Saint Isaac's Cathedral. St. Isaac's Cathedral Route from the airport to the cathedral on the map - Google Maps

The largest temple in St. Petersburg

St. Isaac's Cathedral is the largest Orthodox church in St. Petersburg, created in honor of St. Isaac of Dalmatia. On the map of St. Petersburg, St. Isaac's Cathedral is located in the Admiralteysky district of the city on St. Isaac's Square.

The cathedral was built in the style of late classicism in 1818-1858. Today St. Isaac's Cathedral is one of the dominant features of St. Petersburg: its height is 101.5 m. The width of the cathedral is 100 m. The building has a square shape; The facades of the cathedral are decorated with 4 porticoes with bas-reliefs and 112 monolithic granite columns. The diameter of the metal dome of St. Isaac's Cathedral is 25.8 m. The facades are decorated with gray marble.

The interiors of St. Isaac's Cathedral are decorated with malachite, marble, lapis lazuli, mosaics and gilded bronze. Russian sculptors (P. Klodt, I. Vitali) and artists (F. Bruni, K. Bryullov and others) worked on the interiors of the cathedral. The cathedral has a unique stained glass window on the main altar, depicting the Resurrection of the Savior. The area of ​​the stained glass window is 28.5 m2.

Today the cathedral is a museum. On the upper colonnade of the cathedral there is an observation deck from which a magnificent view of the center of St. Petersburg opens.

History of St. Isaac's Cathedral

The first wooden St. Isaac's Church was built to the west of the Admiralty in 1701. In 1712, Peter I and Ekaterina Alekseevna were married in the church. The second stone church was built in 1717 on the site of the Bronze Horseman. But it was too close to the Neva, so the foundation of the church was constantly being washed away.

The third St. Isaac's Church began to be built in 1768 on the site of the modern cathedral according to the design of A. Rinaldi. But it was completed only to the cornice. Under Paul I, the architect V. Brenna completed the church in the shortest possible time, but changed Rinaldi’s design, building brick walls and domes on top of the marble part of the cathedral. The church stood out from the appearance of ceremonial Petersburg, which gave rise to an evil epigram:

This is a monument to two kingdoms,
Both so decent
On the marble bottom
A brick top was erected.

In 1816, the competition to rebuild the cathedral was won by O. Montferrand. The main condition for the reconstruction was the preservation of the altar part of the old church. The final design for Montferrand was adopted in 1825, although the first stone was laid in 1819.

The architect made an extraordinary decision and began to build porticoes with columns before the walls of the cathedral were built. To lift the 114-ton columns, special scaffolding was built according to the design of A. Betancourt. These scaffoldings made it possible to raise the column vertically in 45 minutes.

In 1858, St. Isaac's Cathedral was consecrated.

After the revolution, St. Isaac's Cathedral was destroyed. In 1928, services were stopped, and in 1931 an anti-religious museum was opened in the cathedral.

Previously, a Foucault Pendulum hung in the cathedral, the length of which allowed it to demonstrate the rotation of the earth.

The history of the object is associated with four Cathedrals:

First St. Isaac's Church, during the time of Peter Romanov, served for the sacred rites of the workers of the Admiralty shipyards. The holy place was erected in 1707 and was considered the main church in the city. Later, sailors of the Baltic and Admiralty Fleet began to take the oath in the cathedral.

Second St. Isaac's Church, was founded somewhat later than the first in 1727 and replaced its predecessor. The new sanctuary was built of stone, unlike the first wooden temple, and was distinguished by its beauty and elegance of execution. Later, due to its unfortunate location, the building had to be repaired - the vaults were replaced with stone ones, and the iron dome was covered with copper. Attempts to restore the object were in vain and the building was moved to the place where it is located to this day.

Third St. Isaac's Cathedral. Initially, the third temple was supposed to look different - it was assumed that five domes and a high three-tier bell tower would rise above the building. However, the plan was not destined to come true and due to the too short deadline for construction, it was decided to replace the five elegant domes with one massive one. One tier had to be removed from the three-tiered bell tower. The marble cladding was extended only to the cornice; the rest of the structure was laid out in brick. Due to the inconsistency of the building with the appearance of the central square, the question of building a new temple was soon raised.

Modern Cathedral has the appearance that can be observed now. Founded by decree of Alexander the First. The outstanding architect Auguste Montferrand worked on the building project, whose stone bust is part of the museum’s exhibition. The modern church is decorated with more than a hundred monolithic columns. Wall cladding with light gray marble gives the building a special charm. The most beautiful work of the master Lemaire - “The Resurrection of Christ” adorns the relief of the pediment of the northern portico of the museum. Master Ivan Petrovich Vitali worked on the figures of the apostles and the design of the doors. The sculptures in the niches were created by master Klodt. During the Second World War, the cathedral was heavily damaged by bombing; in some parts of the building traces of shelling are preserved.

In 2015, the Russian Orthodox Church turned to the city leadership with a request to transfer the museum into the ownership of the Russian Orthodox Church. Some MPs expressed doubts about this due to fears that the cultural heritage would be closed to tourists. From a mechanical point of view, the building is in disrepair and requires immediate reconstruction.

Attraction St. Isaac's Cathedral photo:

Important information about St. Isaac's Cathedral in St. Petersburg: opening hours and hours, ticket prices

Operating mode:

The St. Isaac's Cathedral Monument Museum is open daily from 10.30 to 18.00 (Wednesday is a day off)

Colonnade of St. Isaac's Cathedral: 10.30 to 18.00 (evening: 18.00 - 22.30; white nights: 22.30 - 04.30)

The Museum of the Monument to the Savior on Spilled Blood is open daily from 10.30 to 18.00 (Wednesday is a day off)

Stone Museum: from 10.00 to 18.00 daily. From 01.10 to 30.04 - day off - every 3rd Wednesday of the month.

Ticket prices:

Colonnade of St. Isaac's Cathedral ticket price - 250 rubles.

Museum monument to the Savior on Spilled Blood - 250 rubles.

Visit to the Stone Museum - 100 rubles.

St. Isaac's Cathedral address:

Russia, St. Petersburg, Admiralteysky district, Isaakievskaya square, 4.

How to get there:

From the Nevsky Prospekt metro station you can walk along Nevsky Prospekt to the Admiralty, here turn left and, after passing the Alexander Garden, end up at the northern facade of St. Isaac's Cathedral.
If you turn from Nevsky a little earlier, to the left onto the Moika embankment, you will be able to walk to the Mariinsky Palace, to Iskaievskaya Square, to the monument to Nicholas I. Here you will have a view of its southern facade.

View St. Isaac's Cathedral on the map:

Information: Russia, St. Petersburg St. Isaac's Cathedral official website.

Received its name in honor of Isaac of Dalmatia. The fact is that the day of remembrance of this saint coincided with the birthday of Peter the Great. The history of the formation of the great Russian temple and monument of magnificent architecture - St. Isaac's Cathedral - begins with Peter the Great. Included in the version of our website.

The first church in honor of Isaac was a wooden church built in 1710, in which Peter married Catherine, who later became Empress Catherine the First. In the same church, by order of Peter, the ranks of the Admiralty and officers of the Baltic Fleet had to take the oath in this church. But wooden structures do not last long. Therefore, it was decided to build a stone church.

There is information that there were two more cathedrals before the current one. The second cathedral and the third cathedral took a long time to build, but served only briefly. The current St. Isaac's Cathedral was built by order of Nicholas the First by many great architects. The main one is Auguste Ricard de Montferrand. Nicholas the First strictly monitored the construction of the cathedral and made his proposals on the technical and aesthetic aspects of chrome. 23 million silver rubles were allocated from the state treasury for the construction of the cathedral. And it was worth it, St. Isaac's Cathedral is an outstanding temple, a unique architectural and engineering work, the largest domed building in the world.

St. Isaac's Cathedral is an example of monumental architecture that inspires majestic respect. If we talk about St. Isaac's Cathedral in numbers, they are amazing. Here are a few of them. The diameter of the cathedral dome is 21.8 meters, the height of the building is 101.5 meters, there are 72 columns in the building, all of them weighing more than 100 tons, the temple took exactly 40 years to build.
The interior of the cathedral is no less impressive than the exterior. To decorate the premises of St. Isaac's Cathedral, 20 types of various decorative stones were used, such as various types of marble, malachite, and lapis lazuli. The halls of the cathedral are also decorated with sculptural works of art and other objects of Russian art of that era.

The temple was active for a long time, and one of the main temples of the country. All great events in the country were necessarily celebrated in St. Isaac's Cathedral. The cathedral was led by outstanding representatives of Russian Orthodoxy. However, the glorious traditions were violated by the October Revolution. Guided by, it is not clear what motives, the Bolshevik government, destroying all church churches, reached St. Isaac's Cathedral. Therefore, many works of art that decorated the cathedral were lost.

Fortunately, the unique mosaic, the pride of St. Isaac's Cathedral, has been preserved. This outstanding work of art covers an area of ​​almost 600 square meters. The paintings and sculptures for the cathedral were made by the world's great architects: Bryullov, Vitali, Bruni, Klodt, Basin, Shebuev.

Nowadays, St. Isaac's Cathedral perfectly combines two functions - it holds services, and it is open as a museum. St. Isaac's Cathedral has several thematic exhibitions dedicated to the uniqueness of the architectural and technical structure of the temple, as well as to the peculiarities of art decorating the interior of the cathedral. One of the attractions when visiting St. Isaac's Cathedral is the opportunity to climb its colonnade and admire the views of beautiful St. Petersburg from a height of 43 meters.

The best way to get to St. Isaac's Cathedral is from the Admiralteyskaya metro station, walking 5 minutes along Malaya Morskaya Street.

View from St. Isaac's Cathedral to Palace Square, the Hermitage and the Alexander Column

About the cathedral

St. Isaac's Cathedral is one of the main attractions of St. Petersburg. Its round gilded dome serves as perhaps the most recognizable accent in the silhouette of the city panorama. In Russia, this temple is the main Orthodox cathedral. It is the 4th largest in the world, behind only St. Peter's Cathedral in Rome, St. Paul's Cathedral in London and St. Mary's Cathedral in Florence.

The scale of this majestic monumental building does not leave any viewer indifferent, even if one contemplates St. Isaac's Cathedral from a distance. Up close, it is simply breathtaking: the height of the building is 101.5 meters, the diameter of the dome is 26 meters, and the weight of one massive granite column is 114 tons.

St. Isaac's Cathedral is a monument of Russian classicism, personifying the great era when the Russian Empire was at the peak of its power after the victory over Napoleon's army in the Patriotic War of 1812.

Visit

Tickets using the Guest Card can be obtained at any box office. We recommend getting tickets at ticket offices No. 6 and 7 at the entrance to the cathedral (the colonnade opposite St. Isaac's Square). Present your guidebook and map to the ticket office.
Please note: in special cases, guides may be given priority service; tourists with a Guest Card are served on a first-come, first-served basis
These ticket offices also offer free tickets for children under 7 years old. Tickets for children over 7 years old can be purchased at ticket offices No. 1-5, which are located on the side of the Alexander Garden and the Admiralty.

Interior decoration

Luxurious interior decoration matches the elegant monumentality of the building. Marble of various colors, malachite, lapis lazuli and other valuable, rare types of stone were used in the interior design. The walls of the cathedral are decorated not only with picturesque icons, but also with unique mosaics.

The altar image of St. Isaac's Cathedral is presented in the form of a stained glass window - a rather atypical element for Russian church architecture. “The Risen Christ” is one of the largest stained glass windows in Europe.

A dove hovers just under the dome of the cathedral - a symbol of the Holy Spirit. The figurine, which seems fragile at first glance, is made of silvered bronze, and its wingspan is about 2 m.

Colonnade of St. Isaac's Cathedral

The building of St. Isaac's Cathedral is the second high-rise dominant feature of St. Petersburg after the spire of the Peter and Paul Cathedral. Climbing to the colonnade, which is located under the main dome, you can admire the magnificent city panorama from a height of 43 m. A spiral staircase of 262 steps leads to the observation deck. A visit to the colonnade is included in the Guest Card. The colonnade may be closed in case of unfavorable weather conditions.

From the history

An interesting fact is that this majestic building was the result of the fourth attempt to build St. Isaac's Cathedral. Initially, the church in the name of St. Isaac of Dalmatia was conceived by Peter I - as a sign of the great emperor’s respect for his patron saint. A wooden church not far from the Admiralty, alas, was destroyed by floods, after which a stone one was erected on the site of the current Bronze Horseman, but it was damaged by a fire. Then Catherine II entrusted the project to the architects A. Rinaldi and V. Brenna, but it was never completed. And finally, the magnificent cathedral, already known to our contemporaries, was designed by the French architect O. de Montferrand, and construction was supervised by Emperor Nicholas I.

More than 400 thousand people took part in the construction - stonemasons, carpenters, talented craftsmen from the people. These were serf peasants who had to work in extremely difficult conditions, often losing their lives. Behind the splendor that we admire now, there is a real feat of the participants in the construction of St. Isaac's Cathedral - courageous and conscientious ordinary people.

St. Isaac's Cathedral (Cathedral of St. Isaac of Dalmatia) in St. Petersburg is the largest Orthodox church in the city, which has the status of a museum. From 1858 to 1929 it was the cathedral of the St. Petersburg diocese. Currently, the cathedral is considered one of the main attractions of the city and its symbol. Every year the temple is visited by thousands of tourists; the colonnade of St. Isaac's Cathedral, which offers a 360-degree panorama, is especially popular.

History of the cathedral

The architect of St. Isaac's Cathedral in St. Petersburg is Auguste Montferrand. The temple was built on the site of the old cathedral of St. Isaac of Dalmatia, so an important condition was the preservation of the altar of the previous temple. The project was under the supervision of Emperor Nicholas I and the most modern technologies of those years were used during the construction of the temple.

Construction continued from 1818 to 1858, and on May 30 (June 11), 1858, the solemn consecration of St. Isaac's Cathedral took place. Since 1991, services have been held daily in the temple.

On the external walls and columns of the temple you can see chips and dents - these are the consequences of shelling and bombing during the Great Patriotic War. During the blockade, exhibits from the Museum of City History, the Summer Palace of Peter I and from suburban museums of Leningrad were kept in St. Isaac's Cathedral.

Since 1950 and over the course of 10 years, the building was reconstructed; an observation deck was installed on the dome.

Currently, St. Isaac's Cathedral has the status of a State monument-museum and is part of a museum complex that unites the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood and the Stone Museum. The church diocese repeatedly asked to transfer the cathedral to its full jurisdiction, but the municipal authorities refused. Disputes about the transfer of the temple to the Russian Orthodox Church are still ongoing.

St. Isaac's Cathedral on Google panorama: outside view

Features of the architecture of St. Isaac's Cathedral in St. Petersburg

The temple is an example of late classicism. The height of the building reaches 101.5 meters and the width is 97.6 meters. The cathedral has a cross-domed shape, there are three altars in it: St. Isaac of Dalmatia, the Great Martyr Catherine and Alexander Nevsky.

The five-domed temple has four more small domes with bell towers. The cathedral is crowned with a large dome, the outer diameter of which is 25.8 meters. Unlike most Orthodox churches, the cathedral does not have an eastern entrance; the main entrance is located in the western portico. The walls and floor of the building are lined with colored marble and slate.

The building is decorated with 112 granite columns of different sizes. Work on the interior decoration began in 1841. Famous artists and sculptors (Karl Bryullov, Pyotr Klodt, Ivan Burukhin, Nikolai Pimenov, etc.) worked on decorating the cathedral. Their work was supervised by the administration of the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, all sketches were approved by the Synod and the emperor.

The main technique chosen was oil painting on a special primer; images were also painted in oil on bronze boards. The largest composition of St. Isaac's Cathedral is the painting of the dome; its area is 800 square meters. meters. This part of the work was performed by the famous Russian artist Karl Bryullov.

However, due to the climatic conditions of St. Petersburg, over time the soil deteriorated and the images had to be rewritten, so it was decided to decorate the cathedral with mosaics. The temple is decorated with more than 350 sculptures depicting the glorification and earthly life of Jesus Christ. The sculptural bas-reliefs of the porticoes and doors of the cathedral are of great interest. In addition to sculptures, the temple is decorated with 150 panels and paintings, as well as a stained glass window depicting the Resurrection of Christ, with an area of ​​about 30 square meters. meters.

Interior of St. Isaac's Cathedral on Google panorama:

The colonnade of St. Isaac's Cathedral is located at an altitude of 43 meters. To climb it you need to overcome 2 spiral staircases of 200 steps. The colonnade consists of 24 columns, 14 meters long, and is an observation deck with an all-round view.

View from the colonnade of St. Isaac's Cathedral in St. Petersburg on Google panorama:

Opening hours of St. Isaac's Cathedral in 2020

• Museum entrance: 10:30–18:00, daily, except Wednesday;
• Evening programs: 18:00–22:30 (from April 27 to September 30, closed on Wednesday);
• Entrance to the colonnade: 10:30–18:00, daily (from May 1 to October 31);
• Evening colonnade: 18:00—22:30 (from April 27 to September 30)

The box office closes 30 minutes before closing.

Schedule of services in 2020

During the service, entrance to St. Isaac's Cathedral in St. Petersburg is free.

• Divine Liturgy: Mon-Fri, except Wednesday - 08:00, Sat-Sun - 09:00;
• Evening service: 16:00.

Prices for tickets to St. Isaac's Cathedral in St. Petersburg in 2020

Ticket prices during regular business hours:

• Full cost - 350 rubles;
• Holders of international ISIC cards - 200 rubles;
• Children from 7 to 18 years old - 100 rubles;
• Pensioners of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus - 100 rubles;
• Students (cadets), graduate students, adjuncts, residents, assistant trainees of educational organizations of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus - 100 rubles.

Evening ticket prices:

• Entrance ticket to St. Isaac's Cathedral - 400 rubles;
• Colonnade of St. Isaac's Cathedral with audio tour “Panorama of St. Petersburg” - 400 rubles.

Additional services:

• Audio guide in 10 languages ​​- 200 rubles;
• Audio tour “Panorama of St. Petersburg” - 150 rubles;
• Complex ticket (cathedral + colonnade) per person - 400 rubles;
• Use of binoculars on the colonnade of St. Isaac's Cathedral (2 minutes) - 100 rubles;
• Use of binoculars on the colonnade of St. Isaac's Cathedral (1 minute) - 50 rubles.

Free visits are only possible from 10:30-18:00 and do not apply to cultural events and entrance to the cathedral colonnade.

Cost of an excursion to St. Isaac's Cathedral in 2020

• Sculpture of St. Isaac's Cathedral— 400 rubles;
• Biblical scenes in the painting of St. Isaac's Cathedral- 400 rubles.

Excursion service in Russian:

• for one visitor, subject to joining an excursion group (for persons entitled to free admission to the museum) - 50 rubles;
• for a group of 1 to 5 people - 600 rubles;
• for a group from 6 to 20 people - 1000 rubles;
• for a group from 21 to 30 people - 1500 rubles.

Excursion service in a foreign language:

• for a group of 1 to 5 people - 1000 rubles;
• for a group from 6 to 20 people - 2000 rubles;
• for a group of 21 to 30 people - 3000 rubles.

Rules of conduct in the cathedral

In the premises of the cathedral and on the colonnade it is prohibited:

• be in a state of alcoholic, narcotic or toxic intoxication;
• bring suitcases, bulky bags and backpacks;
• move around on roller skates and sneakers with wheels, a bicycle, a scooter, a skateboard;
• consume food and drinks;
• go beyond the fences and into the service premises, lean on the racks and display windows of the temple;
• provide commercial and excursion services;
• listen to music, sing and make noise;
• smoking and littering;
• come with animals;
• take professional photos and videos, as well as flash photography during the excursion.

How to get there

St. Isaac's Cathedral (museum) is located in the historical center of St. Petersburg at the address: St. Isaac's Square, 4. Next to it are the main attractions of the city - Palace Square, the Hermitage, and the Bronze Horseman monument.

From the nearest metro station “Admiralteyskaya” it takes about 10 minutes to walk to the cathedral.

Public transport stops are also within walking distance:

• trolleybuses No. 5, 22 and minibuses No. K-306 (stop “Malaya Morskaya St.”);
• buses No. 3, 10, 27 and minibuses No. K-252 (stop “Isaakievskaya Square”);
• buses No. 5, 22, 70, 100 and minibuses No. K-169 (stop “Yakubovicha street”).

You can order a taxi using the mobile applications Yandex.Taxi, Maxim, Uber or Gett.

If you rent a car, you can drive from Pulkovo Airport to St. Isaac's Cathedral in 40 minutes.

Route from the airport to the cathedral on the map - Google Maps

Video: St. Isaac's Cathedral, aerial photography