St. Basil's Cathedral is perhaps the most famous of Russian churches. The fabulous domes of the cathedral can be seen on souvenirs; the familiar outlines of the cathedral seem to everyone to be the personification of Russia. The Cathedral on Red Square has stood for more than four hundred years, but it reveals its secrets only to the most inquisitive. So, I invite you to a short virtual walk around St. Basil's Cathedral.
St. Basil's Cathedral
Most Muscovites like to talk about the fact that they are tired of Red Square, and that all the visitors drag them here again and again. Well, if you think about it: when was the last time you were in St. Basil's Cathedral? Some will modestly answer: at school. And others will remain silent because they have never been there. When traveling to distant lands, we often miss what is close to us. For example, for the first time in my entire life I visited the magnificent St. Basil's Cathedral. An hour and a half excursion seemed extremely short to me! You can walk here for two or three hours, of course, if you know what to pay attention to. There are real puzzles here!
The cathedral is so interesting and complex that several thematic tours are held here: an engineering tour, a historical tour, and a restoration tour.
Why you should definitely visit St. Basil's Cathedral
St. Basil's Cathedral was built in the 16th century by order of Ivan the Terrible in honor of the capture of Kazan. The architects (according to the chronicle, the architects were Postnik and Barma) were ahead of their time, using original and innovative construction technologies.
The structure of the cathedral itself is unique - the building consists of 8 churches connected by internal and external galleries. To those who come here for the first time, the building may seem like a labyrinth, but it is not. The structure of the temple is very logical and if you look at the plan from above, it resembles a flower.
What is the real name of St. Basil's Cathedral
Officially, St. Basil's Cathedral is called the Church of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary on the Moat. The Moscow holy fool Basil the Blessed was buried not far from the temple. 30 years after the construction of the Cathedral, a chapel was erected over his relics, and a silver shrine was erected directly above his relics (which subsequently disappeared and was replaced by a new one). Muscovites revered the holy fool so much that they even began to name the entire Cathedral after him. By the way, for a long time the Cathedral was called Trinity - after the name of the old wooden church that was located here before the construction of the stone cathedral began.
Inside St. Basil's Cathedral
How to get to St. Basil's Cathedral
Currently, the cathedral is a branch of the Historical Museum, and you can get here six days a week (except Mondays) according to the museum’s opening hours. Very rarely religious services are held here, but I couldn’t find where to find their schedule.
The cost of a standard entrance ticket to the museum is 350 rubles. If you want to join the excursion, be prepared to pay another 100 rubles. Sightseeing tours are carried out according to the schedule (more details here).
You can also take an audio guide inside the Cathedral for an additional fee. Numerous agencies organize excursions to the Cathedral, however, in my opinion, this is an unnecessary overpayment of money, since all the exhibits have a detailed description. Well, if you prepare a little and read on the Internet, then your cultural trip will be a success.
Entrance prices
Impressions from visiting St. Basil's Cathedral
All visitors, in order to enter St. Basil's Cathedral, pass through a metal frame and are subject to inspection. It should be noted that the room from which the inspection begins, called the basement (or sub-church), was previously inaccessible to visitors to the Cathedral. The parishioners climbed the beautiful external stairs directly to the second floor. And the basement was used for various other needs, including storing valuables. For some time, the royal treasury was even kept here. A secret staircase led from the second floor to the basement, which only a select few knew, and today each of us has the opportunity to climb up this staircase.
Now in the basement there is an interesting exhibition of ancient icons, fragments of dome decoration, a voice box, and tiles. But the thick walls (the thickness of the walls at the base of the temple reaches 3 meters) and vaults are of greater interest.
Ceiling painting.
Basement of St. Basil's Cathedral
On the ground floor you can see a model of the Cathedral. If you look more closely, you will notice that the Cathedral on the model looks a little different. The thing is that since the beginning of its construction it has undergone significant restructuring. This is how St. Basil's Church appeared 30 years after the construction of the temple. It is also interesting that the domes of the temple probably had a completely different shape and were gilded. They became colored in the 18th century.
Model of St. Basil's Cathedral
Also in the first room you can see some strange things, for example, a log sticking out of the wall, which was discovered during one of the restorations. Its purpose has never been revealed. No drawings of that time have survived (and it is not known whether there were any). Perhaps the architects built the building on a wooden frame, and this log is part of that frame.
Church of St. Basil the Blessed
As legend has it, St. Basil, the revered Moscow holy fool and miracle worker, was buried under the wall of the Intercession Cathedral. Basil the Blessed was canonized by the son of Ivan the Terrible, Fyodor Ioannovich. 30 years later, a church was ordered to be erected over the relics of the miracle worker (built in 1588). The iconostasis that we can see today dates back to 1895.
St. Basil's Church
Painted ceiling in St. Basil's Church. The oil painting was completed in 1905.
Ceiling in St. Basil's Church
Cancer over the relics of St. Basil. The rooms are very small and dark, there are a lot of people - so it is extremely difficult to film.
St. Basil's Church
Exhibition in Podklet
On the first floor, or rather the basement, we saw beautiful restored icons. In fact, these are portable icons with which the procession around the temple took place.
Restored icons
The power of the basement structures is amazing - due to the fact that the temple was located on the “Ditch”, a powerful foundation was required. Since the Cathedral is quite old, restorations and replacement of bricks have been carried out several times. Dark bricks are old old ones.
Canopy in the basement
By the way, in the basement you can see a fragment of the colored dome of the church. It turns out that the domes are made of metal and covered with paint. As you know, metal is subject to corrosion, so restoration is carried out approximately every 20 years.
Dome fragment
The icon "Our Lady of the Sign" is a replica of the icon located outside the temple. Dating back to 1780.
Icon of Our Lady of the Sign
Church of the Intercession of Our Lady
After inspecting the basement, we climbed up a narrow secret staircase. At the top, the most interesting thing awaits visitors - 8 churches, different from each other, united into a single cathedral. In the center is the Church of the Intercession of Our Lady with a stunning iconostasis. To be honest, I have never seen such an iconostasis. The height of the church is 47.5 meters. For a long time it remained the tallest building in Moscow.
Church of the Intercession of Our Lady
Church of the Intercession of Our Lady
Church of the Intercession of Our Lady
Three dissimilar portals, decorated with brick carvings, lead to the central church.
Church of Cyprian and Justina
The gilded iconostasis is made in the style of classicism in the 18th century. One of the best examples of wood carving of that time. The church underwent restoration in 2007.
Church of Cyprian and Justina
Church of Cyprian and Justina
Church of Varlaam Khutynsky
The church's Tyablo iconostasis was restored in the 1920s; it consists of icons from the 17th and 18th centuries.
Church of Varlaam Khutynsky
Church of Varlaam Khutynsky
Church of Varlaam Khutynsky
Be sure to pay attention to the icon “The Vision of Sexton Tarasius”. An icon painter of the 16th century depicted Veliky Novgorod here with topographical accuracy.
Icon “Vision of Sexton Tarasius”
Church of Alexander Svirsky
In the dome of the church you can see a brick spiral - a symbol of eternity. The walls of the church are painted to resemble brickwork. The original appearance of the church interior was restored during restoration work in the 1920s and 1979-1980s.
In the Church of Alexander Svirsky
External gallery
During the excursion, the group is also taken to an external gallery, from where you can see fragments of ancient masonry and painting.
External gallery
External gallery
The paintings of the cathedral deserve a separate discussion. Given the advanced age of the cathedral, paintings from the 16th century, 17th, 18th and early 20th centuries can be found here. Knowledgeable guides will easily show you how to distinguish them from each other, and where the oldest fragments are located.
By the way, in the 16th century, floral and plant patterns were popular for painting cathedrals, which symbolized the Garden of Eden. It is this ornament that can be seen here.
By the way, the rooms are illuminated by ancient mica lanterns.
Ingenious engineering solutions
In one of the transitions you can see a brilliant solution for that time - a flat ceiling! However, it only seems flat from a distance. Upon careful examination, you can see that this is also an arched ceiling. I won’t go into engineering details, but the optical illusion is amazing!
Flat ceiling
Some more stone carving.
Intercession Cathedral
The exit from the cathedral is via a beautiful central staircase.
Exit from the Cathedral
Exit from the Cathedral
As you probably already understood, a visit to this place in Moscow cannot be missed! Well, if you have already been here as a child, I recommend returning; I am sure you will look at the Cathedral with completely different eyes.
One of the most striking, majestic and mysterious architectural monuments of the capital is St. Basil's. Back in the 16th century, wanderers and visiting people visiting this cathedral remained forever fascinated by its stateliness and beauty. But there are still several legends in the world about who built St. Basil's Cathedral.
History of St. Basil's Cathedral
Construction of the cathedral, and this is what people call it, began in 1555. And in just 6 years, the builders erected a stone palace of unprecedented beauty. The order to found the temple came from the Tsar of All Rus', Ivan the Terrible, in honor of the victory that Russian troops won over the Kazan Khan. This event happened on one of the Orthodox holidays - the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, therefore this cathedral is often called the Church of the Intercession of the Mother of God.
The history of St. Basil's Cathedral is still mysterious and unclear.
Legend one
The temple was built by an architect whose real name is Postnik Yakovlev. He received this nickname because he fasted carefully and for a long time. He was one of the most skilled craftsmen in Pskov. Later he was sent to Kazan to supervise the construction of the stone city. An interesting parable tells about collecting money for the construction of a parish. St. Basil the Blessed lived and begged in Moscow. He threw the collected coins over his right shoulder into one place, and no one dared to take even one. Over time, when there was enough money, Vasily gave it to Ivan the Terrible.
But the facts suggest that this is just a beautiful fairy tale, since the holy fool died even before it was decided to build the cathedral. Nevertheless, it was at the site where the building was built that St. Basil the Blessed was buried.
Legend two
Two masters worked on the construction of the cathedral at once - Postnik and Barma. Legend has it that as soon as Ivan the Terrible saw the completed building, he was struck by its unusualness and ensemble. So that architects could no longer repeat such beauty, the king ordered the architects' eyes to be gouged out. But this version is not confirmed, since the name of Faster appears in later chronicles. It turns out that the master could have been engaged in the construction of other buildings.
Legend three
The most realistic version is considered to be the following: the temple was erected under the guidance of an architect who came from Western Europe. An unusual style in which patterns of Russian and Western European architecture are intertwined is considered proof of this fact. But this version has not been officially confirmed anywhere.
Throughout its long history, the temple could have been destroyed or destroyed. But some miracle always saved this pride of Russia.
In the 18th century, during a fire in Moscow, the building was engulfed in flames, but courageous Muscovites saved the temple as best they could. As a result, the building was damaged, but survived. Later it was recreated in almost the same form as before the fire.
In the 19th century, when Napoleon entered the Russian capital, barns for horses were built in the cathedral. Later, when leaving Moscow, the emperor, in a rage, ordered not to leave a single stone in this cathedral. The wonderful structure had to be blown up. And again the heroic Muscovites and the Lord God helped defend the temple. When the French soldiers began to light the wicks that went to the barrels of gunpowder, people began to put out the fire at the cost of their lives. And then the rain came to their aid. The rain poured with such crushing force that it extinguished all the sparks.
Already in the 20th century, Kaganovich, showing a model of the renovation and reconstruction of Red Square to Joseph Stalin, removed the figure of the temple, deciding to demolish it forever. But the Supreme Commander-in-Chief said menacingly: “Lazarus, put him in his place!”
In 1936, during the construction of highways, it was decided to destroy the temple, as it interfered with traffic. But the Moscow restorer Baranovsky came to his defense. The Kremlin received a telegram from him: “If you decide to blow up the temple, blow it up with me!”
In appearance, this picturesque structure is an ensemble of churches. In the very center stands the Church of the Intercession, the highest among all. There are 8 more chapels around it. Each temple is crowned with a dome. If you look at the cathedral from a bird's eye view, this building looks like a five-pointed star. This is a symbol of heavenly Jerusalem.
Each church is inherently unique and inimitable. They received their names from the names of the holidays on which the decisive battles for Kazan fell.
- In honor of the holiday of Trinity.
- Nicholas the Wonderworker (in honor of the Velikoretsky image).
- Palm Sunday, or the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem.
- Martyrs Cyprian and Ustina. In the future, Adriana and Natalia.
- Saints Paul, Alexander and John of Constantinople - until the 18th century, then John the Merciful.
- Alexander Svirsky.
- Varlaam Khutynsky;
- Gregory of Armenia.
Later, another chapel was added in honor of the holy fool St. Basil.
Each dome has its own various decorations - kokoshniks, cornices, windows and niches. All temples are connected by ceilings and vaults.
A special place is given to paintings that depict portraits of eminent persons and colorful landscape sketches. Everyone can feel the atmosphere of the times of Ivan the Terrible if they carefully study the church utensils of that time.
At the very bottom there is a basement that forms the base of the cathedral. It consists of separate rooms in which the treasury used to be hidden, and rich townspeople brought their acquired property here.
It is impossible to talk about the beauty of this temple. In order to fall in love with this place forever, you must visit it. Then pride will appear in the heart of any person that this unique and mysterious cathedral is located here in Russia. And it doesn’t matter who built St. Basil’s Cathedral, this fantastic and stunningly beautiful symbol of our Motherland.
July 12, 2016 marks the 455th anniversary of one of the most famous architectural monuments of Moscow - the Cathedral of the Intercession of the Holy Virgin on the Moat, which we know as St. Basil's Cathedral.
This famous cathedral, with its powerful walls and vaults, used to be used for hiding places. Deep niches were built in the walls of the basement, the entrance to which was closed by metal doors. There were heavy forged chests in which rich townspeople kept their valuable property - money, jewelry, utensils and books. The royal treasury was also kept there. What other legends and secrets does the temple that we call St. Basil’s Cathedral keep today?
Where did the name "St. Basil's Cathedral" come from?
Despite the fact that the cathedral was built in 1554 in honor of the victories of Ivan the Terrible over the Golden Horde, it was popularly named St. Basil's, after the name of the chapel added to the cathedral on the north-eastern side in 1588. It was built by order of the son of Ivan the Terrible - Fyodor Ioannovich over the grave of Blessed Vasily, who died in 1557, and was buried near the walls of the cathedral under construction. The holy fool walked naked in winter and summer, wearing iron chains; Muscovites loved him very much for his gentle disposition. In 1586, under Fyodor Ioannovich, the canonization of St. Basil took place. With the addition of St. Basil's Church, services in the cathedral became daily. Previously, the cathedral was not heated, since it was largely a memorial, and services were held in it only in the warm season. And the chapel of St. Basil's was warm and more spacious. Since then, the Intercession Cathedral has been known more as St. Basil's Cathedral.
Is it true that Ivan the Terrible gouged out the eyes of the temple builders?
The most common myth about the cathedral is the chilling story of gullible souls that Tsar Ivan IV allegedly ordered its builders, Postnik and Barma, to be blinded so that they would never be able to build anything else that could surpass and eclipse the newly erected architectural masterpiece. Meanwhile, there is no real historical evidence. Yes, the builders of the temple were really called Postnik and Barma. In 1896, Archpriest John Kuznetsov, who served in the temple, discovered a chronicle in which it was said that “The pious Tsar John came from the victory of Kazan to the reigning city of Moscow... And God gave him two Russian masters named Postnik and Barma and was wise and convenient for such a wonderful work ..." This is how the names of the cathedral’s builders became known for the first time. But there is not a word about blindness in the chronicles. Moreover, after completing the work in Moscow, Ivan Yakovlevich Barma took part in the construction of the Annunciation Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin, the Kazan Kremlin and other iconic buildings, which are mentioned in the chronicles.
Is it true that the cathedral was originally intended to be so colorful?
No, this is a wrong opinion. The current appearance of the Intercession Cathedral is very different from its original appearance. It had white walls, strictly painted to resemble brick. All the polychrome and floral painting of the cathedral appeared only in the 1670s. By this time, the cathedral had already undergone significant reconstruction: two large porches were added - on the north and south sides. The external gallery was also covered with vaults. Today in the decoration of the Intercession Cathedral you can see frescoes of the 16th century, tempera painting of the 17th century, monumental oil painting of the 18th-19th centuries, and rare monuments of Russian icon painting.
Is it true that Napoleon wanted to move the temple to Paris?
During the War of 1812, when Napoleon occupied Moscow, the Emperor liked the Cathedral of the Intercession of the Virgin Mary so much that he decided to move it to Paris. The technology of that time did not allow this to happen. Then the French first built stables in the temple, and later simply planted explosives in the base of the cathedral and lit the fuse. The assembled Muscovites prayed for the salvation of the temple, and a miracle happened - heavy rain began, which extinguished the wick.
Is it true that Stalin saved the Cathedral from destruction?
The temple miraculously survived the October Revolution - marks from shells remained on its walls for a long time. In 1931, a bronze monument to Minin and Pozharsky was moved to the cathedral - the authorities cleared the area of unnecessary buildings for parades. Lazar Kaganovich, who was so successful in destroying the Kazan Cathedral of the Kremlin, the Cathedral of Christ the Savior and a number of other churches in Moscow, proposed completely demolishing the Intercession Cathedral in order to further clear the place for demonstrations and military parades. Legend has it that Kaganovich ordered the production of a detailed model of Red Square with a removable temple and brought it to Stalin. Trying to prove to the leader that the cathedral interfered with cars and demonstrations, he unexpectedly tore off the model of the temple from the square. The surprised Stalin allegedly at that moment uttered the historical phrase: “Lazarus, put him in his place!”, so the question of demolishing the cathedral was postponed. According to the second legend, the Cathedral of the Intercession of the Virgin Mary owes its salvation to the famous restorer P.D. Baranovsky, who sent telegrams to Stalin calling not to destroy the temple. Legend has it that Baranovsky, who was invited to the Kremlin on this issue, knelt before the assembled members of the Central Committee, begging to preserve the iconic building, and this had an unexpected effect.
Is it true that the Cathedral now serves only as a museum?
The historical and architectural museum in the cathedral was founded in 1923. However, even then, during Soviet times, services in the cathedral still continued. They continued until 1929, and resumed again in 1991. Today the cathedral is jointly used by the State Historical Museum and the Russian Orthodox Church. Divine services are held in St. Basil's Cathedral weekly on Sundays, as well as on patronal holidays - August 15, the day of remembrance of St. Basil, and October 14, the day of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Total 78 photos
St. Basil's Cathedral occupies a special place not only among the masterpieces of world architecture, but also in the consciousness of any Russian person. This church on Red Square is the personification of the beauty of the Russian soul, its bottomless inner spiritual world, the innermost desire to find heaven and bliss, both on earth and in heaven. St. Basil's Cathedral is unconditionally recognized by all of us as one of the symbols of Russia and as one of its significant spiritual foundations. The architectural ensemble of Red Square is now simply unthinkable without this heavenly beauty embodied in stone. It’s scary to think, but according to one of the legends, the famous Lazar Kaganovich once suggested that Stalin demolish St. Basil’s Cathedral, effectively snatching it from the model of the reconstruction of Red Square, which was presented to the leader of the people for consideration. Lazarus! “Give us a place,” Stalin said briefly then...
St. Basil's Cathedral impresses you so much, it remains in your consciousness for a long time and continues to live in it for a long time, feeding the soul with the sensual immaterial energy of this earthly miracle. Being next to the temple, you can endlessly admire its unique living image, playing with all the facets of sublime and exquisite beauty from any angle. Many essays have been written about this temple, countless scientific studies have been conducted and, of course, countless materials from independent researchers and simply lovers of Russian architecture and antiquity have been posted online.
I wanted to present to my reader about the Church of the Intercession on the Moat something different from the works of other authors, which, of course, in this context, is a difficult and, in many ways, impossible task. However, I will still try) As usual, there will be many of my photographs of this temple, from its most varied angles, at different times of the year - in order to reveal both the external sensory image of the cathedral and to show its amazing internal spaces, without seeing which it is impossible to absorb all this Beauty entirely. As it turned out, while I was in the temple itself, I managed, as often happens to me, to miss some views and details of its rich interior when photographing, which, as usual, becomes clear when preparing specific material. Of course, these shortcomings will be filled in by me here as appropriate visual source material becomes available.
I am extremely interested in the period of construction of tented churches in Rus' and St. Basil's Cathedral occupies, among the miraculously surviving tented churches, its own special unique place, because the central architectural dominant of this masterpiece is the sublime tented church of the Intercession of the Virgin. This article will be one of several in a series of my future review articles about the period of tent construction in Rus'.
In the first part, according to tradition, we will try to absorb the wonderful and unique image of St. Basil's Cathedral, learn about its amazing and mysterious history, the spiritual basis of the history of its creation, about architectural features, and in the second and third parts we will examine and explore the church from the inside , because the main thing is a complex sensory impression, and it is precisely what we endure for ourselves and what remains, as a result, with us for a long time, or even forever.
I do not have an architectural education and I do not consider myself an independent expert in this field, but the field of art and creativity in the field of Orthodox architecture is extremely inspiring and interesting to me. Therefore, when talking about the architectural features of the cathedral, third-party sources will be used - as they say - we will not reinvent the wheel where it has already been invented a long time ago and everything is professionally and meticulously described and explained in detail. So, I will not try to be original in this sense. To separate an academic text about the history and architecture of the cathedral, I will highlight my impressions and considerations in italics.
02.
So, the cathedral was built in 1555-1561 by order of Ivan the Terrible in memory of the capture of Kazan and the victory over the Kazan Khanate, which happened precisely on the day of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos - in early October 1552. There are several versions about the creators of the cathedral. According to one version, the architect was the famous Pskov master Postnik Yakovlev, nicknamed Barma.
03.
According to another, widely known version, Barma and Postnik are two different architects, both participating in the construction. But this version is now outdated. According to the third version, the cathedral was built by an unknown Western European master (presumably an Italian, as before - a significant part of the buildings of the Moscow Kremlin), hence such a unique style, combining the traditions of both Russian architecture and European architecture of the Renaissance, but this version is still I never found any clear documentary evidence.
04.
We have a more emotional detailed report, so I allowed myself to add to my story the warm feeling of the flower beds laid out on Red Square last summer...)
05.
According to Moscow legends, the architects of the cathedral (Barma and Postnik) were blinded by order of Ivan the Terrible so that they could no longer build a second temple of similar beauty. However, if the author of the cathedral is Postnik, then he could not have been blinded, since for several years after the construction of the cathedral he participated in the creation of the Kazan Kremlin.
06.
The temple itself symbolizes Heavenly Jerusalem, but the meaning of the color scheme of the domes remains an unsolved mystery to this day. Even in the last century, the writer Chaev suggested that the color of the domes of the temple can be explained by the dream of Blessed Andrew the Fool (of Constantinople), a holy ascetic with whom, according to Church Tradition, the Feast of the Intercession of the Mother of God is associated. He dreamed of Heavenly Jerusalem, and there “there were many gardens, in them there were tall trees, swaying with their tops... Some of the trees bloomed, others were decorated with golden foliage, others had various fruits of indescribable beauty.”
07.
Initially, the cathedral was painted to resemble brick. Later it was repainted; researchers discovered the remains of drawings depicting false windows and kokoshniks, as well as memorial inscriptions made with paint.
08.
In 1588, St. Basil's Church was added to the temple, for the construction of which arched openings were laid in the northeastern part of the cathedral. Architecturally, the church was an independent temple with a separate entrance. At the end of the 16th century, figurative domes of the cathedral appeared - to replace the original covering, which burned down during another fire. In the second half of the 17th century, significant changes took place in the external appearance of the cathedral - the open gallery surrounding the upper churches was covered with a vault, and porches decorated with tents were erected above the white stone stairs.
09.
The external and internal galleries, platforms and parapets of the porches were painted with grass patterns. These renovations were completed by 1683, and information about them was included in the inscriptions on the ceramic tiles that decorated the façade of the cathedral.
10.
Architecture of St. Basil's Cathedral
No matter how complex the design of the temple may seem, it is actually very logical. In the center of the composition is the main tent-roofed Church of the Intercession, around which are placed eight other pillar-shaped churches with domed tops. In plan, the cathedral forms an eight-pointed star. Large churches are located at the corners of the diamond. A rhombus inscribed in a square is the structure of the temple. The eight-pointed star in Christian symbolism carries a deep meaning - it symbolizes the entire Christian church, which is a guiding star in a person’s life to Heavenly Jerusalem.
11.
Another aspect of considering the architectural features of the temple as a whole can be reduced to a simple consideration of its architectural forms. All elements of the complex, including the central one, the Intercession Cathedral itself, and large and small churches correspond to different types of church architecture. But their interaction is based on several compositional elements. This is a combination of an octagon on a quadrangle, or two octagons of different diameters. The central part is two octagons on a quadrangle, crowned by a tent structure. Two octagons topped with a dome - this is how one can describe the architecture of large churches. Small churches - an octagon on a quadrangle, topped with a dome over a round drum. Although the lower part of small churches, their quadrangles, is very difficult to see, they are hidden behind the external decor - kokoshniks.
13.
Along the entire perimeter of the temple is decorated with kokoshniks, they are located in different ways, of different sizes, but they perform one function - they smooth out the transition from fours to eights. The cathedral was built on the principle of increasing height - the central tent is twice as high as large churches, large churches are twice as high as small ones.
14.
Another feature of the temple makes it completely different from others - the lack of symmetry in the decor and size of large and small churches. But the whole cathedral leaves an impression of composure and balance. Whoever was the author of the cathedral, his idea - the realization of both political and religious meaning - was impeccably embodied in its architectural forms. Similarity and difference, unification and separation - the combination of these mutually exclusive elements became the main theme in the architecture of the cathedral and the fundamental idea of its design.
15.
The height of the temple is 65 meters. The cathedral consists of churches, the thrones of which were consecrated in honor of the holidays that fell on the days of the decisive battles for Kazan:
Trinity.
In honor of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker (in honor of his Velikoretskaya icon from Vyatka).
Entry into Jerusalem.
In honor of the martyrs Adrian and Natalia (originally - in honor of the holy martyrs Cyprian and Justina - October 2).
Saints John the Merciful (until XVIII - in honor of Saints Paul, Alexander and John of Constantinople - November 6).
All these eight churches (four axial, four smaller ones between them) are crowned with onion domes and grouped around the ninth pillar-shaped church rising above them in honor of the Intercession of the Mother of God, completed with a tent with a small dome. All nine churches are united by a common base, a bypass (originally open) gallery and internal vaulted passages.
17.
In 1588, a tenth chapel was added to the cathedral from the northeast, consecrated in honor of St. Basil the Blessed (1469-1552), whose relics were located on the site where the cathedral was built. The name of this chapel gave the cathedral a second, everyday name. Adjacent to the chapel of St. Basil's is the chapel of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in which Blessed John of Moscow was buried in 1589 (at first the chapel was consecrated in honor of the Placing of the Robe, but in 1680 it was reconsecrated as the Nativity of the Theotokos). In 1672, the discovery of the relics of St. John the Blessed took place there, and in 1916 it was reconsecrated in the name of Blessed John, the Moscow wonderworker.
19.
A tented bell tower was built in the 1670s.
21.
There are only eleven domes, of which nine are above the temple (according to the number of thrones):
Intercession of the Virgin Mary (center),
Holy Trinity (east),
Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem (west),
Gregory of Armenia (northwest),
Alexander Svirsky (southeast),
Varlaam Khutynsky (southwest),
John the Merciful (formerly John, Paul and Alexander of Constantinople) (northeast),
Nicholas the Wonderworker of Velikoretsky (south),
Adrian and Natalia (formerly Cyprian and Justina) (north).
Two more domes are located above St. Basil's chapel and above the bell tower.
22.
The cathedral has been restored several times. In the 17th century, asymmetrical extensions were added, tents over the porches, intricate decorative treatment of the domes (originally they were gold), and ornamental paintings outside and inside (originally the cathedral itself was white).
FIRST LEVEL
Podklet (1st floor)
There are no basement spaces in the Intercession Cathedral. Churches and galleries are built on a single foundation - a basement, consisting of several rooms. The strong brick walls of the basement (up to 3 m thick) are covered with vaults. The height of these rooms is about 6.5 m.
On the plan of the first level, the rooms in the basement are indicated in black. In color - the churches of the second level of the cathedral.
23.
The design of the northern basement is unique for the 16th century. Its long box vault has no supporting pillars. The walls are cut through with narrow openings - vents. Together with the “breathable” building material - brick - they provide a special indoor microclimate at any time of the year.
24.
Previously, the basement premises were inaccessible to parishioners. The deep niches in it were used as storage. They were closed with doors, the hinges of which have now been preserved. Until 1595, the royal treasury was hidden in the basement. Wealthy townspeople also brought their property here.
One entered the basement from the upper central Church of the Intercession of Our Lady via an internal white stone staircase. Only particularly trusted persons knew about her. Later this narrow passage was blocked. However, during the restoration process of the 1930s. a secret staircase has been discovered. We'll see her again.
25.
In the basement there are icons of the Intercession Cathedral. The oldest of them is the icon of St. St. Basil's at the end of the 16th century, written specifically for the Intercession Cathedral. Also on display are two 17th-century icons. - “Protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary” and “Our Lady of the Sign”. The icon “Our Lady of the Sign” is a replica of the façade icon located on the eastern wall of the cathedral. Written in the 1780s. In the XVIII-XIX centuries. The icon was located above the entrance to the chapel of St. Basil the Blessed.
Church of St. Basil the Blessed
The lower church was added to the cathedral in 1588 over the burial of St. Basil in the church cemetery. A stylized inscription on the wall tells about the construction of this church after the canonization of the saint by order of Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich. The temple is cubic in shape, covered with a cross vault and crowned with a small light drum with a dome. The roof of the church is made in the same style as the domes of the upper churches of the cathedral.
We can see the quadrangle of this church and the lowest level dome, green with crimson spikes, and, in fact, its chapels in the foreground in the photo below.
27.
Access to St. Basil's Cathedral itself begins precisely from St. Basil's Cathedral, which is located on the first level, unlike all the other churches of the cathedral...
There are a lot of people here on holidays, as you can see.
29.
Sacristy
In 1680, another church in the name of St. Theodosius the Virgin was added to the cathedral above St. Basil's Church. It was two-story (on the basement). The top was made in the form of an octagon with a head on a narrow drum.
Already in 1783, the octagon was dismantled and the church was turned into a sacristy (storage for vestments and liturgical utensils) at the Church of St. Basil the Blessed. Hilferding's painting, painted in 1770, is the only image of the Church of St. Theodosius the Virgin before its reconstruction. Currently, the sacristy has partially retained its purpose: it hosts exhibitions of things from the cathedral’s funds, that is, the very things that were once stored there.
A tour of the exhibition of St. Basil's Cathedral begins with the entrance through the small northern porch into the building of the former cathedral sacristy (on the left - in the photo below).
30.
But this photo was taken just from the entrance to the Museum of St. Basil's Cathedral.
31.
We will get to the museum later, but for now I suggest you carefully examine St. Basil’s Cathedral in detail and from different angles.
SECOND LEVEL
Galleries and porches
An external bypass gallery runs along the perimeter of the cathedral around all the churches. Initially it was open. In the middle of the 19th century, the glass gallery became part of the cathedral's interior. Arched entrance openings lead from the external gallery to the platforms between the churches and connect it with internal passages.
32.
The central Church of the Intercession of Our Lady is surrounded by an internal bypass gallery. Its vaults hide the upper parts of the churches. In the second half of the 17th century. the gallery was painted with floral patterns. Later, narrative oil paintings appeared in the cathedral, which were updated several times. Tempera painting is currently unveiled in the gallery. Oil paintings from the 19th century have been preserved on the eastern section of the gallery. - images of saints in combination with floral patterns.
This is a large northern porch - through it the exit of tourists visiting the museum and churches of the cathedral is already carried out.
33.
Actually, these are the views you can take from him...
35.
Previously, daylight penetrated into the gallery from windows located above the passages in the walkway. Today it is illuminated by mica lanterns from the 17th century, which were previously used during religious processions. The multi-domed tops of the outrigger lanterns resemble the exquisite silhouette of a cathedral. We'll also look at the lanterns a little later.
37.
This is the western side of the cathedral. Now we will go around it counterclockwise. Some of the photos you see were taken intentionally with high geometric distortions in order to capture, if possible, the entire façade of the cathedral.
38.
Two galleries unite the chapels of the cathedral into a single ensemble. Narrow internal passages and wide platforms create the impression of a “city of churches”. After passing through the labyrinth of the internal gallery, you can get to the porch areas of the cathedral. Their vaults are “carpets of flowers,” the intricacies of which fascinate and attract the attention of visitors.
48.
Now we are on the south side of St. Basil's Cathedral. The area in front of the cathedral is quite spacious. Relatively recently, archaeological excavations were carried out in this place. Their results can be seen right there - stone cannonballs and ancient cannons were found...
54.
The verticals of the Cathedral are mesmerizing - you simply cannot tear yourself away from this Beauty..., especially against the backdrop of endless blue skies...
Freeing Red Square from buildings that “interfered” with large-scale festive events (parades and demonstrations), Lazar Kaganovich proposed completely dismantling St. Basil’s Cathedral. And in order to convince Stalin that he was right, for clarity, he made a model of the square from which the church could be removed. But everything did not go as he planned: when he took the cathedral from the model, the leader did not appreciate these actions and said a phrase that would go down in the history of the temple forever: “Lazarus, put it in its place!”
St. Basil's Cathedral is located in the capital of Russia, Moscow, not far from the Kremlin, in the southern part of Red Square. On a geographical map it can be found at the following coordinates: 55° 45′ 9.25″ N. latitude, 37° 37′ 23.27″ e. d.
A huge stone temple appeared here after Tsar Ivan the Terrible promised God that if the Kazan campaign was successful, he would build a cathedral.
In the meantime, while hostilities lasted, after each serious victory on Red Square, temporary churches were erected around the Trinity Church, dedicated to the saints on whose day the battle was won. When the war ended in victory, the tsar ordered on the site of these churches (there were eight buildings in total) to build one, a stone one, which would stand for centuries, and in honor of the fact that the final victory came on the Intercession, in October 1552, to name the temple the Intercession Cathedral.
The new church was built very quickly, in six years. The construction of the Moscow temple began in 1555 and ended in 1561. Researchers have still not come to a consensus about who exactly was its architect. The official version says that the architects Plotnik Yakovlev and Barma were responsible for the construction work, but recently many historians agree that the architect of the temple was only one master - Ivan Yakovlevich Barma, popularly known as Plotnik.
Some historians put forward another unconfirmed hypothesis that the architect of the building is an Italian master (this is evidenced by the original style of construction, combining both elements of Russian architecture and European architecture of the Renaissance).
After the construction was completed, a legend arose that the king ordered the architects to be blinded so that they could not build a temple of such beauty. Recently, historians agree that this is just a myth, since there are documents confirming the architectural activities of Plotnik, who was involved in the construction of the Kazan Kremlin and other buildings.
Temple names
Even before the start of construction work, Moscow Tsar Ivan the Terrible named the temple erected not far from the Kremlin the Intercession Cathedral. For a long time, Muscovites called the cathedral the Trinity Church (the previously located shrine was dedicated to the Holy Trinity). And some time after the completion of construction, people nicknamed the temple St. Basil's Cathedral - in honor of the local holy fool, who constantly, regardless of the season, walked around with chains on his naked body. St. Basil the Blessed had clairvoyance and was able to predict the fire that almost destroyed Moscow in 1547.
He died in 1557 and was buried near the walls of the unfinished shrine, and thirty years later a chapel, an extension, was erected over his grave, in which an altar with a throne for worship was installed. Naturally, the chapel received the name of the blessed one, who was canonized at the same time: more than one miraculous healing was recorded over the place of his burial.
After the extension was completed, services began to be held in the Moscow Cathedral every day: previously the temple was not heated, and therefore services took place there only in the warm season (the new extension was more spacious and warm).
Construction
The architects built the cathedral from brick - a rather new and unusual material at that time (usually, when building churches, architects used white hewn stone). In the western part of the temple, the craftsmen were even able to lay a ceiling of bricks, making round holes in them, inserting a metal clip and securely fastening them together.
Already at the initial stage, the architect faced the first problem: the building had to be built on sandy, loose and wet soil (the proximity of the Moscow River flowing nearby affected it), which made it impossible to make a deep foundation (the foundation of the temple is several meters deep). To resolve the situation, the architects used a very interesting move: the massive structure of the temple rests on a basement consisting of several rooms - the lower floor, the height of which is six meters, and the width of the walls is three meters, while the basement has very powerful vaults and ceilings.
It was decided to use white limestone as a building material for the lower floor: its ability to absorb moisture well made it possible to minimize the risk of flooding in the event of a flood. After the basements were installed, octagonal foundations were placed on them, on which it was planned to build future temples (thus, the foundation of the building externally resembled a honeycomb and was characterized by increased strength).
It is interesting that experts, speaking about the secrets of St. Basil's Cathedral, often mention hiding places that were built in special niches on the lower floor (until the end of the 16th century, the royal treasury was even hidden here, and rich townspeople hid their property).
It was not easy to get here - only a few people knew about the stairs leading from the Church of the Intercession of the Mother of God, and subsequently this narrow passage was walled up. The passage was discovered only in 1930, when restoration work was carried out; now the icons of the cathedral are stored in the basement rooms.
The architects used an interesting method when creating acoustics inside the cathedral (a method not uncommon in the construction of ancient Russian churches): in order to create good sound, the architects installed clay pots and voice boxes into the walls of the temple, directing their necks towards the interior of the building. This method made it possible to relieve pressure on the load-bearing parts of the temple.
Description of the temple
Giving a description of the Moscow temple, experts focus on the fact that it lacks a clearly defined main facade: all its sides look basic. The height of the structure reaches 65 meters, so for a long time the temple was considered the tallest building in the city.
Nowadays, looking at the temple, it is difficult to believe that initially the cathedral was not so colorful: judging by the descriptions, the walls of the church were white. They began to repaint it some time later, and they did this by radically changing the appearance of the cathedral - historians discovered drawings on its walls depicting false windows, kokoshniks, and memorial inscriptions. Polychrome and floral painting on a red background appeared only at the end of the 17th century.
Judging by the descriptions that have survived, in former times the Intercession Cathedral was more beautiful and elegant: it had more complex paintings, and the main dome was surrounded by smaller ones.
The appearance of the building was quite changed a hundred years after construction was completed: two porches were added, the external gallery was covered with vaults, and the walls were painted inside the cathedral. Therefore, in the temple you can see a combination of rare monuments of ancient Russian icon painting with frescoes of the sixteenth century, paintings of the seventeenth, and oil paintings of the eighteenth.
The temple was built taking into account the cardinal directions: focusing on them, they built four churches, and the same number were built diagonally. The Intercession Cathedral has nine churches: in the center is the main Church of the Intercession of the Mother of God, surrounded by four large (from 20 to 30 m) and four small churches (about 15 m), near which there was a bell tower and St. Basil's chapel. All these churches are located on the same foundation, have a common bypass gallery and are connected by internal corridors.
Domes of the Intercession Cathedral
At first, twenty-five domes were installed on the Intercession Cathedral, symbolizing the Lord and the elders located near his throne. Subsequently, only ten of them remained: one is located above the bell tower, the other rises above the chapel of St. Basil's, the rest - each above its own temple. At the same time, they are all different from each other: not only the design of the large domes is unique, but also the finishing of each drum.
Scientists suggest that initially the domes had a helmet-shaped shape, but were quickly replaced by a bulbous shape; the current coloring appeared only in the middle of the 19th century, and until the 17th century. the temple had golden domes.
Temple today
Judging by the descriptions, throughout history, St. Basil's Cathedral was rebuilt and changed its appearance more than once (frequent fires, which were not uncommon in the city, also contributed to the need for frequent repair work).
For the first time, St. Basil's Cathedral was on the verge of extinction in 1812, when the French, leaving the capital of Russia, mined it (though for some reason they could not blow it up, but they plundered the church). When the war ended, the Intercession Cathedral was not only restored, but also on the river side its wall was decorated with a cast-iron fence.
The temple experienced the saddest times in the 20th century. In 1918, the Bolsheviks shot the rector of the church, Ivan Vostorgov, for “anti-Semitic propaganda.” Three years later, all valuables were removed from the cathedral, and the building was transferred to the Historical Museum. For some time it remained an active church, until in 1929 services were banned by removing all the bells (services in the cathedral were resumed only in 1991).
The second time the temple was on the verge of extinction was in 1936, when restorer Pyotr Baranovsky was asked to measure the temple in order to subsequently demolish it. In response to this, the architect categorically stated that this idea was insane and criminal, and threatened to commit suicide if it was carried out. Immediately after this, an arrest followed, but the church was not touched: it had too many defenders. Therefore, when he was released six months later, the temple stood in the same place.
