Santa Sophia Church (Chinese:索菲亚教堂;pinyin:suǒfēiyà jiàotáng) is the largest Russian Orthodox Church in the Far East. Built in March 1907, it used to be a church affiliated to the Russian army. With the increase of the believers, the rebuilding work started in September 1923 and completed in 1932. At the front gate, you can find a bell tower with seven bells. The biggest bell is 1.42 meters in diameter and weighs 1.8 tons. Each bell has a special tune. During special holidays, they struck beautiful tunes and its sound could be heard more than 50 kilometers away.
Benches, rails and lamps were all designed in the European style in conformity with the church. 53.35 meters high and covering an area of 721 square meters, the church looks elegant and splendid. Now concerts are often held in the square and people can enjoy musical art and architectural art at the same time. |