St. Basil's Cathedral was commissioned by Ivan the Terrible and built between 1555 and 1560. Legend has it that on completion of the church the Tsar ordered the architect to be blinded to prevent him from ever creating anything to rival its beauty again. The cathedral was built to commemorate Ivan the Terrible's successful military campaign against the Tartar Mongols in 1552 in the besieged city of Kazan. Victory came on the feast day of the Intercession of the Virgin, so the Tsar chose to name his new church the Cathedral of the Intercession of the Virgin on the Moat. The church was given the nickname "St. Basil's" after the "holly fool" Basil the Blessed (1468-1552), who had become hugely popular at that time with the Muscovites masses and even with Ivan the Terrible himself. St. Basil's was built on the site of the earlier Trinity Cathedral, which at one point gave its name to the neighboring square.

St. Basil's is a delightful array of swirling colors and redbrick towers. Its design consists of eight chapels, each topped with an onion dome and each commemorating a victorious assault on the city of Kazan. In 1588 a ninth chapel was erected to house the tomb of the church's namesake, Basil the Blessed. The extravagant and brightly colored domes of the cathedral's exterior mask a much more modestly decorated and somewhat less spectacular interior. Small dimly lit chapels and maze-like corridors fill the inside of the church and the walls are covered with delicate floral designs in subdued pastel colors. Renovation on the exterior and interior of the church is ongoing but will not spoil that essential visit to St. Basil's Cathedral.

CURRENCY

	US Dollar	$
	Euro	€
	Russian Rouble	RUB

	Copyright © 2000-2009 Moscow Hotels, JSC. All rights reserved.
	Terms and Conditions \| Privacy Policy \| Copyright Statement