RU-3370033 RU-3847248 RU-4183421 St. Isaac's Cathedral in Saint-Petersburg, Russia

St. Isaac's Cathedral (Исаа́киевский Собо́р) is dedicated to Saint Isaac of Dalmatia, a patron saint of Peter the Great, who had been born on the feast day of that saint.

St Isaac Cathedral at Christmas time

The Cathedral was originally the main church of Saint-Petersburg and the largest cathedral in Russia. It was built between 1818 and 1858 and became one of the most impressive landmarks of the Russian Imperial capital. One hundred and eighty years later the gilded dome of St. Isaac's still dominates the skyline of St. Petersburg. Although the cathedral is considerably smaller than the newly rebuilt Church of Christ the Savior in Moscow, it boasts much more impressive facades and interiors.

St Isaac Cathedral and the Blue Bridge

St Isaac's Cathedral in winter

The cathedral's facades are decorated with sculptures and massive granite columns (made of single pieces of red granite), while the interior is adorned with incredibly detailed mosaic icons, paintings and columns made of malachite and lapis lazuli. A large, brightly colored stained glass window of the "Resurrected Christ" takes pride of place inside the main altar. The church, designed to accommodate 14,000 standing worshipers, was closed in the early 1930s and reopened as a museum. Today, regular worship activity has resumed in the cathedral, but only in the left-hand side chapel.  Church services in the main building are held only on major ecclesiastical occasions.

The first postcard came from Alex (27 January 2015) Postcrossing and shows the Cathedral as well as the Monument to Emperor Nicholas I during the Christmas season. The second postcard is from Natalia (27 July 2015) Postcrossing.