Zenkov Cathedral (Ascension Cathedral)

To be one of the most beautiful architectural buildings in Almaty rightfully considered the Zenkov Cathedral or Asension Cathedral. It is located in famous Panfilov Park, in the center of Almaty city. We can offer you a car rent service to get to Almaty and continue your tour smoothly in the entire country. 

The construction of the cathedral was initiated by bishops of Tashkent and Turkestan in the early 19^th century. A.P. Zenkov, the best engineer and architect of that time, delegated the project and the building was completed in 1907. The curios feature of this wooden church is the fact that it was built by applying ancient technology by not using any nails. The church has five domes, three aisles, and built-in bell tower. The inner part of the church was worked out by famous icon painter and artist N. Khludov. The church is included in the list of eight top highest buildings made of wood. 

The Cathedral went through certain challenges before it came to be a sanctuary for Christians and wonderful city attraction nowadays. It survived a strong earthquake in 1910 thanks to its anti- seismic construction, while all other neighboring buildings went to ruin. The real difficult period fell on Soviet times, when in 1927 the church was closed which followed by robbery and attacks. Luckily it did not bring to the full destruction of the building, but until 1994 it was used for non-religious purposes. In 1995 the government gave back the church to Christian community and after restoration works the Orthodox services started to be held in the cathedral again. 

Today the Ascension Cathedral pleases not only the parishioners by also tourists and residents of Almaty. We recommend you to visit this cathedral during your tour in Almaty and make your journey relaxing with a car rent service.