The history of St. Isaac's Cathedral - the largest Orthodox church in St. Petersburg today - began in 1710 .from the wooden church in honor of Isaak Dalmatsky - the Byzantine saint, on whose day the birthday of Peter the Great falls .In it in 1712 the .Peter married with Ekaterina Alekseevna, her second wife .Later the wooden church was replaced by a stone .The third temple was built in the second half of the XVIII century at ., but immediately after its construction it was declared an inappropriate parade building of the city center .Emperor Alexander I announced a competition for the best project for its reorganization .In 9 years, the project, which received approval, was created by the young French architect Auguste Montferrand .

The construction of the cathedral lasted 40 years and required an enormous amount of effort .However, the result exceeded all expectations .The monumentality of the cathedral is emphasized by its square construction .On four sides St. Isaac's Cathedral is framed by mighty eight-colonial porticoes decorated with statues and bas-reliefs .Above the colossus of the cathedral stands a grandiose gilded dome on a drum surrounded by granite columns .The height of the cathedral is 101, 5 m, 12,000 people can be in the temple at the same time .In the interior used malachite, lapis lazuli, porphyry, marble, bronze and gilding .After consecration on May 30, 1858, St. Isaac's Cathedral became the main cathedral church in Russia and remained until the year 1928 .

After the revolution, the temple was ruined, the services were stopped. One of the first anti-religious museums in the country was also opened here. During the Great Patriotic War in the cellars of the cathedral it was possible to preserve many artistic values, transported here from suburban palaces. Despite the disguise (the dome of the cathedral was repainted in gray), the cathedral did not manage to avoid damage from bombing and shelling. And to this day on its columns and walls you can see the traces left by German bombs and shells.

The museum status was given to the church in 1948. The services were resumed in 1990. Today the church services are held regularly in St. Isaac's on Sundays and holidays.

Saint Isaac's Cathedral

St. Isaac's Cathedral in spring

Saint Isaac's Cathedral

The interior of the St. Isaac's Cathedral

Under the dome of St. Isaac's Cathedral

Reviews about St. Isaac's Cathedral (3)

Evaluation 8

Isakievsky Cathedral. January 2015 January 14, 2015

Marat

was here in January 2015

St. Isaac's Cathedral is the second most important church in St. Petersburg after the Kazan Cathedral, but it is more a museum than a functioning church - services are held only on Sundays and large Orthodox holidays.
You can get to it from Nevsky Prospekt (metro station "Griboedova Canal"), passing towards the Palace Square and turning to the left, or from the Bronze Horseman, or from the new metro station "Admiralteyskaya", or from the Hermitage in the direction of the Admiralty.
In January ... Read the whole review

Evaluation 9

St. Isaac's Cathedral is a place to visit when visiting St. Petersburg December 02, 2014

Viktorych

was here in November 2014

Some of our friends and friends knowing that we periodically go to St. Petersburg, from time to time ask the same question: "Which of the main attractions should be sure to see in Petersburg? "The question is not as simple as it seems at first glance.
First, the "main" attractions in St. Petersburg and the surrounding area are not a dozen.
Secondly, of great importance are the so-called. personal preferences of the questioner. There are fans of museums, there are those who prefer to get acquainted with historical monuments, ... Read the whole review

Evaluation 9

Visiting one of the greatest cathedrals of the world. September 23, 2014

Vlad128

was here in May 2014

Unlike the others: the Savior on Blood, Sampsonievsky and Smolny, this magnificent building, included as a component, in the Museum of the Four Cathedrals, does not look very much like a church in a familiar form. A huge gray structure with reddish polished columns probably looks more like a palace, if it were not for decorations of high reliefs, bas-reliefs and statues present on the doors, pediments and the roof, depicting biblical subjects and saints, including the apostles.
Very ... Read the whole review