The Church of Basil Blessed is built at the Cathedral Square. Church of Vasily blissful on Red Square: Brief History

The famous colorful church of the Intercession on the Ravy, one of the main attractions of Moscow, was erected in 1555-1561 to commemorate the Take of Kazan by Russian troops in 1552. He was consecrated in honor of the Holiday Pokrov because the attack of Russian troops to Kazan began on this day. We are accustomed to perceiving the cathedral as one, but in fact it consists of ten independent temples. Hence such a fancy, unique appearance of the entire cathedral, or, it is better to say the temple complex.

Initially, the temples were nine, and the Central was dedicated to the conclusions of the Virgin, and the remaining eight - a certain holiday or holy, in whose day there was a one or another memorable event associated with the siege of Kazan. In 1588, the Church was attached to the complex over the burial of the famous Moscow blissful Vasily, and here it is only and has the right to be called in the strict sense of the word Church of Vasily blissful.

So, we will talk about the Pokrovsky multi-sector cathedral, how it was erected in 1555-1561. In many books and in our time, it is possible to read that the construction of it was carried out under the start of two masters - Barma and the Note. True, the versions that unknown Italian masters were led by construction. But it does not have any documentary confirmation and no argument, except for the unusual species of the cathedral. N.M. Karamzin Sgorie called the style of the Pokrovsky Cathedral of "Gothic", but it is absolutely wrong with an art historical point of view, and only the authority of the "First Russian Historograph" allows some still insist on the ingenous authorship of the original temple of Vasily Blessed.
Where did the opinion come from that the construction was led by two masters?

In 1896, the priest Ivan Kuznetsov published an excerpt from a handwritten collection, which was then kept in the Rumyantsev Museum. This collection was compiled no earlier than the late XVII - early XVIII century. It contains "the legend of the transfer of the miraculous image of Nicholas the Wonderworker", which was the royal gift to the Pokrovsky Cathedral. In this later, the tale says that the king Ivan Grozny soon after the capture of Kazan put seven wooden churches around the greater, eighth, stone, near the Frolov gate (i.e. from the XVII century gate of the Spasskaya Tower of the Kremlin). "And then gave him the God of two masters of Russians, on nicknamed Barma and a postnik, former wise and suitable for such a wonderful business." This information about the "Two Masters" was adopted by most historians on faith.

But the tale who rethought the old legend was not the chronicles. In addition, we recall that the expression "on the nickname" in the then Russian language, as well as now, meant only the nickname of a person, and not his own name. Barma could be called a skillful master, as Barma - these are devils on clothes of kings and spiritual dignitaries, richly and diverse decorated and requiring skillful and careful performance. The story, or the postnik, is the name of your own. Therefore, it is not logical that in the "tale" the first master is named only by nicknamed without a name, and the second is only by name without nickname.

We can consider more reliable to be the text from the "Russian chronicler from the beginning of the Russian Earth to the Edema for the throne of the king of Alexei Mikhailovich", written in the first half of the XVII century, that is, much more close to the event that interests us. We read in it: "In the same year, the command of the king and the sovereign and the Grand Prince Ivan was launched by the Church, promised for the capture of Kazan in honor of the Trinity and Pokrov ..., and the master was a bark with comrades." There is only one architect, but obviously not due to the ignorance of the name of the second master (a chairs), but because it was the same person.

Subsequently, another source was found, indicating that the names of the Name and Barma really belong to one, and not to two persons. It follows from it that the forensic manuscript of 1550 belonged until 1633 by the Monastic Stryaphem, the Moscow serune man a friend. The squad was a son of Tarutiu and the grandson of the chassis that had a nickname of Barm. The point seems completely clear: two mythical masters, one of whom was the name of Barma, and the other - a challenge, join in one historical face - a challenge (this is understandable, not a baptizing name, but something like a modern last name) on nicknamed Barma, meaning this A man skill in her crafts.

And the architect postnaster of that time is known for the buildings another number of structures, namely: Kazan Kremlin, Nikolsky and the Assumption Cathedrals in Sviyazhsk. However, this fact is brilliantly proven in 1957 by the domestic archaeologist N.F. Kalinin, still bypass by their attention, many historians and art historians who are accompressed about the Barm and the post plan as two builders of the Pokrovsky Cathedral.

The church of Vasily Blessed (Cathedral of the Intercession on the Ravy).

The Temple of Vasily Blessed, or the Cathedral of the Pokroa of the Mother of God on the Ravy, - so his canonical full name sounds, - was built on Red Square in 1555-1561. This cathedral is rightfully considered one of the main characters not only in Moscow, but also of all Russia. And the point is not only that it is built in the very center of the capital and in memory of a very important event. The church of Vasily blissful is also unusually beautiful.

At the place where the cathedral is shoved now, in the XVI century there was a stone Trinity Church, "What's on the Ravy". Here was really defensive ditch, stretching along the whole wall of the Kremlin along the Red Square. This ditch was covered only in 1813. Now in his place - Soviet necropolis and mausoleum.

And in the XVI century, in 1552, the Blessed Vasily, who died on August 2, was buried at the stone Trinity Church (on other sources, he died not in 1552, and in 1551). Moscow "Christ for the Yreeny" Vasily was born in 1469 in the village of Elokhov, from his youth was endowed with a gift of clairvoyance; He predicted the terrible fire of Moscow in 1547, which destroyed almost the capital.

Blessed read and even afraid of Ivan Grozny. After the death of Vasily, Blessed, he was buried at the cemetery at the Trinity Church (probably by order of the king), with large honors. And soon there was the grand construction of the new Pokrovsky Cathedral, which later suffered the power of Vasily, and wonderful healing began on whose grave.
The construction of a new cathedral was preceded by a long construction history. These were the years of a large Kazan campaign, which was attacked by tremendous importance: so far all hiking of Russian troops on Kazan ended in failure. Ivan the Terrible, who personally led the army in 1552, gave vows in case of a successful ending campaign to build a grand temple in Moscow in memory of this.

While the war was walking, in honor of every major victory next to the Trinity Church, a small wooden church was put in honor of Holy, in whose day the victory was obsessed. When the Russian army with the triumph returned to Moscow, Ivan Grozny decided to put one large, stone - for centuries built on the spot of eight wooden churches.

About the builder (or builders) of the temple of Vasily Blessed is a lot of disputes. It was traditionally considered that Ivan Grozny ordered the construction of the masters Barm and the Yakovlev's Master, but many researchers are now converging that it was one person - Ivan Yakovlevich Barma, on Nickname Postnice.

Also a legend also, after the construction, Grozny ordered to blind masters, so that they could no longer build anything like that, but it is nothing more than a legend, since in the documents it is indicated that after the construction of the Cathedral of the cover on the RVU Master Postnik "Barma Rela" ( Those., on nicknamed Barma) built the Kazan Kremlin. A number of other documents are also published, where a person named the Barma Postnik is also mentioned. This master researchers attribute the construction of not only the temple of Vasily of the Blessed and Kazan Kremlin, but also the Assumption Cathedral and the Nikolsky Temple in Sviyazhsk, the Annunciation Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin and even (according to some dubious sources) Church of John the Forerunner in Dyakov.
The Church of Basil Blessed consists of nine churches on one foundation. Entering the temple inside, it is even difficult to figure it out in its layout without making a circle-other throughout the building. The central throne of the temple is dedicated to the feast of the Interior of the Mother of God. It was on this day that the explosion was destroyed by the wall of the Kazan Fortress and the city was taken. Here is a complete list of all eleven thrones that existed in the cathedral until 1917:
* Central - Pokrovsky
* East - Troitsky
* Southeast - Alexander Svirsky
* Southern - Nicholas Wonderworker (Velikoretsky Icons Nicholas Wonderworker)
* Southwest - Varlaam Khutynsky
* Western - entoacalemist
* Northwest - St. Grigory Armenian
* North - St. Adriana and Natalia
* Northeast - John of Mercilee
* Above the grave of John the Blessed - the Name of the Virgin of the Virgin (1672), adjacent to the attack of Vasily blissful
* In an extension of 1588 - Vasily Blessed

The cathedral is built out of the brick. In the XVI century, this material was sufficiently new: before the traditional material for churches were white dangling stone and thin brick - Plinth. The central part is crowned with a high magnificent tent with a "fiery" decor almost to the middle of its height. They surround the tent from all sides of the journal of the adhesive, none of which is similar to the other.
Not only differs the drawing of large lukov-domes; If you look at it, it is easy to see that the finish of each drum is unique. Initially, apparently, the dome was helmet, but by the end of the XVI century they were accurately made on bulk. The current colors was established only in the middle of the XIX century.
The main thing in the appearance of the temple is that it is deprived of a definitely pronounced facade. Which side to come to the cathedral - it seems that it is her main. The height of the church of Basil is blissful - 65 meters. For a long time, up to the end of the XVI century, it was the highest building of Moscow. Initially, the cathedral was painted "under the brick"; Later he was repainted, the researchers discovered the remnants of the drawings depicting false windows and kokoshniki, as well as paint made memorable inscriptions.
In 1680, the cathedral is significantly restored. Shortly before that, in 1672, it is embarrassed to him a little embedded over the grave of another revered Moscow blissful - John, buried here in 1589. The restoration of 1680 was expressed in the fact that the wooden Galbecian galleries were replaced with bricks, instead the bells staged a tent bell tower and made a new coating.
At the same time, the thrones of thirteen or fourteen churches were postponed in the church of the temple, who were standing on Red Square along the Rava, where public executions were held (all these churches had a prefix "on blood" in the titles). In 1683, throughout the perimeter, the temple conducted a tiled frieze, on the tiles of which the entire history of the building was set forth.
Rebuilding, although not so much, the cathedral in the second half of the XVIII century, in 1761-1784: laid the arches of the poster, removed the ceramic frieze and all the walls of the temple outside and from the inside painted the "grass" ornament.
During the war of 1812, the Church of Vasily Blessed was first subjected to the risk of demolition. Leaving Moscow, the French mined him, but could not blow up, they only plundered.
Immediately after the end of the war, one of the most favorite temples was renovated by Muscovites, and in 1817, he was engaged in the restoration of the afternogeneous Moscow O.I. Bov strengthened and decorated the cast-iron fence the retaining wall of the temple from the Moscow River.
Throughout the XIX century, the cathedral was restored several more times, and at the end of the century, the first attempt was made by his scientific research.
In 1919, he was shot "for the anti-Semitic propaganda" the abbot of the cathedral of O.Ioann delights. In 1922, values \u200b\u200bwere withdrawn from the cathedral, and in 1929 the cathedral was closed and transferred to the historical museum.

On this, it would seem, it was possible to calm down. But the most terrible time was still ahead. In 1936, Peter Dmitrievich Baranovsky was summoned and offered to engage in the objects of the cover of the cover on the Ravy, in order for him to be calmly demolished. The temple, according to the authorities, interfered with the movement of cars in Red Square ...

Baranovsky came as he did not expect him, probably nobody. Directly stating officials that the demolition of the Cathedral is madness and a crime, he promised to immediately end with him if this happens. It is necessary to say that after that, Baranovsky was immediately arrested. When he was released after six months, the cathedral continued to stand in his place ...

About how the cathedral is preserved, there is a lot of legends. The most popular is a story about how Kaganovich, representing Stalin the project of the Red Square reconstruction for the convenience of holding parades and demonstrations, took off the mock of the temple of Vasily blissful, to which Stalin commanded him: "Lazar, put in place!". It seems to have decided the fate of a unique monument ...
One way or another, but the temple of Basil is blissful, having survived all those who tried to destroy him, remained standing on Red Square. In 1923-1949, large-scale studies were conducted in it, which allowed to restore the initial type of gallery. In 1954-1955, the Cathedral is again, as in the XVI century, painted "under the brick". A branch of the historical museum is located in the cathedral, and the flow of tourists does not dry there.

Since 1990, services since it is sometimes held, but the rest of the time is still the museum. But the main thing is probably not even in this. The main thing is that one of the most beautiful Moscow and generally Russian temples still stands on the square, and no one else has ideas to remove it from here. I want to hope that it is forever.

Iconostasis of the Church of the Intercession of the Most Holy Virgin. Fragment

Pokrovsky Cathedral What's on Ravy (Vasily Blessed) on Red Square in Moscow. 1555-1561. Church of the Intercession of the Most Holy Virgin. Tent of the central pillar

St. Basil's Cathedral - Popular monument of Orthodox Christianity and Russian architecture. It rises in the center of Moscow. Dates back to the XVI century.

The canonical name of the construction is the Cathedral of the Mother of God, which is on the RW. Another option naming is the Cathedral of the Intercession of the Most Holy Virgin. Also known to many as Pokrovsky.

Interesting! Binding "On the Ravy" in the title is also not accidental. Up to 1813, close to the Kremlin wall was proofing of defensive destination.

In fact, the Cathedral of the Interior of the Mother of God is not one, but several churches united in a single architectural ensemble.

Construction of the Church of Basil Blessed

The temple appeared in the time of Ivan the Terrible. Dates of construction work: from 1555 to 1561. The king promised in the event of the conquest of Kazan Khanov to build a cathedral. Church was built in honor of each major victory. The name was given to the facilities by the name of the saint, the battle was won in whose calendar day. This appeared eight wooden churches. The main victory fell on the day of the Intercession of the Virgin. Hence the name of the main cathedral, stone.

The construction worried fires, several wars and revolution. For its history, the cathedral was modified, repainted, reconstructed many times. He is "around" the bell tower, gallery, a fence and other elements. Among the famous architects of the temple: Osip Bowe (1817), Ivan Yakovlev (1784-1786), Sergey Soloviev (1900-1912)

In 1918, the Cathedral received the status of the world-class architectural value, began to be protected by the state. In the early 90s of the last century, he is simultaneously using the church and the museum.

Cathedral during the Empire

Different legends go about the creators of the facilities. There is no significant version. Most researchers are solidar in the idea that construction The temple is the "work of the hands" of the master, nicknamed by the postmanship. Full name - Barma Ivan Yakovlevich.

Some are confident that Moscow Cathedral of Basil Blessed constructed an unknown Italian architect.

Previously told the version, as if the temple was erected by the postnik and bark, that is, the masters were at once two. But in her historians found too many inconsistencies.

Interesting! The popular legend reads: Ivan IV ordered to blind the architects and Barm at the end of construction. He did not want the masters to repeat their creation anywhere. This fact is most likely fictionally, since it does not agree with historical events.

Why the church of Vasily bliss so called

In the people, such a naming of the cathedral has come. The name of the temple is given by the name of the yurody, who lived in Ivan Grozny. The king himself was afraid of clearly blissful for the gift. The people loved Vasily. When he died, he was buried near the Trinity Church.

Basil Blessed canonize 29 years after death. His name was called one of the churches of the temple. Here, the relics of the octive, now - the saint.

Structure and parameters of the cathedral

A distinctive feature of the temple is that it does not have a pronounced facade. Each side looks "parade".

The Church of the Interior of the Mother of God reaches a height of 65 meters.

Interesting! Within two centuries after its appearance it was the highest building of Moscow.

The whole complex consists of eleven buildings. Eight more, four of which are grouped even on the sides of the world are around the central church. The structure resembles an eight-pointed star. The tenth church is "Lower". Eleventh buildings - bell tower.

All churches have a single base, combined with a closed gallery, internal common transitions.

How many domes on the Cathedral of Basil Blessed

The correct answer is 11. Of these, nine bulbous church, two columns with small masters. The dome of the central temple and the bell tower is completed by the tent. All of them are colorful colors, decorated with patterns. Explain this festive design by the fact that the dome of the temple symbolize the image of the heavenly hail of Jerusalem.

Preclosals of the cover on the RB

The cathedral is presented ten independent churches with thrones:

• Intercession of the Blessed Virgin. Here is the central throne.
• Adriana and Natalia. The church was previously called in honor of Saints Cyprian and Justina (the Northern direction). The height of the construction is 20.9 m. There is a "unalistrable bunk".
• Three Patriarchs Constantinople (northeast). The church is minted at 14.9 m.
• Holy Trinity (East). Building has a height of 21 m.
• Alexandra Svirsky (direction - Southeast). The height of the structure is 15 m.
• Nikolai Wonderworker (southern throne). Height - 28 m. Another name is Nikola Velikoretsky.
• Varlaam Khutynsky (south-west). The height of 15.2 m. The church is illuminated by the most ancient panicadyl in the entire cathedral.
• Somaerusalemsky (direction - West). Differs in particularly elegant decoration.
• Grigory Armenian (stands in the north-west). Height - 15 m.
• Basil blissful. This is the lower extension. Only in it from all others there are regular worship services.

The temple has a common dump. It stores ancient icons, access to it is not available for mass visits.

On a note! The coin of 5 rubles in 1989 of the production was released with the image on the reverse of the Pokrovsky Cathedral. Her circulation is 2 million copies. The circulation of improved quality is 300 thousand units. Now collectors can buy this coin for one and a half or three thousand rubles.

Information for visitors

The Cathedral is a branch of the State Historical Museum and is open to the visit. He is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Sundays are held here.

Opening hours and ticket costs

Cathedral as a museum operates daily:

• in the summer - from 10:00 to 19:00;
• September 1 - November 6 and the whole May - from 11:00 to 18:00;
• November 8 - April 30 - from 11:00 to 17:00.

An exception: Each Wednesday in June, July, August and the first environment of the rest of the months. These days are a sanitary day in the complex.

The museum works for 1 hour longer during the school holidays. Some holidays schedule can change. Specify these questions in advance.

Note! Cashier and all the territory closes 45 minutes before the end of working time.

The cost of the input adult ticket is 500 RUR. The price is united for representatives of all countries.

A family-run ticket will cost 600 rubles (for a couple with children under 16).

Persons from 16 to 18 years old, students, pensioners and beneficiaries (repressed, members of large families, etc.) fall under a special category. For them, the cost of the input ticket is 150 RUR.

Children up to 16 years old, heroes of war, blockades, prisoners, disabled people, orphans, Museum staff, pilgrims, etc. To obtain the right to preferential or free login, must be presented to a confirmation document.

How to get

The main landmark is the Red Square, the Cathedral of Basil Blessed cannot be noticed. It is highlighted by its colorful chapters of domes.

The nearest metro stations are three. This is a "icy row", "China-City" and "Revolution Square".

The Pokrovsky Cathedral offers different excursion programs. On them, the museum works from 11:00 until 16:00. The program depends on the age group, nationality, the number and interests of visitors. The duration is two or three hours. Excursion is designed for groups up to 10 or up to 15 people.

For younger students, the total cost of the program is 2500 RUR, for secondary students - 3000 RUR, for high school students - up to 4500 RUR (depends on the number of hours).

The cost of excursion for adult groups - from 5000 RUR to 10,000 RUR. The price depends on the number of visitors and the selected program.

Nursing time is the opportunity to visit a special excursion for 1000 RUR for groups of 20 people with a guide.

Some holidays are organized by thematic excursions.

Full in admiration, seeing near the Kremlin unsurpassed by her beauty the temple of Vasily blissful. This monument of Russian history and culture with its colorful painted patchwork has long been an integral part of the capital of Russia and her symbol. The official name of this attraction is the Cathedral of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which is on the RW. Until the XVII century, the cathedral was called Troitsky, since the originally built wooden temple was dedicated to the Holy Trinity. Currently, the Cathedral is included in the list of world cultural heritage and is under the protection of the organization UNESCO.

The history of the construction of the temple of Vasily in Blessed.

The order for the construction of the Pokrovsky Cathedral was given to Ivan Grozny in honor of the victory over the Kazan Khanate and the assault of the impregnable Kazan fortress. This event occurred on the holiday of the Intercession of the Holy Mother of God, in honor of which the temple was called. Construction began in 1555 and ended six years later. Reliable data on the architects that prevail the cathedral was not preserved. Most researchers are inclined to believe that this is the work of the Pskov Master of the Yakovleev Postnik, who had a nickname Barm.

After an extension to the existing temples in 1588, the Church of Vasily Blessed, the cathedral gained his name. According to the author of the author, the ensemble of the temples was a symbol of Heavenly Jerusalem. Instead of burnt church coatings at the end of the XVI century, figure making machines appeared for our views.

In the 1980s, the XVII century above the stairs leading to the temple, built decorated with the tents of the porch, and the open gallery surrounding the cathedral, surrounded the vaults. In the painting surface of the Master's gallery, grass motives used, and during the restoration work of the first half of the XIX century, a cast-iron fence was established around the cathedral.

From the first days of Soviet power, the Cathedral of Basil Blessed in Moscow is under the protection of the state, although until 1923 he was in launch. After creating a historical and architectural museum in it, capital construction work was made and a complete set of funds was carried out. On May 21, 1923, the first visitors stepped over his threshold. Since 1928, he is a branch of the State Historical Museum. At the end of 1929, a bell was removed from the temple and forbidden to conduct worship. At the time of the Great Patriotic War, the museum was closed, but after its end and holding the next restoration events, the museum reiterated its doors to visitors. The beginning of the 90s of the XX century was marked by the resumption of church ministries in the temple. From the same time, the Cathedral jointly enjoy the museum and the Russian Orthodox Church.

The height of the church of Vasily bliss is 65 meters. But, despite this modest digit, the beauty of the cathedral leaves no one indifferent. Due to the fact that its ensemble includes nine churches erected on the general foundation, he is included in the list of the largest cathedrals of the world in its volume. The uniqueness of the temple is that he does not have a pronounced main entrance. For the first time entering the temple, you can get confused in its layout. But, if you look at it from a bird's-eye view, or on its drawing (top view), placed on the wall of one of the churches, everything becomes clear and understandable.

Church of the Church of Vasily Blessed.

In the center of the complex there is a table-like church, consecrated in honor of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The central outlets of the main surrounding temples are facing four sides of the world. There are smaller churches in the size of the church, concluding the composition. When viewed on top to the entire ensemble, it is possible to clearly see two squares turned to each other at an angle and the components of the right eight-pointed star, symbolizing the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The sides of the squares themselves, in addition to the ends of the life-giving cross, mean the hardness of faith. And the union of churches around the pillar temple symbolizes the unity of faith and God's defense, prostrate over Russia. The bell tower, built in 1670, is a bit indeed.

Cache in the temple.

Another feature of a unique ensemble is the lack of basement. It is erected on a bunch - complex of premises, the height of the walls of which exceeds six meters, and the thickness reaches more than three meters. Its walls provide special holes that serve to create in the premises of a permanent microclimate that does not depend on the time of year. In ancient times, the soil was used as a secret storage for church values \u200b\u200band royal treasury. You could only get to the cache from the second floor of the Central Cathedral on the secret staircase located in the wall. Now there is equipped with a repository of icons that belong to the temple of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos, which is on the RB. The oldest of them is the image of Basil Blessed, dated the end of the XVI century.

The entire ensemble is encircling the covered bypass gallery, which has long become one of the whole. Like inner bypass, it is painted by grass and vegetable pattern related to the XVII century. Their floors are lined with a brick partially by Christmas masonry, and some areas with a special pattern in the "socket". Interestingly, bricks preserved from the sixteenth century are more resistant to abrasion than those used during restoration work.

The temple of Vasily blissful inside.

The inner decoration of all the comprehensive complex of nine temples does not seem to be one another and differs in the style of painting, the color scheme and the manner of its execution. In the design of the walls of the walls, an oil painted was used, and in some, the frescoes dated by the sixteenth century are preserved. The main wealth of the cathedral is its unique iconostasis, in which more than four hundred invaluable icons are collected related to the period of the XVI-XIX centuries and owned by the brush of Moscow and Novgorod masters.

After the return of the temple in the Lono of the Orthodox Church, which occurred in the bright holiday of the Intercession, the museum began to resume the collection of bells. Today you can see nineteen exhibits representing the masterpieces of foundry. The "oldest" of them cast another five years before taking Kazan, and the youngest in 2016 marks twenty years. With its own eyes, you can see the armor and weapons, with which the troops of Ivan Grozny went to the attack of the Kazan Kremlin.

In addition to the unique icons inside the Basil's temple, Blessed can be familiar with the canvas of Russian masters of portrait and landscape painting of the nineteenth century. The pride of the museum exposition is a collection of vintage handwritten and primitive books. To inspect all the invaluable exhibits of the museum and wander through the Cathedral of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, as part of a group excursion, and order an individual visit. It should be remembered that you can conduct photos and video filming by making a separate payment through the Museum's cashier. Between the dump and the second floor of the temple are shops, in which you can purchase a souvenir for memory.

One of the most significant attractions of Russia - the Cathedral of Vasily Blessed (Pokrovsky Cathedral), which is for many inhabitants of our planet in the unchanging symbol of Moscow

Gondo towers on Red Square St. Basil's CathedralTo the XVII century, he was called Trinity, because the first wooden temple in this place was built in honor of the Holy Trinity

Today in the Pokrovsky Cathedral (second name) there is a branch of the State Historical Museum, and the construction itself is part of UNESCO World Heritage Site

In 1931, the famous bronze monument to Minin and Pozharsky is established before the temple

Unlike many European cathedrals, which were built by centuries, the Cathedral of Vasily Blessed was built in just 5 years. Construction lasted from 1555 to 1560. The initiative belonged to Ivan Grozny, who decided to perpetuate the memory of the taking of Kazan and victory over Kazan Khanate, building the temple

According to one of the legends, after the end of the construction of a magnificent building of the Cathedral, his architects were deprived of sight, so that they never again repeat their achievement. But this is just a legend, and there is no historical confirmation. except that the cathedral is actually unique

Initially, the Pokrovsky Cathedral was decorated with 25 domes, denoted by the gentlemen and 24h elders at his throne, but today they are only 10: one over the bell tower, and the other nine - everyone over their throne

Thus, the Cathedral consists of 8 churches, each of which is consecrated in honor of the holidays, which dropped over the days of key battles for Kazan. These 8 temples are crowned with bulbous domes, surrounding the main pillar-shaped church of the Interior of the Mother of God, topped with a tent with a small master. All 9 temples have a common gallery and foundation

The current name is the Cathedral of Basil Blessed - appeared after an extension in 1588 she came in honor of Vasily Blessed, whose power were at the construction site. Nearby is the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, where since 1672, the relics of John of Blessed

Tent Bell Tower was erected in 1670s

The cathedral was rebuilt many times, for example, until the XVII century, all his chapters were gold, and the cathedral himself was white, then asymmetric extensions and tents above the porch were added to it.

In the Central, Pokrovskaya Church, installed an iconostasis from the church of Chernihiv Wonderworkers disassembled in 1770

The last prior of the cathedral was Archpriest John deltorov, shot on August 23, 1919, after which the cathedral was transferred to the renewed community

In 1929, all churches were closely closed. The Cathedral did not exception and the Pokrovsky Cathedral - the dome was removed only six decades later, October 14, 1991, on the holiday of Cotor, the cathedral was not reopened for worship services

After the opening of the cathedral, his museum resumed the replenishment of his collections of bells, and those 19 bellows, which were collected in its exposition, are one of the richest collections in Russia. The bells were brought from all over the world, the eldest of them was cast in a distant 1547, and the last one in 1996. Interesting collection of weapons of the time of Ivan the Terrible

In the past, the Cathedral of Vasily Blessed was more beautiful and elegant than now: with a more complex painting, and the temple tent was obscured by the little onions who did not live before us, and the central iron chapter had the same complex relief form, like the side chapters

The height of the cathedral is 65 meters. Compared to the highest cathedrals of the world, this is not an achievement, however, in beauty and uniqueness, it is not inferior to any of them, besides, being one of the largest cathedrals in terms of volume.

In St. Petersburg there is a temple that resembles something of the Moscow Cathedral, and the Moscow Cathedral of Vasily Blessed was not surprisingly - the prototype of St. Petersburg Savior

It is surprising that such a handsome cathedral in the heart of Moscow managed to keep at all. There are many legends about it. For example, the story of how Kaganovich demonstrated to Stalin the layout of a reconstructed Red Square, and for the convenience of demonstrations, the layout of the Basil's Temple of Blessed was removed from the square, thus clearing an additional place. Stalin in response to it objected: "Lazar, return to the place!"