The Kazan Cathedral in Orenburg was built in honor of Ivan Ivanovich Neplyuev, the first governor of the Orenburg province. In 1744, at his initiative, Empress Elizabeth Petrovna approved the project to create the Orenburg province. The central square of the then small city was chosen for the cathedral's construction. This place was called Sakmarskaya Square, and in 1886, it was decided to lay the cathedral in honor of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God.

A special Committee was created to raise funds for the construction. A temporary church was set up in the Karavan-Sarayskaya Square to attract donations. Funds were collected throughout Russia, but the Committee did not have a project for the church, and the designs proposed by the Imperial Academy of Arts turned out to be too expensive.

In 1885, architect Alexander Alexandrovich Yashchenko was in Orenburg, and the Committee turned to him for help. It took him less than a year to develop and approve the cathedral's project. On January 23, 1886, the project was approved, and soon earthworks began. In 1888, the foundation was laid, and brickwork continued for four and a half years. In 1893, the cathedral was covered with iron, and plastering work was completed in 1894.

In 1891, after a trip to China and Japan, the heir apparent, Nicholas Alexandrovich, visited the under-construction church.

A master from a well-known Moscow factory, Mr. Finlyandsky, was invited to Orenburg to cast the bells; he also made bells for the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow. A bell weighing 302 poods was cast on August 20, 1894. It bore an inscription dedicated to the engagement of heir Nicholas Alexandrovich. The bells were raised to the belfry on December 4, 1894, using only the efforts of the faithful, who gathered in large numbers at the cathedral despite the frost.

The interior of the cathedral was decorated with paintings and ornaments reminiscent of St. Mark's Cathedral in Venice. In daylight and evening electric lighting, the interior looked extraordinarily beautiful and majestic. In addition to the main altar, the cathedral had two chapels: in honor of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker and St. Sergius of Radonezh.

The Kazan Cathedral in Orenburg was one of four similar cathedrals in Russia. However, this did not save it from closure and destruction. The first explosion occurred at four o'clock in the morning on May 19, 1932. Built with public funds, the cathedral resisted destruction for two years. The final demolition was completed in 1936, and a park was established in its place, along with the House of Soviets, now part of the Government of the Orenburg region complex. In 2000, a memorial cross was erected at the site of the cathedral.