Church of "Svyatoy Ioann Krestitel" (1915–1916)

History of Foundation and Construction (1915–1916)

By the beginning of the 20th century, the Catholic community of Samarkand consisted of officers and soldiers of the garrison, merchants, railway employees and officials. The first attempt to obtain permission to build a church in 1905 was unsuccessful.

The situation changed dramatically during the First World War:

A large number of prisoners of war from Austria-Hungary and Germany were sent to the Turkestan region.

Among them were professional engineers, masons and architects, whose labor was in demand in the city economy. The authorities allocated a plot on Gospitalnaya Street (now Makhmuda Kashgari Street).

The project was developed by architect Evgeny Oskarovich Nelle, and the direct construction of the church was carried out by engineers Dombrovsky, Shitko and Rybchinsky. By the end of 1916, the temple was fully completed and consecrated in honor of Saint John the Baptist.

Architecture and Interior

The building is a rare example of Neo-Gothic with fine Baroque elements for Central Asia:

Facade and masonry: The church is built of dense light-ochre Samarkand brick. The western portal is decorated with a tall bell tower with openwork pinnacle turrets and a developed cornice.

Windows and light: The facades are pierced by tall lancet windows decorated with colored stained-glass windows with scenes from the Holy Scripture.

Interior: A spacious single-nave hall with a deep altar apse and excellent acoustics. On the sides of the altar are traditional statues of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary, and above the entrance is a wooden choir balcony with wrought-iron elements.

Fate in the 20th Century and Second Birth

In Soviet times, the temple was closed, the crosses were dismantled, and a gymnasium operated in the premises for a long time.

In 1995, thanks to the priest Fr. John Roloff, the parish resumed its activity.

In October 1997, after negotiations between the diplomatic representative of the Vatican, Archbishop Marian Oles, and the government of Uzbekistan, an order was issued to return the building to the Catholics.

With financial support from international foundations and parishioners, the temple was restored and re-consecrated on March 27, 1999. In 2021, another major renovation of the interiors was carried out in the church