The St Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow is surely one of the most iconic buildings in the entire world. The building is completely unique in that it has been built in no particular architectural genre.
Sure, the building displays influences of Byzantine, Muslim and Russian Renaissance style – but it does not fit exclusively with any of these, or with any other architectural theme.
In fact, no building like St Basil’s has even been built before or after the legendary cathedral.
Now, a new design series is reimagining the famous building in 7 of the most popular architectural styles, including Classic, Victorian and Art Nouveau.
The design series has been created by specialist Russian travel operators, Real Russia who know all about the history and popularity of the St Basil’s Cathedral.
The Cathedral is one of the most popular and well-known landmarks in all of Russia.
The Cathedral was first built way back in the mid 1550s by ‘Ivan the Terrible’. The building was a symbol of his conquest of Kaizan. It wasn’t unusual in these days for power-hungry leaders to build statues and buildings in honour of their conquests.
The original and formal name of the Cathedral is in fact, the Cathedral of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos on the Moat. The now commonly used St Basil’s name comes from the name of one of the Cathedral’s nine chapels which was named after a local man Basil the Blessed. It was said that Basil the Blessed could see the future, and he was one of very few people to publicly criticise the Tsar.
The building is known for its iconic onion domes and bright colourful patterns. In fact, the Cathedral’s signature colouring wasn’t added until the 17th century. It has been said that the design of the building was inspired by a Biblical description of the Kingdom of Heaven.
The building was made from wood and brick, which were new materials at the time the Cathedral was created. The impressive structure stands at a height of 65 meters, and for a long time it was the tallest building in Moscow.
What is interesting about the building is that there is no apparent main façade. From whatever perspective you take in the building you feel like you are looking at its front, as the entire building is such a spectacle.
Rumour has it, the reason no other similar building has been built, is because Ivan the Terrible blinded the architect who designed the building so that he could never create anything else as beautiful.
Now, in this new series of designs from Real Russia, the famous building is recreated in 7 different architectural styles incorporating the pagodas and wooden framework of Chinese architecture, the spires and archways of Gothic architecture and the minimalism and shapes of modernist architecture.
The full series of designs can be viewed below and you can also view more about the project and the history of the famous St Basil’s Cathedral on the Real Russia blog.
Art Nouveau
Chinese
Classical
Gothic
Modernist
Tudor
Victorian
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