St. Isaac's Cathedral, the colonnade and the dome above it are clearly visible even from the farthest outskirts of the city. And because of its limits. This powerful work of temple architecture accentuates attention and amazes the imagination of everyone who first gets to St. Petersburg. And the native Petersburgers have long been accustomed to this integral part of their hometown. Without one of the most striking symbols, the city is simply impossible to imagine. It seems that he stood in the center of St. Petersburg always. However, the history of its construction stretched for more than forty years. She was very dramatic and absorbed a lot. From human tragedies to the unique engineering achievements of its time.
Saint Isaac's Cathedral. Colonnade of Montferrand
This is not the only work of the master. The famous French architect left another legacy in both Russian capitals. However, by uniqueness, nothing can be compared with St. Isaac's Cathedral. An unrivaled masterpiece are its colonnades. The building data of all four portals immediately sets the scale of the values and reminds everyone who enter that he came to the Temple of God. They amaze the imagination with their power.
However, the viewer is even more shocked when he looks from the bottom up at St. Isaac's Cathedral. The colonnade under the dome goes to the skies and reminds of eternity, the mortality of earthly existence. In addition to the stunning artistic expression of the main cathedral of the capital of the Russian Empire, it is impossible not to think about the engineering aspects of its construction. And the temple was built on the technology of the early nineteenth century. Column granite of suitable quality was found on the shores of the Gulf of Finland near Vyborg. From there, monolithic blocks were delivered to the capital on barges specially built for this purpose. Montferrand developed special lifting mechanisms for their installation, which had no analogues in European practice. Of particular difficulty was the rise of monolithic columns to a height. Namely, under the dome, which crowned St. Isaac's Cathedral. The colonnade at this height to this day inspires great respect for the engineering genius of a Russian architect of French origin. And to the simple Russian hard workers of serf status, who built all this, and mostly in manual mode. And many of them put their lives on the construction of this temple. 60 craftsmen died only when gilding a unique dome from poisoning with mercury vapor.
Colonnade of St. Isaac's Cathedral. Mode of operation
Today it is one of the favorite places of both native Petersburgers and guests of the northern capital. From May 1 to September 15, you can visit here from 10 am to 6 pm. And from September 16 to April 30 - from 11 am to 5 pm. Those who want to see St. Petersburg from a bird's eye view, visit this place is a must. For only 150 rubles a unique place is available for viewing - the colonnade of St. Isaac's Cathedral.
How many steps leads to it? According to the most reliable data, there are 262 steps of a spiral staircase. However, if in doubt, at any time you can go and make sure that this figure is correct.