Russian Orthodox Cathedral, Nice

Beginning in the mid-19th century, Russian nobility visited Nice and the French Riviera. In 1864, immediately after the railway reached Nice, Tsar Alexander II visited by train and was attracted by the pleasant climate.

The cathedral, consecrated in December 1912 in memory of Nicholas Alexandrovich, Tsarevich of Russia, who died in Nice, was meant to serve the large Russian community that had settled in Nice by the end of the 19th century, as well as devout visitors from the imperial court. Tsar Nicholas II funded the construction work.

After 1917, Communist persecution of religion in Russia led some Russian Orthodox dioceses abroad to form jurisdictions not affiliated with Moscow. One of these, the Paris-based exarchate, later assumed control of the Nice Cathedral.  On 20 January 2010, a French Court (the Tribunal of First Instance at Nice) ruled that the title to the cathedral should be held by the Russian state.

The cathedral was constructed in the Old Russian style but in the form of a Greek Cross. It has five domes symbolizing Christ and four Evangelists.

It has two twin towers with a bell tower in the centre. The cathedral is built from various materials with several types of textures and colours: stone, brick, ceramics, etc.

The main body of the temple was built on a square base, over which hang two rows of “kokoshniks” with drums lying on them. The windows are inserted into a narrow rectangular frame bath in light.

The central space is also adorned with three small windows on each side. Richly decorated with majolica. The drums themselves are crowned with domes covered with lacquered tiles.

The iconostasis was made in Russia in the workshops of Khlebnikov. It is made of wood covered with bronze and gilded copper sheets with chased patterns.

On the vaults of the altar apse, the image of the Mother of God “The Sign” is depicted, surrounded by an angelic army. The upper part of the iconostasis is crowned with a cross. The images on the vaults and columns are made in delicate pale blue, yellow and purple colours.

In the ornaments, there is a mixture of lilies, and flower garlands with double-headed eagles. These bold combinations deeply emphasize the era of the creation of the cathedral – the 20th century.

The St Nicholas Orthodox Cathedral, Nice ( Cathédrale Orthodoxe Saint-Nicolas de Nice) is an Eastern Orthodox cathedral located in the French city of Nice. Property of the Russian Federation, it is recognized as a national monument of France, and it currently belongs to the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate. It is the largest Eastern Orthodox cathedral in Western Europe.

The cathedral was opened in 1912, thanks to the generosity of Russia's Tsar Nicholas II. From 1931 until 15 December 2011 the parish that occupied the cathedral was part of the Paris-based Patriarchal Exarchate for Orthodox Parishes of Russian Tradition in Western Europe under the jurisdiction of the Church of Constantinople. After 2011, following a final ruling by France's highest court, the Court of Cassation, the cathedral was declared to be property of the Russian state, and the congregation came under the jurisdiction of the Korsun diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church.