St. Isaac's Cathedral

St. Isaac's Cathedral was originally the city's main church and the largest cathedral in Russia. It was built between 1818 and 1858 to be one of the most impressive landmarks of the Russian Imperial capital. One hundred and eighty years later the gilded dome of St. Isaac's still dominates the skyline of St. Petersburg. Although the cathedral is considerably smaller than the newly rebuilt Church of Christ the Savior in Moscow, it boasts much more impressive fades and interiors.

Designed by the architect Auguste Montferrand, St Isaac's Cathedral is an outstanding monument of mid-19th century late Russian Neo-Classicism. Noteworthy is the Cathedral's interior decoration, representing all forms of monumental and decorative arts – painting, sculpture, mosaic and colored stonework. Its main iconostasis is adorned with columns of malachite and lapis lazuli, while the main altar features the stained glass Christ Risen, a feature rarely seen in an Orthodox church.

The cathedral's facades are decorated with sculptures and massive granite columns (made of single pieces of red granite), while the interior is adorned with incredibly detailed mosaic icons, paintings and columns made of malachite and lapis lazuli. A large, brightly colored stained glass window of the "Resurrected Christ" takes pride of place inside the main altar. The church, designed to accommodate 14,000 standing worshipers, was closed in the early 1930s and reopened as a museum. Today, church services are held here only on major ecclesiastical occasions.