The wildly coloured, onion-shaped domes of St Basil’s Cathedral are undoubtedly one of Russia’s most famous images. Situated in Moscow’s Red Square, each dome has a distinctive patterning and colour scheme, creating a stunning effect. The cathedral was commissioned by Ivan the Terrible and built during the 1550s to commemorate Russia’s military victory over the Khanates of Kazan in 1552. Designed by the architects Postnik and Barma, it has been a branch of the State Historical Museum since 1929. A chapel was added in 1588 to house the tomb of the holy fool Basil (Vasily) the Blessed, after whom the cathedral is now known. Basil, who died in 1552, was a well-known prophet who wandered the streets of Moscow and predicted, correctly, that there would be a fire in the city in 1547.
Air: Moscow Sheremetyevo International Airport. Rail: Train: Kiev Station. Underground: Kitay-Gorod. Road: Trolleybus: Public services to Okhotny ryad. Car: M1 (from Minsk); M2 (from Kiev); M7 (from Nizhny Novgorod); M9 (from Riga, Latvia); M10 (from St Petersburg). Then, Moskovskaya Koltsevaya Avtomobilnaya Doroga (Moscow ring road surrounding the city).

Pokrovsky Sobor, Krasnaya ploshchad 4, Moscow, Russian Federation
Tel: (095) 298 3304

Russian Federation