Sevastopol Ukraine
Ukrainian Orthodox
The chapel is a memorial to the siege defenders of Sevastopol during the Crimean War (1854-1855). It is in the Bratskoye (Brethreen or Fraternal) Cemetery honoring the defenders. The church was built in 1870. Architect Alexey Alexandrovic Avdejev chose a pyramid shape to symbolize eternity. Black marble slabs on each side name the units that fought with the number of fallen soldiers from each unit. 38 black marble plaques inside name the 943 officers who died in the Babble of Sevastopol. The original Byzantine style frescoes were destroyed by humidity; they were replaced with stone mosaics, copying the original paintings. Badly damaged in World War II, it was restored in 1968 and returned to the Orthodox Church in 1994.