Karakol’s Russian Orthodox cathedral. The cathedral was originally built of stone in 1872, when Karakol was a garrison town established as an outpost on the edges of the Tsarist Russian Empire. Destroyed in 1890 by an earthquake, the current cathedral was built out of wood on a brick base, finally completed in 1895.
Karakol’s Russian Orthodox cathedral. It has seen considerable service, not just as a church. Following the Revolution in 1917, it has been used as an educational center housing a school, ladies’ gymnasium and an institution of Higher Education; a Sports Hall; a Theater; a Dance Hall and even as a Coal Store. Then, in 1991, following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Independence of Kyrgyzstan, the local authority once again gave the building back to the church, with the proviso that all further restorations were their responsibility.
