Rostov Cathedral Mosque

In Rostov-on-Don, the first Muslim prayer houses ( mosques ) appeared in the last quarter of the 19th century . So for the construction of one of them, in the mid -1910s, on the city plan between Skobelevskaya street (now Krasnoarmeyskaya street) and Pokrovsky cemetery (now does not exist), a plot was allocated for the construction of a mosque. The exact date of completion of the construction of this mosque is unknown, tentatively it is 1917 or 1918. ^[1] Construction was carried out with donations from Muslim merchants in honor of the Tatar regiments who distinguished themselves in the war against Napoleon’s army. ^[2]

The mosque was a cuboid two-story building, completed by a dome crowned with a crescent. The decor of the main facade, where the entrance to the mosque was located, was made around the central upper, round window, which was distinguished by a lancet arch. The minaret with a smaller dome and crescent was located to the left of the entrance to the mosque. Construction supervision during the construction of the mosque was led by city architect G.N. Vasiliev . ^{[3] [1]}

The activities of the Muslim community of the mosque continued until the beginning of the 1930s, after which the mosque (like many Orthodox churches) was closed and the minaret was partially dismantled. After the end of World War II, the mosque resumed its activities. In 1953, a major overhaul was carried out in the mosque. ^[one]

Since it was in the immediate vicinity of one of the military units of the Soviet army, in Khrushchev times, in July 1963, by order of the commander of the North Caucasus Military District, General I. A. Pliev, the mosque was transferred to the balance of the military unit, the Muslim community was evicted, and all temple property confiscated. The last imam-khatib of the mosque was Shangareev Kalyametdin-Hazrat (1905-1986), who worked in it from 1956 to 1963. ^[four]

In 1978, the building was reconstructed into a military club. Since 1982, the Muslim community of Rostov-on-Don began negotiations with the city authorities and the military district on the return of the rebuilt mosque to believers - the negotiations were long and fruitless. The Rostov administration allocated a place in the area of ​​the Builders Park (on Varfolomeyeva Street) for the construction of a new mosque. However, at this place the mosque was not erected. The new cathedral mosque was built only in 2003 on Furmanovskaya Street.

In November 2017, the city administration put up the building of the former mosque for sale. ^[5]

• Two mosques of Rostov-on-Don: dates, numbers, facts
• The Ministry of Defense is trying through the court to return the plot in the center of Rostov