The Cathedral of the Annunciation (Благовещенский Собор)

nobody@flickr.com (foje64) — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 09:38:24 -0700

foje64 posted a photo:

On the crest of Borovitsky Hill, at the south end of the Cathedral Square in Moscow Kremlin, stands the Cathedral of the Annunciation.

The first church was built on this spot as early as 1397 by order of Grand Duke Vassily I. The present building dates from 1484, when Ivan III (the Great), the great Muscovite empire-builder, ordered a new cathedral on the site. It was completed in 1489 by Krivtsov and Mishkin, masons from Pskov, who blended Greek and Russian styles in their design.
Generations of princes and tsars added to and altered the Cathedral. Ivan IV (the Terrible) had the cathedral rebuilt in the 16th century and added four small side chapels, each with a single dome, while two more domes were added at the rear of the building and all nine domes were gilded. The Tsar was put under church penance when he married for the fourth time (three was the maximum the church would tolerate), and not allowed inside. This led to the construction of a new porch for him to stand under during services.

The Cathedral of the Annunciation was originally built as the domestic church of the Grand Dukes and tsars and was connected (along with the Cathedral of the Archangel) by passages to the private quarters of the royal family. The cathedral was used to celebrate name-days, weddings, baptisms and so forth. The Cathedral of the Annunciation was badly damaged during the Revolution, when the Kremlin came under attack from artillery fire. In 1918, the cathedral was closed as a place of worship and now it operates officially as a museum.

HDR made from three handheld shots, AEB -2, 0 +2. Equipment: Canon EOS 500D and EF-S10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM. Processed with Photomatix Pro 4.0, Photoshop Elements 7.0, Topaz Adjust 4 and Noise Ninja.

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The Cathedral of the Annunciation (Благовещенский Собор)