Roman Catholic Church of the French Embassy

Categories / Architecture/Architectural Monuments/Religious Architecture (see also Religion.Church)
Categories / Religion. Church/Places of Worship (see also Architecture and Urban Planning)
ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH OF THE FRENCH EMBASSY, the St. Maria of Lourde Roman Catholic Church of the French Embassy located at 7 Kovensky Lane. An architectural monument designed for the French Catholic Community by architects L. N. Benois and M. M. Peretyatkovich. It followed the Romanesque architectural style but incorporated elements of the Northern Modern. It was constructed in 1903-09. The main building encompasses the two-tiered, four-sided bell tower, which is 30 metres high and crowned with a facetted cupola. The facade, completed with a gable pediment, was faced with rock-face granite; the vault was made of reinforced concrete. The altar icon (not preserved) was donated by E. K. Lipgart in 1916. After October 1917, the church continued functioning, supervised by the French Embassy (the services were interrupted in 1922-23 and in 1941-44), it was the only Catholic church remaining in Leningrad. In the 1990s, a complete reconstruction was carried out.

References: Антонов В. В., Кобак А. В. Святыни Санкт-Петербурга: Ист.-церков. энцикл. СПб., 1996. Т. 3. С. 217-218; Кириков Б. М. Архитектура петербургских храмов периода модерна // Краеведческие записки: Исслед. и материалы. СПб., 2001. Вып. 8. С. 47-51.

S. V. Boglachev. Benois Leonty Nikolaevich
Lipgart Ernst Karlovich
Peretyatkovich Marian Marianovich
Kovensky Lane/Saint Petersburg, city, house 7
Антонов В. В., Кобак А. В. Святыни Санкт-Петербурга: Ист.-церков. энцикл.: В 3 т. СПб., 1994-1996
Кириков Б. М. Архитектура петербургских храмов периода модерна // Краеведческие записки: Исслед. и материалы. СПб., 2001 Art Nouveau
1909