Where it all started

In the first half of the 17th century. there were huts on this place townspeople The lord of the city Ivan X Druget decided to move to Uzhhorod from Humenny (now Slovakia) Jesuits. On July 31, 1640, he published foundationsWell, the letter about the transfer of the Jesuit college. Cartridge purchased land for the college in Uzhhorod and resettled the townspeople from there, a provided a significant amount of money and land in the vicinity of Humenny and Uzhhorod to support the college. Jesuits received the right to sell wine, beer, vodka, building materials, etc. in the city. Instead, the Jesuit fathers had to pray for Ivan Druget and his descendants The construction of the college began in the same year. After after the death of the patron, the construction was completed by his wife Anna Yakusich. The whole complex included its own college, school and church. In 1773, Pope Clement XIV dissolved the Jesuit order. Austrian ruler Maria Theresa (a monument to her can be seen in park opposite the church) in the buildings of the liquidated Jesuit college placed a residence of the Greek Catholic diocese (1775). Four coats of arms of bishops are placed on the pediment of the residence it was built and renovated by: A. Bachynskyi, V. Popovych, I. Pastelii, Yu. Firtsak. On the first rooms were located on the floor manager of the residence, scribe of the consistory, room for guests and support staff. Four rooms were available bishop, one of which served as a reception desk. On the second floor there was a "pink salon", where a certain Hungarian ones were kept at the time coronation regalia. After the reconstructions carried out on the recommendations of the court architect Franz Anton Hillebrandt (years of life: 1719–1797), the residence for a long time remained a separate building, not connected to the cathedral. In 1846 Bishop Vasyl Popovych (ruled: 1831–1864) rebuilt the episcopal chambers and provided modern appearance - two towers, an entrance to the gate, a small park with decorative plantings of thuja, boxwood, etc. In the completed the part that connected the residence with the cathedral, on the second floor a new episcopal chapel was built, which was painted by Joseph Boxing From 1949 (after the liquidation of the Greek Catholic Church by the Soviet authorities) in the premises the residence has a Scientific Library Uzhhorod University. The premises have undergone changes: frescoes in the halls were whitewashed, rooms were rebuilt, etc. In 1989, activity of the Greek Catholic diocese was restored, in 1991 the cathedral was returned to it, in 2003 negotiations began on the gradual relocation of the university library. In vacated premises capital repairs and restoration works began, which continue to this day. They want to restore the episcopal gardens behind the residence and the cathedral. However, everyone buildings, including a residence (except cathedral), is still the property of the university. It can be changed only by a government decree, therefore repair and restoration measures have no legal basis. The Cathedral of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross of the Lord was built later than the college and the school. First the church was small, with one tower, during the 17th - early 18th centuries. underwent reconstruction as a result of a fire and a storm. In 1775, the church was handed over to the Mukachevo Greek Catholic Diocese and according to the architect's project Hillebrandt was turned into a cathedral. Reconstruction and adaptation to the Greek-Catholic rite was completed in 1779. There were pews, places for canons (on the left and right in front of the altar) and the bishop (on the right). The most significant monument after the transfer of the church is the iconostasis of 1779. Its author is the sculptor Franz Phec. The cathedral is built of brick, its main facade is crowned with a triangular pediment, to which adjoining octagons three-tiered towers with chimes. Initially, the belfries were wooden, in 1812, one of them was destroyed by a storm. For symmetry, the second one was also demolished, and in 1814 the towers were restored. In the left tower is the "Ivan" bell weighing 1 ton, on the right is a 3-ton one. In 1858, the bishop carried out a thorough renovation of the interior V. Popovych. Marble arabesques were applied to the walls, the iconostasis was renewed, and the walls were painted. Bigthe parochial artist Ferdinand Vydra played a role in the renewal of the church. Radical external the changes gave the cathedral a modern appearance, they were carried out under the bishop Ivan Pasteliya. Architectural solution in neoclassical style with the addition of a portico with four Corinthian columns in front of the entrance designed by the architect László Fabri. The work was completed in 1877, the following year, a clock was installed on one of the towers. In 1939 the ceiling of the cathedral was decorated with a monumental painting of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross by the artist Yosyp Bokshai, who in 1942 also produced colored stained glass windows on the window in the sacristy. There is a crypt in the dungeons of the cathedral. Here, starting with the foundation of the church, wealthy Catholics were buried. Later, the cathedral became a burial place Greek Catholic bishops, in particular Andrii Bachynskyi, Oleksiy Povchyi, Vasyl Popovych. The last bishop who was buried here was Teodor Romzha, who was killed in 1947. Pope Ivan Paul II 2001 during visits to Ukraine proclaimed him Blessed. After the liquidation of the Greek-Catholic diocese, in 1949–1991 the cathedral belonged to the Orthodox.