Smolny Cathedral (Saint Petersburg)

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  GuyB

  Smolny Convent of the Resurrection, consists of a Cathedral (sobor) and a complex of buildings surrounding it, originally intended for a convent. Construction on the complex was begun as a Russian Orthodox monastery for nuns. It was built to house Elizabeth, the daughter of Peter the Great, after she was disallowed from succession to the throne and opted instead to become a nun. However, as soon as her Imperial predecessor, Ivan VI, was overthrown during a coup d'état carried out by the royal guards in 1741, Elizabeth decided against entering monastic life and accepted the offer of the Russian throne. However, work on the convent continued with royal patronage. Smolny Cathedral (Sobor). Smolny Cathedral (Sobor). The convent's main church (catholicon or sobor), a stunning blue-and-white building, is considered to be one of the architectural masterpieces of the Italian architect Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli, who also created the Winter Palace, the Grand Catherine Palace (Yekaterininsky) in Tsarskoye Selo (Pushkin), the Grand Palace in Peterhof and many other major St. Petersburg landmarks. The Cathedral is the centerpiece of the convent, built by Rastrelli between 1748 and 1764. The projected bell-tower was to become the tallest building in St. Petersburg and, at the time, all of Russia. Elizabeth's death in 1762 prevented Rastrelli from completing this grand design.

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