TASS DOSSIER. On January 10, 2017, the Governor of St. Petersburg Georgy Poltavchenko told TASS that Saint Isaac's Cathedral will be transferred for use and maintenance of the Russian Orthodox Church. At the same time, the mayor noted that the cathedral will retain museum functions.
St. Isaac's Cathedral is one of the largest churches in Europe, an outstanding architectural monument of St. Petersburg. Located on St. Isaac's Square in the city center. Since 1990, it has been included in the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List (as part of the object “Historical Center of St. Petersburg and Associated Monument Complexes”). It is part of the state museum-monument "St. Isaac's Cathedral".
Story. First wooden church
In 1706, Tsar Peter I ordered the construction of a wooden church for workers of the St. Petersburg Admiralty. The first wooden temple was a small log building.
It was rebuilt from a drafting barn, 9 m wide and 18 m long, and topped with a spire. The temple was consecrated in 1707 in honor of St. Isaac of Dalmatia - a monk, founder of the Dalmatian monastery in Constantinople, an opponent of the Arian heresy.
The choice of the saint was made by Peter I due to the fact that the tsar himself was born on May 30 (June 9 according to the new style) - on the day of remembrance of the saint.
In 1712, in this church, Peter I married Ekaterina Alekseevna, the future Empress Catherine I. Since 1723, sailors of the Baltic Fleet and Admiralty employees began to take the oath in the church. All this provided the church with the status of one of the most important churches in the Russian capital.
Second St. Isaac's Church
Due to the small size of the wooden church, Peter I decided to build a new stone church. It was founded in 1717, took 10 years to build, and was consecrated on May 30 (June 10, new style) 1727, after the death of the king. The architects were the Germans Georg Mattarnovi and Nikolai Gerbel. Immediately after the consecration of the cathedral, the first wooden church, which had become dilapidated, was dismantled.
The new temple was built in the spirit of Peter the Great's Baroque, was three-aisled, 60.5 m long and 20.5 to 32.4 m wide. The bell tower was decorated with a 40 m high spire, which was crowned with a weather vane in the form of a gilded angel.
The second church was located closer to the Neva, on the site where the monument to Peter I currently stands. The chosen site turned out to be unsuccessful: the river eroded the foundation. In addition, in 1735 the building burned down after a lightning strike. The temple was repaired in 1742, but it soon became clear that due to the weakness of the foundation, it was necessary to build a new church, further from the Neva, approximately in the same place where the first wooden church stood.
Project Rinaldi
In 1768, during the reign of Catherine II (1762-1796), construction began on the third St. Isaac's Church, designed by the Italian Antonio Rinaldi. It was planned that it would have five domes, a high bell tower, and full marble cladding. A model of the building is currently on display in the Museum Russian Academy arts The second temple was dismantled, but due to lack of funds, construction of a new building proceeded slowly.
After ascending the throne in 1796, Emperor Paul I (reigned until 1801) ordered the Italian architect Vincenzo Brenna to complete the construction of the temple in a short time and in a significantly cheaper version - with one chapter instead of five. The temple was consecrated on May 30 (June 11 - according to the new style) 1802. It looked squat and too simple for the ceremonial center of St. Petersburg.
Modern cathedral
In 1809, a competition was announced to rebuild the temple. At the same time, according to the wishes of Emperor Alexander I (reigned 1801-1825), it was necessary to preserve at least part of the load-bearing walls and foundation of the Rinaldi Temple. Such eminent architects as Giacomo Quarenghi and Vasily Stasov took part in the competition. However, at the suggestion of the civil engineer, inspector general of the Institute of the Corps of Railway Engineers Augustine Betancourt, Emperor Alexander I entrusted the construction to the Frenchman Auguste de Montferrand. In 1818, Alexander I approved the project, appointing Montferrand as imperial architect.
In 1818, dismantling of the third cathedral began, in 1819 it was re-mortgaged, but the following year construction was stopped, as structural flaws in the Montferrand design were discovered, which threatened to collapse. Was announced new competition, in which Montferrand participated on a general basis. The winner was the architect Andrei Mikhailov, but Alexander I still approved new project Montferrand.
Construction of the cathedral lasted more than 30 years, mainly under Nicholas I (ruled 1825-1855). Under him, some changes were made to the project: in particular, the round section of the bell towers was replaced with a square one, and the porticos were expanded. The walls of Rinaldi's third cathedral were demolished. In total, a very large sum at that time was spent on construction - 23 million 256 thousand rubles.
The cathedral was consecrated on May 30 (June 11, new style) 1858. The northern altar in the name of St. Catherine was consecrated the next day, and the southern altar, in the name of St. Alexander Nevsky, on July 7 (19), 1858.
Description of the cathedral
The cathedral has a rectangular plan, topped with one main dome and four more in the corners. The late classical building bore the features of a new style for that time - eclecticism. The height of the main dome is 101.5 m. The sides of the cathedral are decorated with 112 monolithic granite columns. 400 kg of gold, 16 tons of malachite, 500 kg of lapis lazuli and 1000 tons of artistic bronze were spent on the interior decoration of the cathedral.
Inside the cathedral can accommodate up to 12 thousand people (area - about 4 thousand sq. m). The decoration of the building was made by artists and sculptors Karl Bryullov, Fyodor Bruni, Ivan Vitali, Pyotr Klodt and others. The temple is decorated with marble extracted from quarries near the village of Ruskeala in Karelia.
History of the cathedral after opening
Isaac's Church became cathedral Russian Orthodox Church, retained this status until 1922. In 1928 it was closed, in 1931 an anti-religious museum was opened there, then an art museum. In 1937, the cathedral received monument status.
The cathedral was practically not damaged during the Great Patriotic War, in 1948 a museum was reopened there. In the 1950s the roof was open Observation deck, a Foucault pendulum is installed under the dome (dismantled in 1986).
In 1963-1969. the cathedral was a branch State Museum history of Leningrad, then became an independent museum. The St. Isaac's Cathedral Museum, in addition to the cathedral itself, includes the St. Petersburg Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood (since 1971), St. Samson's Cathedral (1984) and the building of the Silver Rows on Nevsky Prospekt. Also included in the museum in 2004-2015. included the Smolny Cathedral.
On June 17, 1990, Patriarch Alexy II held the first divine service in St. Isaac's Cathedral since 1928. In June 1991, the temple community was registered, which performs services in agreement with the museum’s management.
The temple is an architectural monument of federal significance.
Museum
The cathedral building is managed by the St. Petersburg State budgetary institution culture "State Museum-Monument" St. Isaac's Cathedral ". The institution is subordinate to the Committee for Culture and the Committee for Property Relations of St. Petersburg. The owner of the cathedral building has been St. Petersburg since 2012. Before that, it was in federal ownership, the transfer was carried out in accordance with by order of the Government of the Russian Federation of September 10, 2010
In 2015, St. Isaac's Cathedral was visited by 3 million 700 thousand people. In addition, 11 thousand 226 parishioners came to services in the cathedral (entrance at this time is free). In total, about 400 people work at the St. Isaac's Cathedral Museum. The museum publishes a collection scientific works"Department".
The museum's revenue from the provision of paid services in 2015 amounted to 728 million 393 thousand rubles. Annual tax contributions to the city budget range from 50 to 70 million rubles. The museum is completely self-sustaining due to paid admission, without receiving subsidies from the city or federal budget.
The museum regularly hosts concerts.
The directorate of the museum is headed by Nikolai Burov.
Storydelivery of columns of St. Isaac's Cathedral
By his appearance Saint Isaac's Cathedral obliged to Peter I. Peter was born on May 30, the day of Isaac of Dalmatia, a Byzantine monk who was once canonized. On May 30, 1710, the sovereign ordered the construction of a wooden St. Isaac's Church near the Admiralty. The order was carried out. The church was built on the banks of the Neva, on the western side of the Admiralty. It was here that on February 19, 1712, Peter I married his wife Catherine.
In 1717, construction of a new stone St. Isaac's Church began there, according to the design of G.I. Mattarnovi. In 1723, Peter I signed a decree that sailors of the Baltic Fleet should take the oath only in this temple. St. Isaac's Church was built until the 1750s. Under the weight of the building, the soil began to settle, which is why the temple had to be dismantled.
installation of columns of the main dome of St. Isaac's Cathedral
In 1768, Catherine II ordered the construction of another St. Isaac's Cathedral to begin, now according to the design of Antonio Rinaldi. They began to build the cathedral in a new place, further from the coast, where the modern building is located. Since then, it separates St. Isaac's and Senate Squares.
The new building of St. Isaac's Cathedral was designed to be quite bright and was faced with Olonets marble. However, by 1796, by the death of Catherine II, it was only half built. Paul I, immediately after ascending the throne, ordered that all the marble be transferred to the construction of the Mikhailovsky Castle, and St. Isaac's Cathedral be completed in brick. In addition, it was necessary to reduce the height of the bell tower, lower the main dome, and abandon the construction of side domes.
The completion of the third building of St. Isaac's Cathedral was delayed. Antonio Rinaldi left Russia and Vincenzo Brenna completed the work. The new St. Isaac's Cathedral was completed only in 1800.
The following epigram was born among the people about this building:
"Behold the monument of two kingdoms,
Decent for both of them,
On the marble bottom
A brick top has been erected."
The quality of construction left much to be desired. During one of the services, damp plaster fell from the ceiling. When they began to understand the reasons for this, they realized that the building was subject to serious alteration.
St. Isaac's Cathedral, 1844
In 1809, Alexander I announced a competition for the construction of a new St. Isaac's Cathedral. The competition was attended by A. N. Voronikhin, A. D. Zakharov, C. Cameron, D. Quarenghi, L. Ruska, V. P. Stasov, J. Thomas de Thomon. Their projects were not accepted by the emperor, since they all proposed to build new cathedral again, without using an already built structure.
The creation of the fourth building of St. Isaac's Cathedral was delayed by the Patriotic War of 1812. In 1816, Alexander I again ordered to begin designing the temple.
The design of the French architect Auguste Montferrand was chosen as the final one. This decision surprised many, since Montferrand was not well known at that time. The architect presented the emperor with twenty-four designs for the cathedral in different styles. The emperor chose a five-domed temple in the classical style. In addition, the emperor’s decision was influenced by the fact that Montferrand proposed using part of the structures of Rinaldi’s cathedral.
Saint Isaac's Cathedral
Taking into account local soil characteristics, 10,762 piles were driven into the base of the foundation. Now this method of soil compaction is quite common, but at that time it made a huge impression on the city residents. Then the following joke went around the city. As if when they drove another pile into the ground, it went underground without a trace. After the first, they began to drive in another, but that one also disappeared into the swampy soil. They installed a third, a fourth... Until a letter from New York arrived to the builders in St. Petersburg: “You have ruined our pavement.” - “What do we have to do with this?” - answered from St. Petersburg. - “But on the end of a log sticking out of the ground, there is a mark of the St. Petersburg timber exchange “Gromov and Co.” An answer came from America.
Granite for the columns of St. Isaac's Cathedral was mined in quarries on the coast of the Gulf of Finland, near Vyborg. These works were supervised by stonemason Samson Sukhanov and Arkhip Shikhin. was invented by Sukhanov original way mining huge solid pieces of stone. Workers drilled holes in the granite, inserted wedges into them and hit them until a crack appeared in the stone. Iron levers with rings were placed in the crack, and ropes were threaded through the rings. Forty people pulled the ropes and gradually broke out the granite blocks.
Nikolai Bestuzhev wrote about the transportation of these granite monoliths:
“They got down to business with their usual mechanics: they tied the ship more firmly to the shore - they placed ropes, logs, boards, wrapped the ropes, crossed themselves - they shouted loud hurray! - and the proud colossi obediently rolled from the ship to the shore, and rolling past Peter, who, It seemed as if he was blessing his sons with his hand; they lay down humbly at the foot of St. Isaac’s Church.”
model of St. Isaac's Cathedral A. Rinaldi
The installation of the columns was carried out before the construction of the walls of St. Isaac's Cathedral. The first column (north portico) was installed in March 1828, and the last in August 1830.
More than 100 kilograms of red gold were spent gilding the dome of St. Isaac's Cathedral.
St. Isaac's Cathedral took an unusually long time to build. In this regard, there were rumors in St. Petersburg about a deliberate delay in construction. “They say that a visiting clairvoyant predicted Montferrand’s death immediately after construction was completed.” - “That’s why he’s been building for so long.”
These rumors unexpectedly continued in real life. The architect actually dies shortly after the completion of the construction of St. Isaac's Cathedral. In this regard, various versions of what happened appeared in St. Petersburg folklore. Many of them refer to the hostile attitude of Emperor Alexander II towards the architect. Allegedly, during the consecration of St. Isaac's Cathedral, someone drew the attention of Alexander II to one of the sculptural decorations of the building. Montferrand left a unique portrait. In the sculptural decor of the western pediment there is a group of saints bowing their heads to greet the appearance of Isaac of Dalmatia. Among them, the sculptor placed the figure of Montferrand with a model of the cathedral in his hands, who, unlike the others, holds his head straight. Having drawn attention to this fact, the emperor did not shake hands with the architect as he passed by, nor did he say a word of gratitude for the work. Montferrand was seriously upset, went home before the end of the consecration ceremony, fell ill and died a month later.
Saint Isaac's Cathedral
In addition to the figure of the architect, the bas-relief of the western pediment also contains figures of two nobles, whose faces are given the facial features of the President of the Academy of Arts A. N. Olenin and Prince P. V. Volkonsky.
Rumors aside, the delay in construction can be explained by design errors made by Montferrand. They were discovered already during construction, and it took time to eliminate them.
Construction of St. Isaac's Cathedral was completed in 1858. On May 30 of this year the consecration of the temple took place.
Auguste Montferrand bequeathed to bury him in his main brainchild - St. Isaac's Cathedral. But Alexander II did not fulfill this desire. The coffin with the architect's body was only carried around the temple, after which the widow took it to Paris.
Members were baptized in St. Isaac's Cathedral royal family, it became the center of citywide celebrations. However, the scaffolding was not removed from it for a long time. They said that the building was built in bad faith and required constant repairs. No expense was spared on the cathedral, and a legend was born that the House of the Romanovs would fall as soon as the scaffolding was removed from Isaac. They were finally removed only in 1916. Just shortly before Nicholas II abdicated the throne.
The height of St. Isaac's Cathedral is 101.5 meters. On the porticoes around the dome drum there are 72 columns made of granite monoliths weighing from 64 to 114 tons. For the first time in construction practice, columns of this size rose to a height of more than 40 meters. The cathedral is the fourth largest in the world in size. It is second only to St. Peter's in Rome, St. Paul's in London and St. Mary's in Florence. With an area of 4000 square meters it can accommodate up to 12,000 people.
St. Isaac's Cathedral is undoubtedly one of the symbols of St. Petersburg. Its tall drum with a dome has been visible since the Gulf of Finland; it has become a noticeable part of the city’s portrait. However, due to the disproportion of the drum and the bells placed next to it, unofficial names arose. One of them is "Inkwell".
IN Soviet time St. Isaac's Cathedral continued to be the object of myth-making. One of the pre-war legends says that America was ready to buy the temple. It was supposed to be transported to the USA in parts on ships and reassembled there. For this, the Americans allegedly offered to asphalt all the streets of Leningrad, which at that time were covered with cobblestones.
The second legend tells how during the siege St. Isaac's Cathedral turned out to be unharmed and was not damaged by bombing. When the threat of occupation of Leningrad by the Nazis turned out to be real, the problem of evacuating valuables from the city arose. They didn’t have time to take everything out, so they began to look for a place for a reliable storage of sculpture, furniture, books, porcelain... One elderly officer suggested setting up a storage facility in the basements of St. Isaac’s Cathedral. When shelling the city, the Germans were supposed to use the cathedral dome as a landmark and not shoot at it. And so it happened. During the entire 900 days of the blockade, the museum treasures lay in this storage facility and were never subjected to direct shelling.
The history of the construction of the symbol of St. Petersburg - St. Isaac's Cathedral - was long and painful. It was described in detail by researcher Nikolai Nikitin, who analyzed many documents testifying to the process of design and construction of Isaac.
Burnt church
For the first time, a temple appeared on a site located not far from the current St. Isaac's Cathedral in 1707. As the authors of the book "Auguste Montferrand" Olga Chekanova and Alexander Rotach point out, the cathedral was built by decree of Peter I in the name of heavenly patron king - St. Isaac of Dalmatia. But they did not erect a new building for the church - they simply converted a wooden barn into a church. Nevertheless, the church played a special role in the life of St. Petersburg. For example, in It hosted the wedding of Emperor Peter I and Empress Ekaterina Alekseevna in 1712.
Later it was decided to build a stone church in place of the wooden one. The project was made by a well-known German architect in St. Petersburg Georg Mattarnovi, who also took part in the construction of the grotto in Summer Garden and the Winter Palace. In 1717, the foundation stone for the future church was personally laid by Peter I. But the construction was not easy: in 1719 Mattarnovi died, and the leading architect of St. Petersburg, Nikolai Gerbel, was entrusted with finishing the building. The eminent master did not fully cope with the task - the vault structures he designed turned out to be unsuccessful and cracked. In 1724, Gerbel died, the construction of the church was completed by two equally famous architects: Gaetano Chiaveri and Mikhail Zemtsov.
Such a complex architectural creation suffered a sad fate. In 1735, after being struck by lightning, the building caught fire and the fire significantly damaged it. For several decades, the burned church stood abandoned. In 1760, the building was thoroughly examined by the architect Savva Chevakinsky. He stated that the foundations are located too close to the Neva - the temple stood where the monument to the Bronze Horseman is located today - which is why they are being washed away by water. Chevakinsky proposed moving the temple to a new location - further from the water. A year later he was commissioned to create a design for a new building.
The architect decided to preserve as much as possible the appearance of the temple built under Peter I. The church, which had the shape of a Latin cross in plan, was supposed to be built with one dome. Nearby there should have been a bell tower consisting of several tiers. The most important thing is that Chevakinsky outlined the exact site for the construction of the temple - for the first time he indicated exactly the place where St. Isaac's Cathedral now stands.
Chevakinsky played a large role in the formation of ideas for designing the central squares of the city. The relocation of the cathedral from the Neva embankment determined the configuration of St. Isaac's and Senate squares, their connection with Palace Square, and the idea of creating a high-rise bell tower turned out to be fruitful. In the left bank part of the city, a high-rise element was needed that would enter into a certain spatial connection with the bell tower of the Peter and Paul Cathedral on the right bank of the Neva. It later became St. Isaac's Cathedral, built by Montferrand
Who cares
The laying of the foundation stone for the new cathedral took place only in 1768. By that time, Chevakinsky had already left the project, and the architect Antonio Rinaldi was responsible for the construction. He created new sketches of the cathedral at the site indicated by Chevakinsky. Unlike its predecessor, Rinaldi decided to change the appearance of the original temple from Peter's time and create a five-domed temple with a bell tower.
The beautiful project was not destined to be realized. Rinaldi began work, but after the death of Catherine II in 1796, he decided to return to Italy. By that time, the cathedral, in accordance with Rinaldi's design, had been erected almost to the level of the base of the dome drums. The construction of the five-domed composition was entrusted to the architect Vincenzo Brenn, who began work on April 1, 1798.
At first, Brenna honestly wanted to bring to fruition the idea of his predecessor, but, as stated in the book "Auguste Montferrand" There was not enough money for construction, so the architect decided to make changes to Rinaldi’s design and make the cathedral single-domed, and reduce the bell tower by one tier. Construction was completed by May 30, 1802.
The completed cathedral made a strange impression, surprising contemporaries with its distorted proportions and the discrepancy between the marble decoration of the main part of the building and the brick top. Rinaldi’s plan appeared in such a distorted form. It is no coincidence that an epigram was distributed in St. Petersburg characterizing this building and at the same time the historical period of the interregnum associated with the death of Paul I and the accession of Alexander I: “The bottom is marble, and the top is brick
Olga Chekanova and Alexander Rotach, "Auguste Montferrand"
But it soon became obvious that it was impossible to leave the temple in this form. The architects were invited to take part in the competition and figure out how to improve the existing building. In 1809, many prominent masters received the corresponding invitation, including Andrei Voronikhin, who completed the construction of the Kazan Cathedral, Giacomo Quarneghi, who had just completed the construction of the Smolny Institute, and others.
Almost all architects ignored the task of preserving the building parameters set by Alexander I and began to propose new projects. The competition remained without a winner. But later fate brought the emperor together with Auguste Montferrand.
Lucky Offering
The Frenchman Montferrand, who received an excellent education in Paris, himself made efforts to ensure that Alexander I noticed him. In 1814, the emperor came to Paris, where the architect I brought him a folder of my projects. Alexander I was impressed by Montferrand's work, and in 1816 the architect moved to Russia.
In 1818 Montferrand created a project for the improvement of St. Isaac's Cathedral. The architect cheated: not all of his solutions, which looked great on paper, could be easily brought to life. But Alexander I trusted the architect and signed the project on February 20, 1818, approving an estimate of 506,300 rubles for the first year of work.
Perestroika was to be controlled by a special commission that brought together specialists and major statesmen led by member State Council Count Nikolai Golovin. On March 4, 1818, the first meeting of the commission took place, and on July 26, 1819, the ceremonial foundation stone of the cathedral took place.
In the western part, a bronze gilded plaque with the inscription was lowered into the foundation under the entrance: “This first stone of renovation was laid in the year of Christ 1819 on the 26th day of July of the reign of Emperor Alexander the First in the 19th year, during the renovation of the temple, begun by its great ancestor Catherine the Second in the name of St. Isaac of Dalmatia in 1768. During this reconstruction of St. Isaac's Cathedral, the Highest Established Commission was chaired by Count Golovin; the actual Privy Councilor Kozadavlev, Lieutenant General Betancourt and the Privy Councilor Prince Golitsyn sat; the architect Montferrand rebuilt."
The French architect sought maximum independence during construction. From the very beginning, he demanded from the commission two assistants, four foremen, a secretary, two masons, twenty-five soldiers and a special person to accept materials received for construction at the request of the architect, and the receiver had to report directly to Montferrand. The commission did not like this independence.
In November 1820, the commission sent a person to the construction site to monitor the expenditure of materials and money. The inspector stated in his reports about bribery and theft.
He blamed Montferrand for everything, although many of the abuses related to the activities of the commission, which turned a blind eye, in particular, to the lawless actions of the titular adviser Orlov, who, using Golovin’s trust, deceived him. Later, the basis for the accusations was Montferrand’s broad lifestyle: the purchase of his own house, expensive antique collections, although a good half of the St. Petersburg architects of that time had their own houses, and they did not have to receive such money as the 100 thousand rubles donated by Nicholas I to Montferrand after the opening of the Alexander Column . The house on the Moika was undoubtedly purchased with these funds. There is no known evidence of Montferrand's involvement in abuse. On the contrary, many documents indicate, albeit indirectly, the financial difficulties of the architect during the inspection period
Olga Chekanova and Alexander Rotach, "Auguste Montferrand"
After an inspection, Montferrand was removed from all business affairs. At the end of January 1822, the committee informed Alexander I that the reconstruction of St. Isaac's Cathedral according to Montferrand's drawings was technically impossible, and a reworking of the project was necessary. At that time, about 5 million rubles had already been invested in the reconstruction of the cathedral. These funds went to dismantling the old building and laying new foundations.
Alexander I proposed not to abandon the Montferrand project, but to modify it.
The project of the architect Montferrand should only be corrected, and not completely changed, then the exterior of the church should be left as close as possible to general appearance, which it has in the mentioned project, therefore, it is necessary to preserve the supposed five domes of this temple and use granite columns prepared for two porticoes, trying, however, to find the best shapes and placement for the same domes or domes, and for the porticoes a decent and reliable structure . The location of the interior of the building both for the reliability of the middle dome and especially in relation to better view and coverage is at the discretion of the Committee
proposal from the President of the Academy of Arts Olenin to the committee
At the same time, the emperor demanded that construction be stopped until the revised project was ready and approved.
Attempt number two
Since 1822, a new project for St. Isaac's Cathedral was created. Members of the committee for the reconstruction of the temple took part in the work, who worked on their proposals in sketches for three months and presented them at a special meeting on April 25. Montferrand also participated in the design. The external appearance of the cathedral acquired the appearance to which we are accustomed: a large dome appeared in the center of the composition, and two eight-column porticoes were also added on the western and eastern sides to the previously provided two sixteen-column porticoes on the southern and northern sides.
The project was presented to Alexander I for consideration on March 9, 1825 and approved almost a month later. On all drawings Montferrand was named as the chief architect and put his personal seal next to his signature.
In 1826, construction work resumed. 48 columns were installed over two years: from March 20, 1828 to August 11, 1830. Moreover, most of the time was spent preparing the fastenings, and the installation of the columns themselves did not exceed 40–45 minutes.
The installation of 24 monolithic granite columns along the perimeter of the dome drum turned out to be even more difficult. The mass of each column is 64 tons. It took about two hours to install one. The first column took its place on November 5, 1837, and within two months the remaining 23 were raised.
By 1841, all civil works in St. Isaac's Cathedral were completed. Until 1858, interiors were designed and created. The solemn consecration of the cathedral took place in 1858 on May 30 - the day of memory of St. Isaac of Dalmatia and the birthday of Peter I, who once stood at the origins of the very first building of the temple of St. Isaac's Cathedral.
Saint Isaac's Cathedral is one of the main high-rise dominants of St. Petersburg and a symbol of the Northern capital. Built in the first half of the 19th century, the Cathedral became the personification of spiritual power Russian Empire, which at that time was at the historical peak of its power, having defeated " great army» Napoleon and becoming the strongest European power for three decades. St. Isaac's Cathedral is more than a religious building, it is a monument great era, which has absorbed the best achievements and highest spiritual impulses of our entire Fatherland.
The temple was named after a 4th century Byzantine monk. AD — Isaac of Dalmatia, who had the gift of foresight and is revered by the church. The day of his memory, May 30, coincides with the birthday of Peter the Great according to the Julian calendar; it was Isaac of Dalmatia that the emperor revered as his heavenly patron, and one of the first churches in St. Petersburg was consecrated in honor of this saint.
This cathedral is the fourth St. Isaac's Cathedral in St. Petersburg. The first St. Isaac's Church was consecrated in 1707. It was here in 1712 that the wedding ceremony of Peter 1 and Catherine 1, the future empress, took place. The church was located opposite the Admiralty, where the fountain now flows.
The foundation stone of the second St. Isaac's Church was laid personally by Peter 1 in 1717, and it stood on the site of the current Senate Square, exactly where the famous monument is located Bronze Horseman. In appearance it resembled the Peter and Paul Cathedral. This similarity was further strengthened by the slender bell tower with the chiming clock brought by Peter 1. However, being so close to the river, the foundation of the church was greatly eroded, and after the fire it was completely dismantled.
Catherine II ordered the cathedral to be moved further from the Neva, to its modern place. The project was created by Antonio Rinaldi, the Empress's favorite architect. “Master of marble facades,” as Rinaldi was called, used a similar technique in the construction of the third St. Isaac’s Cathedral.
But by the time of the death of Catherine II, the walls were erected only to half their height and lined with marble. The new owner of the Russian land, Pavel Petrovich, did not like mother, and tried to nullify all her endeavors. However, he had reasons for this... Vincenzo Brenna was asked to complete the construction as quickly as possible, so the walls and vaults were completed with brick, and they decided to abandon the four Rinaldi domes altogether.
Of course, one can agree with the author of this poignant epigram. The cathedral turned out to be squat, unsightly and completely inconsistent with the status befitting it. But this circumstance forced us to look for ways out of the situation. The short reign of Paul 1 ended, and the “wonderful beginning of the Alexandrov days” promised changes, including in matters of urban planning and development of St. Petersburg. Alexander 1, raised by his grandmother Catherine the Great, considered himself the successor of her affairs. St. Isaac's Cathedral was not ignored either. Competitions were announced for the remodeling of the cathedral, the main condition of which the king decided to maximize the preservation of the technical foundations and walls of the cathedral that had been built under Rinaldi. The whole flower of Russian and even world architecture (A.D. Zakharov - the creator of the modern Admiralty, A.N. Voronikhin - the builder of the Kazan Cathedral, Charles Cameron - the creator of the residence of Paul 1, etc.) presented their projects, but each of them was rejected because did not meet the main condition - the preservation of the walls or at least the altar part of the Rinaldi Cathedral. The outbreak of the Patriotic War of 1812 and the foreign campaigns of the Russian army diverted attention from construction, but returned to the issue later. Augustine Betancourt, head of the Committee for Buildings and Hydraulic Works, proposed considering the project of a young architect at that time - Auguste Ricard de Montferrand. Montferrand prepared more than 20 sketches, and Alexander liked one of the projects. Montferrand also agreed to fulfill the condition - maximum preservation of the walls of the old cathedral. The career of an unknown Frenchman in the Russian service went well: he was appointed imperial architect and developed a detailed project for the reconstruction (and in fact the construction of a new one) of the cathedral.
On February 20, 1818, the highest approval came, and the laying of the foundation took place in the summer of the following year.
The main efforts in the construction of the leglin rested on the shoulders of the serfs. The work was carried out under difficult conditions, 13-16 hours a day, including on holidays and Sundays. More than 400,000 builders from all over the Empire in different time took part in the work. To begin with, more than 10,000 piles were driven to stabilize the marshy soil. After this, the construction of the porticoes began. Each column is a granite monolith, carved from rock, weighing 114 tons and 17 meters high. Using special scaffolding designed by Betancourt, one column was installed in just 45 minutes. All columns were installed from 1828 to 1830.
Then it was time for the walls and dome. They are made of brick and lined with various stones. The thickness of the walls reaches 5 meters. The dome actually consists of 3 domes: the inner round, the middle conical, the outer parabolic. The internal structures are made of metal to reduce weight, which was an innovation at the time. Inside the dome, 10,000 ceramic pots are placed in a special way for thermal insulation and improved acoustics.
The outer drum of the cathedral, whose diameter is 25.8 meters, is also decorated with a colonnade. By the way, the famous building in Washington, the capital of the United States, the Capitol, is architecturally very reminiscent of St. Isaac's Cathedral. And this is no coincidence. The American side was provided with drawings of the cathedral and the structure of the dome was made in a similar manner.
The height of St. Isaac's Cathedral is 101.5 m, 111.3 m in length and 97.6 m in width. This is the fourth largest domed cathedral in the world. The porticos are decorated with bas-reliefs of biblical scenes, as well as images of pages of the life of Isaac of Dalmatia: eastern (“Isaac of Dalmatia stops Emperor Wales”) and western (“Isaac of Dalmatia blesses Emperor Theodosius”). Every architectural detail of the exterior and interior decoration are deeply symbolic and need to be discussed separately, which is impossible in such a format. The creation of sculptures was carried out by the best architects of that time - Klodt, Vitali, Loganovsky and others. Kneeling angels in the corners of the cathedral hold torches in their hands. Before the revolution of 1917, they were used for their intended purpose - in holidays Special gas burners were lit in torches, which made the structure even more monumental and stunning.
However, a real miracle awaits us inside the temple. The best artists painted vaults and walls (K. Bryullov, T. Neff, etc.). Master mosaicists and stone carvers created a magnificent interior. Karl Bryullov, the author of the famous painting “The Death of Pompeii,” beautifully painted the dome (Our Lady surrounded by the apostles), ...at a price own life. Work was underway high altitude, the master often personally climbed the scaffolding, caught a cold and fell ill. After unsuccessful treatment in Italy, Bryullov died without ever returning to Russia. At the very top there is a dove - a symbol of the Holy Spirit.
The walls are lined with marble, and the iconostasis is decorated with columns made of Ural malachite, made in the style of Russian mosaic; the royal doors are decorated with two priceless columns made of Afghan lapis lazuli. Lapis lazuli has never been used in such quantities anywhere else in the world.
Painting in the damp St. Petersburg climate is poorly preserved and according to the proposal
Nicholas 1, work began to replace painting with mosaics. This work went on from 1851 to 1917, but was never completed. More than 12,000 shades of smalt (an alloy of glass and metal) were used to create mosaics. At one of the World Exhibitions of the second half of the 19th century. The mosaics of St. Isaac's Cathedral were recognized as inimitable and perfect works of art.
The stained glass window is one of a kind. For Russian church architecture this element is completely atypical and cannot be found anywhere in churches. But Nicholas 1 was fond of European Gothic and, at the suggestion of the German architect Leo von Klenze (builder of the New Hermitage and court architect of the Bavarian Kingdom), it was decided to make a stained glass window. Special permission from the Holy Synod was needed for this idea to come true. The German master Ainmiller made this stained glass window, located behind the royal doors, in the altar. During services, at the climax, when the royal doors opened, the image of Christ appeared before the parishioners, as if descending from heaven. The lighting system for the stained glass window gave a special solemnity and awe - gas burners were placed behind it, and the stained glass window simply came to life against the backdrop of flames.
The consecration ceremony took place on May 30, 1858, on the day of memory of Isaac of Dalmatia. It took forty years to build this outstanding temple. Auguste Montferrand fully realized himself as an architect in this project, he received recognition during his lifetime, built magnificent buildings (Alexandria Pillar, Lobanov-Rostovsky mansion and other buildings in Russian cities). The great architect died a month after the consecration of the temple... The irony of Clio (the muses of history) ran like a red thread through the life of this man: Montferrand, as part of the Napoleonic army, fought against Russia, then came to our country, became an imperial architect and even created a magnificent monument to the victory over France ( Alexandria Column), the grandiose St. Isaac's Cathedral; After the death of the master, his wife decided to transport his body to France, where the grave was lost. Montferrand is completely unknown in his homeland, but he was able to pass his creative path here in Russia. The architect treated our country with love and warmth, with his creativity he consciously worked for its benefit, believed (this is reliably confirmed by Montferrand’s correspondence and documents) that the creation of monuments and buildings should serve the purpose of educating people of the highest moral principles, and he did this.
St. Isaac's Cathedral became the main temple of the Russian Empire. After the October Revolution of 1917, the cathedral remained operational until 1928. Then an anti-religious museum was established here. During the Great Patriotic War, the cathedral was not destroyed, but was seriously damaged. Valuables from suburban palaces were stored in its basements. After the victory, restoration work began, and church services have been held since 1990. However, the cathedral building, fortunately, remains under the jurisdiction of the museum.
An amazing feeling of awe and uplift appears in the heart of everyone who visits St. Isaac's Cathedral. The perfection of proportions, the best creations of masters, the genius of the architect are combined for the high goal of the temple to be the place where Heaven and Earth come into contact. To feel this it is worth visiting St. Isaac's Cathedral.
Only four years younger than St. Petersburg. WITH by your appearance, to ak and nice city on the Neva, he must Peter the Great. Today the temple is one of the most majestic, beautiful and large churches not only in the Northern capital, but also in Russia, one of the tallest domed structures in the world. However, it faced the fate of being rebuilt four times in the same place.
The first and second temples under Peter
The emperor was born on May 30, the day of veneration of the Byzantine monk, canonized, Isaac of Dalmatia. This date became decisive for the name of the cathedral. On this day in 1706, Peter the Great ordered the construction of a wooden church for shipyard workers on the site of the drafting barn, located 20 meters from the Admiralty and about 50 from the Neva. A year later, it was consecrated in honor of Isaac of Dalmatia, the patron saint of the emperor. Here he married Ekaterina Alekseevna.
The church was constantly improved and restored, until finally they decided to build a new one. In 1717, Peter the Great himself laid the first stone in the foundation of the 2nd St. Isaac's Church. Alas, she did not have a chance to stand for long. The waters of the Neva, eroding the shore, destroyed the foundation. Plus, a lightning strike in 1735 caused a fire in it, which caused great damage to it.
The third temple is a monument to “arch-absurdity”
The construction of the third temple began under Catherine the Second. The work was led by the architect Antonio Rinaldi. But his brilliant project was not brought to successful completion. Construction ended at the cornices.
Paul the First, who ascended the throne, ordered Vincenzo Brenn to urgently complete the temple. In a hurry, it turned out to be completely unsuccessful. The luxurious marble base of Rinaldi was crowned by the low brick walls of Brenna. It was just a pun. And so it was. The cathedral caused waves of laughter among the residents of St. Petersburg. A lot of ironic epigrams from contemporaries were dedicated to this monument of “architectural absurdity.” However, in the 2nd year of the 19th century, the 3rd temple in honor of Isaac of Dalmatia was illuminated.
Fourth and modern Isaac
After 7 years, Alexander the First announced a competition for the construction of the 4th temple while preserving the thrones and foundation of the previous one. But it was not possible to carry out the emperor’s decree immediately. Only in 1818 did construction begin according to the design of the young architect Auguste Montferrand, who enthusiastically set to work. He owns not only the design of the temple, but also the development of the concept of its arrangement. There is a bust of Montferrand in the temple, made from various samples of stones used in decoration.
Auguste Montferrand left his homeland at the beginning of the 19th century and devoted more than forty years of his life to Russia. Immediately upon his arrival in the Russian capital, the young Frenchman showed Alexander the First an album with drawings of unique temples, which is why the Tsar was delighted and appointed Montferrand as a court architect, and also gave him an order to create a project for a new temple.
It was solemnly founded in 1818. However, after 3 years the work had to be suspended. The reason for this was Montferrand's inexperience. Construction of the building was resumed in 1825. By that time, the technical part of the documentation had undergone qualitative changes.
To correct the errors of the project and make significant adjustments to it, a commission of the Academy of Arts gathered, consisting of 13 outstanding architects of that era, including Rossi, Stasov, the Mikhailov brothers, Melnikov and others creative personalities. The temple was erected in 1841. And for seventeen years they worked on its arrangement.
Arrangement of the cathedral
The construction and decoration of Isaac's interiors was carried out by outstanding and best architects, artists and sculptors, masons, architects and builders, gathered from all corners of the Russian Empire. The work was carried out around the clock at any time. weather conditions. The initial achievements demonstrated the highest skill of Russian craftsmen. It was not for nothing that Montferrand admired the courage, resilience and skill of the Russian people.
For the sake of creating a luxurious abode of goodness and light, Mother Rus' did not skimp. For this purpose, the most valuable materials were used - 14 different shades of marble, including Ruskeala and Tivdiy, a huge number of colored stones of various types: granite, jasper, Shoksha porphyry, Badakhshan lapis lazuli, Ural malachite, Solomenskaya breccia, shungite slate and others. The decoration required four hundred kilograms of gold, thousands of tons of silver and bronze. In total, 23 million gold royal rubles were spent on its construction.
The construction of the temple that appears before us today lasted 40 years. The idea of its construction is contained in the words written above the northern portico: “Lord, in your strength the king will rejoice.” Thus, it was a statement of the greatness and steadfastness of the power of the emperors, and was planned as a place for their service to the Lord.
The tsarist era ended, and the Soviet people paid tribute to their era by making St. Isaac's Cathedral a museum monument. Since 1948, the temple has become the St. Isaac's Cathedral Museum.
During the Great Patriotic War, the cathedral was unable to avoid bombing. Although he managed to save his exhibits and many others transported here from museums in Leningrad and the region during the siege.
By 1960, Isaac was restored. An observation deck was organized on the dome. The view from it opened up to the whole historical Center metropolis. Inside the temple there was a Foucault pendulum, clearly demonstrating the rotation of the Earth. It was later dismantled.
Life of the cathedral after the union and now
Services in St. Isaac's Cathedral were resumed in the 90s of the last century, and now they are held constantly. Its “advantageous location” - between the 2 largest squares - the square of the same name and the Decembrists - allows you to appreciate its merits from afar. It’s not without reason that they say that great things are seen from a distance. The cathedral is an example of late classicism, combining eclecticism from the Byzantine style and neo-Renaissance.
Four bell towers at the corners of the building lead the eye to the grandiose gilded dome. Its amazing views can be seen from everywhere. Against this background, the proportion of Isaac seems ideal and the sculpture is not too heavy, dominated by massive porticoes with huge columns. However, Isaac is not lacking in inner greatness and charismatic completeness. It was and remains the high-rise dominant of the central part of the city, its most unique architectural and holy structure.