St Simeon and St. Anne’s Cathedral is located on the site of the first Orthodox church in Jelgava built in 1711 when the niece of Peter the Great married Duke of Courland Frederick William. Although Frederick died on the way from Moscow to Jelgava right after the marriage, Peter urged Anne to stay in Latvia. She had to bend to the will of her uncle and the Russian Emperor.

The Orthodox church was erected so that Anne and her entourage could pray. After Anna Ioannovna became the queen, she established a wooden temple for the Orthodox citizens of Jelgava in honour of St. Simeon and St. Anne.

That wooden church stood on the place of the current cathedral. It began to collapse and, after some time, completely rotted. In 1774, it was replaced by the present-day cathedral, which stood for 110 years and then was expanded on the personal funds of Alexander III.

During the Second World War, the cathedral was partially destroyed and remained unrepaired for a long time. It got to the point where authorities decided to blow it up and managed to put the explosives, but people did not allow this to be done. By the end of the 20th century, the cathedral had returned into the ownership of the Russian Orthodox Church and been restored.

Today the temple is made in the Russian eclectic style with subtle features of Art Nouveau. It may seem pretty small and even compact from the outside, but when going inside, you see the scale: giant vaulted ceilings, a central dome, and high windows. Everything will impress you here. It doesn’t feel like being in Latvia. It seems like you are in Russia because the cathedral replicates the features of traditional Russian temples.