St. Michael's Cathedral (originally Roman Catholic Church of St. Joseph) is an Orthodox church, a monument of classical architecture. It is a rare example of a rotunda church in Catholic architecture.

A Roman Catholic Church of St. Joseph at the Lida Monastery of the Piarists was built in 1797—1825. Russian Emperor Paul I donated 5,000 rubles on the construction of the church. The Monastery of the Piarists was closed in 1832, after the rebellion in 1830–1831. The Church of St. Joseph was on fire in 1842. And in 1863 the church was transformed into the Orthodox Church of St. Michael the Archangel. In the 1960s in the mainstream of antireligious policy of the Soviet government the church building was transformed into a planetarium. During the reconstruction, brick gates, which were a unique decoration of the whole territory, were destroyed. The church building was transferred to the Orthodox in 1996. 

The brick church-rotunda is covered with a hemispherical dome, completed with an octagonal lantern. To the main circular in terms of volume there are adjacent lower rectangular in terms of volume: narthex with four-column portico on the main facade and two-storey sanctuary on the east-west axis, small risalite on the south and north. The Doric order is used in the decor of the facades. Portico and risalite are crowned with triangular pediments. The windows are rectangular. 8 pairs of Doric columns are installed inside the perimeter of the hall. Near the church there is a brick one-storey building of the monastery and a single-storey bell tower.

Publication date: 18.01.2021.

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