Other attributes
The extraordinarily beautiful St. Basil's Cathedral, or the Cathedral of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos, on the Moat, flaunting on Red Square, is one of the most famous architectural monuments of Moscow. Architecture, external decoration, monumental painting, frescoes, rare monuments of Russian icon painting - all this makes the cathedral a temple of Russia unique in beauty and significance.
The temple has a complex structure. The main pillar-shaped church in honor of the Intercession of the Mother of God is surrounded on four sides by axial churches, between which there are four smaller churches. In the second half of the 17th century, the Tent Bell Tower was added to the complex.
The interior decoration of the nine temples differs in style, colors and manner of execution. The walls are decorated with oil paintings, but in some places the original frescoes of the 16th century have been preserved. One of the most revered shrines of the temple is a carved arch over the burial place of St. Basil the Blessed.
Initially, a wooden church stood on the site of the cathedral, around which additional churches were built after the campaigns against Kazan. When Kazan was finally created by the ruler of Moscow, Metropolitan Macarius proposed to Ivan the Terrible to rebuild the entire architectural complex in stone in order to perpetuate the glorious victory for centuries.
According to the first plan, the central temple was to be decorated with seven churches, but for symmetry, the number of buildings was increased to eight. Thus, nine independent churches and one belfry were erected on one foundation. Each temple was crowned with a dome with a unique pattern. The grandiose 65-meter structure was built in just six years. Until the beginning of the 17th century, the temple was the tallest building in the capital.
