Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
DON'T MISS
Church of St Vasily the Blessed
Portals from the vestry to the central church
Icon of the Old Testament Trinity
Icon of the Life of St Alexander Nevsky
PRACTICALITIES
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www.saintbasil.ru
adult/student R250/50, audio guide R200
11am-5pm
Ploshchad Revolyutsii
Exterior
The cathedral's apparent anarchy of shapes hides a comprehensible plan of nine main
chapels. The tall, tent-roofed tower in the centre houses the namesake Church of the Inter-
cession of the Holy Mother of God. The four biggest domes top four large octagonal-
towered chapels, and there are four smaller chapels in between. Each was consecrated in
honour of an event or battle in the struggle against Kazan.
The onion domes were originally green, most likely acquiring their characteristic colours
and patterns during an 18th-century restoration. But the church has always been a spectacle.
Dutch tiles and gilded rings embellish the tent roof. Approximately 300 multicoloured,
semicircular gables adorn the upper tiers of the churches, while pink and white columns and
coffers decorate the lower tiers.
Church of St Vasily the Blessed
The Church of St Vasily the Blessed, the northeastern chapel on the first floor, contains the
canopy-covered crypt of its namesake saint, one of the most revered in Moscow. Vasily
(Basil) the Blessed was known as a 'holy fool', sometimes going naked and purposefully hu-
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