History of Holy Trinity Cathedral

The history of the cathedral traces back to the founding of Karakol itself by the far-sighted and pragmatic traveller Alexander Kaulbars. He initiated the construction of a temporary felt church — felt being the material almost everything was built from at the time. Within a year the felt walls were replaced with wooden ones, and later with stone and brick.

Unable to withstand fires and the 1889 earthquake, the church building was destroyed almost to its foundation. A new five-domed wooden church with a bell tower was built to a special design by the local Maslikov merchant family and consecrated in 1895. By then the city was called Przhevalsk: in 1889 it was renamed after the explorer Nikolai Przhevalsky, buried nearby on the shore of Lake Issyk-Kul (the name Karakol was finally restored in 1991). Their original plan called for a cross-shaped church, crowned by five domes and a bell tower forming one small but unified, compact building.

Snow-white walls with carved blue inlays and frescoes depicting flowers and clusters of berries created a sense of pristine purity, while the richly detailed iconostasis and modest interior truly made this place the house of God. The church was also an important centre of learning — its library held more than 1,000 books.

The cathedral's modern appearance has changed little. The same five gilded, cross-topped domes traditional to this church, the familiar bell tower reached by a long internal staircase, and the intricate ringing of many large bells and small chimes. The log walls of the church and the main granite porch give it a majestic, authentically Orthodox look.

A church steadfast in spirit and will — its short, century-long history full of hardship and sorrowful events.