicholas II.
Address: village Kosaya Gora, st. Oktyabrskaya, 2
Website: vk.com/kosogorhram
