SAINT PETERSBURG MOSQUE
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The St Petersburg Mosque, which has stood unashamedly since 1720 on the edge of the vast park of the Peter and Paul Fortress, bears witness to a certain tradition of religious tolerance in Russia. Its reconstruction in 1910 was financed by the Muslims of Russia with the support of Stolypin and the Emir of Bukhara. It was then the largest mosque in Europe, in the capital of an empire where Muslims represent a large part of the population. Its dome, designed by the architect Nicolas Vassiliev, reproduces the dome of Gour-Emir's mausoleum in Samarkand (Uzbekistan). Skilled workers from all over Central Asia took part in the project. With a capacity of up to 5,000 worshippers, the mosque hall, decorated in oriental style with a profusion of prayer carpets from the Central Asian republics or Azerbaijan, seems a little too large today for the limited attendance of Tatars and other nationals of the Muslim republics of the former USSR, who are less numerous in St. Petersburg than in Moscow.
Access for visits is not possible during the prayers and they are usually done with a guide accredited by the mosque (in Russian or Central Asian languages). However, do not hesitate to make a detour on your way to the Museum of Political History, the Pierre-et-Paul fortress or the Aurore cruiser nearby, the architecture of the place of worship is very appreciable even from the outside.
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