The mention of the construction of an Orthodox cathedral dates back to 1873. Even then a proposal was made to build a church near Narva for the workers of the Krenholm manufactory, as about half of the 10,000 workers at the factory were Orthodox Christians. The construction of the temple was postponed "until finding funds".
In September 1889, the new governor of Estonia, Prince Sergei Vladimirovich Shakhovsky sent a letter to the manager of the Krenholm manufactory J.A. Andre, in which he in a mild, but at the same time and insistent form, proposed to build a church for the Orthodox workers of the factory. As a result, on 5 August 1890 the laying of the temple was made, which was timed to coincide with the visit to Narva by Emperor Alexander III, who held an official meeting with German Emperor Wilhelm II. On that day Alexander III, after the liturgy in the main church of Narva - the Transfiguration Cathedral, personally laid the first stone of the future cathedral, striking it three times with a hammer. The place of laying was illuminated, after which the emperor familiarised himself with the plan of the temple construction. In November 1786, after the consecration of the main throne and the entire temple, the first liturgy took place in the built cathedral, conducted by Archbishop Arseny of Riga and Mitava.
The design of the Church of the Resurrection was prepared by Krenholm architect Pavel Vasiljević Ališ. This church was radically different from the already built sacral structures of Narva. Apparently, it was not by chance that the cathedral was built next to the railway, because in those times the view from the carriage window, from the aesthetic point of view, was as important as the view from the river or ordinary road. In addition, the construction emphasised that the temple be viewed as a whole structure from foundation to cross, as opposed to the temple of medieval Narva, in which the religious idea was emphasised only by its top or spire.
The Resurrection Cathedral was built in the Byzantine style, the purpose of which was to emphasise the spiritual continuity between Constantinople and Moscow. This style came to Russian architecture in the 30s of the 19th century to replace classicism. The heavy squat volume of the Resurrection Cathedral was crowned with the same monumental domes. The building itself is built of light and dark facing bricks, the layers of which alternate with each other. If you look at the plan of the cathedral, you can trace the outlines of the cross. The peculiarity of the temple are 4 portals in which mosaic images are placed: St. Alexander Nevskiy, St. Cosmas and Damian, the Mother of God of All Who Sorrow and St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. According to the original plan these portals played the role of additional entrances to the temple, however, later, for security reasons, they were laid.
There are three large and 3 small bells on the belfry. On the main bell, which weighs just over 2000 kg, depicts the Saviour, on the middle one - the Virgin Mary, on the small one - Nicholas the Wonderworker. The inscriptions on them say that they were cast at the Gatchina factory for the Krenholm manufactory. Under the temple there is a cellar, in which the burns, oils, etc. are stored. Originally the basement was not intended for the lower church. However, as a result of the upper church being cold, the basement was decided to be converted into a winter church. Now in the lower church in the name of St. Seraphim of Sarov, there are also chancery, wafer, carpentry and icon painting workshops. The upper and lower temples are connected by means of a spiral staircase, which is located in the altar part.
The height of the temple is 40.5 metres, the length of the temple is almost 35 metres and the width is 28.4 metres. The height of the belfry is almost 30 metres.
The interior of the Resurrection Cathedral, as many years ago, is formed by a three-tiered iconostasis, which is framed by an arch. In order to emphasise the monolithic and voluminous nature of the iconostasis, craftsmen used so-called hard carving with clear and even edges. Oak was used as the base material, while the applied carving was made of lime. Another peculiarity of the iconostasis was that different gilding was used - matt and shiny. The great value of the iconostasis lies in the fact that for 100 years it has not been practically renewed, so today it is an artistic example of the principles of gilding and carving of the late 19th century. Of the paintings, the most preserved is the image in the central dome: "Lord Pantocrator" - the most monumental image of the inner decoration.
The Resurrection Cathedral is the only surviving church in the whole district. Therefore, it is not surprising that all the church utensils were collected here. The story of the large Crucifixion, which used to be in the central part of the Cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Saviour, is an interesting one. After the bombing during World War II, it miraculously survived, while only ruins of the temple remained. Soon after the incident, the Crucifix was moved to the Resurrection Cathedral.
