One of the major attractions of Russia is its cathedrals and churches, and there are several reasons behind it; first of all, Russia has loads of major and historical religious sites; second, most of them have a fascinating history behind them; third, some of them turned to magnificent museums after the October Revolution, and finally, most tourists would love to see some of the Orthodox Church treasures on their travel to Russia.
Moscow is the capital of Russia, and it houses some of the most significant cathedrals inside its borders. Though other major cities of Russia and even other parts of Moscow have several well-known sacred sites, Moscow’s Kremlin has always been considered to be the one that houses the most important religious sites in Russian history.
Kremlin locates at the heart of the city near the famous Red Square. While Red Square has also housed some of the major religious attractions of Moscow, such as the Kazan Cathedral and St. Basil’s Cathedral, most tourists prefer to visit the Cathedral Square inside Kremlin because it houses several significant attractions as well.
We at the Star Travel Group would recommend our tourists who have plans to visit religious attraction on their tour to Russia a visit to the Cathedral Square because there they can find the history of the Kremlin as well as the history of Russian Orthodox Church. There they can find one of the oldest cathedrals in Moscow and presumably the most significant ones, the Dormition Cathedral.
Cathedral of Dormition
The Dormition Cathedral designed after another cathedral with the same name in Vladimir, the former capital of Russia in the 13th century. A graveyard at the site of the Dormition Cathedral, suggests that there was a wooden church stood there in the 13th century even though the Dormition Cathedral was constructed in the 14th century. The idea of building a cathedral that looks like Vladimir’s cathedrals came to the mind of the Metropolitan of Moscow at that time, who had requested Ivan the First to build it and sanctified it to the Virgin Marry. An earthquake destroyed the almost finished cathedral in 1474, which after some investigation, confirmed that the building wouldn’t stand much longer than a decade even if the quake hadn’t destroyed it.
Finally, the Italian architect Aristotele Fioravanti constructed the cathedral, which held the coronation ceremony of Ivan the Terrible in the 15th century, and other emperors of Russia after that. The Dormition Cathedral has survived multiple natural and un-natural disasters, including a series of fire from the 16th to the 18th centuries; the attack of the Polish troops; the invasion of Napoleon and the French army; the October Revolution, and a civil-war, shortly after the revolution. After the October Revolution, the Cathedral closed, and most of its treasures either sold abroad or transferred to Kremlin’s Museum. Currently, the Cathedral of Dormition still works under the management of the Kremlin Museum even though it turned back to the Orthodox Church in the late 20th century.
Some of the main attractions of this cathedral for tourists who have chosen to visit it during their Russia tour schedule are the frescos in the cathedral. However, most of those frescos have been painted in the 17th century since the fires had destroyed most of it throughout history. Another significant part of the Cathedral for tourists who have included this cathedral on their tour to Moscow is the icons. There are several iconostasis and icons from the 13th and 14th centuries in the Dormition Cathedral, which attracts several spiritual art lovers to the cathedral. We at the Star Travel Company recommend this cathedral to tourists who have decided to visit Moscow on their travel to Russia.
Cathedral of Annunciation
The next cathedral on our list is the Cathedral of Annunciation, which replaced the 14th-century church after a fire had destroyed it in the 15th century. The Cathedral of Annunciation is one of the few examples of work by the Pskov architects because, during that time, most of the significant buildings of Moscow were built by well-known Italian architects. By using the previous church’s foundations, the Cathedral of Annunciation constructed near the palace, which was one of the reasons that Ivan III had chosen it as his private chapel. While The Dormition Cathedral was holding coronation ceremonies of the emperors, the Annunciation Cathedral had held multiple important events, including the weddings and baptism ceremony of the imperial family.
Just like the Dormition Cathedral, the Annunciation Cathedral was not protected during the dark times of Moscow. Besides the fires and natural disasters, the Annunciation Cathedral lost most of its valuables and treasures during the attack of the Polish army. The Grand Armee of Napoleon had looted the cathedral and turned it into their barracks. The exterior of the Cathedral was also caught in the line of Russia's civil war fire between the red and white armies. Following the revolution, the cathedral had turned to the Kremlin Museum, which is still active today and did not close after the fall of the Soviet Union. The Annunciation Cathedral is smaller and simpler compare to the other two cathedrals in Kremlin, which indicates the level of expertise that Italian architects had during that time.
This cathedral has various things to offer to its visitors who have decided to include the cathedral on their tour to Russia plans, such as multiple amazing icons and iconostasis. The museum also has a fascinating collection of weaponry, armors, crowns, books, manuscripts, paintings, and tsar’s personal belongings. Besides the permanent exhibitions, the Kremlin Museum has also held multiple temporary exhibitions inside the cathedral throughout the year. We at the Star Travel Company recommend this cathedral to our travelers who have decided to take a trip to Moscow on their travel to Russia.
Cathedral of Archangel
Although the Cathedral of Archangel is the youngest cathedral among the other two, it replaced a 14th-century church, which was also a replacement for a 13th-century wooden church. Ivan III had the idea of building the Cathedral of Archangel to display the Russian Empire glory, but he died before the construction completed and buried inside the unfinished cathedral. The cathedral acquired its name from the archangel Michael, who is believed to be a celestial warrior.
Each one of the cathedrals inside the Kremlin had a particular use in the imperial court; the Cathedral of Dormition used to hold the coronational ceremonies; the cathedral of Annunciation used to hold weddings and baptism ceremonies, and the Cathedral of Archangel utilized to hold commemorations and celebrations for Russian army after a victory in a war. The Cathedral of Archangel was also the burial place for Russian emperors and empresses and their families from Ivan III up to the time that Peter the Great had moved the capital to St. Petersburg. The Cathedral of Archangel, the same as the other two, had been damaged throughout history. It was looted during the attack of the Polish troops, Grand Armee had turned it into the stable for their horses, and the Bolsheviks closed it and turned it to Kremlin Museum.
Cathedral of Archangel offers multiple opportunities to tourists who visit it on their tour to Russia, including numerous magnificent frescos, several holy icons and a spectacular iconostasis, and luxurious interior design. The burial tombs of the former Russian emperors are also major attractions for this cathedral. We at the Star Travel Company recommend a visit to this cathedral to tourists who have decided to sign for a Moscow tour during their travel to Russia.
We at the Star Travel Company suggest tourists who have decided to travel to Russia read our weblog to learn about fascinating facts about Russia attractive places, the top Russian traditional dishes, and top places you can visit on your trip to Russia.
