Alexander Nevsky Cathedral

1a Sovetskaya street, +7 383 223 83 49, Novosibirsk, ansobor.ru 

One of the great sights for early travellers across Russia on the Trans-Siberian Railway after its opening in 1899. 

One of the first stone buildings in Novosibirsk, the cathedral stands at the very beginning of its main street, Krasniy Prospect.  

Built in the neo-Byzantine style with a gilded dome, it is named after one of the giants of Russian medieval history, but was also a monument to Tsar Alexander III, who initiated construction of the railway and the establishment of a station at Novonikolayevsk, as the city was then known, and donated the land and the money for the building. 

A cathedral since 1915, it was closed by Stalin in 1937, re-opening in the glasnost era in 1989. There have been several attempts to blast the building, all of which failed - though the beautiful bell tower and some of the inside walls were destroyed. 

Pictures: Alexander Nevskiy Cathedral, The Siberian Times