Onion domes

April 2013

 

Before I was in Russia I imagined there were lots of big onion domes of different colours everywhere.  In fact, I saw several beautiful churches with the onion domes.  The churches I liked most were Saint Basil's Cathedral in Moscow and The Church of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ in Saint Petersburg.  I wanted to climb up to each of the multi-coloured domes and look at the details to see how they were built and painted. 

 

Saint Basil's Cathedral, Moscow, 2013

The Church of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ,
Saint Petersburg, 2013



The Church of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ,
Saint Petersburg, 2013

Both of these churches are quite similar, they are red-brick building.  The latter is reddish-brown, so it is darker.  There are many ornaments, floral patterns and coloured bricks, they are finely decorated on the surface of the building.  I admired the architects who produce on such elaborate designs. 



Saint Basil's Cathedral & the Kremlin, Moscow, 2013

 



Red Square, Moscow, 2013

The most famous church with onion domes, Saint Basil's Cathedral, is bigger than the others and stands beside the Kremlin and on Red Square, so people can find it easily.  While the large open area of Red Square which gives it a relaxed atmosphere.  I very much liked the shape of the building; the towers were all of different heights.  It was superb.

 

I do not know why but when I saw this church I immediately thought of Aladdin.  I looked up expecting to see a flying carpet and hopefully find the Aladdin's lamp, which he might have left on the floor.  Actually I was stupid enough to mix up the religions; Aladdin is set in Persia (now Iran) and they believe in Islam, Russians are Orthodox Christianity.  But I stubbornly kept on looking for a flying object in the sky.  Of course, I finally found one, a plane.