St.Isaac's Cathedral, Saint Petersburg

an unknown (in 1818) architect,called richard de montferrand,won a competition organised by alexander I to build the cathedral.it was so long (to 1858!)that the succesor nicholas Ist wanted a more grandiose church than the original one....
reopened in 1990,after a 62 years closing.

for non russian,very expensive entry!

The dome of this cathedral very much dominates the skyline of St. Petersburg. You can climb up the stairs to the observation point at the dome and get a breathtaking view of the St Petersburg.(There were no elevators in this era, so put on your walking shoes, you will have to climb 300 stairs).

The church was built by a French-born architect Auguste Montferrand to be the main church of the Russian Empire and was under construction for 40 years (1818-1858). The decoration is very elaborate with 80 ton columns made of single pieces of red granite. Many of the icons are the most exquisite mosaics. The cathedral, which can accommodate 14 thousand worshipers, is now a museum and services are held only on major occasions.
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St. Isaac's Cathedral is the most lavishly decorated cathedral of St.Petersburg. Peter the Great was born on the feast day of St.Isaac, a famous Dalmatian monk, and he wanted to dedicate a church to him.
But only in 1818 the project of Auguste de Montferrand was approved. Costruction proceeded very slowly, and it was consecrated only in 1858.
The height of the cathedral is 101.5m. The dominant feature is a gilded dome, 100 kg of gold were used for gilding. 24 statues encircle the dome. They are copies of Antique originals by J.Hermann. The cathedral has 4 smaller bell towers, and each corner of the cathedral's roof is adorned by the sculptural groups of angels with torches by Vitali. Vitali was in charge of bronze bas-reliefs on biblical subjects for three huge doors made of oak.
The four enormous porticoes are decorated with monolithic granite columns, brought by sea from Vyborg.The columns are 50 feet high and weigh 114 tons each. It took 45 min. to put up one column. The pediments of the porticoes are decorated with reliefs by Vitali and Lemaire and reflect the life of St.Isaac, the Adoration of the Magi, the Resurrection.
The decor of the cathedral is extremely impressive.The Iconostasis is decorated with ten malachite and two lazurite columns,two lower tiers are mosaics while the upper tier has paintings.
The gilded bronze Holy Gates are adorned by a sculptural group "Christ in Glory" by Clodt. The walls inside of the cathedral are faced with 14 kinds of marble of contrasting colors. A group of the most talented painters: F.Bruni, T.Neff, C.von Steuben, C.Mussini painted the monumental murals, the ceiling painting was created by K.Brulov. It depicts the Madonna surrounded by saints and angels.

Interior of St. Isaac Cathedral as well as panoramic view of the city from the Dome.

A-ha, this pic was taken in that far away Soviet times with much better camera, so you can see the green marble beauty inside....

Some of the pics in this Must see section was taken by single use camera I borrowed from the hotel fridge, so don't judge the quality.... you know how these cameras shoot, heh....
I was so overwelmed with emotions being back in St. P after 12 or more years, that I didn't care much about the photo device, I just rushed like a headless chicken around the streets, taking pictures and not noticing that it was -20C outside....

Strolling around St.Petersburg, don't forget St. Isaak's Cathedral. Its dome is breathtaking! You can climb the cathedral - on the height of 43 meters there is a round space with a magnificent view opening from there!

St. Isaac's Cathedral. The photo is of the large main door, beautifully cast.
Huge dome, I'm thinking the 3rd largest after St. Peters in Vatican City, and the Ayah Sophia in Istanbul, both of which I'm happy to say I've seen.

St. Isaac cathedral