Petersburg is a city that over the centuries has evolved from a deserted marshland into a hotbed of world art and culture. From the beginning of the foundation, the St. Isaac's Cathedral was considered the spiritual center. The pendulum in the cathedral is one of the symbols of historical change.
Church for workers
Russia owes much to Peter the Great. The emperor not only became a reformer, whose laws changed the status of the country, but also brought the state to a new level. In particular, the city of St. Petersburg appeared on the initiative of this particular king.
This part of Russia has long belonged to the Swedes. As a result of the Northern War, the land came under the influence of Russia. In 1703 the Peter and Paul Fortress was laid, with which the development of the city began.
For several years, the Admiralty Shipyard began to work. They built the best ships of the empire. Already in 1706, the company employed about 10,000 people. But in order to attend church service and take the oath, the workers had to cross to the other side of the Neva. But there were no bridges at that time. Such a journey was grueling and took a lot of time.
That is why Peter I decided to find for the parishioners nearby a building that would pass for the temple. The project in the future became known as St. Isaac's Cathedral. The pendulum in the cathedral, marble walls and sculptures - everything that the audience is so interested in today, then did not appear in plans.
Temple of the emperor
To the west of the Admiralty was a drawing barn. The construction was rebuilt in three months. It was a wooden room, covered with boards. The church was crowned with a dome-bulb and a turret with a spire. In 1707, the temple was consecrated. The great emperor was born on May 30. On this day, the memory of Isaac of Dalmatia, an early Christian monk was honored. In honor of this saint, Peter called the temple. The monarch loved this church so much that he even got married there.
As time passed, the city developed. In 1712, he was given the status of a capital, and the shrine was supposed to correspond to this title. They decided to dismantle the old wooden barn. Instead, they built a stone sanctuary. They built a church on the site where the Bronze Horseman stands today.
The style of Peter the Great Baroque reflected St. Isaac's Cathedral. The pendulum in the cathedral, amazing paintings and magical mosaics have been surprising people for decades, but all this could not be. Why?
From hand to hand
The foundation for the construction of a donkey, walls and arch cracked. All this gradually destroyed the temple. Fatal for the shrine was the year 1735. Then lightning struck the dome, from which the room caught fire. Authorities allocated certain amounts to repair the structure, but the funds could not help with the problem of precipitation. As a result, it was decided to disassemble this cathedral, and instead build a new one.
Catherine the Great continued the work. Talented Italian Antonio Rinaldi worked on architecture . For a long time, the construction site stood still. As a result, for thirty years, only a cornice was installed. The successor of the empress, Paul I, greatly simplified the project. And already in 1802, St. Isaac's Cathedral was consecrated. The pendulum in the cathedral, granite columns and unique statues only appeared many years later on this site.
From heyday to oblivion
But the modest temple did not meet the title of the spiritual center of the city. The new monarch Alexander I announced a competition for the place of an architect who would rebuild the church without destroying the altars. The competition was won by the Frenchman Auguste Montferrand. Of the 24 projects, the emperor chose one, after which the architect set to work. The temple that we see today is the work of this genius.
Over the centuries, very beautiful stained glass windows, statues, masterpieces and magnificent mosaic paintings have appeared there. Especially popular was the Foucault pendulum in St. Isaac's Cathedral. But this mechanical system is an initiative of the Soviet government.
The 1917 revolution changed the attitude of officials and people towards spiritual values. From now on, church property passed into the power of the people.
Thus began a new period in the history of the St. Petersburg shrine.
Communism against Orthodoxy
Religion was not part of the plan of the new empire. Of course, the authorities decided to distance people from God as much as possible with the help of science. Subsequently, the Foucault pendulum also helped to break the myths of faith. Hard times of change came to St. Isaac's Cathedral.
Part of the wealth of the house of God was captured by looters. The leadership gave other values for the needs of the starving in the Volga region. Indifferent people offered amounts for creations from the temple that would fully pay off their cost. But for the leadership, the very fact of the destruction of religious symbols was important. In general, more than 40 kg of gold and 2 tons of silver were removed from the shrine.
In 1928, the church ceased to fulfill its primary function - holding services. Since then, the building has carried value only as an architectural monument. And then an anti-religious museum was made from the house of the Lord, where the Foucault pendulum was installed. In St. Isaac's Cathedral in St. Petersburg, spiritual silence continued.
Top of triumph
This situation is a paradox of history. In the walls of the temple in April 1931 the house of science was formed, which was more called upon to prove that God does not exist. It should be noted: its opening took place on Easter night, the largest holiday of the Orthodox world. Propaganda posters were placed at the entrance . At that time, when the guides spoke about the dangers of religion, the deep eyes of holy images from the walls looked at the visitors.
The highlight of the holiday was the invention of the French physicist. The length of the Foucault pendulum in St. Isaac's Cathedral was 93 meters. The device hung on a steel cable under the bulb of the temple. At the end of the rope, a metal ball weighing 54 kg swung, the task of which was to demonstrate the daily rotation of the planet around its axis.
Thus, having clearly shown the trajectory of the planet, the Communist Party triumphed over religion. Then at the presentation there were about 7000 spectators.
Mission return
The first experiment was demonstrated by Jean Foucault in the middle of the XIX century in Paris. The system allowed the invention to oscillate independently of the base. A long cable made it possible to clearly notice the changes. The weight of the iron bullet was 28 kg. 67 m - the length of the pendulum. In St. Isaac's Cathedral surpassed these figures.
In the house of the Lord they laid out a circle under the dome. A pendulum swung around its center, the duration of one oscillation was 20 seconds. In one hour, the ball went 13 degrees to the side. For a long time, the device was the largest in the USSR. Later, the Kiev Polytechnic Institute broke this record.
There was a time when they wanted to make an observatory out of the church. The domes were planned to be removed, and telescopes were installed in their place. But this idea was not destined to become a reality.
Orthodoxy began to regain its rights. And the moment came when they removed the Foucault pendulum in St. Isaac's Cathedral. It happened in 1986. Instead, they hung a silver bird, a symbol of the Holy Spirit. The invention could not be given to any scientific institution, since its size was unique. Now it is stored in the basement of the shrine. And the temple is holding services again.