Saint Nicolas Orthodox Cathedral from Nice Côte d'Azur France

The Russian Orthodox Cathedral, Nice (Cathédrale Orthodoxe Russe Saint-Nicolas de Nice) is a Russian Orthodox cathedral, and a national monument of France, located in the city of Nice. Opened in 1912, thanks to the generosity of Tsar Nicholas II, it is the largest Russian Orthodox cathedral outside Russia. There is currently an ownership dispute over the property. The parish, which belongs to an overseas Russian Orthodox jurisdiction under the authority of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, opposes a claim on the property by the Patriarchate of Moscow, which has the backing of the Russian government(citation needed). The dispute seemingly stems from a conflict between old Russian nobility who have long since settled in Nice and newly arrived Russians. A subjective account of the dispute, favoring the current administration, can be read in the following text translated from the French, which formed the bulk of this entry prior to edit:

 

From a religious point of view, this claim is considered by the local noble Russian community as unlawful, since the cathedral belongs to the Orthodox Church of Constantinople and therefore has nothing to do with the Church of Moscow. They also underline that a religious matter should not be dealt with by the Russian state. What is more, this claim from Russian authorities is also linked to the arrival of newly emigrated wealthy Russians, who belong to the business Russian classes or even to the mafia. The old noble Russians who have lived in Nice for decades are unwilling to see they cathedral under the authority of a corrupt government and "invaded" by Russians whose wealth is openly known to be from illegal activities. They also noticed that the behavior of these newcomers is far from what it should be from truly religious people: indecent clothes in a very religious building, a clear tendency to show off how rich they are, a mere respct of religious dogma but no real Christian values underneath. There has also been a recent case of false accusation against the previous archbishop of the cathedral, led by newly come Russians."

 

Since the mid-19th century, Russian nobility visited Nice and the French Riviera, following the fashion established decades earlier by the English upper class and nobility. In 1864, immediately after the railway reached Nice, Tsar Alexander II visited by train and was attracted by the pleasant climate. Thus began an association between Russians and the French Riviera that continues to this day. The Cathedral was established to serve the large Russian community that had settled in Nice by the end of the 19th century, as well as devote visitors from the Imperial Court. Tsar Nicholas II funded the construction of the Cathedral, which was inaugurated in December 1912.

 

Nice (IPA: [nis]; Niçard Occitan: Niça [classical norm] or Nissa [nonstandard], Italian: Nizza or Nizza Marittima, Greek: Νίκαια, Latin: Nicaea) is a city in southern France located on the Mediterranean coast, between Marseille, France, and Genoa, Italy, with 1,197,751 inhabitants in the 2007 estimate. The city is a major tourist centre and a leading resort on the French Riviera (Côte d'Azur). It is the historical capital city of the County of Nice (Comté de Nice).

 

The first known human settlements in the Nice area date back approximately 400,000 years;[1] the Terra Amata archeological site shows one of the earliest uses of fire and construction of houses and flint findings are dated as around 230,000 years old.[2] Nice (Nicaea) was probably founded around 350 BC by the Greeks of Massilia (Marseille), and was given the name of Νικαία ("Nikaia") in honour of a victory over the neighbouring Ligurians (Nike is the Greek goddess of victory). The city soon became one of the busiest trading ports on the Ligurian coast; but it had an important rival in the Roman town of Cemenelum, which continued to exist as a separate city until the time of the Lombard invasions. The ruins of Cemenelum are located in Cimiez, which is now a district in Nice.

 

In the 7th century, Nice joined the Genoese League formed by the towns of Liguria. In 729 the city repulsed the Saracens; but in 859 and again in 880 the Saracens pillaged and burned it, and for most of the 10th century remained masters of the surrounding country.

 

During the Middle Ages, Nice participated in the wars and history of Italy. As an ally of Pisa it was the enemy of Genoa, and both the King of France and the Emperor endeavoured to subjugate it; but in spite of this it maintained its municipal liberties. During the course of the 13th and 14th centuries the city fell more than once into the hands of the Counts of Provence; and at length in 1388 the commune placed itself under the protection of the Counts of Savoy. Nice (called Nizza in Italian) participated - directly or indirectly - in the history of Savoy up until 1860.

 

The maritime strength of Nice now rapidly increased until it was able to cope with the Barbary pirates; the fortifications were largely extended and the roads to the city improved. In 1561 Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy, abolished the use of Latin as an administrative language and established the Italian language as the official language of government affairs in Nice.

 

During the struggle between Francis I and Charles V great damage was caused by the passage of the armies invading Provence; pestilence and famine raged in the city for several years. It was in Nice that the two monarchs in 1538 concluded, through the mediation of Pope Paul III, a truce of ten years.

 

In 1543, Nice was attacked by the united forces of Francis I and Barbarossa Hayreddin Pasha; and, though the inhabitants repulsed the assault which succeeded the terrible bombardment, they were ultimately compelled to surrender, and Barbarossa was allowed to pillage the city and to carry off 2,500 captives. Pestilence appeared again in 1550 and 1580.

Nice seen from Spot Satellite

 

In 1600, Nice was briefly taken by the duke of Guise. By the opening the ports of the countship to all nations, and proclaiming full freedom of trade (1626), the commerce of the city was given great stimulus, the noble families taking part in its mercantile enterprises. Captured by Catinat in 1691, Nice was restored to Savoy in 1696; but it was again besieged by the French in 1705, and in the following year its citadel and ramparts were demolished.

 

The treaty of Utrecht in 1713 once more gave the city back to the Duke of Savoy who was on that same occasion recognized as King of Sicily. In the peaceful years which followed the "new town" was built. From 1744 till the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748) the French and Spaniards were again in possession. In 1775 the king,who in 1718 had swapped his souverainty of Sicily for the Kingdom of Sardinia, destroyed all that remained of the ancient liberties of the commune. Conquered in 1792 by the armies of the First French Republic, the County of Nice continued to be part of France until 1814; but after that date it reverted to the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont.

 

By a treaty concluded in 1860 between the Sardinian king and Napoleon III, the County was again ceded to France as a territorial reward for French assistance in the Second Italian War of Independence against Austria, which saw Lombardy unified with Piedmont-Sardinia. The cession was ratified by over 25,000 electors out of a total of 30,700. Savoy was also transferred to the French crown by similar means.

 

Giuseppe Garibaldi, born in Nice, strongly opposed the cession to France (arguing that it was not done with a "universal" vote) and in 1866 there were even popular riots in the city, promoted by "Garibaldini" in favour of the unification of Nice to Italy. The Italian Irredentists considered Nice one of their main nationalistic requests and in 1942/3 the city was occupied and administered by Italy during World War II.

 

The dawn of the 20th century was the arrival of a modern mode of transport. In 1900, the Tramway de Nice electrified its horse drawn tramway and spread its network to Menton and Cagnes-sur-Mer, equipping the city of a modern mode of transport.

 

Starting in 1932, Nice hosted international racing in the Formula Libre (predecessor to Formula One) on the so-called Circuit Nice. The circuit started along the beach boulevard just to the south of the Jardin Albert Premier. The course headed west down the promenade des Anglais, then made a hairpin turn at the Hôtel Negresco, came back eastward and went up and around the Jardin Albert Premier, before heading again east along the beach on the Quai des Etats-Unis.

 

In 1932, Louis Chiron won the GP Nice race, driving a Bugatti T51, closely followed just 3.4 seconds behind by Raymond Sommer in an Alfa Romeo Monza with third place going to René Dreyfus, also in a Bugatti T51. In 1933, the race was won by Tazio Nuvolari in a Maserati 8C, followed by René Dreyfus in his Bugatti and Guy Moll in an Alfa Romeo Monza. In 1934, the race was again won by an Italian in an Alfa Romeo Tipo B, none other than the best driver of the season, Achille Varzi. The last season to feature a GP at Nice was in 1935, when the Alfa Romeo Tipo Bs dominated the circuit in the hands of Tazio Nuvolari and Louis Chiron, who placed second, and René Dreyfus, who took third.

 

In the second half of the 20th century, Nice bore the influence of mayor Jean Médecin (mayor for 33 years from 1928 to 1943 and 1947 to 1965) and his son Jacques (mayor for 24 years from 1966 to 1990). On October 16, 1979 23 people died when the coast of Nice was hit by a tsunami, caused by an undersea landslide. As accusations of political corruption against Jacques Médecin grew, he fled France in 1990 and was arrested in Uruguay in 1993, leading to his extradition in 1994. He was then convicted of several counts of corruption and associated crimes and sentenced to prison.

 

In 2003, local head prosecutor Éric de Montgolfier alleged that some judicial cases involving local personalities had been suspiciously derailed by the local judiciary, which he suspected of having unhealthy contacts, through Masonic lodges, with the very people that they are supposed to prosecute or judge. A controversial official report stated that de Montgolfier had made unwarranted accusations.

 

Christian Estrosi is the mayor of Nice since 2008. He is a member of the UMP party.

 

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