St. Basil's Cathedral Turns 450: Google Logo Celebrates Moscow's Red Square Monument

Russia's famed St. Basil's Cathedral, erected in Moscow's Red Square, turns 450 years old on July 12. Google is honoring the cultural landmark with a colorful Google Doodle on the search engine's home page.

Completed in 1561, the cathedral is officially called "The Cathedral of the Intercession of the Virgin by the Moat" and stands over the tomb of Basil the Blessed.

"The eccentrically devout St. Basil wore no clothes even during the harsh Russian winters and was one of the very few Muscovites [holy fools] who dared to lambast tyrannical Czar Ivan the Terrible," the AP reports.

The monument, consisting of eight smaller churches arranged around a central church, has gone through several makeovers in its lifetime. According to Moscow.info the structure was originally built in white stone--to match the Kremlin--with gold domes topping each of the cathedrals. The final design changes came in the mid-1800s, when the complex and colorful patterns were added, all of which remain today.

After a decade-long restoration process, Russia is celebrating the cathedral, now a museum, with an exhibit to St. Basil.

"This cathedral is a shrine and a symbol of Russia," said Russia's Deputy Culture Minister Andrey Busygin, according to the Telegraph. "It's a miracle it survived at all."

Visit Google.com on July 12 to see the tributary logo, dedicated to St. Basil's Cathedral. Or, check out a screenshot (below).

LOOK:

Comments

[patriciacarter]

02:53 AM on 07/13/2011

Google's St Basil doodle is nice, but many PC folks might also enjoy that RIANovosti has a great panoramic virtual tour of St Basil's interior. Don't need to know Russian to do the tour - just click on the icon (развернуть карту) in bottom left corner of the image of St Basils to open the map and then click on any of the numbered links to tour those areas of the Cathedral. http://bit.ly/ou5wgb

[JuanitoN]

06:38 PM on 07/12/2011

Google's St Basil doodle is nice, but many viewers might also enjoy that RIANovosti has a great panoramic virtual tour of St Basil's interior. Don't need to know Russian to do the tour - just click on the icon (развернуть карту) in bottom left corner of the image of St Basils to open the map and then click on any of the numbered links to tour those areas of the Cathedral. To go there, just go to: http://ria.ru/infografika/20110712/399942099.html

[KIVPossum]

10:59 AM on 07/12/2011

To me, St Basil's is the most beautiful building on earth

[Greg Mirsky]

11:15 AM on 07/12/2011

It is beautiful. Though personally I like the Winter Palace in St.Pete. Well, I just like St.Pete more than Moscow. After Riga of course ;)

[KIVPossum]

11:30 AM on 07/12/2011

Petersburg is definately better than moscow - in beauty, arts, food, and possibly devoshki. I was only in Riga once, for 3 days, and recall it as a lovely place

[KIVPossum]

04:24 PM on 07/12/2011

Of course you realize, with my Russian skills, you sent me to the dictionary for a couple of words ;)

[Slacktoo]

08:52 AM on 07/12/2011

I wonder if this ticks off any PC l­ib­s that they are acknowledging a Christian church?

[JL-Sosa]

11:05 AM on 07/12/2011

I wonder if this ticks off any neocon nuts, showing a symbol of strong soviet government.

[brownfrown]

03:45 PM on 07/12/2011

The thing was completed in 1561, about 350 years before there was a Soviet Union..