Saint Isaac Cathedral
par Sergi March
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Saint Isaac CathedralThe World > Europe > Russia > St. Petersburg |
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St. Isaac's Cathedral is the most sumptuous and magnificent churches of St. Petersburg (Russia).
Earlier in the area of Admiralty there was a small wooden church dedicated to Saint Isaac of Dalmatia, which replaced another stone, which was useless in the mid eighteenth century. Finally, in the early nineteenth century, they decided to build the new cathedral. Participate in the contest leading architects of that time. Sale won by the young French architect Auguste Montferrand. The work lasted from 1818 to 1858.
In the decoration of St. Isaac's Cathedral were used 43 types of minerals. The base was covered with granite, the interior of the cathedral, with marble walls and floors Russians, Italians and French, the columns of the altar were covered with malachite and lapislazuli. For plated, dome 21.8 m in diameter, were used about 100 kilos of gold. Adorn the cathedral nearly 400 works including sculptures, paintings and mosaics. It has capacity for 14 thousand people.
Since 1931 the cathedral is a museum. You can climb up the drum of the dome, which affords a magnificent view of St. Petersburg.
Вид на Исаакиевский собор из Александровского сада
Вид на Исаакиевский собор из Александровского сада
Перед Исаакиевским собором! Перед Исаакиевским собором! Перед Исаакиевским собором! Перед Исаакиев...
Just in case you mistakenly heard that it was all ice and snow in Russia, take a peek at the Big Bikini Exposition. This is right on the river Moskva in Moscow!
Moscow has been the capital of Russia for almost its entire history. The exception is during the period of the Russian Empire, which lasted from 1721 until the Russian Revolution 1917. For these two centuries the capital was St. Petersburg. The Russian Empire was the second largest contiguous Empire in world memory; only the Mongol Empire had been greater.
Check out what's happening north of Mongolia these days, in Chita
Although you may not have heard of Sochi, on the Black Sea, they're building up quickly and hope to host the 2014 Olympics.
Other periods of Russian history include the Tsardom of Russia, from Ivan IV to Peter the Great, and the Grand Duchy (14th-16th centuries).
The earliest period of Russian history was ruled by the Novgorod Republic and Kievan Rus, which was the first Russian state dating back to 800AD in Kiev.
Modern Russia remains one of the world's superpowers. They launched the earth's second satellite, called Sputnik 1, and were the first country to put a human being into orbit around earth. (The first one is called the Moon.)
After the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia became a federal republic of 83 states.
Text by Steve Smith.
