20/03/2026
After Helsinki was made into the capital of Finland in 1812, Alexander I decreed in 1814 that 15 percent of the salt import tax were to be collected into a fund for two churches, one Lutheran and one Orthodox. Helsinki's Orthodox Church, considered to have formed in 1827 with the construction of the Holy Trinity Church, Helsinki, was in need of a larger church than before for a growing Orthodox parish. The construction of Uspenski Cathedral was largely funded by parishioners and private donors. The cathedral designed by the Russian architect Aleksey Gornostayev (1808–1862). The cathedral was built after his death in 1862–1868 and the work was led by architect Ivan Varnek. It was inaugurated on 25 October 1868. Used in construction of the cathedral, 700 000 bricks were brought over in barges from the Bomarsund Fortress that had been demolished in the Crimean War. The iconostasis is painted by Pavel S. Shiltsov. Based on the wishes of Alexander II, the church was dedicated to the Dormition of the Mother of God (uspenie). Crown Prince Alexander III and Moscow merchants gave significant donations for the construction of the church.The crypt chapel of the cathedral is named after the holy Alexander Hotovitzky, who served as vicar of the Orthodox parish of Helsinki 1914–1917, died a martyr death in the Great Purge and was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church in 1994.
The cathedral is set upon a hillside on the Katajanokka peninsula overlooking the city. On the back of the cathedral, there is a plaque commemorating Russian Emperor Alexander II, who was the sovereign of the Grand Duchy of Finland during the cathedral's construction. Main cathedral of the Finnish Orthodox Church in the diocese of Helsinki, Uspenski Cathedral is claimed to be the largest orthodox church in Western Europe.
Annually, about half a million tourists visit the church. Admission to the cathedral was for a long time free of charge, but since May 2025 there is an admission fee of 5 euros to adults outside the times of divine services. The acquired funds are directed to restoring the cathedral. The cathedral is closed on Mondays.
