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Tour to Moscow

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  • Start Time 10:00 AM
  • Duration 1 Days
  • Tour Category Historical
  • Guide Language English

Description

MOSCOW: CITY VISIT

07:00 – 08:00 (starting time of the tour depends on Ship’s embarkment time) Meeting your tour guide at the pier, transfer to the railway station/airport
Arrival to Moscow, and the tour will start from the ride in Moscow metro, which is an architectural masterpiece itself and is decorated with marble, sculptures and mosaics.
We continue our tour dropping off nearby the Red Square, which is the main square of Moscow.
First, we will admire the stunning view of all the notable buildings, starting from St. Basil’s Cathedral with its colorful onion-shaped domes, Lenin’s Mausoleum and GUM Department Store. Then we will continue our tour with the visit to the Kremlin, which is not only the citadel in the center of the city, but also the complex of cathedrals, museums and governmental buildings. During the tour to Kremlin we will be able to visit the territory of Kremlin and cathedrals, located overthere.
Lunch in one of the local restaurants with Russian Cuisine.
After lunch we invite you to explore Moscow during the city tour. We will start our tour with a stop by the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour and the Patriarch Bridge; this cathedral has a remarkable history and a terrific view on the center of the city. After that you will be able to admire the Bolshoi Theater and then we drive you along the riverbanks of the Moscow River and then we well stop at Sparrow Hills, where a panoramic view opens up on the entire city.
We will finish our tour by walking along the pedestrian Arbat Street.
Transfer to the railway station/airport.
Return to St. Petersburg and transfer to the ship.

The price includes:

• German Tour Guide during the tour
• Plane / High speed train ticket St. Petersburg – Moscow – St. Petersburg (economy class)
• Transfer to/from the railway station/airport
• Entry ticket to Kremlin with the visit to the territory of Kremlin and inside visit to three cathedrals
• Transport service
• Lunch
• Tour ticket (visa-free entry to Russia)

1

Red Square - Moscow

Red Square - Moscow

If you believe that Moscow is the heart of Russia, then you must know that Red Square is the heart of Moscow.

Red Square - Moscow

The square is located in the middle of Moscow at the north of the Moskva River, on the east side of the famous Kremlin Palace.

Many believe that the reason behind the naming of the Red Square is because of the red buildings around the square, or Soviet Russia's red flag, but actually, it's more interesting than that.
Red Square wasn't the perpetual name of the place, the oldest name that we can confirm of is “Veliky Torg” which means "grand market" in Russian. This naming nearly hints that the place former purpose was by all means business. After Tatars attacked Russia, the place had been changed to Trinity square for honoring the Trinity Troitskaya burned structure around the 16th century. Later, the square called "Krasnyi Ploschad." Krasnyi means both "red" and "beautiful" in Russian, that’s why it called Red Square.

Red Square - Moscow

The red square has massive historical structures and several symbols all around it. If you ever step into it, you'll instantly realize its hallowed atmosphere all at once. But it was not like this all the time. At the beginning of the formation of the square, it was a gathering place for poor people, drunks, and criminals. It was always like that, until the day Alexander the third, better known as the peacemaker became the Tsar and ordered to clean up the place for good. For centuries, it was under the attack of either Mongols or Tatars, from time to time. These attacks were lead to lots of fire and burned places around the square, so the square was also famous as the burning square.

There are lots of valid logics for travel agencies to put the red square at the top of their priority list of places in their tour to Russia. Maybe, one of the significant reason is the historical structures and major states which are in the square area. It feels like that if you stand in the center of the square, you probably notice a significant piece in each corner of your eye. 

Red Square - Moscow

At the west side, there it is, the famous Kremlin Palace. The palace was a place for kings and tsars to rule. Today, it's the living place for the president, and also the government’s offices. The palace with its all glory is a perfect place for officials and personal meetings. Therefore, we would identify the Palace as a symbol of Russia political past and present.

Red Square - Moscow

After Kremlin Palace, The Saint Basil's cathedral might be the next place that gives the red square more historical identity. The cathedral was constructed by order of the Ivan the fifth -also known as Ivan the Terrible- after his massive success over the Mongols and invasion of Kazan. The cathedral was named after the famous saint of Russia, Saint Basil. The architecture and coloring of the structure are one of the most mesmerizing things in the whole area that even in the urban legends had been cited. it said that after the construction has been ended, Ivan the Terrible ordered to blind both Barma and Postnik Yakovlev, the architects of the cathedral to prevent them from creating such wonder ever again. The Saint Basil's Cathedral alongside The Kazan Cathedral present at the northeast of the red square -which was built for honoring Prince Dmitri Pozharsky, one of the Russian heroes- are the symbol of religious Russia.

Red Square - Moscow

Other than political and religious symbols, Russia cultural and historical past are also represented at the Red Square atmosphere. Russia Historical State Museum at the north side of the square is responsible for guarding and promoting Russia heritage from the Paleolithic era till today. The structure which itself can be a Russia architecture little history book, built at the beginning of the nineteen century. ‌But, down under Kremlin's wall, there's another majestic structure which caught eyes. Vladimir Lenin's Mausoleum. The head of government of Soviet Russia preserved the body after he died in 1942 held in there for public display. Photography is forbidden in the tomb, but visitants said that "it is the most terrifying yet majestic place of all time."

Red Square - Moscow
These two buildings with all the matters inside them added even more historical and cultural identity to the place.

Red Square - Moscow

Like previously said, The Red Square original intention was economic and through history has been loyal to its origin. An iconic example of this loyalty is the grand ancient market of Gum which as of today, is one of the greatest names in the market in Russia. It might be a little bit different from the rest of the square atmosphere with its brand new luxury stores inside it, but it wasn't always like this.

Red Square - Moscow

Although before the 16th century, the economic value of Russia, because of the Ivan the Terrible meddling with the law and force everyone to trade goods with goods, wasn't so good, but later, things changed, so businesses get a serious face again. Till the 19th century, the market in the square were some wooden huts, but after Napoleon's invasion of Russia and Moscow's mass fires, those huts were destroyed. After that, the market relocated to the east area. The place that known as the Gum today, was actually the top section of the three partition market back then. Though in the Soviet Russia era, the market was invaded by the government and utilized into their work offices, with the fall of the Soviet Union and privatization in the Russian government in the 90s, the market reborn again.

Red Square - Moscow

The Red Square has even more tourism attraction other than these, for instance, we can point out to The Resurrection Gate and the Kilometer Zero. This beautiful gate is located at the northwest side of the square. From the first moments of its presence, it had the responsibility to welcomes guests and merchants who entered the red square. In the communist era, the chapel which was built particularly to protect the symbol of Iberian has interfered and worker symbol replaced the Iberian symbol. But after the dissolution of Soviet Russia, the Iberian symbol gets back at its original place at the chapel.

Red Square - Moscow

In front of this gate, at the north side of the square, there's a spot marked on the ground which is called Point Zero. The reason behind this naming is that all the road distances in Russia are calculated from this point. There are some urban legends about this point saying: "If you stand in the circle face to the gate, and do a coin flip, if the coin land in the circle, your wishes come true."

Red Square - Moscow

Another attraction of Red Square is the festivals and concerts which held there. In the past, the square witnessed some unpleasant execution ceremonies or military parades, but today, the government focus more on music festivals and making cheerful memories for tourists and guests as much as possible.

Now, with all the information you need, you should understand why Red Square plays a key role in every Russia tour plans. It's recommended that every person who Travels to Russia should at least visit the square once.

There are numerous ways to get to the heart of Moscow, but the easiest and the cheapest way to get there is by using the Moscow Metro. To get to the Red Square by subway, you have three choices, the Okhotny Ryad station, the Teatralnaya station, and the Ploshchad Revolyutsii station. The Okhotny Ryad station which is on line 1 (Red) is the nearest station to Red Square with only two minutes of walk away from the square. However, the Ploshchad Revolyutsii station on line 3 (Blue) which is the farthest station to Red Square with 10 minutes' walk, is also the nearest station to the Zaryadye Park which is only 8 minutes of walk away from the station. 

We at the Star Travel Group as Russia tour operator managed to cover a vast part of Moscow tour which you can find in our blog, for example, we provided a brief guide for travelers to Moscow in this blog post.

2

Kremlin - Moscow

Kremlin - Moscow

At the place that life has been proved to exist hundreds of years before Christ, right in the heart of Moscow, there's Kremlin. Kremlin which included several palaces, cathedrals, and buildings from far past was the host and residence of tsars, emperors, leaders of Soviet Russia and as of today, the President of Russia. Kremlin undoubtedly is the most critical spot in Moscow from all perspectives such as geographically, diplomatically, regionally, and even touristic as of today's Russian tourism policy. Kremlin which witnessed the brightest moments of the city to the most unfortunate times is now the best storyteller of Moscow's history for guests and visitants.

Kremlin - Moscow

The triangle geometric form of Kremlin with 275000 m². the area is right in the middle of Moscow. It has a view of The Alexander Garden from the west, The Red Square from the east, and the Moskva River from the south. The complex contained four palaces, four cathedrals, twenty towers, and walls around it.

Kremlin - Moscow

However, (in this area) the humankind existence signs proved to be around hundreds of years before Christ born, but Moscow was given birth in the middle of the 12th century when Yuri Dolgorukiy, grand prince of Kiev decided to build a wooden fortress in the place that The Moskva River and The Volga River meet. Moscow becomes one of the most critical cities in Russia afterward. In the middle of the 13th century, Kremlin starts to use stone as its building materials. From then till Ivan the Great's reign, the only change in the place was replacing wooden walls with bricks. In Ivan the Great's era, there were massive restorations in Kremlin. Also, three cathedrals, some structures, and the highest tower of the city were added to the Kremlin as well. In the 18th century, the capital relocated to Saint Petersburg and Kremlin only used for the coronation ceremonies. In the Catherine the Great's reign, Vasily Bazhenov ordered to begin restoration project in Kremlin, but for funds issue, the project got canceled. After a few years, Matvey Kazakov assigned the same mission, one of his major influences in Kremlin was Palace of Congresses that he added to Kremlin. In Napoleon's invasion of Russia, Kremlin was invaded by the French army for almost a month. Before they leave, they set Kremlin on fire and did severe damages to it. It took three years of restoration to compensate the losses (1816-1819). In the Nicholas I's era, The Grand Kremlin Palace was added to the Kremlin, but till 1917 no other structure constructed in the area. At Soviet Russia's present, Lenin chose Palace of Congresses for living, Stalin had a place in Kremlin Palace later. In this era, lots of imperial symbols and a great section of Kremlin such as Ascension Monastery, Savior Cathedral, Nicholas Palace were either destroyed or brutally damaged.

Kremlin - Moscow

However, the Kremlin was closed for tourist until 1955, but nowadays you can learn Russia history from Kremlin's point of view. Of course, because of the occupation of The Russia President in Kremlin, loads of the area are not accessible for people, but still, there are lots to see and enjoy. Currently, there are several museums, cathedrals, and galleries in Kremlin which are "a must" in Russia tour's lists.

Kremlin - Moscow

The Grand Kremlin was a residence for Tsars in fourteen century. The palace is now occupied by the government for official meetings, and only limited access has been given to tourists and unofficial visitants to roam around the palace. The palace has access to The Terem Palace, The Palace of the facets, Tsarina's Chamber, and Palace of Congresses from the top level. The look of the palace is like a three-story building, but actually, the top floor has two sets of windows, so it's a two-story building. The Grand Kremlin is famous for its golden halls and majestic looks.

Kremlin - Moscow

The Palace of the Facets which is a part of Kremlin that only accessible for the government was Tsars' residence. It was constructed in 1492 and used for ceremonials purposes. The other purpose of the palace was for official meetings and appointments.

Kremlin - Moscow

The Terem Palace which was the main residence of Tsars and rulers has the same intent as before, it's The President house and is not accessible to visitors. The five-story building was constructed in the early sixteen century but rebuilt by Mikhail Fyodorovich, the first Tsar of the Romanov family in 1635, and its first floor was only intact.

Kremlin - Moscow

In the heart of Kremlin, there's a square named The Cathedral Square which is surrounded by five cathedrals and churches. This square is the place for the guards to change shifts which is a very entertaining event for tourists to observe.

Kremlin - Moscow

The Archangel Michael Cathedral which is the largest cathedral of Kremlin was built in 1508 with the white exterior design. It was the burial tombs of former Russia emperors and their families like Ivan V, and Tsarevich Demetrius, son of Ivan the Terrible. The Cathedral was seriously damaged during the 1917 revolution. From 1950, the cathedral considered as part of the Kremlin museum, but after 1992 was given back to The Orthodox Church, and alongside the museum intention, some religious ceremonies held there since.

Kremlin - Moscow

The Dormition Cathedral which considered as one of the oldest cathedrals in Kremlin was constructed in 1457 by Italian artists. Ivan The Terrible chose this cathedral as his coronation ceremony place. During the Napoleon invasion of Kremlin, the cathedral used as a stable for French army's horses and they take down its magnificent lusters. The Cathedral was the host for the Easter ceremony before 1918 and after 1990. You can see the Tsars' temples, pieces of jewelry, The Emperor Crown, and also Ivan the Terrible throne in this cathedral.

Kremlin - Moscow

The Annunciation Cathedral which held the Tsars' wedding and baptism ceremonies, was built with nine golden domes in 1482 by a group of Pskovian architects. The cathedral designed with a beautiful roof and wall paintings. You can observe works of artists like Theophanes and Rublev in there.

Kremlin - Moscow

The Church of Deposition is named after an ancient festival which in that, the robes of Virgin Mary carried to The Constantinople from Palestine. The construction ended in 1485 with only one dome. It's famous for its simple watercolors and glass coloring design. There are some wooden sculptures from fifteen century that maintenance there.

Kremlin - Moscow

Ivan the Great Bell Tower which looked like a lighted candle from far view was the tallest structure in the area. It was built in 1508 with 81-meter total height and used as communal belfries for three cathedrals in the square. The Bell Tower has eighteen small bells and four giant bells, and it only peals in traditional ceremonies like The Easter. The Bell Tower is now a modern museum of the Kremlin architecture history.

Kremlin - Moscow

Kremlin Armory was built in 1851 in southeastern of Kremlin and today became the host of Russian Diamond Fund, State icons, royal jewelry, and arts from five to twenty century of western and east Europe.

Kremlin - Moscow

Kremlin Arsenal which built at 1701 in the north of Kremlin for personal usage of Peter the Great was given arsenal and occupied by the army.

Kremlin - Moscow

We can mention The Church of Twelve Apostles and Spasskaya tower which are also in Kremlin.

Kremlin - Moscow

In politics world, since we know The United state government as The Whitehouse and The United Kingdom government as The Westminster, Soviet Russia used to identify as The Kremlin. Plus, in lots of Russian or foreign novels, Kremlin was mentioned either as the place or nickname.

Kremlin - Moscow

It's certainly evident why the heart of Moscow is this crucial to the Russia tours, even the hotels in this area are so expensive because of the facts. Moscow has much more places to roam around beside The Red Square and The Kremlin, but The Kremlin is for sure the most important places of all when you travel to Russia.

There's also another way to see the architectural beauty of Kremlin and also some other attractions near the Moskva River, and that's from the river point of view. There are several different options to take the Moskva River's tour, and we covered the two Radisson Royal Cruise and Night Cruise on our website that we recommend you to check out. 

There are several other attractions in Moscow beside the Kremlin and Red Square, and there are loads of other things that you can do when you visit Moscow. We at the Star Travel Group prepared several guides and continue to do that for our clients and people who want to Visit Moscow which you can find one of those brief guides about visiting Moscow in this blog post. 

3

Metro stations - Moscow

Other than carrying people around the city, Moscow Metro with its forty-four cultural heritage sites should be counted as a completely extraordinary tourist attraction of Russia.

Metro stations - Moscow

Moscow, a huge city with a population of 12 million and the number of tourists that visit daily, requires a guaranteed in order transporting system inside it. Russia with an accurate plan for this system, constructed over 224 stations all around the city, and as of today, they still extending it. The fascinating design of the network made all other 15 lines of it to be connected with an orbit line in the center of the city. It's safe to say that the brown orbit line is the most crucial line of this network.

Metro stations - Moscow

The first talks regarding forming a Metro transporting system was backed to 1875, but the first confirmed plans were presented in 1902. Although, the city council of Moscow rejected the designs, and Metro wasn't built not until the rise of Soviet Russia. In May 1935, The first line of the Metro with 11 stations with the ability to transport 285 thousand people began to give service to the public. Joseph Stalin had plans to use the metro as a symbol of Soviet Russia glory and greatness. He invested lots of the city budget on this project. Even during World war II, he commanded the workers to continue developing the network. Another investment of Soviet Russia was on the metro stations. These stations were no different from majestic palaces. The purpose of this investment was to promote the idea that people are the priority in Soviet Russia.

Metro stations - Moscow

During the World War II, like any other cities in Europe, these metro stations in Moscow became a quite safe shelter from aerial bombs, and because of this reason, there were lots of stores, salons, libraries, and restaurants formed there. After the war, even today, some celebration and ceremonies took place there as a traditional reminder of those days.

Metro stations - Moscow

Nowadays, the Moscow metro is an essential location for people as a historical place. It has another way to draw tourists’ attention other than its cheap transporting service. Additional to the palace-like view of some of its stations, most of them are loaded with symbols, sculptures, paintings, and icons of historical past and modern-day of Russia.

Metro stations - Moscow

For example, Komsomolskaya station which is the connection between line one and the orbit line is one of the most majestic stations of the world. This station which built like a royal palace exclusively designed to show off Stalin reign's glory to the world. Its magnificent marble columns, the mosaic arts on the ceiling, or patriotic paintings of Russian people seeking independence forfeit that idea well. All these points make Komsomolskaya station a clear goal for tourists and history lovers.

Metro stations - Moscow

Mayakovskaya station probably is one of the most beautiful stations of Moscow Metro Network. It gets its name after great Soviet poet Vladimir Mayakovsky. The station that gets its design by the poet's imagination of Russia future got some impressive mosaic painting that describes the daily life of a Soviet Russia resident.

Metro stations - Moscow

Unlike other transporting methods of Moscow, The Metro rapid system is one of the cheapest of all. With its widespread area that supports, it's a logical way to travel around the city. Also, as we said before, forty-four of its stations are considered as a cultural heritage which shows how important they are in Russia culture. So it would be nice if you have a plan to travel to Russia even if you don't want to use Metro as a transporting system, check out these stations as a free-ticket museum.

Metro stations - Moscow

One of the excellent advantages of the Moscow metro is that you can get anywhere with it. Almost every attraction of Moscow has at least one metro station near them, such as Red Square and Kremlinthe Victory Museum, Gorky Park, and Moscow Circus on Tsvetnoy Boulevard.

For example, to reach the Novodevichy Cemetery, you can take line 1 (Red) and take off at the Sportivnaya station, which is only 10 minutes' walk from the cemetery. Also, the next station on line 1 is the Vorobyovy Gory station, which is the nearest station for anyone who wants to go to the Sparrow Hills

Before Russia World cup 2018, it was a little difficult for tourists to find their way through the metro system, but now, most of the stations are equipped with wireless internet and English signs. One way to be sure if you're going in the right direction is to listen to the train speaker. If the operator was male, that means you are going to the city center. But if it was a female, then you're going to the sides. The fascinating fact about this network is that even with this enormous system it has accurate and on-time trains all the time.

Our experts at the Star Travel Group are always ready to assist our clients in quest of finding the best places in Russia that might be interesting as a tourist attraction. You can always find them in our blog as we continue to gather the essential info about Russia and how to travel to Russia; for instance, one can find one of our guides about how to travel to Russia in this blog post

4

Sparrow Hills - Moscow

Sparrow Hills - Moscow

The tourism industry in Russia is not all about its historical places and architecture; it’s also about its natural resources. If you have plans to visit Moscow, you should know about some of it. One of the main natural attraction of Moscow is The Sparrow Hills.

The Sparrow hills also known as the Vorobyovy Gory, located 10 Kilometers far to the city center, near Novodevichy Cemetery, at the right bank of the Moskva river.

Sparrow Hills - Moscow

This hill with a height of 200m above the sea is the highest point of the city of Moscow, with this remarkable advantage, it has the most beautiful extraordinary views of the surrounding area and magnificent landscape view of Moscow city.
The Sparrow Hills was named after the village with a similar name at somewhere near the current location. Various poets and writers include The Hills in their works which end with immortalization of the hills in the Russian literature. But apart the sceneries, the background history of the hills has its fame.
In the seventeen century, Andreevsky monastery was built there. Later in the eighteen century, a glass and brick factory was begun to operate. After Napoleon invasion of Russia which ends in Fire of Moscow in 1812, construction rating around the hills increased rapidly. In the early twenty century, for honoring Lenin, leader of Soviet Russia, people unofficially start to call the place, Lenin Hills instead of The Sparrow Hills, although, today, it's called the same name before.

Sparrow Hills - Moscow

In the second half of the twenty century, The MSU (Moscow State University) was built on the top of the hill by Lenin's order. By the time, the structure was the tallest building around Europe.

Sparrow Hills - Moscow

Sparrow Hills - Moscow

Nowadays, the hills become a vast well-known park which attracts lots of tourists from all around the world, that's why many travel agencies include it in their tour to Russia programs. Tourists can use the cable car to go up the hills while appreciating the sceneries.

Sparrow Hills - Moscow
Now, for another attraction of the hills, we can point to the Luzhniki Stadium which is one of the largest sports complexes of Europe whereas the opening and ending ceremonies of the 1980 summer Olympics were performed there. Concerts and music festivals also take place there from time to time.

The tourism industry in Russia does not limit to historical and artistic attractions, in fact, they care a lot about their parks and natural resources as well. For example, besides Sparrow Hills, there are Gorky Park, Zaryadye Park, All-Russia Exhibition inside Moscow as well as several small parks. 
The park inside the Exhibition Center is a combination of the center's outdoor area and Ostankino Park which got its name from the nearby Ostankino Television Tower. If you like natural attractions or parks, we recommend you to visit these parks too.

You can always find more information about traveling to Russia and visiting Russia tourist-target cities in our blog, such as our brief guide about how to Visit Russia

5

Cathedral of Christ the Saviour - Moscow

 

Cathedral of Christ the Saviour - Moscow

During the Soviet era, many churches, cathedrals, and religious places all over Russia destroyed or their subject changed into something else. The Alexander Nevsky cathedrals in Moscow, Tiflis, and Tver, the Old Trinity Cathedral in St. Petersburg, and the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow were among the demolished cathedrals in Soviet era. Extremely few numbers of these religious places rebuilt after their demolition, but, one of the famous examples of them is the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow.

 

Cathedral of Christ the Saviour - Moscow

The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour is located at the southwest of the Kremlin, north of the Moskva River, and at the heart of the city. This 103-meter high structure is the tallest Orthodox Church in the world. Although the cathedral suffered a lot through the time, with the help of the people, the new cathedral rebuilt on its original place in Moscow, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

 

Cathedral of Christ the Saviour - Moscow

The first thought about building the cathedral dates back to when Alexander the First decided to build a monument to all the lives lost during the Napoleon invasion, and also as a symbol for his gratefulness to God for saving Russia from the dark days that shadowed its land. The first accepted plan of the cathedral by the Tsar was the Russian architect Karl Vitberg’s design which was an example of neoclassical architecture with many Freemasonic symbols all over it. At first, the highest point in Moscow which is the sparrow hills was chosen to be the construction site of the new cathedral, but because the ground was quite weak for bearing the huge cathedral’s structure, and also the death of the Alexander the First, the project temporary suspended. Nicholas the First who was not a fan of the new cathedral’s design, especially the Freemasonic symbols fired Vitberg and assigned his trusted architect, Konstantin Thon as the new chief in command. Thon’s design of the new cathedral was followed in the method of Russia Revival architecture and the style of Turkish Hagia Sophia’s architecture which was approved by the Tsar in 1832. The Tsar chose a site near the Kremlin to build the new cathedral, but the construction was not started until 1839.

 

Cathedral of Christ the Saviour - Moscow

The construction of the cathedral started in 1839 but continued for over forty years. During this time, several artists including Sorokin, Surikov, and Kramskoi oversaw the painting and interior design of the cathedral. Tchaikovsky wrote the overture 1812’s symphony with the completed cathedral in his mind but forced to perform its debut in front of the unfinished cathedral in 1882. There are several unique and valuable paintings and materials including some rare granite and marble used to design the interior of the cathedral. There was also a two-story gallery built within the church on which the first floor was dedicated to the patriotic war of 1812 and the second floor obtained by the choirs. The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour finished in 1883 and opened to the public a day before Alexander the third crowning ceremony.

 

Cathedral of Christ the Saviour - Moscow

Following the revolution in October 1917, an official state's order from the Soviet government established from 1921 to 1928 that many churches, cathedrals, and religious places at local, district, or national level were ordered to be destroyed or turned into something non-religious. After the death of Lenin, Joseph Stalin took the power and chose the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour as the Soviet Palace. A palace which was meant to be the symbol of the Soviet Union and its glory. He even planned to install a gigantic sculpture of the former leader of the Soviet Union to replace the current massive golden dome of the cathedral. In the 1930s, the Soviet financial was not sufficient, so the financial committee requested to use the pure gold that used to build the dome for covering the financial problems which were not rejected by the government. Finally, in 1931, the destruction order was given and the cathedral demolished, but the process of unloading the area lasted for a year. However, for several reasons such as financial problems, the Second World War, and many others the Soviet Palace was never built on the former cathedral’s site. Some pieces of the valuable stones that used to build the cathedral utilized again to build famous palace look alike metro stations in Moscow. The only pieces of one-day tallest Orthodox Cathedral of the world that remained are the reliefs of the cathedral which is now displayed at the Donskoy Monastery. The demolished cathedral’s site which always filled with flooded Moskva River's water turned into the largest open-air pool named Moskva Pool, in 1958.

 

Cathedral of Christ the Saviour - Moscow

The Orthodox Church of Russia allowed to rebuild the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour again, in 1990. At first, Alexi Denisov assigned to design and build the new cathedral, but after many disagreements with the administrator’s office in Moscow, he got fired and replaced by Zurab Tsereteli. There were many funding issues for rebuilding the new cathedral in 1992, but after the contributions of over one million Muscovites, the fund for the new project was provided, and the construction began in 1995. In the new cathedral's design, there was a great hall below the church for gatherings. There was also Alexander II and Nicholas II's statue monument constructed on the east side of the cathedral. A large pedestrian bridge that overpassed the Moskva River and ended at the foot of the new cathedral was also constructed in 2003.

 

Cathedral of Christ the Saviour - Moscow

This large cathedral, which is the tallest Orthodox cathedral in the world, is one of the main destinations of many tourists in Moscow. Since it’s only a few hundred meters away from the Kremlin, it features in almost all the Moscow tours’ programs as well. The cathedral was rebuilt following the original design from the 1830s, but, it also features modern technology as well. Besides the architecture and the interior of the new cathedral, there are other attractions such as the iconography, paintings on the walls and ceiling, and St. Philaret’s grave. Overall, considering the cathedral is located at the heart of the city, near the famous Kremlin, visiting the place in your travel to Moscow would be both interesting and useful, notably for the people who love the Russian architecture and history.

Cathedral of the Christ the Savior is only one of the major attractions of Moscow, you can find more information about them on our weblog at the Star Travel Group, especially the article about the 'Moscow Attractive Places.' 

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CITY VISIT

Almost everyone knows some basic things about Moscow like the facts that it is the most populous city of Russia and Europe (more than 15,000,000 citizen) and it has a lot of internationally known historical places but this tour gives the participants a chance to have a close profound look on the most vivid places of interest of the city.

Red Square is the genuine heart of the City and the central square of Moscow. The major Moscow streets lead to this very place. Red Square itself is the border line between the Kremlin, the former royal residence and the functioning residence of the President of Russia, and Kitai-gorod, a historic trade quarter with its famous meandering streets filled with shops and cafes. The attractions to see on Red Square are Lenin's Mausoleum, which currently serves as the resting place of Vladimir Lenin, the Soviet leader, where his body is being publicly displayed; Saint Basil's Cathedral (the Cathedral of Vasily the Blessed), the church considered to be the most recognizable symbol of Russia and the best-known architectural construction; GUM, the main department store in Russia with plenty of luxirious shops; Kazan Cathedral (Cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan), an Orthodox church reconstracted after being fully demolished by Joseph Stalin, the most terrifying Soviet politician; the State Historical Museum of Russia, the main museum of Russian history exhibiting various items connected with the peoples who lived on the current Russian territory and priceless artworks obtained while Romanov dynasty reign, and some other places of interest are also located there. 

As for the Kremlin, the tour also includes visiting the territory and three cathedrals. The Kremlin performs not only the function of the governmental residence but also forms a touristic centre with its cathedrals and museums. The name 'Kremlin' means 'Fortress inside a City'.

As for the means of transport, Moscow is famous for its the most beautiful and convenient metro in the world and the busiest one in Europe. The participants will be able to have a look at some most historically enriched stations. Overall to date, there are 263 metro stations covering the route of 397km. 

If you are eager to experience a marvellous moscow city view from the height, probably the best way is to visit the Sparrow Hills of Moscow, the hills on the right bank of Moskva River and the highest viewpoint in Moscow which is about 80 meters above the river level. The observation platform overlooks the panorama of the city including the Moscow City, the district of the skyscrapers, the Luzhniki Stadium, famous for holding the Olympics 1980, and Luzhniki Metro Bridge, the only metro station in the world placed on a bridge is situated here. The main landmark of the hills is the Moscow State University - one of the study buildings of the biggest Russian university.

The Cathedral of Christ the Savior is an Orthodox cathedral, the first tallest in Russia and the second tallest in the world, by the Moskva River. The first version of the church built in the 19th was also destoyed under the direction of Joseph Stalin. The present version is the second one finished only in 2000 which has become already a new symbol of Russia.

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