St. Basils Cathedral

About this place

The symbol of Moscow for over four centuries, centrally located St. Basil's Cathedral seems like an image plucked out of a book of fairy tales. Constructed in the 1550s on the orders of Ivan the Terrible, the cathedral features vividly coloured onion shaped domes and an asymmetrical design unusual in traditional Russian architecture. Four of the eight side churches surrounding the main cathedral structure sit on raised platforms, designed to make them appear suspended in air. The massive structure contains a maze of vaulted corridors and vertical cylinders, the largest of which is 46 mts tall. Walk inside to see the elaborate Baroque iconostasis, decorated with gilded cornices and corbel arches.