Saint Andrew Cathedral
On the request of the inhabitants of Vassilevsky Island, a wooden church was erected in 1732. It became a cathedral in 1744 but was destroyed by a fire in 1761.
Three years later the construction of the contemporary cathedral started. Architects Alexander Vist and Alexey Ivanov were involved in designing the building. On September 6th, 1766 its main dome collapsed. This accident stopped the construction work for while. It was finally consecrated in 1780.
This cathedral, that reminds of the Renaissance buildings, has a beautiful three levels 17 meters high iconostasis. It was built in “Rastrelli” style.
The cathedral was abandoned after the 1917 Revolution and was only returned to the Church in 1992. Nearby, in 2001 an obelisk was erected so as to commemorate the three hundredth anniversary of the Saint Andrew order (largest Russian order created by Peter the Great).