No Moscow visit is complete without seeing St Basil's Cathedral near Red Square. This multicolored, architect-gone-mad church is something travelers to Russia can't miss.
Moscow is truly a city of the world: icons like Red Square, the Kremlin and the Bolshoi Theatre are instantly recognizable to many. But for me, Moscow is the quirky colorful towers of St Basil's Cathedral. Standing proud at one end of Red Square, towards the Rosiya Hotel and the Moskva River, looking back over the Kremlin and Lenin's Mausoleum, St Basil's is at once so crazy and so regal that there can't be anything else like it in the world.
The Building of St Basil's
The cathedral - Pokrovsky Sobor - was built on the order of Ivan the Terrible during 1555-1561, to commemorate his victory over the Tartars in Kazan. It consists of nine chapels with unusually designed and brightly colored towers, and sits at the southeast end of Moscow's famous Red Square. The story goes that Ivan the Terrible had the responsible architect blinded after the cathedral was finished, so nothing comparable could be created.
Inside St Basil's
While the outside appearance of St Basil's is what drew me to it, the inside was equally worth seeing. The colors and intricate patterns continue in the inner churches and chapels, with wall and ceiling paintings to stare at for hours. You can also find some museum exhibits - the cathedral is a branch of the State History Museum - that explain the history and architecture. The complicated consecration and dedication history of each of the chapels adds some meaning to the crazy spires.
Visiting the Cathedral
If you're in Moscow plan your week around the fact that it's closed to the public on Tuesdays, and note that like many tourist attractions in Russia, you need to pay an extra fee if you want to take photographs or video inside. Of course, the snapshots you take from outside of St Basil's spectacular onion domes are free: and if you have the same taste as me, will be some of the most memorable images you'll keep from your journey to Moscow.
