St.Isaac's Cathedral, Saint Petersburg

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Isaakievsky Sobor is the largest Russian Orthodox cathedral in the city. It is dedicated to Saint Isaac of Dalmatia, a patron saint of Peter the Great.
The cathedral's main dome rises 101,5 meters and is plated with pure gold. The exterior is faced with gray and red stone, and features a total 112 red granite columns with Corinthian capitals.
Foreign visitor should buy entrance tickets and if you have a time go to climb the 300 steps up to the cathedral's colonnade and enjoy the views of the city.

Closed: Wednesdays,
Open times: 11am-7pm

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Having a boat trip along the city canals you will see lots of magnificent edifices. his is the golden dome of St.Isaac's Cathedral built in 1818 - 1848.
St.Isaac was the patron saint of Peter the Great.
According to the legend, St.Isaac lived in the fourth century A.D.
He protected Christians from the Roman Emperor, for which he was subjected to severe punishment.
This edifice was one of the most impressive edifices of its time: it's 111.5 m long,
97.6 m wide and 101.5 m high!
The cathedral could hold 14.000 people at the same time.
You can see splendid bronze sculptures and fine collonades, massive doors.
I remember visiting St.Isaac's cathedral and walking around it enjoying the site.
It is a very impressive edifice, both inside and outside.
It was interesting to listen to the guided tour of the cathedral and learn about its construction - the efforts, material and the enthusiasm they invested into it!
Visiting St.Isaac's Cathedral you will see the monument to Nickolas the First in front of it.
The statue is unique, too: the emperor's horse stands on its hind legs and is only supported by its tail. It is unique in this respect.
It looks very impressive indeed!

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The construction of St. Isaac's Cathedral started in 1818 and took almost 40 years.

It was the main Russian Orthodox Church of St. Petersburg, but under the Soviets it was used as an antireligious museum.

Don't miss to climb the colonnade of the Cathedral which offers panoramic views of St. Petersburg.

Directions:
St. Isaac's Cathedral dominates the silhouette of St. Petersburg at the river Neva. It is located at Isaakievskaya Plochad, not far from the Western end of Nevsky Prospect (Metro: Nevsky Prospect).

Website: http://www.cathedral.ru/

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St Isaac's Cathedral is a very impressive looking domed cathedral located in the heart of St Petersburg. It is one of the largest domed buildings in the world.

The inside of the cathedral is "richly decorated" (or in my opinion over the top!) and has a painted ceiling.

At 320 feet high it is a prominent landmark in St Petersburg. The best thing about it is that you can climb up to the top of the dome for fabulous views across the city.

Tickets are purchased in the street to the right of the front of the cathedral, and you can buy tickets to go inside the cathedral, or you can just buy a ticket that allows you to climb to the top, as we did (and when you are up there you can look through the windows and see what the inside looks like!).

Oh, and if you want to take photos....even from the top of the cathedral, you have to pay extra! There was a guard up there checking on this.

Views were great, well worth the climb!

Open Thu-Tue 11am-6pm

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After we visited St. Peter and Paul's Fortress, we went to St. Isaac's Cathedral where they do still have services. I said - there's not room for that many people unless they all stand. And the guide said - we don't sit during services. So that explained that.

St. Isaac's Cathedral is one of Russia's most famous churches and is extensively decorated with detailed mosaic icons, paintings and columns made of malachite and lapis lazuli. It is the largest cathedral in Russia and it was built between 1818 and 1858, by the French-born architect Auguste Montferrand. It is dedicated to Saint Isaac of Dalmatia, a patron saint of Peter the Great who had been born on the feast day of that saint.

Inside were models of the previous buildings on the site (photo 2) and the current cathedral (photo 4). Foreign visitors should buy entrance tickets just inside the right-hand door in the southern facade (not at the street-level ticket booth).

Open: Thursday to Tuesday, 11am to 7pm, last admission is at 6pm
The Colonnade observation point is open: Thursday to Tuesday, 11am to 6pm, last admission is at 5pm
Closed: Wednesdays

Although the website says there is no photography inside, I obviously did not find that to be the case.

This was our last stop before we went back to the ship.

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Saint Isaac's Cathedral in Saint Petersburg, Russia is the largest cathedral in the city and was the largest church in Russia when it was built (101.5 meters high). It was dedicated to Saint Isaac of Dalmatia, a patron saint of Peter the Great who had been born on the feast day of that saint.

The church on St Isaac's Square was ordered by Tsar Alexander I, to replace an earlier Rinaldiesque structure. A specially appointed commission examined several designs, including that of the French-born architect Auguste de Montferrand (1786–1858), who had studied in the atelier of Napoleon's designer, Charles Percier. Monferrand's design was criticised by some members of the commission for the dry and allegedly boring rhythm of its four identical pedimented octastyle porticos. It was also suggested that despite gigantic dimensions, the edifice would look squat and not very impressive. The emperor, who favoured the ponderous Empire style of architecture, had to step in and solve the dispute in Monferrand's favour.

An imposing sight from all the center of the town, it was designed (as usual in St Petersburg) by a french architect Richard de Montferrand.

The actual building is bigger than the original design so that it became one of the greatest cathedrals in the world and took also 40 years to build between 1818 to 1858. And this huge mass (300.000 tons) is standing on a swamp...

While it was a museum of atheism during soviet era, today it is still a museum, but nothing to do with atheism anymore...

Besides the interior, you can also climb to the tower with great views on St Petersburg.

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You can only grasp the vastness of this church when you're inside and you can understand why it took over 40 years to build. For instance, the massive red granite columns are really huge and they each are made of one piece of rock. If you want to take pictures inside, remember to buy a permit and also remember to turn the flashlight off.