St. George's Cathedral in Gus-Khrustalny

This majestic structure in the Russian style was built from 1892 to 1903 according to the design of Professor Leonid Nikolaevich Benois from the Academy of Arts. The initiator of the construction was Yuri Stepanovich Nechaev-Maltsov, the owner of a local factory, who decided to erect a church for his estate near the Gus factories.

According to testimonies from the early 20th century, "this church is a rare phenomenon in artistic terms among structures erected by private individuals, not to mention the materials used for the exterior and interior decoration, such as mosaics, columns made of labradorite, majolica, bronze works, artistic locksmith products, and more..." The well-designed and richly decorated temple undoubtedly stood out against the backdrop of ordinary buildings. A significant contribution to this was made by the artist and architect Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov, whose work Nechaev-Maltsov highly valued.

When the owner of the Gus Crystal Factory was asked why he did not spare enormous funds to decorate the church in the depths of Vladimir province, he replied: "Why does the city of Orvieto stand in Italy? Foreigners come from afar for its cathedral. The time will come when artists and connoisseurs of Russian art will come to our Gus..."