Saint Isaac's Cathedral

About this place

Saint Isaac's Cathedral is one of Saint Petersburg's mightiest landmarks, crowned by a gilded dome rising 101.5 metres. Today it is a museum with occasional services, about 800 metres in a straight line from the Winter Palace. Tsar Alexander I ordered it as the fourth church on the site. The French-born architect Auguste de Montferrand designed it, and building took 40 years, from 1818 to 1858, with 25,000 piles driven into the marshy ground to hold the foundations. It became a museum in 1931, and services have been held in a side chapel since the 1990s. The walls are faced in grey and pink stone and ringed by 112 red granite columns, each cut as a single block, with Corinthian capitals. Statues stand on the roof and around the upper drum, and a walkway circles the dome, open to visitors, with views over the whole city. The climb to the dome walkway is a long stair, so allow time. Dress modestly inside the cathedral. The UK Foreign Office advises against all travel to Russia, and non-Russian bank cards may not work, so read the current advice before you plan.