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Pokrovsky Cathedral, St. Basil's Cathedral (Moscow)

2 Red Square, Moscow (tel.: +7 495 698-33-04), Metro stations: "Kitay-gorod", "Okhotny Ryad", "Ploshchad revolutsii".

Every capital has a well-known landmark making it easily recognizable. In Moscow, the Cathedral of the Protecting Veil of the Mother of God, better known as the Cathedral of St. Vasily the Blessed (or St. Basil's Cathedral, as it is often called in English), standing in Red Square is such a landmark.

The Cathedral of the Protecting Veil of the Mother of God upon the Moat was constructed in the mid-16th century by order of Tsar Ivan the Terrible and with the blessing of Metropolitan Makarius. The Cathedral is a victory monument. Most of its churches are consecrated in memory of the Campaign against Kazan.

The unique architecture masterpiece was built under the supervision of Russian architects Postnik and Barma. Their names were discovered in the 17th-century manuscript in the late 19th century, "...and he (Ivan the Terrible) was given two Russian master builders nicknamed Postnik and Barma, who were skilled and trained to make such wonders."

The Cathedral had been constructed for five and a half years, from 1555 to 1561.

A silhouette of St. Basil's Cathedral is recognizable worldwide for its unusual architectural composition — nine churches on a single foundation, — and unique dome covering.

In the late 16th century, a church appeared above a grave of Moscow holy fool St. Vasily the Blessed, instead of a demolished north-eastern part of the gallery, near the Cathedral of the Protecting Veil and was dedicated to St. Basil (St. Vasily). In contrast to churches of the Cathedral of the Protecting Veil, where services were held on Great Feasts and Dedication Days, St. Basil's Church held services daily. That is why people gave it another name — the Cathedral of St. Vasily the Blessed.

The first floor of the Cathedral is St. Basil's Church and a basement.

Wall icons of the late 19th century are painted with oil. An icon stand dates back to the end of the 19th century. The Church has a shrine of St. Vasily the Blessed.

St. Basil's Icon of the late 16th century in the 19th-century hagiographical frame, the Icon of Our Lady of the Sign dated back to the 18th century, and the 19th-century frame of the Icon of the Protection are exhibited in the basement.

The second floor is an ensemble of nine churches joined by two galleries, inner and outer. Domes are of different shapes and colours. The central church is crowned with a tent.

As early as 17th century, the Cathedral's appearance was significantly changed. The outer roundabout gallery was vaulted. Porches appeared above stairs. A bell tower was built. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the architectural look of the monument and its interiors were decorated in accordance with aesthetics of that time.

In 1918, it was one of the first cathedrals listed by the government as a monument of national and international importance. Since 21 May of 1923, it has been opened for public as a historical and architectural museum. Moreover, St. Basil's Church held services up to 1929.

In 1928, the Cathedral of the Protection Veil became a branch of the State Historical Museum.

In the 1920s, wide scientific and reconstruction studies began. Then, it was possible to restore the original appearance of the Cathedral and the 16th- and 17th-century interiors in some churches. Since then, four comprehensive reconstructions including architectural and painting works have been made.

In the 1960s, unique reconstruction works took place. Restorers discovered a chronicle with an exact date of end of construction, that was 12 July 1561 (St. Peter's Day), which was made by Cathedral's builders. Iron dome covers were replaced with copper ones.

The 16th-century icon stands of four churches were reconstructed. They contained icons dated back to the 16th and 17th centuries including quite rare ones such as the Trinity of the 16th century and the Life of St. Alexander Nevsky of the 17th century. In the other churches icon stands of the 18th and 19th century survived. They include two unique examples of the first half of the 18th century from Moscow Kremlin.

In the 17th century, St. Theodosia's Church was built upon the northern part of St. Basil's Church. In the late 18th century, it was transformed into a sacristy to keep church valuables.

The Cathedral of the Protection Veil is in federal ownership. Since 1990, it has been used as a museum (branch of the State Historical Museum) and a temple, where Russian Orthodox Church holds services on main Dedication Days (Protection of the Veil and St. Vasily's).

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