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 St.
Basil's Cathedral is one of the most famous works of architecture
in Moscow and its silhouette is one of the most recognizable
symbols of Moscow and Russia. St. Basil's is not a part of
the Kremlin. It stands on the Red Square, next to the Kremlin, and
facing the Ivory Gate Chapel. St. Basil's Cathedral was constructed
from 1555 to 1561 by order of Ivan IV ("Ivan the Terrible") and in
celebration of the defeat of Kazan - the last remaining grip of the
Mongol Empire on European lands. Some historians claim that Ivan
the Terrible blinded the architect after he was finished in order
to prevent him from building another cathedral as magnificent as
St. Basil's. The Cathedral's onion-domes are designed to represent
the uniqueness of Russia situated between Europe and Asia. In
front of St. Basil's stands a statue to two patriots, Kuzma Minin
and Dmitry Pozharsky, who led the volunteer army against the Polish
invaders in the late 16th century. Originally, the statue was
placed in the middle of the Red Square, but moved to St. Basil's
front yard because it was obstructing communist military
parades.
St Basil's Cathedral, also called Pokrovsky Cathedral or The
Cathedral of Intercession of the Virgin by the Moat, is the most
recognizable and quintessential Russian building. For Russians this
Cathedral means not less than Eiffel Tower for the French, the Big
Ban for the British and the Statue of Liberty for the American. It
is a fascinating creation of the architect's fantasy which consists
of 10 churches united by the biggest one in the middle. Each of its
multi-coloured and stripy onion domes is unique and commemorates a
certain Saint. This beautiful ecclesiastical building survived a
lot of hard times, but in spite of all the troubles it has always
been a symbol of Russian Orthodox Church, spirituality and
patriotism.
The Cathedral was built in 1560 by the order of Ivan the Terrible
to commemorate the siege of Kazan and the victory over the Kazan
khanate. It is believed that it was built by the famous Pskov
architect Postnik Barma (though some historians suppose that these
are two people Postnik and Barma). The legend has it that when Ivan
the Terrible saw the plan of the Cathedral, he was so impressed by
its beauty that he ordered to blind the architect so that this
cathedral would be unique.
Initially it was called The Cathedral of Intercession of the Virgin
by the Moat, but later common people gave him a name of the St
Basil the Blessed, who for the sake of God was leading a life of a
beggar. He was blessed to foresee the future and was openly
criticizing the awful and bloody deeds of Ivan the Terrible. People
respected and feared Basil so much that even Ivan didn't dare to
harm him. When the Saint died, the great Tsar himself and the
noblest people carried his coffin. He was buried in the northern
part of the Cathedral and as a sign of great respect the Cathedral
got his name among common people.
Initially the Cathedral was wooden, but later it was rebuilt in
white stone and only in the XVIII century during the times of
Catherine II it acquired its present appearance covered with
swirling colours. Unfortunately, when the Bolsheviks came to power,
the Cathedral was closed, the bells melted and its arch-priest was
killed.
And that was not the only case when this architectural gem was
about to be destroyed. The legend has it that the first attempt was
made by Napoleon Bonaparte. He was so impressed by its beauty that
he tried to relocate the Cathedral to Paris, but since it was
technically impossible to do so at that time, Napoleon ordered to
blow it up when his troops were retreating from Moscow. The
Moscowites tried to put out the burning gun powder when suddenly a
heavy rain started pouring down and helped stop the
explosion.
Another time the Cathedral was under threat is when Stalin decided
that it was an obstacle to his military parades and prevented from
driving through Red Square. The demolition plan was prepared but
the architect who was supposed to work at it threatened that if the
Cathedral is ruined, he will cut his throat on its steps and after
that wrote a long-winded letter to Stalin. Miraculously, Stalin
changed his mind, the Cathedral was granted life and the brave
architect Piotr Baranovsky - couple of years in prison for
that.
Walking inside this atmospheric place, you will see why people
protected it so much. There are 9 icon-stands which comprise about
400 icons of XVI-XIX centuries painted by the most famous Novgorod
and Moscow icon painting schools. The narrow way leads you from one
church to another to a wooden spiral staircase hidden in one of the
walls (it was found only in 1970s during the restoration works).
All this contributes to the medieval atmosphere and creates that
special aura that gives you quintessential ancient Russia
experience. |
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