If there is a landmark building in Harbin, then people will definitely mention the holy . Sophia Church, there are numerous churches in Harbin, but only St. Sophia Church can represent the highest level of Harbin Church, the church is not far from the central street of Zhaolin Street, in the distance, you can see its green dome is held up very high, giving people a sense of the beauty of the first ascension, St. Sophia Church is also the largest Orthodox church in the Far East, full of different styles throughout the year, whether it is spring, summer or autumn and winter, come to Harbin St. The Church of Sofia is a place not to be missed, as it is not only a symbol of the city, but also represents the city's rich history.
I have always hoped to have the opportunity to hang out in Harbin in the winter, the opportunity came, after buying the happy flight of China Southern Airlines, I chose to go to Harbin in late November for a week-long trip, it is also a coincidence, this time to Harbin It is said that the first two days are harbin in the history of a heavy snow that has not been encountered in ten years, although I have not seen the fluttering goose feather snow, but after arriving in Harbin, the streets and alleys are covered with white snow piles, which is enough to prove how big the snow is.
Although I have been to Harbin several times before, but each time is in a hurry, this time specially in Harbin for a week, you must take a good turn. On the second day in Harbin, you must first go to Harbin's landmark "Sophia Cathedral" to see.
Approaching the square in front of the church, you can see many people taking pictures, the church is paved with dark red bricks, old red bricks let people have a long history at a glance, let people feel the city's past thick past.
The weather is more than ten degrees below zero, it is very cold, and the hand holding the camera will be frozen for a long time, although in order to take a good photo, I insisted on staying in the "Sophia Cathedral" square for a long time, looking up from the bottom, making people have a mysterious feeling.
History of sophia church
Looking up at such a majestic and spectacular Sophia church building, I especially want to know its construction history, so I checked the relevant information on the Internet: in a special era, the church once lost 7 bells in the bell tower, and the 6 gold crosses on the roof were also pulled down, and now it has been restored to its appearance at that time, it is said that in that year, the bell ringers can use their hands and feet together, so that the 7 bells together emit a complete musical melody, which can be heard from dozens of miles away.
St. Sophia Church was built in March of the thirty-third year of the Qing Dynasty (1907), shortly after the completion of the Middle East Railway, with the arrival of the Tsarist Russian army, the tall Sophia wooden church was built on Zhaolin Street in Harbin, and was originally built for the Construction of the Middle East Railway by the Tsarist Fourth Infantry Division in Eastern Siberia. In the same year, the Russian tea merchant I. Fir Triskakov funded the reconstruction of an all-wood church based on the church of the army. In 1911, a layer of brick walls was built on the outside of the wooden wall, forming a brick and wood structure church.
On September 27, 1923, the Church of St. Sophia was rebuilt for the second time, which lasted nine years and was inaugurated on November 25, 1932, becoming the largest Orthodox Church in the Far East. Sofia Church is designed by the Russian architect Koyasikov, magnificent, elegant and extraordinary, magnificent, with a height of 53.25 meters, a construction area of 721 square meters, and a capacity of 2,000 people. At the top of the main entrance is the bell tower, and the seven bronze-cast bells are exactly 7 notes, and the hands and feet of trained bell ringers can be used to strike the bells. The church building plan is arranged in a Greek cross manner, which is influenced by the Byzantine architectural style, and the main dome and bell tower have the traditional Russian "tent roof" and "onion head" shapes.
In 1986, the Harbin Municipal People's Government listed it as a class of protected buildings. In November 1996, it was listed as the fourth batch of national key cultural relics protection units. From June 2 to September 2, 1997, the Harbin Municipal People's Government carried out a comprehensive renovation of the church according to the original design, expanded Sophia Square by 7,000 square meters, and opened it as the Harbin Architectural Art Museum to publicize and promote Harbin's unique architectural culture.
In 2000, the Harbin Municipal People's Government organized the expansion of the Harbin Architectural Art Square, the Central Leisure Plaza and the Urban Construction Planning Exhibition Hall. It was completed and put into use on October 1 of that year. The area of the expanded architectural art square has increased from 6,000 square meters to 10,000 square meters, and the central square area is 36,154 square meters.
Sofia Church architectural layout and style
Sofia Church is a typical Byzantine Orthodox church designed by the Russian architect Koyassikov. The whole church is a courtyard building, and the main building in the center has a standard large vault, red brick structure, majestic and spacious. Pass height 53. 35 meters, covers an area of 721 square meters. The plan of the church is designed as an east-west Latin cross, the walls are all made of clear water red bricks, crowned with a huge and full onion head dome, and the tent roof of different sizes of the four wings is unified, forming a master-slave layout, staggered. The four floors are connected by stairs, and there are four doors to the front and back and left and right. At the top of the main entrance is the bell tower, and the 7 bronze bells are exactly 7 notes, which are used by trained bell ringers with their hands and feet, and the bells that strike a suppressive bell have been heard for a long time.
If the old is repaired, the original architectural style is retained
In order to protect the national historical relics, in June 1997, the Harbin Municipal People's Government decided to implement comprehensive renovation of Sophia Church Square. After the restoration of the Church of St. Sophia, the towering golden cross and the red brick green roof reflect the majestic momentum of the main body of the church, surrounded by leisure chairs and greenery.
Now in the interior of the church can see a copy of the design of that year, the plane of the church is Greek cross, in the center of the front section there is a main two auxiliary three choir, now the wall inside the church has been mottled, even some bricks have been damaged, many frescoes have been peeled off, the wall below the church is hung with historical photos of Harbin, allowing visitors to see the development history of Harbin and the construction process of the church, the most gorgeous thing in the whole church is the nine chandeliers hanging on the top, the chandelier hanging down from the dome Bathed in the light from the skylight of the dome, it makes people feel a sense of solemnity and sacredness.
Standing on the square and looking up at the façade of the church, you can see that the large dome is located on a hexagonal drum pedestal, each side of the drum pedestal has a high side window with a small circular arch, and the vertical line sets off the towering main dome, with a tent-like spire on the front and back and left, which contrasts with the main dome. The appearance of the church also has many arch scrolls, on the door, on the window, stacked layers, large arch rolls with small arch rolls, small arch rolls supporting large arch rolls, it is difficult to count clearly, and there are some patterns made of square, circle, cross shapes, although there are not many elements used, but it gives people a three-dimensional and changeable effect, have to admire the designer's ingenious design.
saint. The most beautiful moment of sofia church is at night, when the surrounding area of the church is full of romantic art. The ancient church stands majestically here, like an old man who has experienced vicissitudes, and in a trance let people return to ancient Harbin, surrounded by bustling traffic, a prosperous and leisurely scene, as if it is difficult to find such a scene in today's society.
Tips for playing
address:
Heilongjiang Province - Harbin City - Daoli District - No. 88 Throughlong Street
Internal opening hours:
8:30~17:00 (Last admission at 4:45 p.m.)
Ticket Strategy
Complimentary in the morning (advance reservation required)
Afternoon concert 35 yuan
Lighting time:
Generally from 45:00 dark, the lights are on until 10:00 p.m. (may be adjusted at any time)
traffic:
Buses are well connected. It is recommended to walk from Central Avenue and go out from the intersection of Central Avenue with West 12th Street and West 14th Street. Inconvenient self-driving, parking difficulties, parking advice to the nearby mall.
Bus: Take bus No. 1, 5, 20, 61, 113, 114, 206 and get off at the "Zhaolin Street" stop and walk about 400 meters.