Saint Isaac Cathedral
A first cathedral was built in 1768-1800 in this same place. However its architecture was judged not conformed to the architecture of the rest of the (then) Russian capital city. Therefore it was decided that the cathedral should be demolished so as to build another one.
The contemporary cathedral was erected in 1818-1858. Thousands of people worked on what was going to become Saint Petersburg’s largest building.
It was inspired by Saint Paul Cathedral in London, and is, after this one and Saint Peter Cathedral in Rome, the third largest cathedral in Europe.
Consecrated in 1858 Saint Isaac was shut down after the Bolshevik Revolution. One of the first atheism museums opened in the cathedral in 1931. It was returned to the Church in 1990.