Ascension Cathedral (Zenkov Cathedral)
Ascension Cathedral, famously known as Zenkov Cathedral, is a magnificent 56-meter-tall Russian Orthodox cathedral located in the heart of Panfilov Park in Almaty. Completed in 1907 under architect Andrei Zenkov, it is constructed entirely of Tien Shan spruce wood joined using intricate interlocking carpentry techniques without a single metal nail in its main structure. Renowned for surviving the catastrophic 1911 Kebin earthquake that flattened nearly all of Almaty, the brightly painted cathedral endured Soviet confiscation, anti-religious purges, and structural threats. Today, it is shrouded in urban folklore and ghost stories, including reports of phantom choir chants, a guardian spirit monk, and the weeping apparition of a Soviet-era victim.