Religious buildings have always been impressive in size. Orthodox churches and bell towers are no exception. Some of them will soar 100 meters or more. The height of St. Isaac's Cathedral and the bell tower of Ivan the Great can compete with the highest Orthodox churches.
One of the great
So by right we can call St. Isaac's Cathedral in St. Petersburg. After all, it is one of the most significant and most beautiful dome structures in the world. The size of this temple is surpassed only by the cathedrals of St. Peter (Rome), St. Paul (London) and St. Mary (Florence). In Russia, only the newly rebuilt Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow is considered to be higher than St. Isaac’s Cathedral, its height together with the cross is 103 meters.
The height of St. Isaac's Cathedral in St. Petersburg reaches 101.5 meters. It covers an area of 4000 square meters. m. The total weight of the temple is estimated at about 300,000 tons. At the same time, it can accommodate about 12,000 people. 112 monolithic columns surround the cathedral. The height of the columns of St. Isaac's Cathedral, or rather, some of them, reaches 17 meters.
This is a five-domed temple, the diameter of the main dome of which is about 25 meters. Four more small domes are installed over four belfries located at the corners of the main volume of the building.
History of creation
The current St. Isaac's Cathedral is the fourth built on this site.
The first in 1707 was built the St. Isaac's Church, simple, wooden, but with a high spire. The church was erected by order of Peter the Great, and on the day of his birth the laying of the temple took place. And since May 30 is also the day of veneration of St. Isaac of Dolmatia, the church received his name. By the decision of Peter two years later, restoration of the temple was carried out. In the same church in 1712 the king was married to Catherine.
However, in 1717 the construction of the stone St. Isaac's Church began. Wooden by this time dilapidated. The new stone church was not very beautiful. Very much like the
Peter and Paul Cathedral. Its construction was completed in 1727. However, the close proximity to the Neva (subsidence of the ground) and the fire caused by a lightning strike in 1735, eventually brought the building into disrepair. And although they tried to restore it, good results were not achieved. It was decided to dismantle the church and build a new, more significant, that is, not a church, but a cathedral. But then it was still impossible to imagine how high the St. Isaac's Cathedral would become final.
Third Cathedral under Catherine the Second
The construction of the new cathedral began on the orders of Catherine II in 1768. The architect of the project was A. Rinaldi. Five domes and a high bell tower were supposed to have a cathedral as conceived by the architect. However, he did not succeed in translating his plans to the end. When Catherine II died, the construction was brought only to the eaves of the building. The work was suspended at that time, A. Rinaldi left for his homeland.
The new Tsar Paul soon ordered the construction of the cathedral to continue and instructed architect B. Brenna to do this, who significantly distorted the original design, especially with regard to domes and spiers. The dome was left alone, and even it has decreased in size. As a result, the height of St. Isaac's Cathedral in St. Petersburg, which was consecrated in 1802, was significantly lower than that designed by A. Rinaldi. The temple turned out quite plain.
The history of the construction of the modern St. Isaac's Cathedral
The cathedral did not at all correspond to the status of the capital. Therefore, not even seven years have passed since the competition for the construction of a new one was announced. Alexander the First set the condition for the preservation of the three altars that existed previously. One by one, the king rejected the proposed projects. In the end, the young architect Montferrand, a Frenchman , was entrusted with developing the project. In early 1818, the project was approved by the king.
A special commission was created to guide the construction, and in 1819 the first stone was laid.
However, soon the well-known architect A. Moduy criticized the project. His main remarks were reduced to a weak foundation and incorrect design of the main dome. I had to redo the project and modify it, but all the comments were taken into account. Only in 1825 the project was finally approved, and the construction of the cathedral continued. It ended in 40 years.
On May 30, 1858, a new church was consecrated in the presence of the royal family.
By the way, the height of St. Isaac's Cathedral and Ivan the Great Bell Tower in Moscow at that time was considered the most significant.
Cathedral observation deck
If until 1917 St. Isaac's Cathedral was considered the main cathedral of St. Petersburg, then after it it turned into a museum. During the Great Patriotic War, the temple building was not particularly damaged, although it was cut by shell fragments.
Currently, the cathedral is still a museum, but on holidays, with the permission of the directorate, divine services are held there. The first took place in 1990.
An observation deck has been built on the colonnade of the cathedral, from which a lovely view of the city opens. You can see almost all the main attractions of St. Petersburg: the Winter Palace, the Admiralty, Vasilyevsky Island with the Academy of Arts, the Senate and Synod building , and others.
The height of the observation deck of St. Isaac's Cathedral is 43 meters. Above is only the bell tower of the Smolny Cathedral, the observation deck of which is built at a height of 50 meters.
It is noteworthy that in St. Petersburg's white nights, the Isaac's playground is open around the clock.
From Petersburg to Moscow
The height of St. Isaac's Cathedral and Ivan the Great Bell Tower is of interest to many history buffs and architectural monuments of Russia. So far, everything has been said about the St. Petersburg Cathedral. It is time to go to Moscow, to its very center.
The bell tower of Ivan the Great is located on the Cathedral Square of the Kremlin. Its full name is the church bell tower of John Climacus. In 2008, she turned 500 years old.
The height of the bell tower of Ivan the Great reaches 81 meters (without a cross).
In the bell tower are museums, for example, the history of the Moscow Kremlin. There is also an observation deck.
History of Ivan the Great Bell Tower
Some sources indicate that on this site in 1329 the church of the Christian theologian John Climacus was erected, specially designed “under the bells”. However, it was later destroyed.
In 1505-1508, the architect Bon Fryazin built a three-story pillar here with white stone and brick, whose height was about 60 meters. In the lower tier was the church itself, in the upper tiers there were bells. The construction was erected in memory of Ivan the Third.
Later the church was rebuilt several times. So, under Borisov Godunov, the height of the main pillar was increased. As a result, the height of the bell tower of Ivan the Great began to equal 81 meters. And a little earlier, a belfry was attached to it, designed for large bells, with another temple.
During the invasion of Napoleon, the bell tower suffered, was partially destroyed. In subsequent years, restoration work was carried out.
Bells of modernity
Currently, the bell tower of Ivan the Great has survived 21 bells. Three of them, the largest, are installed on the Philaret Annex and the belfry - Uspensky (over 65 tons), Reut (Revoon, almost 33 tons) and Semisotny (13 tons).
Directly on the bell tower are 18 bells, of course, smaller. Six of them are installed on the lower tier. By the way, their names are very peculiar: “Bear”, “Swan”, “Wide”, “Novogorodsky”, “Slobodsky” and “Rostovsky”. Their weight is also impressive - from 3 to 7 tons.
On the second tier there are 9 bells, the size of which is even smaller. Finally, on the very last, third tier, three more bells are installed.
Initially, all the bells hung on wooden beams, much later they were moved to metal.
All the bells of Ivan the Great Bell Tower are operational. They call on holidays.
In conclusion, we can add that, of course, the height of St. Isaac's Cathedral and the Ivan the Great Bell Tower is impressive. However, their whole appearance is even more admired, because they are rightfully the masterpieces of world architecture.