The little church occupying this site is a 1993 replica of the original 17th-century beauty, which was built in thanks for the 1612 expulsion of Polish invaders.
The original Kazan Cathedral was founded on this site at the northern end of Red Square in 1636. For two centuries it housed the Virgin of Kazan icon, which supposedly helped to rout the Poles. Three hundred years after it was built, the cathedral was completely demolished, allegedly because it impeded the flow of celebrating workers during holiday parades.