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The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour is the tallest Orthodox Christian church in the world, charting at 103 meter in height. Originally built in the 19th century in commemoration of the Russian army’s victory over Napoleon, it was destroyed on Stalin’s personal order to promote secularism. The plan was to replace it with a Palace of Soviets with a 100m-high statue of Lenin. It was never realized and instead, the site became the world’s largest swimming pool for 50 years. It wasn’t until the 1990’s that the church was rebuilt. It was completed in time for Moscow’s 850th birthday in 1997 with an estimated cost of USD 350 million. This gargantuan cathedral can hold up to 10,000 people and has become a defining landmark in Moscow’s skyline.
Address: Ulitsa Volkhonka, 15, Moscow
Opening hours: Daily 10am – 5:50pm
Direction: Metro Line 1 to Kropotkinskaya Station
Phone: +7 495 637 12 76
Website: www.xxc.ru/english
Photo credit: George Armstrong (Flickr CC), Nickolas Titkov (Flickr CC), Kishjar (Flickr CC), Tom Erickson (Flickr CC)
