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| 0570 Saint Isaac's Cathedral in Saint Petersburg |
Posted on 23.03.2013, 21.12.2016
The Saint Isaac's Cathedral, dedicated to Saint Isaac of Dalmatia, a patron saint of Peter the Great, who had been born on the feast day of that saint, is the largest Russian Orthodox cathedral in Saint Petersburg. Ordered by Tsar Alexander I and build between 1818 and 1858, it's the fourth consecutive church standing at this place. Although the project of French-born architect Auguste de Montferrand was criticised for the dry and allegedly boring rhythm, the emperor, who favoured the ponderous Empire style of architecture, insisted to be elected.
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| 0570 Saint Isaac's Cathedral in Saint Petersburg by night seen from the roof of the Winter Palace |
The neoclassical exterior, plated with gray and pink stone, expresses the traditional Russian-Byzantine formula of a Greek-cross ground plan with a large central dome and four subsidiary domes. It features a total of 112 red granite columns with Corinthian capitals. The rotunda is encircled by a walkway accessible to tourists. 24 statues stand on the roof, and another 24 on top of the rotunda. The cathedral's main dome is plated with pure gold, and is decorated with twelve statues of angels by Josef Hermann.
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| 2913 Saint Isaac's Cathedral in Saint Petersburg at the beginning of the 20th century |
In 1931, the building was turned into the Antireligious Museum, and in 1937 became the museum of the Cathedral. With the fall of communism, regular worship activity has resumed in the cathedral. The Cathedral separates Saint Isaac's Square and Senate Square. The photo from the postcard 0570 was taken from Saint Isaac's Square. On the left can be seen the Monument to Nicholas I, unveiled in 1859 (the first equestrian statue in Europe with only two support points), and on the right the Hotel Astoria (the red brick building), designed by Fyodor Lidval (one of the most luxurious hotels in the Russian Empire).
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