Peter and Paul Cathedral

The bell-tower has a colorful, often tragic history. As the tallest structure for many miles, it was often the victim of lightning, and in fact burned down on the night of April 29-30, 1756, in a particularly severe fire. Although the bells were destroyed, the iconostasis was removed from the cathedral in the nick of time. In 1766, Catherine the GreatCatherine the Great ordered the bell tower to be rebuilt exactly as it had been, and the new tower was unveiled in 1776.

The inside of the cathedral holds a fantastic iconostasis, completed by a group of more than forty Moscow architects under Ivan Zarudny from 1722-1727. Whereas the architectural style of the cathedral is similar in style to the Lutheran church, the painting of the iconostasis is more in the spirit of Catholic ChurchCatholic Church icons. The walls of the cathedral are also embellished with paintings of various bible themes, including many paintings of gospel stories by artists of the early and mid 18th century.

The inside of the cathedral holds a fantastic iconostasis, completed by a group of more than forty MoscowMoscow architects under Ivan Zarudny from 1722-1727. Whereas the architectural style of the cathedral is similar in style to the Lutheran church, the painting of the iconostasis is more in the spirit of Catholic Church icons. The walls of the cathedral are also embellished with paintings of various bible themes, including many paintings of gospel stories by artists of the early and mid 18th century.

The cathedral is across the River Neva from the main body of the city: the nearest metro stop is Gor’kovskaya (line 2) although it’s only a 2km walk from the Hermitage Hermitage. Tram routes 6 and 40 also stop close by.