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

Columns of the church

The Cathedral was built in Renaissance Revival architectural style; it has three aisles and two towers. The Cathedral in Salzburg, Austria was a prototype for the church. Newly built, the cathedral was marked by rich interior decoration. In 1901 a carved altar ordered from Austria was installed in the church, in 1903 a cathedra was built, in 1904 – altar of repose. In 1906 wooden statues of Saint Anthony and the crucified Christ were set up in the cathedral. Paintings with stories from the Bible were made on the walls.

View of the cathedral in the early 20th century

At the beginning of 19th century there was a significant inflow of the German colonists to Novorossiya at that time (modern region north of the Black Sea, Bessarabia and the Crimea). According to the manifesto of Catherine II from July 22, 1763, foreigners were invited to come to Russia and settle whenever they wanted. In the beginning of 19th century after the Napoleonic Wars, Germany being occupied by France was found in a tough economic state. And many merchants and trades people were forced to leave their home state. In 1808 the order of Tsar Alexander I went forth “About providing assistance and headright to foreign sodbusters in Novorossiya. Therefore in 1808 Kuchurhanskyi colonists’ district (area) with administrative center in Selz settlement, modern urban-type settlement Lymanske. The district included six catholic colonies.

Since 1821 there was a catholic church in the settlement. In 1901 on the place of the church there was a three-aisle cathedral that had two towers 57, 9 meters (1900 feet) in height. In contrast to the majority of the churches in Odessa area built of limestone only, Cathedral of the Assumption in Selz was built of bricks. The cost of brick for the Cathedral construction was 110,000 Russian roubles.

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  Overall view
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  View inside the church

• Holy Trinity Cathedral (Lymanske)
• Salzburg Cathedral