Who designed the Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg?

Andrei Voronikhin designed Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg.

Construction began in 1801 and the cathedral was completed in 1811 on Nevsky Prospekt. Voronikhin created an Empire-style design influenced by St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, but adapted it for the Russian Orthodox tradition and the urban setting of imperial St. Petersburg. Its sweeping colonnade is one of the building’s defining features.

The cathedral is dedicated to Our Lady of Kazan, an icon of exceptional importance in Russian religious history. Its symbolic role grew after the Russian victory over Napoleon in 1812; the church became associated with national commemoration, and Field Marshal Mikhail Kutuzov was buried there.

The architect’s name is sometimes rendered “Andrey Voronikhin” rather than “Andrei Voronikhin,” but these are English transliterations of the same person. The alternative names in the quiz were prominent architects of imperial Russia, yet none designed this cathedral.