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Photo: Brendan Minish (Flickr user bminish) from Castlebar, Ireland, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
The oldest Russian-built church still standing in the country. It was built in 1825 and then enlarged in 1894, when its floor plan was changed to a pekov (the shape of a crucifix). On Broadway overlooking the bay, the church and its onion domes are a photographer's delight. The church contains almost 700 pieces of art, ranging from Russian Orthodox icons and books to the largest collection of 19th-century paintings in Alaska. The best time to view the church and its icons is at 6PM on Saturday when staff members give an informal 30-minute tour just before service. Outside the church is a small graveyard, where the largest grave marker belongs to Baron Nicholas Zass. Born in 1825 in Archangel, Russia, he eventually became bishop of the Aleutian Islands and all of Alaska, before his death in 1882. Next door to the graveyard is the Bishop's House.
The Church of the Holy Ascension, also known as the Holy Ascension Orthodox Church, is a prominent landmark in Unalaska, the major community of the western Aleutian Islands in southwestern Alaska. The current church was built in 1894, probably on the site of an 1826 church, and likely using timbers and other elements from the older church. It is one of the oldest churches in Alaska, and is significant as the site from which missionaries brought their religion to the local Aleut people. This evangelization effort was so successful that today's Aleut population is still strongly Orthodox. The church was declared a National Historic Landmark for its architecture, and for its role in the history and culture of Alaska. It is the second cathedral church of the Orthodox Church in America Diocese of Alaska, after St. Michael's Cathedral in Sitka.
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This site is the remains of one of four World War II-era forts constructed to defend Dutch Harbor against a potential Japanese attack. The visitor center is free; however, a Land Use Permit must be obtained to visit the historic site on Mount Ballyhoo.