Church of St.
Basil The Blessed
Church of St. Basil The Blessed, is a
historical church in Red Square in Moscow, the church is also called Pokrovsky
Cathedral. The Church was built from 1555 to 1561 after orders from the
Prince Ivan The Terrible. The Prince Ivan or Ivan VI, the Grand Prince of
Moscow. According to Mental_floss.com, the Prince order
constructors to build the church in honor to his military after defeating the
independent Tatar khanates of Kazan and Astrakahn in the early 1550s.
The war that defeated the independent turned
Ivan to a hero and he was appreciated by his people as Richard said in HistoryToday,
“The Grand Principality of Moscow gained its independence from the Mongol
Golden Horde in the fifteenth century under Ivan III, the Great, who vastly
extended Muscovite territory. His grandson Ivan IV, already known in his own
time as the Terrible (meaning ‘awesome’) and described by a contemporary as
‘cruel, bloody and merciless’, succeeded as grand prince at the age of three.
He survived the hazards of his minority under competing boyars, or nobles, and
in 1547, when he was sixteen, at his own insistence he was crowned not only
grand prince, but Tsar, ‘emperor’, of all Russia.” Richard Cavendish.
At the beginning the church was made by eight
chapels only, however, the design has changed shortly after the completion of
it. The church’s design, nowadays, is about nine chapels, eight small chapels
around one central chapel. The eight chapels are all with different shapes and
colors and linked by an elevated gallery. In 1568, according to Awesome
Stories, the ninth chapel was built over Basil’s grave and this is how the
Cathedral Church got its name, The Church of St. Basil the blessed. People used
to come to his grave after his death and pray the phrase of “Praying at St.
Basil’s”.
The church was designed by two blinded
architects as it’s mostly known. The idea of having it built by them is that
they won’t be able to built a similar one anywhere else.
Barma and Postnik, the two architects are only known by building
this spectacular church and there is, most likely, no other work for them still
remain today. And we can see what’s been written about the architects by The
Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica “The church was designed by two Russian
architects, Posnik and Barma (who may in fact have been one person). According
to popular 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 Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Saint-Basil-the-Blessed
Beside the great history
and stories behind this church, the design and coloration of it makes it a
remarkable buildings and one of the most famous churches around the world.
every single chapel have a slightly different shape and size also added to that
a different taste of color. In addition, the design of it reflects the powerful
history of its origins and also the location of it that is somehow between Asia
and Europe. The church, apparently, is colorful and also full of history and
interesting facts.
References:
https://Mental_floss.com
https://www.awesomestories.com/asset/view/ARCHITECTS-BLINDED-Ivan-the-Terrible
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