Place Details
Place Details
Saint Isaac's Cathedral Memorial Museum
St. Isaac of Dalmatia was considered the patron saint of Peter the Great, since the future first Russian emperor was born on May 30, the day of this saint. On his 38th birthday, in 1710, Peter I ordered the construction of a wooden church of St. Isaac in St. Petersburg, in which two year married Catherine I. And five years later, the builders began to build a stone church on this site. The emperor issued a decree that all Baltic sailors take the oath only in this temple. The church was built for about 30 years, but the swampy soil swallowed the efforts of the architects, and the building soon had to be dismantled.
In 1768, Empress Catherine II decided to complete Peter's plan and ordered to restore the temple, but move it away from the coastline - to Senate Square. The building project was grandiose, the temple was faced with Olonets marble. But after the death of the hated Paul I ordered his mother to donate marble to decorate his beloved brainchild - [Mikhailovsky Castle] (https://kudago.com/spb/place /mihajlovskij-zamok/), and St. Isaac's Cathedral to be built of brick.
The building was constantly in need of repair, and in 1809 Emperor Alexander I announced a competition for the construction of a new church of St. Isaac. But then the war began, and the construction of the cathedral had to be forgotten for a while.
In 1816, another competition was announced, in which the most eminent architects of that time participated, but the tsar drew attention to the little-known Auguste Montferrand, who, unlike his colleagues, did not call for the destruction of the former building by Antonio Rinaldi, but presented 24 projects, each of which proposed the use of the old building.
The fourth temple was started on June 26, 1818. Given the failures of previous projects, the builders reinforced the foundation with 10,762 piles. Today, the cathedral is decorated with 150 paintings by Fyodor Bruni, Karl Bryullov, Vasily Shebuev, three hundred monuments and bas-reliefs made by Ivan Vitali - this is the most beautiful European cathedral and a unique example of Russian church architecture. More than a centner of noble metal was spent on gilding the dome of St. Isaac's Cathedral. The gilding process was carried out according to the old, later banned technology using mercury, which led to the death of all the masters involved in this process.
St. Isaac's Cathedral, among other records, broke the record for long-term construction - exactly 40 years of construction. There were even rumors in the city that the architect was deliberately delaying the completion of the construction, allegedly some fortune teller predicted that he would die as soon as the construction of the cathedral was completed. So it was or not, but Montferrand really died shortly after the construction of the temple was completed. According to rumors, he did not manage to survive the royal disgrace. One of the courtiers drew the attention of Alexander II that the builder placed his image among the saints, and if everyone else bows to Saint Isaac, then Montferrand stands with his head held high and with a model of the cathedral in his hands. The emperor became angry and, without shaking his hand, walked past the architect. He, not having reached the end of the consecration ceremony of the cathedral, felt bad, went home and died a month later.
The architect wanted to be buried in the masterpiece he created, but Emperor Alexander imposed a ban on the will of the deceased architect, and Montferrand's coffin was surrounded around St. Isaac's Cathedral , after which they were taken to Paris.
In St. Isaac's Cathedral, the children of the royal family were baptized and city holidays were held, but the building was completed and repaired for a long time. A story arose in the city about a prediction that the fall of the Romanov dynasty would occur when the scaffolding was removed from the cathedral building. The scaffolding was removed in 1916, six months before the abdication of the last emperor of Russia.
Today the temple is recognized as an architectural monument. It is open to the public, excursions are regularly held here, access to the colonnade is open, which offers a wonderful view of the city and the Neva water area.
St. Isaac of Dalmatia was considered the patron saint of Peter the Great, since the future first Russian emperor was born on May 30, the day of this saint. On his 38th birthday, in 1710, Peter I ordered the construction of a wooden church of St. Isaac in St. Petersburg, in which two year married Catherine I. And five years later, the builders began to build a stone church on this site. The emperor issued a decree that all Baltic sailors take the oath only in this temple. The church was built for about 30 years, but the swampy soil swallowed the efforts of the architects, and the building soon had to be dismantled.
In 1768, Empress Catherine II decided to complete Peter's plan and ordered to restore the temple, but move it away from the coastline - to Senate Square. The building project was grandiose, the temple was faced with Olonets marble. But after the death of the hated Paul I ordered his mother to donate marble to decorate his beloved brainchild - [Mikhailovsky Castle] (https://kudago.com/spb/place /mihajlovskij-zamok/), and St. Isaac's Cathedral to be built of brick.
The building was constantly in need of repair, and in 1809 Emperor Alexander I announced a competition for the construction of a new church of St. Isaac. But then the war began, and the construction of the cathedral had to be forgotten for a while.
In 1816, another competition was announced, in which the most eminent architects of that time participated, but the tsar drew attention to the little-known Auguste Montferrand, who, unlike his colleagues, did not call for the destruction of the former building by Antonio Rinaldi, but presented 24 projects, each of which proposed the use of the old building.
The fourth temple was started on June 26, 1818. Given the failures of previous projects, the builders reinforced the foundation with 10,762 piles. Today, the cathedral is decorated with 150 paintings by Fyodor Bruni, Karl Bryullov, Vasily Shebuev, three hundred monuments and bas-reliefs made by Ivan Vitali - this is the most beautiful European cathedral and a unique example of Russian church architecture. More than a centner of noble metal was spent on gilding the dome of St. Isaac's Cathedral. The gilding process was carried out according to the old, later banned technology using mercury, which led to the death of all the masters involved in this process.
St. Isaac's Cathedral, among other records, broke the record for long-term construction - exactly 40 years of construction. There were even rumors in the city that the architect was deliberately delaying the completion of the construction, allegedly some fortune teller predicted that he would die as soon as the construction of the cathedral was completed. So it was or not, but Montferrand really died shortly after the construction of the temple was completed. According to rumors, he did not manage to survive the royal disgrace. One of the courtiers drew the attention of Alexander II that the builder placed his image among the saints, and if everyone else bows to Saint Isaac, then Montferrand stands with his head held high and with a model of the cathedral in his hands. The emperor became angry and, without shaking his hand, walked past the architect. He, not having reached the end of the consecration ceremony of the cathedral, felt bad, went home and died a month later.
The architect wanted to be buried in the masterpiece he created, but Emperor Alexander imposed a ban on the will of the deceased architect, and Montferrand's coffin was surrounded around St. Isaac's Cathedral , after which they were taken to Paris.
In St. Isaac's Cathedral, the children of the royal family were baptized and city holidays were held, but the building was completed and repaired for a long time. A story arose in the city about a prediction that the fall of the Romanov dynasty would occur when the scaffolding was removed from the cathedral building. The scaffolding was removed in 1916, six months before the abdication of the last emperor of Russia.
Today the temple is recognized as an architectural monument. It is open to the public, excursions are regularly held here, access to the colonnade is open, which offers a wonderful view of the city and the Neva water area.
St. Isaac of Dalmatia was considered the patron saint of Peter the Great, since the future first Russian emperor was born on May 30, the day of this saint. On his 38th birthday, in 1710, Peter I ordered the construction of a wooden church of St. Isaac in St. Petersburg, in which two year married Catherine I. And five years later, the builders began to build a stone church on this site. The emperor issued a decree that all Baltic sailors take the oath only in this temple. The church was built for about 30 years, but the swampy soil swallowed the efforts of the architects, and the building soon had to be dismantled.
In 1768, Empress Catherine II decided to complete Peter's plan and ordered to restore the temple, but move it away from the coastline - to Senate Square. The building project was grandiose, the temple was faced with Olonets marble. But after the death of the hated Paul I ordered his mother to donate marble to decorate his beloved brainchild - [Mikhailovsky Castle] (https://kudago.com/spb/place /mihajlovskij-zamok/), and St. Isaac's Cathedral to be built of brick.
The building was constantly in need of repair, and in 1809 Emperor Alexander I announced a competition for the construction of a new church of St. Isaac. But then the war began, and the construction of the cathedral had to be forgotten for a while.
In 1816, another competition was announced, in which the most eminent architects of that time participated, but the tsar drew attention to the little-known Auguste Montferrand, who, unlike his colleagues, did not call for the destruction of the former building by Antonio Rinaldi, but presented 24 projects, each of which proposed the use of the old building.
The fourth temple was started on June 26, 1818. Given the failures of previous projects, the builders reinforced the foundation with 10,762 piles. Today, the cathedral is decorated with 150 paintings by Fyodor Bruni, Karl Bryullov, Vasily Shebuev, three hundred monuments and bas-reliefs made by Ivan Vitali - this is the most beautiful European cathedral and a unique example of Russian church architecture. More than a centner of noble metal was spent on gilding the dome of St. Isaac's Cathedral. The gilding process was carried out according to the old, later banned technology using mercury, which led to the death of all the masters involved in this process.
St. Isaac's Cathedral, among other records, broke the record for long-term construction - exactly 40 years of construction. There were even rumors in the city that the architect was deliberately delaying the completion of the construction, allegedly some fortune teller predicted that he would die as soon as the construction of the cathedral was completed. So it was or not, but Montferrand really died shortly after the construction of the temple was completed. According to rumors, he did not manage to survive the royal disgrace. One of the courtiers drew the attention of Alexander II that the builder placed his image among the saints, and if everyone else bows to Saint Isaac, then Montferrand stands with his head held high and with a model of the cathedral in his hands. The emperor became angry and, without shaking his hand, walked past the architect. He, not having reached the end of the consecration ceremony of the cathedral, felt bad, went home and died a month later.
The architect wanted to be buried in the masterpiece he created, but Emperor Alexander imposed a ban on the will of the deceased architect, and Montferrand's coffin was surrounded around St. Isaac's Cathedral , after which they were taken to Paris.
In St. Isaac's Cathedral, the children of the royal family were baptized and city holidays were held, but the building was completed and repaired for a long time. A story arose in the city about a prediction that the fall of the Romanov dynasty would occur when the scaffolding was removed from the cathedral building. The scaffolding was removed in 1916, six months before the abdication of the last emperor of Russia.
Today the temple is recognized as an architectural monument. It is open to the public, excursions are regularly held here, access to the colonnade is open, which offers a wonderful view of the city and the Neva water area.
Address
4 Isaakiyevskaya Square
Timetable
Mon, Tue, Thu—Sun 10:00 — 21:30
Phone
+7 812 315-97-32
Website
http://www.cathedral.ru/
Source
https://kudago.com/spb/place/isaakievskij-sobor/