This is the largest of Odesa’s Orthodox cathedrals. Established as a small house of worship in 1808, by the beginning of the 20th Century it had expanded into one of the Russian Empire’s grandest Russian Orthodox cathedrals. With elbow room for 12,000, it was the region’s religious epicentre. Each stage of expansion reflected the great leaps in development experienced by Odesa and the surrounding area. In 1936, Soviet authorities ordered the plundering and destruction of this architectural jewel. Contrary to popular belief, it was not blown up, but cruelly disassembled. Restored in 2005, what you see today is only a partial reconstruction of the original.