St Isaac's Cathedral, St Petersburg, Russia
by Ratigan, used under GNU Free Documentation License
St Isaac's Cathedral is the largest cathedral in Saint Petersburg, and was the largest church in Russia at the time it was completed. It was dedicated to Saint Isaac of Dalmatia, the patron saint of Peter the Great. The St Isaac's Cathedral was built on the orders of Tsar Alexander I. It was designed by French-born architect August de Montferrand, whose design was criticised by members of the commission, but was nonetheless favoured by the emperor.
The cathedral took 40 years to construct. During the Soviet era, it was turned into a museum of atheism. Its dove sculpture was replaced by a Foucault pendulum. The building was laid out in the form of a Greek cross with a central dome in the middle, and four subsidiary domes. The exterior is faced with gray and pink stone. The interior is richly embellished.
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