St. Isaac's Cathedral

St. Isaac's Cathedral is the largest orthodox basilica in the world, with stunning Russian-Byzantine architecture and a fully gold plated dome. It serves as both a cathedral and museum today.

This magnificent cathedral was completed in 1858, after 40 years of detailed work. The faade of the cathedral is adorned with intricate work, and massive granite columns, a total of 112 of which are used in the entire church. The gold dome at the top is surrounded by 12 statues of angels, which were made by a technology called electrotyping, which meant they are extremely light and thin yet sturdy. This was the first such use of electrotyping at that time. The interiors of the church, as you'd expect, are elaborately decorated with mosaics, along with a huge stained glass window of the 'Resurrected Christ' inside the main altar. In 1931, it was turned into the Museum of Religion and Atheism by the new communist regime. Though after the fall of USSR the church resumed it's regular worship services, it is still used as a popular tourist museum today.