St. Isaac's Cathedral is one of the biggest Orthodox churches in Saint Petersburg.
The Cathedral was named in honour of St. Isaac of Dalmatia, who was respected by
Peter the Great as he was born on St. Isaac's
day. The first wooden church was built in 1710 and two years later Peter the Great married his
second wife Catherine in that church. In the middle of the 18th century a new cathedral was started by the
architect A.Rinaldi, but it did not live long. In 1818 the construction of the present church
was begun according to the plan of the
famous French architect Auguste de Montferrand. The construction lasted for 40 years.
The construction was inspected by the emperor Nicholas I himself.
The church was opened on May 30, 1858, and it was
consecrated as a cathedral.
After the revolution of 1917 the Cathedral was closed and there had been no services since 1928. Later the museum of
atheism was created inside of the Cathedral. During WWII it suffered from German bombs, nowadays one can still find the tracks of bombs
on the walls and steps of the church. The services were revived in 1990 and take place regularly on big religious holidays and Sundays.
The Cathedral is a part of the State Museum "St. Isaac's Cathedral".
Opening hours:
In winter - daily from 11:00 till 19:00, closed on Wednesday. The ticket office closes at 18:00.
In summer - daily from 10:00 till 20:00, closed on Wednesday.
Timetable is subject to change without prior notice.
You can find a tour to St.Isaac's Cathedral in our selection of St. Petersburg tours and St. Petersburg excursions.
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