In 1843, a majestic Protection Cathedral was built with the funds of the city's residents in honor of St. Demetrius of Thessalonica, capable of accommodating over three thousand parishioners. In 1919, the Bolsheviks closed the church, and in the 1920s, it began to be gradually dismantled for bricks, which were mainly used for paving the city's streets. In the 1930s, the church was finally destroyed by explosions. Only the steps of the southern entrance to the cathedral have survived to this day. A new church of St. Demetrius of Thessalonica was consecrated on August 14, 2009.