Cathedral of Christ the Saviour

The cathedral got the status of the metochion of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, all divine liturgies during the Orthodox holidays. Relics of the Saint Philaret, which attract a lot of pilgrims from all over the country. Wonderful views over the Kremlin, Volkhonka Street and Khamovniki District open from observation deck.

The construction of the original church in Russian-Byzantine style started in autumn 1839 and lasted for 44 years. The author of that project was K. Thon. According to the Tsar's, a giant memorial cathedral was supposed to be erected among the ruins of post-war Moscow.

During the Stalin reconstructions in the city in December 1931, the cathedral was destroyed by an explosion, since it was decided to build a tremendous Palace of Soviets of enormous size for that times - 416 meters. However, the idea was not realized, on the other hand, the swimming pool "Moscow" was constructed on the spot of the old church in 1958. In 1980s the non-government organization, which advocated for the recreation of the church, appeared. Thanks to its efforts, on the 30th of September 1994 builders began to work. The total area of construction was 7.5 hectares. The architects tried to preserve ancient planning notes in their work.

In the architectural features of the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour there is a slight connection with the appearance of the Saint Isaac's Cathedral in Saint-Petersburg, which was erected 40 years earlier. The basis is a Greek cross with the identical facades from the all four sides. The facades are divided into three parts by columns so, that the central one prevails over the side ones. The building is topped with the five helmet-shaped cupolas. The basement, which was constructed already for the Palace of Soviets, was decided to be used for cathedral and just modernize it, because for its construction the whole hill was demolished!

Inside the cathedral is faced with marble plates from the Sayan and Koelginskoe fields, and for the creation of the special atmosphere of the lower church, the rock was delivered from Bethlehem. The basis of the cupolas is a stainless steel, which was covered with gold with the help of ion-plasma technology. According to the preserved up to our days archives, more than 300 artists, who won the right to work on this project in a stiff competition, renewed the interiors of the cathedral. Like Leonardo da Vinci under the cupola of the Sistine Chapel, they recreated ancient history on the unique system of construction staging.