Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin (Assumption Cathedral)

The original Assumption Cathedral was built in the Kharkiv Fortress in the 1680s. It was completely rebuilt after a fire to a Late Baroque design loosely based on St Clement’s Church, Moscow. The cathedral was consecrated in 1780 in the presence of a viceroy (Pyotr Rumyantsev). The church boasted a gilded icon screen, carved from limewood to Rastrelli’s Rococo design.nThe free-standing Alexander Bell Tower was built in the aftermath of Napoleon’s expulsion from Russia “to express the people’s gratitude to Alexander I”. A large French clock was installed in the bell tower in 1856.