Holy Trinity Cathedral, Karakol
Каракол Ыйык Үчилтик чиркөөсү
A wooden Orthodox church completed in 1895, with golden onion domes and a carved wooden exterior, reflecting Karakol's history as a tsarist frontier fortress.
Karakol (formerly Przhevalsk) was founded in 1869 by the Russian Empire as a frontier garrison town, and the Holy Trinity Cathedral is its most important Russian-style building. The original stone church collapsed in the earthquake of 1889. The surviving wooden church was completed in 1895. Its exterior is made of boards with finely carved wooden decoration, and its roof carries five onion domes in green and gold. During the Soviet period the church was closed and used as a club, dance hall and gymnasium. It was returned to the Orthodox Church in the 1990s and restored. The cathedral stands in a tree-filled park, surrounded by orderly streets of tsarist-era wooden houses, and a stroll here brings the historic atmosphere of this frontier town to life. Entry is free, with donations welcome. It lies slightly south of the city centre, about 15 minutes' walk from the Dungan Mosque, so the two can be combined into a half-day city walk. Note: women must wear a headscarf and a long skirt when entering (skirts can be borrowed at the entrance), men should remove their hats, keep quiet during services, and not use flash on the icons.
Opening hours
About 08:00–18:00
Nearby sights
- Karakol Russian Colonial Quarter
- Dungan Family Dinner & Ashlyan-fu
- Karakol Regional Museum
- Karakol Dungan Mosque
- Karakol Sunday Animal Market
- Karakol Ski Base
- Przhevalsky Memorial Museum
- Pristan-Przhevalsk Lakeshore