The defining feature of the Russian Compound in downtown Jerusalem – and indeed, the only feature which could still be accurately characterized as "Russian" - is the monumental Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Cathedral, one of the finest (and one of the only) examples of Russian religious architecture in the Holy Land, and without a doubt the most striking church in west Jerusalem. The St. Petersburg-based Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society planned and financed the church and the surrounding compound in 1860 to provide a focal point and taste of home to the multitudes of devout Russian pilgrims trekking to Ottoman Palestine.
The construction took more than a decade under architect Martin Ivanovich Eppinger, who studded the church with four massive bell towers and Byzantine-inflected cupolas and made its interior a study in high-vaulted ceilings, blue walls, massive glinting chandeliers and suitably somber religious iconography. The cathedral was abandoned at the outbreak of World War I when the Ottoman Turks expelled Christians from Jerusalem, and it wasn't until 1948, immediately after the founding of the State of Israel, that it reverted to Russian hands. Today, much as it did more than a hundred years ago, the cathedral serves as a center for Russian Orthodox residents and visitors to Jerusalem, as well as a popular site for tourists.
Visiting hours are during the morning (until 13:00) every day except Monday
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