House of Diligence (Kronshtadt)

The House of Industry in Kronstadt, located at 7/9 Feigina Street, was founded to combat the mass poverty and hopelessness of slum dwellers, which Father John encountered when he began his ministry at St. Andrew's Cathedral in 1855. Upon its establishment, it housed a school for craft apprentices, a shoemaking workshop, and a military gymnastics class; however, the first workshops for basket weaving and shoemaking had to be closed as unprofitable. In the overnight shelter, one could spend the night for 3 kopecks, and eight men were admitted there free of charge daily. After the devastating fire on December 7, 1881, which destroyed the interior decoration and the wooden building of the guardianship, the damaged complex received an insurance payout, which attracted new donations.