The Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is one of Samara's most striking religious buildings, a red-brick neo-Gothic Catholic church with twin spires rising above the historic centre. It was built in the early 20th century for the city's Polish Catholic community and consecrated in 1906.
Its history follows the usual hard Soviet arc: closure, secular use, damage, and eventual return to worship in the 1990s. Today the building is worth seeing for the silhouette alone, but step inside if it is open. The contrast with Samara's Orthodox churches makes the city's old multi-ethnic character easier to see.