The Church of Spas Nerukotvorniy
(of Our Savior)

(1706-1713)

  This was the first cathedral to be built in the fortress. The date of construction is debatable, either from 1661 to1664 or in 1672. The ancient two-story wooden church was at the centre of the fortress. It was a cathedral with a wooden belfry. In 1716 it burnt down. The stone church was established here in 1706 by the voevode Sinyavin and the townspeople. The builder was Moisey Dolgih, a bricklayer from Moscow. The church was consecrated in 1713. From 1758 to1762 a great belfry was built nearby. It remained a cathedral until 1739; later it became a parish church. In 1931 the church was closed, and the show-room of the Regional Museum was placed there. It is the museum of icons. On the eastern wall one can see the icons of the Savior, Saint Mitrophan and Saint Nicholas. The church is famous for its wall-painting (the beginning of the XIX century) as well. It consists of 3 parts: the central one represents the christening of Russia, the left one - the christening of local people (Buryats) and the right one - the first bishop of Irkutsk eparchy, Innokentij Kulchitsky, who was later named saint.