What to do if you want to see the whole city at once? The best way to do this is to visit the observation deck. These are available in different cities, they are in the Northern capital. More precisely, there are several of them, they are located in various buildings of the city. But St. Isaac's Cathedral in St. Petersburg has an undoubted advantage over other skyscrapers, the observation deck of which shows a fairly large historical central part of the city.
Temple
St. Isaac's Cathedral is a symbolic building. It has a very interesting and significant historical past for Russia. In addition, this is one of the largest temples in the city.
Its size among the Orthodox cathedrals takes the second place, the first is the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. Who designed St. Isaac's Cathedral in St. Petersburg (St. Isaac of Dalmatia)? The architect who created this temple is Auguste Montferrand.
Where is St. Isaac's Cathedral: address
The famous Orthodox church was built in the center of St. Petersburg on St. Isaac's Square. It's great not only becausethat St. Isaac's Cathedral is interesting in itself, it is located in the neighborhood with many other historically significant architectural structures. That is why the observation deck, which has St. Isaac's Cathedral, is a great success, address: St. Petersburg, St. Isaac's Square, house number 1.
Museum in the Cathedral
The temple is at the same time a part of the church, since 1991, divine services have been held in it daily, at the same time it has the status of a state museum. The museum is preparing many interesting projects that may interest anyone, even the most sophisticated tourist. So, back in the distant year 2002, employees implemented an interesting transport (bus and river) project called "Cathedral Ring".
It introduces tourists to the temple culture of the city. Such excursions subsequently became permanent. In addition, the theme of excursions varied. Those dedicated to besieged Leningrad, the Romanov dynasty, the literary and musical life of the city, and many others have appeared. Excursions are conducted by guides, you can order an audio guide.
Concerts
Petersburgers and guests of the city are offered an interesting concert program. Concerts of organ and chamber music are held in churches. There are also performances by the choir of the Smolny Cathedral. For visitors, works of sacred and classical music are performed by the best representatives of the classical music world, both Russian and foreign. Manyperformances are recorded on discs. You can buy them at souvenir kiosks to later enjoy your favorite music at home, remember visiting the cathedral.
In the museum, visitors can purchase a large number of souvenirs and printed materials about the history of St. Isaac's Cathedral. The museum pays great attention to children. To work with them, the program "Museum to School" has been developed. According to it, schoolchildren are told in an interesting way about the history of the cathedral, Orthodoxy, religious culture and secular ethics, and many other topics. For those who want not only to see, but also to learn the history of the city, thematic excursions are organized. Every year they become more and more interesting. This is not surprising, because museum workers are doing a lot of research work, revealing new facts, restoring new exhibits, holding many scientific conferences where experts in their field from all over the world share their experience.
Interior
The decoration of the cathedral is very beautiful. Its interior harmoniously combines various areas of monumental and decorative art. The architectural solutions of the premises are perfectly combined with the decoration of the temple. Sculptural ensembles are unique. In addition, the cathedral features more than one hundred and fifty paintings with biblical scenes.
Playground
Those who wish can visit the museum, as well as climb the observation deck. There you can enjoy the most magnificent views of St. Petersburg. The height of the observation deck is almost fifty meters, so the view from it is very good.
You can climb to the observation deck along the old spiral stone staircase. It has two hundred and eleven steps. This is indicated by the numbers on each of them. Climbing the stairs, each tourist gets to the roof of the cathedral, and then to the platform with columns. This colonnade is the observation deck of St. Isaac's Cathedral.
This staircase is unique in its architectural design. Tourists who have been to the most famous viewing platforms in the world note that it is not difficult to climb the stairs, despite the great height. While walking, for example, to the site of the Eiffel Tower is much more tiring.
Accessible Environment
A great achievement of recent years is the application of the "Accessible Environment" program. Now the observation deck of St. Isaac's Cathedral is accessible even for people with disabilities. It helped that even a hundred years ago there was a load-lifting mechanism.
Based on it, it became possible to build an elevator. This has recently helped a huge number of people with disabilities to see the city from a great height, which they could not even dream of before. The observation deck management warns that the elevator will only be used for its intended purpose. That is, any visitor will not be able to use it.
Surprisingly, despite the fact that the spiral staircase, the colonnade and the observation deck of St. Isaac's Cathedral were built much later than the temple itself, they fit perfectly into the style of the entire architecturalensemble.
Views
A walk along the observation deck will introduce you to gorgeous views. First, visitors are presented with St. Isaac's Square, the square of the same name, a monument to Emperor Nicholas I. Then the gaze stops at the Mariinsky Palace, then the historical buildings of the Astoria hotel complex are visible. Moving further, you can see the Alexander Garden.
Then tourists will see the former Senate and Synod on Senate Square. Now these buildings are occupied by the Presidential Library and the Constitutional Court. Then come the Admir alty Spire and Palace Square, followed by the Winter Palace. In the background you can see the Neva and residential buildings, as well as the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood and the Kazan Cathedral.
Opening hours
Great view gives the observation deck of St. Isaac's Cathedral. The mode of operation is slightly different at different times of the year. In winter, the site can be accessed daily from 11 am to 6 pm. Wednesday is a day off.
You need to know that the ticket office closes an hour earlier, otherwise you may not be in time before closing. In summer, in addition to the already indicated hours, there are additional hours when people can visit the site. This is very convenient for those who want not only to get acquainted with the views, but also to enjoy the white nights, which will help the observation deck of St. Isaac's Cathedral. Opening hours on white nights - from 19 to 4 in the morning.
Ticket price
Entrance to the observation deck is paid. This must be remembered by everyone who wants tovisit St. Isaac's Cathedral. The observation deck, which is quite inexpensive to visit, attracts many visitors.
Tickets cost from 50 (for children and disabled people) to 250 rubles (for adults). For people with disabilities, the observation deck of St. Isaac's Cathedral is completely free. But they can visit it only by appointment, this is due to the fact that few strollers fit in the elevator.
Conclusion
The observation deck of St. Isaac's Cathedral offers a magnificent panorama of the city. Anyone who has been here will never forget these moments of contact with history that this amazing temple gives.
