Transfiguration Church (Baden-Baden)

First Temples

In the first half of the 19th century , a large Russian community was formed in Baden-Baden .

The construction of the temple in Baden-Baden was initiated by the Russian diplomatic mission in Karlsruhe (headed by N. A. Stolypin ) and Princess E. Trubetskoy . Donations were collected in the early 1850s . The consecration of the church took place in 1859 . The church was in a rented private house. In 1866, she was moved to another building, where she was until 1882 .

Modern Temple

A special contribution to the construction of a separate church was made by the Grand Duchess Maria Maximilianovna . Through her efforts, the city granted the Russian community a place. The laying of the temple took place on August 12 (24), 1881 . At the head of the Orthodox community of Baden-Baden were the daughters of Prince S. S. Gagarin , Varvara and Tatyana.

The design of the church was developed by architect I.V. Strom . The service was attended by Grand Duchess Olga Fedorovna , as well as Grand Dukes Georg and Alexander Mikhailovich and the family of Grand Duke Mecklenburg-Schwerin Frederick Franz II .

Construction was led by the Baden architect Belzer. The construction of the temple was completed in September 1882 . The consecration of the church in honor of the Transfiguration of the Lord took place on October 28 ( November 9 ), 1882 .

In 1899, the church was visited by Nicholas II and Alexandra Fedorovna on the road to Darmstadt to celebrate the consecration of the church of Mary Magdalene .

With the outbreak of World War I, the church was closed. The temple was considered as the property of the enemy. The gilding of the domes was removed and remelted. The dome was covered with tin and painted blue; in this form the church remained until 1988 .

On July 22, 1920, the parish of the Orthodox community of Baden-Baden was officially registered. On July 17, 1921, regular services were resumed in the church. The church was under the jurisdiction of the Manager of Russian Parishes in Western Europe of the Russian Orthodox Church .

Initially, there were about 100 people in the community, among whom was actress Olga Chekhova . Subsequently, the number of parishioners was halved.

On June 11, 1938, the parish with all its property was transferred to the Berlin and German Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia .

After the end of World War II, the parish announced its transfer to the Moscow Patriarchate . However, in 1979, the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia declared its right to the temple. A lawsuit has been filed.

Initially, while the issue was being resolved, the church was closed from October 24, 1979 to April 2, 1980 , after which the services of the ROCA resumed.

The main restoration work was carried out in the mid -1980s . The gilding of the dome was renewed by 1988 .

On October 28, 1988, by decision of the Supreme Court of the Federal Republic of Germany, on the basis of the Law on the Property Rights of the Russian Orthodox Church in Germany, the right to own the Transfiguration Church in Baden-Baden was transferred to the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad . The appeal of the community of the Moscow Patriarchate was rejected by the Constitutional Court of Germany . However, until the beginning of the 2000s, the church remained the subject of a dispute between the Russian Orthodox Church and ROCOR.

The parish is composed of immigrants from Russia, as well as Serbs, Greeks and Germans. Services are held weekly.

The stone church was built in the North Russian style, crowned with a gilded onion dome .

In terms of the temple represents the Greek cross. The walls are laid with slabs of light stone.

Above the entrance is a mosaic icon of the Transfiguration of the Lord, which was made by the Venetian artist A. Salviati according to drawings by Prince G. G. Gagarin .

The vault of the temple is supported by six columns.

All internal painting was made free of charge by Prince G. G. Gagarin. The seven frescoes depict the earthly life of Jesus Christ . The dome contains an image of the sun surrounded by the evangelists Luke, Mark, Matthew and John. The whole space is decorated with ornaments. In the altar niche is a copy of the fresco "The Last Supper" of the Vladimir Cathedral in Kiev .

The windows are stained glass. The single-tier iconostasis is carved in marble.

In the crypt under the altar, the Grand Duchess Maria Maximilianovna and Princess Tatyana Sergeyevna Gagarina (1834-1920) were buried. The walls of the crypt are decorated with mosaic ornaments; white marble floor.

• Official site of the Church of the Transfiguration
• Pazukhin Evgeny. Russian Orthodox Church in Baden-Baden
• Russian guests on treatment in German Baden in the 19th century
• Page of the Transfiguration Parish of the Moscow Patriarchate