The thirteen domes
Christ and the apostles in gold above brick.
Óðinn — CC BY-SA 2.5 ca · Leonhard Lenz — CC0 · Leonhard Lenz — CC0 · Leonhard Lenz — CC0
The white one is plain Lutheran, by a German for the Tsar; this is gilded Russian Orthodox. They face each other above the harbour and are seen together in half an hour.
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The largest Orthodox church in Western Europe: Uspenski in red brick with thirteen golden domes has crowned the Katajanokka rock above the harbour since 1868 — built by the Russians in their time of rule in the style of medieval churches near Moscow, so that with the white cathedral opposite it forms Helsinki's pair: East and West facing each other above Market Square. The interior is fully Byzantine: a gilded iconostasis, painted saints, chandeliers, granite columns and incense — the candlelight on gold at its loveliest in dark winter days. The bricks came from the demolished Bomarsund fortress in the Åland islands. A short visit, reached from the harbour by a winding stair with views over Market Square and the ships; pair it with the white cathedral and the market in one walk.
Christ and the apostles in gold above brick.
Gold and candles in winter dark.
Kanavakatu 1, Helsinki