I walked along the river from the Kremlin
and was greeted by one of the most imposing and controversial buildings in Russia, the
resurrected Cathedral of Christ the Saviour.
It was originally commissioned after the defeat
of Napoleon and construction began in 1839.
Unfortunately it was singled out by the
Soviet government for destruction and, in 1931, blown to pieces to make way for
a proposed Palace of Soviets, one of the most influential pieces of
architecture never to be built.
The project was abandoned, and the site
turned over to become an open-air swimming pool, the largest in the world,
which was kept at a temperature of 27°C all year round. The result was a thick
covering of fog that shrouded a number of gruesome deaths (and murders) among
the swimmers.
After the fall of the Soviet Union they
decided to resurrect the cathedral in a $360-million reconstruction project.
I had to walk through metal detectors to
get inside and they search your bag through as well. Luckily it was cold
outside so I already had a hat on as woman have to cover their heads out of
respect and you are not allowed in if you are wearing shorts or very short
skirts.
I was still very excited as I walked around
inside this magnificent cathedral. It is just breathtakingly beautiful inside
and the church choir was standing on the upper level singing and setting the
peaceful atmosphere.
There is a set of winding stairs that took
me down to the bottom level. Even down here I could still hear the singing of
the choir through the metal grating placed everywhere. I sat down and listened
for a while before I lit a candle and went into the cathedral museum and icon
shop that they have here. There was a small sign saying that all icons and
artifacts bought in this little shop have been blessed by the priest. The
museum changes its exhibition from time to time, this time it was displaying
photos of the destruction and reconstruction of the cathedral.
What a beautiful church to explore. I feel
blessed to have had the opportunity.
