Azimov Mosque (Kazan)

The Azimov Mosque, also called the Sixth Cathedral Mosque or the Factory Mosque, is a working mosque in Kazan, in the Novo-Tatar Sloboda of the Vakhitovsky district, at 15 Fatkullina Street. Its stone building of 1887–1890 with a 51-metre minaret is a landmark of Tatar religious architecture and one of the notable mosques of the city's historic Tatar quarters, not far from Lake Nizhny Kaban.

History

A wooden mosque had stood on this site since the early 19th century, around 1804. In 1887–1890 it was replaced by a stone building funded by M. M. Azimov, one of the richest merchants of Kazan, and his family. In the sequence of the city's mosques it became the sixth cathedral mosque. The name "Factory Mosque" is said to come from the workers of a nearby soap factory who prayed here.

Under the Soviet anti-religious policy the mosque was closed in 1930 and ended up in the middle of an industrial area. The building was put to various uses: offices, a canteen and a dormitory, later a cinema and a school for film projectionists that, according to local accounts, drew students from all over the Soviet Union. In the early 1990s the mosque was returned to the Muslim community; it was reconstructed and restored under the architect R. V. Bilyalov, and services resumed in 1992.

Architecture of the Sixth Cathedral Mosque

The Azimov Mosque is a single-storey, two-hall congregational mosque in the national romantic style of the late 19th century. Above the entrance on the north side rises a three-tier minaret 51 metres high, the building's main vertical and its recognisable silhouette. The decoration draws on the architecture of the Muslim East: pointed arches, muqarnas cornices and the "Seljuk chain" ornament. The windows have hexagonal stained glass.

What to see

From outside the building stands out with its emerald-green facade and an elegant fence. Inside, the walls of the prayer halls are painted in calm blue tones and the decoration follows Eastern motifs. The minaret still has its old wooden spiral staircase, which is too fragile for visitors to climb. A local feature is the cats living on the grounds, fed by the imam and the parishioners.

Getting there

The mosque is in the Novo-Tatar Sloboda near Lake Nizhny Kaban. The nearest public transport stops are Saidasheva and Mekhobyedinenie, and it is within walking distance of Vakhitovo railway station. Other historic mosques of Kazan stand nearby in the Staro-Tatar Sloboda, so the Azimov Mosque fits easily into a walk around the old Tatar quarters.