Saturday, December 21, 2013

St. Basil's Cathedral

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDJjII2Tbrs

         This structure was built by Barma and Postnik Yakovlev in 1555-1560. It is located today in Red Square, Moscow, Russia, and is also called the “Cathedral of the Intercession of the Virgin on the Moat.” It was built by Ivan the Terrible (ruled 1530-1584), the Grand Prince of Moscow and the Tsar of all Russians. He ruled a centralized state and after the death of his beloved wife, Anastasia Romanovna, he became oppressive. His new policemen, soldiers, and bureaucrats were called the “Oprichniki”—men who wore black, rode black horses, and did Ivan’s dirty work. Ivan also had 8 wives—oh my! The Cathedral was dedicated to Saint Basil the Blessed or Fool-for-Christ, who was born in 1468 to peasant parents. He was eccentric, had premonitions, and wandered aimlessly throughout the streets of Moscow without shoes on. However, Ivan IV was impressed because he correctly foresaw a fire that would rage through Moscow in 1547. The Cathedral was also constructed to praise Ivan’s victory over the Tatars (Mongols) at Kazan in 1552. Kazan was a Mongol Khanate and was influenced by the Golden Horde Khanate too. The architecture of the structure is late Byzantine (the Byzantine Empire fell in 1453 to the encroaching Ottoman Turks!)
St. Basil
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Russian_(Moscow),_Saint_Basil_the_Great_and_Saint_Basil_'the
_Fool'_Adorning_the_Holy_Trinity.jpg
File:Sant Vasily cathedral in Moscow.JPG
                                                          St. Basil's Cathedral at night
       Instead of a central dome (as in the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul), there is a form called the Shater (a tent-like spire on the roof). It is steeply sloped so snow cannot accumulate and cause the roof to cave in. There are 8 adjacent chapels with onion-like caps; the caps have geometric reliefs, stylized lines, and bright colors. However, the whole Cathedral was originally all white (the trademark colors were added later). The main layout is a cross in a square; there are also triangular spikes and golden posts with crosses on the ends protruding from the smaller domes. Russian (Moscow) saw itself as the third Rome, so they needed glorious architecture to legitimize their claim. Of course, there are many legends associated with this amazing building. Ivan IV purportedly blinded the architects because he didn’t want them to create anything as beautiful as this Cathedral!

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Trinity_Cathedral_Moscow_-_first_floor_plan.jpg


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Basil's_Cathedral


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