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Isaakievsky cathedral

In 1710 near to a building of Admiralty the wooden church in honour of sacred Isaak Dalmatsky has been constructed, which day of memory (on May, 30th on old style) coincides with date of a birth of Peter I. In this church later two years Peter I got married Ekaterina. In 1717 under the project of the architect Mattarnovi wooden church have replaced stone. However in the middle of XVIII century church Isaakiya Dalmatskogo has decayed, and it have disassembled. The third Isaakievsky cathedral has been constructed in 1768 – 1802 under direction of architect A.Rinaldi. At construction it was applied Siberian and olonetsky marble. Finished civil work of Century It is transitory. This variant of a cathedral has not had to a court yard: it was not in harmony with other buildings of the center of St.-Petersburg. Therefore in 1818 construction of a new, fourth cathedral under project O. Monferan has begun.

Construction Исаакиевского of a cathedral was conducted within forty years – it has been opened only in 1858. Huge granite blocks which brought on special vessels were applied to a construction of monolithic columns of a building. Processing, rise and installation of forty eight columns, hundred forty tons in weight everyone, were carried out with huge work and danger. Huge columns have been installed by 1830. The dome of a cathedral having external diameter in 25,8 meters, have erected in 1838. It has been installed on a high reel which also is surrounded by monolithic granite columns in weight of 67 kg. A dome, all which designs are made of metal, is topped by a small lamp with the Greek gold cross. On the sides from a dome, above a roof of a cathedral have erected four belltowers with the open rings and small golden domes.

Isaakievsky cathedral, as well as practically all orthodox temples, five-domed. The building of a cathedral from four parties is surrounded 8 and 16-columned porticoes with the pediments decorated by statues on corners and high reliefs. At construction of a temple it has been used forty three various breeds of minerals. The socle of a cathedral is reveted by a granite, and the walls, reaching places of five-meter thickness, are covered by a grey marble. Internal walls of a building and a floor are laid out by plates of Russian, Italian and French marble. Columns of an iconostasis of a temple are reveted by malachite and badakhshans lazurite. Isaakievsky cathedral decorate about four hundred products of a sculpture, painting and a mosaic. Such outstanding sculptors participated in works on furnish of a temple, as S.S.Pimenov, P.K.Klodt, I.P.soar, A.V.Loganovsky and others.

Performance of many sculptures it was carried out with application of halvanoplastic – the new method invented by Russian scientist B.S.Yakobi. For example, high reliefs of huge bronze doors (weight of each shutter – about ten tons), in pediments, etc. Art furniture of Isaakievsky cathedral impresses enormous high reliefs: more than two hundred pictures of a brush of K.P.Bryullov, F.A.Bruni, P.V.Vasina and others, and also pictures of Russian masters-mosaic N.M.Alekseeva, I.F.Lebedeva, M.A.Khmelevskogo, etc. the Picture-mosaic are executed from slices of smalto (28 thousand various shades!). In external shape of building of Isaakievsky cathedral the certain period in history of architecture of St.Petersburg when on change to late classicism the eclecticism has come was reflected. The height of a cathedral – 101,5 meters, and gross weight reaches three hundred thousand tons! Solemn ceremony of consecration of a cathedral took place in 1858. Isaakievsky cathedral became the main cathedral of capital and was considered "taking priority in empire".

In 1931, in days of Soviet authority Isaakievsky the cathedral has been transformed into a museum. Today all interested persons can admire a panorama of St.Petersburg from the top viewing platform of a building. In 1991 have made a decision on combining use of a cathedral by believers and a museum. In a temple four times a year are made church services. Isaakievsky the cathedral is one of masterpieces of world architecture.