Isaac's Cathedral - is the main church of St. Petersburg. It was founded
in honour of Peter I and called after St. Isaaky Dalmatsky whose birthday (30th
of May in the old calender) coincided with the date of birth of Peter I. In 1710
the wooden church of Isaaky Dalmatsky was constructed not far from the Admiralty,
and in 1717 it was replaced by a stone one (which was taken into pieces in the
smiddle of the 18th century). In 1768-1802 the first Isaac's Cathedral was
constructed on today's Isaacskaya square (the project by the architect A.Rinaldi,
the work by the architect V.F. Brenn). Being hastily built with an unfinished
bell-tower, the cathedral was out of tune with the solemn buildings of the
centre of the city and at the beginning of the 19th century a vacancy for the
new project of the cathedral was announced. Today know Isaac's Cathedral was
built in 1818-1858 on the project of A.A. Monpheran, added by a special group
(1821-1825 V.P. Stasov, A.A. Mikhailov (the second) and others). The
construction of Isaac's cathedral was the greatest achievement of Russian civil
engineering.
The Monumental, heavy building is crowned with a dome 21,83m in diameter and
is framed with 4 stales and 8-higecolumned porticos with pediments decorated
with the statues in the corners in tympanums (the sculptors: P. Vitali, A.V.
Loganovsky, P.K. Klodt and others). The interior is finished with malachite,
porphyry, and marble of different colours and decorated with mosaic
wall-paintings by K.P. Bryullov, F.A. Bruni and others. Catholic traditions are
felt in its general appointments, especially in the central icon place with a
wonderful stained-glass window with the scene of the Ascension. The cathedral is
101,52 meters high (the sizes in the plan (with porticos) 111,5 to 97,6m). In
spite of the scale disparity with the surrounding buildings Isaac's cathedral is
on of the main town-planning leitmotivs of St. Petersburg which defines the
silhouette of the city.
Isaac's Cathedral - is the main church of St. Petersburg. It was founded
in honour of Peter I and called after St. Isaaky Dalmatsky whose birthday (30th
of May in the old calender) coincided with the date of birth of Peter I. In 1710
the wooden church of Isaaky Dalmatsky was constructed not far from the Admiralty,
and in 1717 it was replaced by a stone one (which was taken into pieces in the
smiddle of the 18th century). In 1768-1802 the first Isaac's Cathedral was
constructed on today's Isaacskaya square (the project by the architect A.Rinaldi,
the work by the architect V.F. Brenn). Being hastily built with an unfinished
bell-tower, the cathedral was out of tune with the solemn buildings of the
centre of the city and at the beginning of the 19th century a vacancy for the
new project of the cathedral was announced. Today know Isaac's Cathedral was
built in 1818-1858 on the project of A.A. Monpheran, added by a special group
(1821-1825 V.P. Stasov, A.A. Mikhailov (the second) and others). The
construction of Isaac's cathedral was the greatest achievement of Russian civil
engineering.