Khusainiya Mosque (Orenburg): history and current state

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:54

The Khusainia Mosque is one of the eight historical mosques in Orenburg. It was built at the end of the 19th century. Today, the Khusainia mosque in the city of Orenburg is the main religious and cultural center for the region's large Muslim community.

Muslims in the Orenburg region

The unofficial name of Orenburg is “the Asian capital of Russia”. And this nickname, obviously, the city received not by chance. As you know, Orenburg was founded in the middle of the 18th century with the aim of establishing diplomatic and trade relations between Russia and the peoples of Central Asia. Soon, a spacious market square for fairs was built across the Ural River. The dominant position in the market life of Orenburg for a long time was occupied by the Tatars.

In the middle of the 19th century, about 3 thousand Muslims lived in a year. At the beginning of the last century, their total number increased to 37,000. Most of the Muslims of Orenburg were engaged in trade and handicraft production. They willingly sold meat, livestock, wool, flour, fresh and dried fruits to other townspeople.

In the period before 1917 inEight mosques were built in Orenburg. The oldest of them (Menovninskaya) was erected in 1785. It was a small square building with two minarets and one dome. In 1930, the religious building was demolished by the Soviet authorities.

Many historical shrines of Orenburg today are used for other purposes. Fortunately, the Khusainia Mosque was returned to believers in the early 1990s. Even today, services are held there. The minaret of an ancient structure effectively rises above the historical center of the city.

Khusainiya Mosque (Orenburg, Orenburg region): the history of the monastery

The beautiful building on Kirov Street owes its appearance to the Tatar merchant and philanthropist Akhmed-bay Khusainov. He was a we althy man. It was with his funds that the Khusainia Mosque in Orenburg was built in 1892 according to the project of the architect Korin.

Khusainov was a famous person in the city. However, the local authorities twice denied him the construction of a mosque. On the third request, the philanthropist nevertheless received approval from the city duma. It happened on March 4, 1892. In less than two years, the mosque was fully prepared for operation. The architecture of the building shows details of several European styles.

The arrival of the newly erected mosque was made up of numerous Muslims of the city - artisans, merchants and petty officials. The Khusainia Mosque was closed in 1931. The building initially housed the hostel of the Pedagogical College. Later it was in the department of the local Ministry of Internal Affairs. In the summer of 1991, byBy decision of the deputies of the city council, the mosque was handed over to believers. The Muslims of the city immediately began to restore their monastery.

Husainia Mosque and its current state

In the early 90s, Muslims of the city looked with horror at what the mosque had become over the past 60 years. But by common efforts, order in the monastery was restored very quickly. The building was completely renovated, the yard was completely cleared of accumulated debris. In April 1993, the first collective prayer was already read in the mosque. A year later, its minaret was decorated with a golden crescent.

Today, the mosque holds a complete list of religious Muslim holidays and rituals, as well as lessons on the basics of Islam. Today, the Khusainia Mosque is one of the visiting cards of Orenburg. Often it is visited by tourists. All of them note, although very modest, but very beautiful interior decoration of the temple. The mosque is open for visits daily, from 8 am to 10:30 pm.

Khusainiya Madrasah at the mosque

At the mosque in the city of Orenburg, there is also a madrasah (traditional Muslim educational institution). It was also founded at the end of the 19th century on the initiative and with the money of Akhmed Khusainov. There was a 14-class education system in the madrasah. The classes were divided into three primary, four secondary, four transitional and three higher.

Teaching was conducted according to a new method. In addition to traditional subjects, children studied the humanities and natural sciences (in particular, the Russian language). In the Khusainia madrasah there was the richest in its own way.filling the library. Here one could find books and works in Tatar, Turkish, Russian and Arabic.

In closing

The Khusainia Mosque is an important center of Muslim life not only in Orenburg, but in the entire region. It was built in 1892. For a long time the mosque did not fulfill its direct functions, but in the early 1990s it was returned to believers and restored.