Saint Isaac's Cathedral
Saint Isaac's Cathedral is the grandest church in Saint Petersburg, a monumental neoclassical edifice whose massive gilded dome is a defining feature of the city's skyline. Designed by the French-born architect Auguste de Montferrand, it took forty years to build, from 1818 to 1858, and was dedicated to Saint Isaac of Dalmatia, the patron saint of Peter the Great, on whose feast day the tsar was born.
The cathedral is an extravagant display of imperial wealth: 112 monolithic granite columns, walls and floors clad in marble and malachite, and a dome plated with more than a hundred kilograms of gold. Its construction consumed enormous resources and the labor of thousands, and the building remains an engineering marvel of nineteenth-century Russia.
Since 1931 it has functioned primarily as a state museum, though Orthodox services have resumed in a side chapel since the 1990s and on major feast days. Visitors can climb to the colonnade encircling the base of the dome for sweeping panoramic views over Saint Petersburg's rooftops, canals, and the Neva River.
- Annual visitors
- ≈ 3,000,000
- Location
- 59.9341, 30.3062
- Local time
- 01:35 (Europe/Moscow)
🕘 Visiting hours
| Mon–Tue | 10:30–18:00 |
| Wed | Closed |
| Thu–Sun | 10:30–18:00 |
Closed Wednesdays and 1 Jan; evening session 18:00-21:30 from 1 May-30 Sep
✨ Saints & blessed venerated here
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Saint Isaac of Dalmatia Saint
Cathedral dedicated to him; Peter the Great's patron, born on his feast day
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Saint Alexander Nevsky Saint
Side chapel/altar dedicated to him
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Saint Catherine of Alexandria Saint
Side chapel dedicated to St Catherine
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Theotokos (Virgin Mary) Saint
Major mosaics and icons of the Mother of God in the iconostasis
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Saint Peter the Apostle Saint
Depicted in mosaics; cathedral linked to Peter the Great's patronage
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Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker Saint
Venerated with icon in the cathedral
Care & donations
State Museum-Monument St. Isaac's Cathedral
Admission ticket required
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