Qolşärif Mosque (Kazan)

Qolşärif Mosque (Kazan)

 

Description of the Qolşärif Mosque or Kul-Sharif Mosque

Mosque "Kul-Sharif" (tat. "Kol Sharif" machete) is the main Juma mosque of the Republic of Tatarstan and the city of Kazan (since 2005), located on the territory of the Kazan Kremlin. One of the main attractions of the city.

The construction of the temple began in 1996 as a reconstruction of the legendary multi-minaret mosque of the capital of the Kazan Khanate, the center of religious education and development of sciences in the Middle Volga region of the 16th century. The historical mosque was destroyed in October 1552 during the assault on Kazan by the troops of Ivan the Terrible. The reconstructed mosque is named after the last imam, seid Kul Sharif, one of the leaders of the defense of Kazan.

The mosque is located in the western part of the Kazan Kremlin, in the center of its own courtyard square. The mosque complex is a composition of the main building (with six minarets and two semi-pavilions attached to the sides) and a separate two-story administrative, utility and fire pavilion, made in the same style. The complex and the square of the mosque are spatially linked with the surroundings (the former cadet school and the southwestern facade wall of the Kremlin) in order to give the object being placed an urban planning significance and enrich the panorama of the Kremlin, which is viewed as a visiting card of the city from the Millennium Square and the Kazanka River.

The internal space of the mosque is designed for one and a half thousand people, ten thousand more can be accommodated in the square in front of it.

 

History

On October 2, 1552, the Russian army took the capital of the Kazan Khanate. During the defense of Kazan, its main leader was seid Kul Sharif. The defenders of the capital offered stubborn resistance, but during the assault everyone died, including Kul Sharif himself. The whole city was on fire, the main multi-towered mosque was also almost completely burned down and was destroyed.

In the fall of 1995, President of Tatarstan Mintimer Shaimiev signed a decree on the reconstruction of the mosque. In winter, a competition was announced in which the best project for the revival of the Kul-Sharif mosque was selected. The architectural design of the mosque began with a team of winners of the republican competition for the project of the revival of the Kul-Sharif mosque, architects Sh. Kh. Latypov, M. V. Safronov, A. G. Sattarov and I. F. Saifullin. Construction, the cost of which is estimated at about 400 million rubles (estimated - more than 500 million rubles), was mainly carried out on donations. More than 40 thousand citizens and organizations took part in donations, records of which are included in the books in the main hall of the mosque.

For the construction was chosen the territory of the former cadet school. In the summer of 2001, the construction of the mosque building was basically completed with the installation of spiers and domes. The opening of the mosque took place on June 24, 2005, to the 1000th anniversary of Kazan.

 

Architecture

The height of each of the four main minarets is 58 meters. There are also two small minarets. The dome, 39 meters high and 17 meters in diameter, is decorated inside with forms associated with the image and decorative details of the Kazan Hat.

The architectural multi-minaret design of the external appearance of the mosque was achieved through the development of semantic elements that bring the architecture of the mosque closer to local traditions. Granite and marble were brought from the Urals, the interior decoration - carpets - was a gift from the Iranian government, a colored crystal chandelier with a diameter of five meters and weighing almost two tons was made in the Czech Republic, stained-glass windows, stucco, mosaics and gilding.

Inside the mosque (to the right and left in relation to the main hall) there are two observation balconies for excursions.

The main building of the mosque houses the Museum of Islamic Culture and the History of the Spread of Islam in the Volga Region, a room for a solemn wedding ceremony - nikah, and the office of the imam.

The buildings of the mosque are faced with white marble (shimmering pinkish at sunset), the dome and spiers of the minarets are turquoise. The façade of the main building is decorated with bronze metal inscriptions of Islamic themes and the edges of portals. Decorative paving slabs with green and red ornaments (in the colors of the flag of Tatarstan) have been laid on the courtyard square. The mosque has a spectacular night architectural illumination.