St. Basil's Cathedral

The Saint Basil's Cathedral in Moscow was the idea of Ivan the Terrible and was build near the Red Square between 1555 and 1561. According to the legend, the Russian Tsar ordered the architect Postnik Yakovlev to have his eyes removed in order to stop him to build another construction that could be a rival of St. Basils. In spite of this punishment, the architect build The Vladimir Cathedral. St. Basil's cathedral was built to honor the military success of Ivan's campaign against the mongols in 1552. The cathedral was named St. Basil after the Saint Basil the Blessed (1468-1552) who was very popular in Moscow at that time.

The Cathedral of St. Basil's escaped several times from destruction throughout the scattered history of Moscow. The legend says that Napoleon himself was so impressed by the cathedral that he wanted to take it to Paris with him, but because such thing was impossible, he ordered its destruction after the french left the city. The french soldiers put gun powder inside the cathedral and lighted up the wicks, but a torrential rain extinguished them and stopped the explosion. At the beginning of the 20th century, the Saint Basil Cathedral was almost a victim of the atheist principles of the Bolshevik regime. In 1918 the communist authorities melted the cathedral's bells and closed its gates. The demolition of St. Basil's Cathedral was proposed to Stalin, but for unknown reasons he rejected the proposal.

The St. Basil's Cathedral is a mixture of colors and red brick towers. Its design combines 9 individual chapels and above each one of it there is a dome.

Saint Basil's Cathedral is an important symbol of Moscow and an important touristic attraction. Although the building is still being renovated on the inside and also on the outside, the cathedral can still be visited by tourists, being one of the most beautiful religious building in the world.