Temple of All Religions and Kazan Federal University: Cultural Landmarks

Beyond its medieval citadel and nineteenth-century mosques, Kazan's reputation as a meeting ground of East and West is embodied by two contrasting cultural complexes: the kaleidoscopic Temple of All Religions on the Volga shore west of the city centre and the white neoclassical columns of Kazan Federal University atop Kremlyovskaya Street.

The Temple of All Religions (Universal Temple) in Staroye Arakchino

Situated on the bank of the Volga River in the quiet suburban microdistrict of Staroye Arakchino about 10 kilometres west of the Kazan Kremlin, the Temple of All Religions (Khram Vsekh Religiy in Russian, Barlıq dinnär ğibädätxanäse in Tatar), also called the Universal Temple, is one of Russia's most unusual architectural ensembles. Construction began in 1992 on the family plot of local Tatar artist, sculptor, healer, and philanthropist Ildar Khanov (1940 to 2013), who built the complex with the voluntary assistance and sponsorship of former patients whom he had treated for alcoholism and addiction:

• Sixteen Domes for World Faiths: Khanov conceived the building not as an active liturgical sanctuary for any single creed, but as a "temple of culture and truth" celebrating Kazan's peaceful coexistence of faiths. Its polychrome facades, tiled cupolas, and spires bring together an Orthodox cross, an Islamic crescent, a Star of David, a Buddhist pagoda roof, and Baha'i and ancient Egyptian motifs, planned around 16 cupolas representing 16 major living and historical world religions.
• Interior Halls and Cultural Galleries: Following Ildar Khanov's death in 2013 and an April 2017 fire that damaged part of the interior, his brother Ilgiz Khanov and sister Flora continued restoring and expanding the interior halls, which house an Egyptian Hall, a Catholic and Protestant concert hall, a Buddha Room, an icon painting studio, and exhibition galleries; opening hours and entry rules change, so check them locally before you make the trip.
• How to Reach Staroye Arakchino: Suburban commuter trains (elektrichka) from Kazan-Passazhirskaya Railway Station reach Starye Arakchino platform, a short walk from the temple gates, while red city bus route 2 and seasonal summer river ferries also serve the settlement.

Kazan Federal University and the 1804 Imperial Campus

Back in the upper city along the ridge of Kremlyovskaya Street (at 18 Kremlyovskaya Street), the monumental white Ionic colonnades of Kazan Federal University anchor the academic quarter. Founded on 17 November 1804 when Emperor Alexander I signed its Affirmative Letter and Charter, Imperial Kazan University is the second-oldest continuously operating university in its original city in Russia (and the third-oldest overall after Saint Petersburg State University of 1724 and Moscow State University of 1755). Designed in the 1820s and 1830s by architects Pyotr Pyatnitsky and Mikhail Korinfsky, its classical ensemble took shape under rector Nikolai Ivanovich Lobachevsky (who led the university from 1827 to 1846 and developed non-Euclidean geometry here). Within its laboratories Karl Ernst Claus discovered the chemical element ruthenium in 1844, Aleksandr Butlerov and Vladimir Markovnikov established the Russian school of organic chemistry, and Yevgeny Zavoisky discovered electron paramagnetic resonance in 1944, while its nineteenth-century lecture halls educated writers Sergei Aksakov and Leo Tolstoy and young law student Vladimir Ulyanov (Lenin). Visitors can stroll along Kremlyovskaya Street past the main portico of the 1820s, the 1895 National Museum of the Republic of Tatarstan (housed in the former Gostiny Dvor at 2 Kremlyovskaya Street opposite the Kremlin), and the tree-lined paths of Leninsky Garden and Lyadskoy Garden.