Many articles have been written about Isaac Cathedral, the largest church in St. Petersburg. I have already published materials about its colonnade and about the exhibition at the Academy of Arts, where you can see large architectural models of the current and previous cathedrals.
Having visited the interior of the cathedral, I couldn't resist sharing photos of this beautiful building with you. In this article, I don't want to tell the history of the cathedral or describe its interiors for the hundredth time—you will see them for yourself. Instead, I’ll try to simply list a few facts about Isaac Cathedral that I found interesting. I'm sure they will interest you too.
Isaac Cathedral. How to Get There by Metro
The museum complex is located at Isaac Square, 4. It’s a ten-minute walk from Admiralteyskaya metro station. After exiting the metro, turn left, head onto Malaya Morskaya Street, and turn left again. The cathedral is 500 meters straight ahead. You can’t miss it.
The cost of an adult ticket (during the day, without discounts) is 350 rubles, and climbing the colonnade costs 200 rubles (as of fall 2019).
A Few Facts about Isaac Cathedral
- The current cathedral is the fourth one to bear this name; three religious buildings came before it. The first Isaac Church, built for the Admiralty, was located right here on the Admiralty Meadow. Today, this is where the fountain of Alexander Garden stands.
- The second church was built on the site of the current Senate Square. In 1768, the construction of the third Isaac Cathedral began. The one we know today is the fourth. Its ceremonial foundation took place in 1819.
- The architect of the third cathedral was Antonio Rinaldi, who also designed the Marble Palace on Millionnaya Street and Peter III's Palace in Oranienbaum. The construction of the modern cathedral was overseen by Auguste Montferrand, who also designed the Alexander Column in front of the Winter Palace.
- The cathedral is named after St. Isaac of Dalmatia. Emperor Peter I was born on May 30, the day of St. Isaac’s feast day.
- Isaac Cathedral in Numbers: The building stands 101.5 meters tall, is 111.3 meters long, and 97.6 meters wide. The outer diameter of the dome is 25.8 meters. The building is surrounded by 112 columns. The portico columns on the lower level are 17 meters tall and weigh 114 tons each. It took about 45 minutes to raise and install each one.
- The building can accommodate around 14,000 visitors.
- Isaac Cathedral is the fourth-largest domed cathedral in the world, preceded by St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, St. Paul's Cathedral in London, and Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence.
- Interestingly, in the 21st century, documents were found in the Library of Congress showing that Thomas Walter, the architect of the Capitol in Washington, used Montferrand's designs. This is not surprising, as the domes of both buildings are very similar.
- The cathedral houses 350 statues and reliefs. Many of them were made using galvanoplasty, which makes the figures hollow and much lighter.
- The interior decoration of the cathedral used 400 kilograms of gold and 1,000 tons of bronze.
- To preserve the paintings on the walls, some were replaced with mosaics. For this, the Academy of Arts set up a workshop to produce smalt—a mixture of glass and metal oxides. These mosaic panels feature about 12,000 shades.
- During Soviet times, the cathedral housed the State Anti-Religious Museum, where the world’s largest Foucault pendulum was installed, demonstrating Earth's rotation. During the Siege of Leningrad, many museum artifacts from St. Petersburg and its suburbs were sheltered in the cathedral. You can still see the traces of war today—one of the columns on the western portico bears the mark of an artillery shell.
- Today, the cathedral functions as a museum, and visitors can access its main halls or climb the colonnade. The pendulum has since been replaced by a silver-plated bronze dove—a symbol of the Holy Spirit.
In summary:
- A unique architectural monument;
- You can visit the museum on your own or join a guided tour, which is included in the ticket price;
- In the warm months, the cathedral is filled with tourists. If possible, it’s better to visit during the low (winter) season.
