St Basil's Cathedral Essay

605 Words3 Pages

St. Basil 's Cathedral, built in the year 1561.A.D, was constructed during the reign of Ivan IV, also known as Ivan the Terrible. The design was of Postnik Yakovlev, the famous architect whose eyes were torn out by Ivan IV. Mr. Yakovlev and his team built the Cathedral in just 5 years (1555-1560). The cathedral goes by many names other than St Basil 's Cathedral such as the Temple of Saint Basil the Blessed or the “Temple of the Protection of God 's Mother” (Education in Russia for Foreigners). The gigantic structure is an Eastern Orthodox Church in Moscow, Russia. The cathedral is a popular search on the internet not only because of its extraordinary architecture, but because it serves as an important edifice for Orthodox Christians …show more content…

The interior includes icons and paintings reflecting styles of its long history. There are 16th-century frescoes, 17th-century tempera painting, 18th – 19th-century monumental oil painting, and more than 400 icons from the 14th to 19th centuries painted by famous Novgorod and Moscow icon painting schools. The walls and vaults are adorned with grapevine and floral geometric patterns.
Several times throughout its history, this cathedral has suffered damage due to fires, looting, and other incidents. In one legend, the French ruler Napoleon even wanted to take St. Basil’s Cathedral back to France with him, but due to the lack of such technology, he ordered his army to destroy it so that no one else could occupy it. His army had prepared to attack the church and had also lit up the gunpowder, but a mysterious rain shower prevented any explosions from occurring.
Postnik Yakovlev is the famous architects and builder of Saint Basil 's Cathedral on Red Square in Moscow. According to historians, Yakovlev had his eyes torn out by Ivan the Terrible reason being is because Ivan IV didn’t want him to see anything as beautiful as the Cathedral which he built. Mr.Yakovlev build and designed many other famous structures for other masters. He designed the fortification posts for the Kazan Kremlin and the Cathedral of the Annunciation in Kazan in 1561 for Ivan Shiriai. "He also designed the northeast chapel of St. Basil 's (where Basil himself, the popular Fool for Christ – Yurodivy Vassily