The Cathedral of Vasily the Blessed, commonly known as Saint Basil's Cathedral, is an Orthodox church in Red Square of Moscow, and is one of the most popular cultural symbols of Russia. The building, now a museum, is officially known as the Cathedral of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos on the Moat, or Pokrovsky Cathedral. It was built from 1555 to 1561 on orders from Ivan the Terrible and commemorates the capture of Kazan and Astrakhan. Its completion, with its colors, was made in 1683. It was the city's tallest building until the completion of the Ivan the Great Bell Tower in 1600.
Saint Basil's Cathedral as viewed from Red Square
Red Square, early 17th-century. Fragment from Blaeu Atlas. The structure with three roof tents in the foreground left is the originally detached belfry of the Trinity Church, not drawn to scale. Trinity Church stands behind it, slightly closer to the road starting at St. Frol's (later Saviour's ) Gate of the Kremlin. The horseshoe-shaped object near the road in the foreground is Lobnoye Mesto.
Ascension Church in Kolomenskoye (far left), a probable influence on the cathedral, and the Dyakovo church (centre)
Crowd in Red Square in front of the cathedral
Red Square is one of the oldest and largest squares in Moscow, the capital of Russia. It is located in Moscow's historic centre, in the eastern walls of the Kremlin. It is the city's most prominent landmark, with famous buildings such as Saint Basil's Cathedral, Lenin's Mausoleum and the GUM department store. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1990. Red Square has been the scene of executions, demonstrations, riots, parades, and speeches. Almost 73,000 square metres, it lies directly east of the Kremlin and north of the Moskva River. A moat that separated the square from the Kremlin was paved over in 1812.
Red Square
Moscow Kremlin (finished 1495)
17th century Palm Sunday procession leaving Saint Basil for Kremlin.
Execution of streltsy by Tsar Peter I (to the right on a horse) in Red Square, 1698 (painted 1881)
