At the highest point of London, at Langate Hill, is St. Paul's Cathedral (St. Paul). This largest Anglican church in Europe is the residence of the bishop of London. The date of the opening of the cathedral is October 20, 1708, but it was already the fifth cathedral built on this site.
The dome of the cathedral, which was not in the original design, and which appeared as a result of the monarchal will of Charles II and the intervention of the clergy, has become one of the main attractions of London. It almost exactly repeats the dome of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, and it also has an external gallery, from which a beautiful panorama of London opens.
The design of the dome is very complex, with its construction used non-standard combinations of building materials and structures, so it remained intact even during the bombing of London during World War II. And to this day engineering solutions that were used in the construction of the dome of St. Paul's Cathedral in London, cause admiration of specialists, and the dome itself is one of the most outstanding domed structures in Europe.
Until recently, St. Paul was London's highest architectural structure .Due to its size and perfectly adjusted forms, the cathedral makes a very strong impression and is not lost even against the background of modern high-rise buildings, and in former times, when the London houses did not exceed four floors, the cathedral in general looked grandiose .In accordance with the Anglican tradition, the interior of the cathedral was originally very ascetic .But in 1860 a special monetary fund was established, the purpose of which was to finance the interior decoration of St. Paul's Cathedral .Thanks to this the cathedral received amazing mosaics and sculptures, openwork metal grilles, skillfully made wooden benches .
Traditionally, St. Paul is the burial place of the most famous citizens of Great Britain, among whom is the architect Ren, who built this cathedral. On his grave there is no monument, only an inscription on the tombstone: "Reader, if you are looking for a monument - just look around".
Coordinates
Address: EC4M 8AD, London, St Paul's Churchyard.
How to get there: St Paul's metro station on Central Line (2 minutes walk). Buses 4, 11, 15, 23, 25, 26, 100, 242 stop right in front of the entrance to the cathedral.
Opening hours: Monday - Saturday: 8:30 - 16:30, the ticket office closes at 16:00. On Sunday, services are held in the cathedral, the entrance is, of course, free, but not for tourist purposes.
Photographing and making video in the cathedral is prohibited.
Entrance (including galleries): 14, 5 GBP, students: 13, 5 GBP, children (from 6 to 18 years): 5, 5 GBP, family ticket (2 adults + 2 children 6-18 years): 34, 5 GBP , children under 6 years: free.
Reviews of St. Paul's Cathedral in London (2)
Free visit to St. Paul's Cathedral February 11, 2014
Here everything arouses awe February 11, 2014
The temple can be admired, viewing it from the outside, its excellent location, the territory on which it stands. Admires the art and skill of the architect, especially, taking into account the time of construction: when there were no trucks, trains, cranes and precision machining machines.
The wealth of interior decoration, the filling of the Cathedral with historical relics and monuments, can not be said! Before visiting ... Read the entire review