St.Isaac's Cathedral, Saint Petersburg

The "imperial" style set the tone for Russia with "green space" all aound. Fortunately even the Soviet system saw the truth and need in the grace such spaces afforded and continued the practice to the current day. But this is an example of the "old world" planing, Peter Square directly in front with St. Issac's Catrhedral as the background.

This Cathedral stood out on the skyline so we made a beeline for it. It is a very impressive building. It looks as if there are bullet holes on one of the pillars, does any one know if this is correct?

This structure dominates St. Isaac's Square, and what struck me most about it was the contrast between the rough appearance of the stone and the shiny gold of the domes. The square and the cathedral were so named in honor of St. Isaac of Dlmatia whose feast day is on 30 May, which is also the date when the birthday of Peter the Great is celebrated. It was built between 1818 and 1858, by the French-born architect Auguste Montferrand.

This is the biggest Russian Orthodox Cathedral in St. Petersburg and its origin goes back to the year 1710 when a small wodden church was built on the place where the church can be seen today. In 1818 Alexander I approved a plan to build the current cathedral, however it took almost 40 years to finish it.

A must see! Oddly enough much of my major sites and ALL my pics were taken the last 3 days of my lengthy stay in St Petersburg. I had no confidence in my hosts photographic abilities so I borrowed a camera and raced through the city to get pics from all the places I saw.

As it turned out it was good I did as my hosts pics from the entire month were ruined by some camera malfunction and not a single pic turned out OK. It pays to think ahead da?;-)

View from the top of St Isaacs Cathedral.

After missing this the 1st time on a rainy day when I walked way too much(in the RAIN) I returned my last day and breezed into the cathedral with my friends tour as a guest.

The view is magnificent.

Pictures are good, but in person it's much more impressive. When you visit St. Isaac's Cathedral, you will learn about how it survived Nazi destruction in WW2, about the life of the Architect, who was obscure yet whose dome invention would be used to make the Capitol Building in Washington D.C.

The italain mosaic art about the cathedral is quite captivating and as you look up you'll see heavenly arches and more beautiful light and art. If you are in a hurry in St. Petersburg and want to see a cathedral, do go to St. Isaac Cathedral first.

I believe it costs approximately $50-100 Ruples to take pictures inside. Otherwise you can purchase a picture book for about the same cost with professional quality pictures. You'll need between 30 minutes and an hour to enjoy this. It is usually quite crowded here but an important thing to add to your list of activities to do in St. Petersburg.

The cathedral is named after the Dalmation monk, St Isaac, whose feast day was the same as the birthday of Peter the Great. The design of the cathedral has been influenced by St Paul's in London and St Peter's in Rome. There are separate entrances for the interior and the steps leading up to the dome. There are some fine mosaics, frescoes and icons to be found within the cathedral.

The cathedral took 40 years to build and such is the intricate detail of the building, you can understand why it was such a time consuming task. It is the fourth largest cathedral in the world and stands at almost 102 metres high.

Because of its height, there are some superb views from the top of the cathedral. Be careful on a windy day though! Make sure you don't have any lose clothing.

Open: Thursday to Tuesday 11am-7pm.
Viewing point: Thursday to Tuesday 11am-6pm.

Admission fees: about 250R
Viewpoint: about 80R

Built 1818-1858 by French born architect Auguste Montferrand, St. Isaac's was once the main church of St. Petersburg.

The outside is decorated with sculptures and massive granite columns. The inside has mosaic icons, paintings and columns made of malachite and lapis lazuli. There is a large stained glass "Resurrected Christ" over the altar.

A big cathedral with a big golden cupola; it is possible to go on the cupola end enjoy a beautiful view of the city....
In the park between the cathedral and Neva river you'll find the famous equestrian monument to Peter I , also called "the bronze knight", one of the symbol of the city (see S.Petersburg starting page)