Address: Russia, Moscow, Red Square
Start of construction: 1555 year
Completion of construction: 1561 year
Number of domes: 11
Height: 65 m.
Coordinates: 55 ° 45'09.4 "N 37 ° 37'23.5" E
Cultural heritage site of the Russian Federation
Content:
Short story
On July 12, 2011, the most famous Orthodox church in Russia, the Intercession Cathedral, or St. Basil's Cathedral, celebrated its 450th anniversary.
Located on Red Square next to the Kremlin, it has become a symbol of Moscow and the entire country. The Cathedral of St. Basil the Blessed is a whole city in the city: 10 churches with variegated domes were erected on a single foundation. It was built in 1555 - 1561 by order of Ivan the Terrible to commemorate the victory over the Kazan Khanate - the age-old enemy of Russia.
View of the cathedral from the side of the Moscow Kremlin
An old Moscow legend says that during the decisive assault on Kazan, Ivan the Terrible went to the camp church, which was housed in a tent, and prayed fervently. But as soon as the priest had time to utter the words: "And there will be one flock and one shepherd," when the earth shook from the strongest explosion, and part of the enemy fortifications flew into the air, opening the way for the Russian troops.
For the first time in the history of Russia, it included not a principality, but an entire state - the Kazan Khanate. The capture of Kazan had not only political significance (now the Russians controlled the Volga-Baltic trade route), but also religious - it was a campaign against the infidels. In Moscow, the townspeople greeted Ivan the Terrible with loud exclamations: "For many years to the pious Tsar, the victor of the barbarians, the deliverer of the Orthodox people!"
Monument to Minin and Pozharsky against the background of St. Basil's Cathedral
St. Basil's Cathedral - a masterpiece of unknown architects
Initially, a wooden church of the Holy Trinity stood on the site of the future temple, but in 1555 a stone cathedral, which still exists today, began to be erected. Who was the main architect remains a mystery. According to one version, the tsar invited the Pskov master Postnik Yakovlev, nicknamed Barma, according to the other, the names Postnik and Barma belong to two different architects.
According to the third version, St. Basil's Cathedral is a project of an Italian architect. There is a legend that the king ordered to gouge out the eyes of the creator of the cathedral so that he could no longer repeat his masterpiece. But if the author of the cathedral is Postnik, then this legend does not find documentary evidence. Postnik could not be blinded, because for several years after the completion of construction, he worked on the project of the Kazan Kremlin.
View of the cathedral from the side of Vasilievsky Spusk
St. Basil's Cathedral - an outlandish constellation of tents and domes
St. Basil's Cathedral is crowned with 10 domes. 8 churches arranged symmetrically around the main temple in the form of an eight-pointed star symbolize church holidays, falling on the days of the decisive battles for Kazan. Eight bulbous heads are installed on their tops. The central church of the Intercession of the Virgin is completed with a tent with a small dome, and the tenth dome is built above the bell tower.
All 9 churches are united by a single base and an internal bypass gallery, painted with bizarre floral ornaments. None of the domes is the same as the other. St. Basil's Cathedral was not always so colorful. White stone and brick used in the construction of the church gave it austerity and restraint.
View of the Cathedral from Red Square
In the 17th century, the domes of the cathedral were decorated with ceramic tiles, asymmetric annexes were added, tents were erected over the porches, and the walls were covered with intricate paintings. In 1931, a bronze Monument to Minin and Pozharsky, which had previously stood on Red Square, was erected in front of the cathedral.
St. Basil's Cathedral - a temple to the glory of the miracle worker
The main church of the temple was consecrated in honor of the feast of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos... However, the Church of the Intercession is called the Cathedral of St. Basil the Blessed and is associated not with Ivan the Terrible and the Kazan campaigns, but with the name of the Moscow holy fool - the man of God. Vasily lived on the streets of Moscow and even in the bitter frost he walked half naked, wore chains on his body - iron chains with crosses. Ivan the Terrible himself treated him with reverence
Bath of the cathedral
When Vasily fell seriously ill, the tsar visited him with his wife, Tsarina Anastasia. A number of miracles are attributed to the saint. While in Moscow, he put out a fire in Novgorod with three cups of wine. Basil denounced lies, and under external piety he could guess the actions of the devil. So, in front of the amazed pilgrims, he threw a stone at the image of the Mother of God, which was revered as miraculous. When the crowd began to beat Vasily, he shouted: "And you scratch the primer!" After removing the paint layer, people saw that a devil was drawn under the image of the Mother of God. Vasily died in 1552, and in 1588 a church was built over the burial place of the miracle worker's relics. This extension gave the everyday name to the Intercession Church - St. Basil's Cathedral.
Cathedral baths
Tradition claims that until 1595 the royal treasury was kept in the dungeons of the temple. Today the cathedral is under the joint jurisdiction of the Historical Museum of Moscow and the Russian Orthodox Church. Divine services are held there on Sundays.
