Last week, Hot Stuff and I tried to go to St. Isaac's Cathedral, but, as it was a Wednesday, the cathedral was closed. Yesterday, however, classes were cancelled and we spent that time actually going inside.
Before I begin, I may or may not have mentioned a while ago that a Russian Student ID card will actually give you benefits. Hot Stuff and I went to St. Isaac's Cathedral and the State Historical Museum of Religion for free by showing them our ID cards.
While the latter museum did not allow pictures, we (well Hot Stuff) took many pictures of St. Isaac's.
This actually brings me to a very important lesson. Always have two sources of photography on hand. While both of our cameras were dead for one reason or another, my phone was not. And since I am smart and brought a cable that will allow me to charge my phone with my computer, I can actually upload pictures. Half of the pictures I have taken this trip, were on my phone.
Anyway.... before I get to the pictures, I will give you a bit of history.
St. Isaac's Cathedral (Isaakievskiy Sobor) is the largest Russian Orthodox Cathedral in St. Petersburg, and was dedicated to St. Isaac of Dalmatia who happened to be the patron saint of Peter the Great. It was designed by this guy
Auguste de Montferrand under order of Alexander I. The Empire Style architecture was hated by everyone but Alexander I, and after he said build it, construction began on the cathedral, which took 40 years to complete (1818-1858).
In 1931, St. Isaac's (without all of the religious trappings) became the Anti-religious Museum. The dove was removed and replaced by a Foucault Pendulum, which was first publicly demonstrated on April 12, 1931.
In 1937, the cathedral became a museum and all of the anti-religious material was moved to the Kazan Cathedral, which used to be the place for the Museum of the History of Religion.
During WWII, the dome of the cathedral was painted grey and the skylight housed a geodesical interception point used for locating enemy cannons.
When communism fell, worship resumed in the cathedral. To this day, the chapel on the left hand side of the cathedral is used for services and the main body of the cathedral (where tourists get to walk around) is used for services on feast days.
The cathedral is beautiful. They have done a great job reconstructing the cathedral. Some of the mosaics are still being repaired, but the ones they have repaired are gorgeous. For comparison...
The first didn't turn out as well as we would have liked, but that is the finished reconstructed mosaic. The second is the painting that was holding it's place during reconstruction.
The ceilings of the cathedral were so beautiful. I couldn't take any ceiling shots (I did something to my back), so Hot Stuff did that for me.
These are just two examples. If I were to put anymore, I know I would get carried away. I will just end my discussion of St. Issac's here and say that, if you're ever in St. Petersburg, you should go. Whether you are religious or not, this cathedral is just too beautiful to miss.
The snow is still coming down quite heavily. It makes me want to go to "The Home of Happiness"...
Before I begin, I may or may not have mentioned a while ago that a Russian Student ID card will actually give you benefits. Hot Stuff and I went to St. Isaac's Cathedral and the State Historical Museum of Religion for free by showing them our ID cards.
While the latter museum did not allow pictures, we (well Hot Stuff) took many pictures of St. Isaac's.
This actually brings me to a very important lesson. Always have two sources of photography on hand. While both of our cameras were dead for one reason or another, my phone was not. And since I am smart and brought a cable that will allow me to charge my phone with my computer, I can actually upload pictures. Half of the pictures I have taken this trip, were on my phone.
Anyway.... before I get to the pictures, I will give you a bit of history.
St. Isaac's Cathedral (Isaakievskiy Sobor) is the largest Russian Orthodox Cathedral in St. Petersburg, and was dedicated to St. Isaac of Dalmatia who happened to be the patron saint of Peter the Great. It was designed by this guy
In 1931, St. Isaac's (without all of the religious trappings) became the Anti-religious Museum. The dove was removed and replaced by a Foucault Pendulum, which was first publicly demonstrated on April 12, 1931.
In 1937, the cathedral became a museum and all of the anti-religious material was moved to the Kazan Cathedral, which used to be the place for the Museum of the History of Religion.
During WWII, the dome of the cathedral was painted grey and the skylight housed a geodesical interception point used for locating enemy cannons.
When communism fell, worship resumed in the cathedral. To this day, the chapel on the left hand side of the cathedral is used for services and the main body of the cathedral (where tourists get to walk around) is used for services on feast days.
The cathedral is beautiful. They have done a great job reconstructing the cathedral. Some of the mosaics are still being repaired, but the ones they have repaired are gorgeous. For comparison...
The first didn't turn out as well as we would have liked, but that is the finished reconstructed mosaic. The second is the painting that was holding it's place during reconstruction.
The ceilings of the cathedral were so beautiful. I couldn't take any ceiling shots (I did something to my back), so Hot Stuff did that for me.
The snow is still coming down quite heavily. It makes me want to go to "The Home of Happiness"...
Let it snow!!!!!
ReplyDeleteBut I don't want it to snow... I don't like the cold. T_T ...yet, I'm the one who chose to go to Russia.........
ReplyDelete