The Cathedral of Basil the Blessed, is a Russian Orthodox cathedral erected on the Red Square in Moscow in 1555–1561. The Monument to Minin and Pozharsky is made of bronze. Not particularly large, it consists of nine chapels, built on a single foundation. According to legend, however, it was built by an Italian architect who was blinded so that he could never create anything that was similar or equal. The St. Basil’s Cathedral, along with the Red Square were inscribed by Unesco as World Heritage Sites in 1990!

The Cathedral was commissioned by Ivan the Terrible in the 16th century to commemorate a military victory.Victory came on the feast day of the Intercession of the Virgin, so the Tsar chose to name his new church the Cathedral of the Intercession of the Virgin on the Moat, after the moat that ran beside the Kremlin.

St. Basil’s original construction involved a total of nine pillars or churches, replacing the former wooden churches, situated on a single foundation. A tenth pillar was added (1588) after the death of St. Basil and stands over his burial site.

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