Saint Isaac's Cathedral

Saint Isaac's is the largest cathedral in Saint Petersburg and the third largest domed cathedral in the world. Taking over 40 years to build, it's one of the most ornate and stunning churches in the world.

It's interesting that the church was ordered by Tsar Alexander I to replace an existing church. In fact, Saint Isaac's was the fourth consecutive church standing at this location. Because of it's size, the foundation was strengthened using 25,000 pilings driven in the ground. While it remained as a church for some time, under Soviet rule, it was stripped of all religious associations. In 1937 the cathedral was turned into a museum.

Saint Petersburg, Russia

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