The Cathedral of Sts Simeon and Anne (Latvian: Jelgavas Sv. Simeona un Sv. Annas pareizticīgo katedrāle), located at 12 Akadēmijas Street in Jelgava, is a cathedral of the Latvian Orthodox Church, one of four Orthodox cathedrals in Latvia.
The church traces its history to 1710, when Peter the Great, Tsar of Russia, arranged the marriage of his niece Anna to Frederick William, Duke of Courland. The duke promised to build an Orthodox church in Jelgava (then known as Mitau), his capital, but his premature death prevented this. Anna was sent to Jelgava in 1712 and ruled there with the advice of Pyotr Bestuzhev-Ryumin, who directed a wooden church be constructed in 1726. In 1774, a stone church designed by Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli replaced this building.
The Cathedral was built between 1890–1892, with the financial support of Tsar Alexander III of Russia, on designs made by architect Nikolai Chagin, of Vilnius.
The cathedral was destroyed in August 1944 amidst World War II, and remained in ruins during the Soviet period. After Latvia regained its independence, the church was returned to the Orthodox congregation and the cathedral was restored over the next ten years, the process being finished in 2003. The cathedral has nine bells in the bell-tower with the largest bell weighing 830 kg. Particularly striking are the golden domes decorated with blue stripes.
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St. Simeon’s and St. Anna’s Orthodox Cathedral was designed by architect N.Chagin and built during 1890-1892, with the financial support of Russian Czar Alexander III. The altar and foundation remained from the previous church which was built in 1774 according to the design of the architect F.B.Rastrelli.
The cathedral suffered heavily during World War II and also during the Soviet time. When Latvia regained its independence, the church was returned to its Orthodox congregation and the reconstruction was performed (1993-2003). There are nine bells in the bell-tower; the biggest bell weighs 830 kg.
There are regular services in the cathedral and also a library for spiritual literature.
www.visit.jelgava.lv/en
