Saint Isaac's Cathedral, Eastern Orthodox church museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia
Saint Isaac's Cathedral is an Orthodox church building and museum in central Saint Petersburg, recognizable by its golden central dome. The structure rises 101 meters above ground and is built from granite and marble, with four smaller corner towers surrounding the main dome.
French architect Auguste de Montferrand submitted the design in 1818 and supervised construction until the building was finished in 1858. After the 1917 revolution, the Soviet government converted it into a museum rather than allowing it to remain a working church.
Many local residents and visitors from across Russia view the cathedral as a symbol of Orthodox faith and imperial grandeur. The building still hosts occasional religious services, though it primarily operates as a museum where people come to admire the artistic heritage of the tsarist period.
The museum closes each Wednesday and opens between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. daily, extending until 9 p.m. during summer months. Visitors can also climb a steep spiral staircase to reach the observation deck in the dome, which offers views across the city.
Workers drove 24,000 wooden piles into the marshy soil to support the enormous weight of roughly 300,000 tons. During the siege of Leningrad in World War II, the dome served as a landmark for defenders and survived mostly intact.
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