St. Basil’s Cathedral: A Marvel of Russian Architecture

Nine onion-shaped domes decorated in swirling patterns and bright, candy-striped colors.  The spires and arches of the structure are decorated with bricks and ceramics in various designs, giving it a lively appearance. Over the years, the renowned church’s colors changed from its original white stone and red brick construction. Where is this place? This is Iconic Builds, and in this episode, we are going to take a look at the Cathedral of Vasily the Blessed, commonly known as Saint Basil’s Cathedral. As a thank-you gift for his military victory over the khanates of Kazan and Astrakhan, Tsar Ivan IV - The Terrible- had Saint Basil the Blessed, also known as Pokrovsky Cathedral, Svyatoy Vasily Blazhenny, or Pokrovsky Sobor, built on Red Square in Moscow between 1554 and 1560.  No one is certain who exactly designed St Basil’s Cathedral. However, it is generally considered to be Russian architects Barma and Posnik, who may have been one person. The cathedral’s chaotic-looking features conceal a clear layout with nine primary chapels. While the churches were constructed of red brick, a relatively new material, the foundations were constructed of white stone, as was customary in medieval Moscow.  The St. Basil’s Cathedral’s interior, which features sparse ornamentation and constrained passageways, significantly contrasts with its façade.  Oil paintings, frescoes, portraits, landscape paintings, iconostasis with more than 400 works of art from Moscow and Novgorod iconography from the 16th to the 19th century, and priceless artifacts from the church and imperial family are just a few of the beauties to be found inside the cathedral. The building has been through a lot of disasters, as well as a lot of renovations throughout history. If you want to learn about them, check out our video. Join our YouTube channel by clicking here: #moscow Find us on Instagram: Find us on Facebook: Find us on Twitter: Find us on TikTok: Get the latest stories: Support IE for high-quality journalism: