St Petersburg First Day, 5 of 11 Saint Isaac's Cathedral

St. Isaac Cathedral, an Orthodox Church was built between 1818-1858 and took 40 years to complete. Its designer was French architect Auduste de Montferrand who used a Greek-cross ground plan with a central dome and four smaller domes. The main ribbed dome rises 101.5 metre and is plated with 400kg of pure gold. During WWII the dome was painted grey to camouflage its glisten gold facade. 

St. Isaac Cathedral is a colossal granite building and an engineering feat because it is an extremely heavy building having been constructed in 300,000 tons of granite and marble which was successfully constructed on swampy land. Records show that a total of 24,000 piles had to be drive in ground to form its foundation. It took 11,000 serfs several year to complete the pile-foundation work. They worked night and day in the summer and throughout the bitter winter and many lives were lost during the construction.

The exterior of the cathedral is  made of grey and pink granite stone. It is an impressive looking building looks very it looks very impressive with its massive central dome, twin bell towers and 4 identical grand portico entrances. These porticos entrances have a total of 48 polished red granite columns that dwarf all tourists and locals. Each collumn is 101.5 metres in height, weighs 114 tons and was hewn from single blocks of stone before being and shipped from Finland to St Petersburg. The massive central dome which  can be seen from all over the city,  is supported by another 24 polished red granite columns and each smaller dome has 8 columns as well. What a massive shipment undertaking!

The main dome which rises 101.5 metres into the sky, can be seen all over the city. Its fluted facade is covered with 400 kg of pure gold. During WWII the dome was painted grey to camouflage its glisten gold facade. No wonder that the cathedral building's cost was an incredible 1 million gold rubles. 

The church may look western European on the outside but it is pure Russian on the inside with its blending of sculpture, mosaics, paintings, murals and a very elaborate iconostasis. Words to describe the interior of St. Isaac would include; ostentatious, extravagant, lavish and opulent because its interior visual impact is overwhelming.

Multi-coloured granites and marbles which were sourced from all parts of Russia, have been used on the floor, columns, pilasters and various statues found in the cathedral. Many sculptors, artisans and painters were hired to produce the wonderfully, colourful works of art and stone that grace this ediface today.

Originally the inside walls of the cathedral  were  decorated by scores of paintings by Russian artists of the day but when these paintings began to deteriorate because of the damp conditions inside, Montferrand ordered that all the paintings be recreated in tiled mosaics. This was an expensive and painstaking task and is a real feature of the cathedral today, though the mosaic reproductions are still in the process of completion. 

The ceilings of the cathedral also have detailed paintings of various Bible narratives such as, the Genesis creation account.

The  cathedral walls are also adorned with richly painted scenes from the Bible. These master pieces, were painted by artists of the early and mid 18th century. They portray many of the gospel stories such as, the 'Calling of the Disciples', the 'Healing Miracles of Jesus' and the 'Last Supper in the Upper Room'. In this painting Judas is depicted clasping his bribe money as he sits with his back to Jesus.

I loved the inticately carved white marble frescoes. They are not only beautiful works of art but they bring 'alive' the gospel accounts of the events recorded with the the feelings and expressions that the sculptors convey in their work. 

The huge painting in the cupola of the central dome covers almost 800 metres and as we stare up at it in wonder the beauty, detail and skill of the painter was astounding to behold. Suspended in the zenith of the interior of the dome is a tiny white dove sculpture, representing the Holy Spirit. During the Soviet regime the dove was removed but after  the fall of the Soviet Union the dove was reinstalled into its previous place, in the centre of the dome. This would not have been easy as the dove is not tiny at all. In fact it is 6 metres wide. Look for it when you have the opportunity to visit. 

The 3-tiered iconostasis which is set in white marble, is framed by eight green malachite and two blue lazurite columns. The columns and pilasters are adorned with grooves and decorated with gilded capitals. Between the richly sculptured, pediments rich paintings of saints adorn the iconostasis.

In 1864, Juan Valera  described the interior of St Isaac Cathedral like this; " The interior of the Temple is truly a treasure. The rich paintings on the walls, mostly works  of Italian and German artists,  are only temporary and will be replaced with as many mosaics, which are being manufactured in Russia and Rome.  The variety of mouldings  and ornaments of bronze, jasper, lapis lazuli, malachite and other expensive stones is amazing. The iconostasisasis are ten collumns of malachite-excessive gtreatness. The three indoor chapels, where only the priests can enter, and where the most sacred rite is held, are inconceivable delicacy" I think he  describes this better than I could. 

Before the revolution in 1917 the inside of the cathedral had approximately 200 unsecured icons and painting, as well as  statues and religious paraphernalia, including several tons of silver or gold trimmings and decorations.  One can only imagine what a fantastic and splendid image was given especially when the several hundred candles burn brightly and eliminated the building. The cathedral has the capacity to hold 14,000 worshippers because Russian Orthodox churches do not have pews or places to sit - it is usual for worshippers in Orthodox churches to stand throughout their services.

The Orthodox Church  was very inclusive so worshippers and sightseers and like flocked to this beautiful building  which function as a cathedral until 1931 when Sovient government closed churches, took over their buildings and reassigned their use. During the Soviet government years, this large iconic building was stripped of all its religious trimmings and was turned into the Museum of the History of Religion and Atheism which would have been a real blow to those of faith at the time.

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In 2017, the governor of St Petersburg the announced that the Cathedral  would be returned to the Russian Orthodox church.  However, the cityfolk still wanted it to be used as a museum and so now a side chapel is used but for regular worship services and the rest of the building remains a museum.