St. Basil's Cathedral

In 1553 the wooden temple of the Protection was placed on the Red Square of capital. It was built in the honour of the holiday, when solving storm of Kazan victoriously came to the end. But in two years the construction of a stone cathedral of the Protection, “that on ditch” (the cathedral was put near to ditch, passed before the Kremlin walls) began, named later St. Basil's Cathedral, by the name buried at its walls God’s fool Vasily Blazhenny. Its authors were two Russian masters - Barma and Postnik.

It was offered to them to build a monument of eight churches, in honour to those Saints for which days of celebrating the basic events of the Kazan campaign had. But to place seven side- chapels around of the central temple it was not represented possible without breaking laws of elementary symmetry. Masters, however, overcame these difficulties as “the reason was granted to them... In measuring the bases”, - they suggested to built not seven, but eight side-altars.

Masters with great knowingly of business choose a place for the cathedral on the Red Square, near to the main entrance to the Kremlin. St. Basil's Cathedral became a new center of capital as it was standing on its national square, was always in the sight, incessantly reminding about a great victory.

On wide socle framed with an arcade of complex outline there were nine temples built (the tenth, above on the tomb of God’s fool Vasily Blazhenny, it was built by several decades later). The central temple is topped by a tent while side-altars, located on cardinal points, have a foliated tower-shaped appearance, a little reminding Ivan Velikogo's belltower. Side-altars are put between them, similar to those posades`s churches which Moscow started to build up from the beginning of XVI century. Distinctive feature of these side-altars is finishing them the pyramid of the kokoshniks located "in a dash", one above joints of others, various and picturesque kinds.

At the first sight at the cathedral it is possible to think, that quantity of architectural forms applied in it is extraordinary great. But it becomes clear very soon, that masters took only two architectural motives - the form eightmeric and half-circle. If the first defines cut forms of the basic volumes the second is presented by a significant amount of variants, beginning from wide and quiet arches and finishing the pointed, dynamical kokoshniks.

Originally the cathedral was red-bricked with partially white details. More motley painting of the cathedral existing nowadays concerns to XVII-XVIII centuries. The vaulted external galleries and a belltower were built in the second half of XVII century.

Interesting constructive novelty in the cathedral was the flat brick arch before the western entrance in the central temple. Furnish of an interior is extraordinary modest.

Character of architecture of St. Basil's Cathedral tells, that all attention was concentrated on its fantastic external shape, on its richest and freakish external furniture. And in fact,, it is not so much the temple before us, but not knowing to itself equal a monument to the greatest victory over history of Ancient Russia. Figured heads with multi-coloured painting of its unusual forms show this part of architecture of the cathedral even more strongly.

The variety of architectural shape of the cathedral makes its distinctive feature, allocates this unique construction among other most original products of old Russian architecture. National idea about poetic beauty of architecture and high architectural ideal are realized in St. Basil's Cathedral with huge feeling and rare inspiration.