Cathedrals of St. Petersburg

Day 1. St. Petersburg

Arrival to St. Petersburg. Transfer to the hotel. Accommodation. Free time.

Day 2. St. Petersburg

Breakfast at the hotel.
Excursion to St. Isaac's Cathedral.                                                   
Saint Isaac's Cathedral was built between 1818 and 1858 by the French-born architect Auguste Montferrand to be the city’s main Orthodox Church and one of the most impressive landmarks of the Russian Empire. The gilded dome (101.5 m high) of Saint Isaac’s dominates the skyline of Saint Petersburg. The cathedral’s facades are decorated with sculptures and massive granite columns made of single pieces of red granite and the interior is adorned with precious mosaic icons, paintings and malachite and lapis lazuli columns. Also very impressive, close to the main altar, is the brightly colored stained glass window representing the “Resurrection of Christ”. The cathedral, designed to accommodate 14’000 standing worshipers, was converted into a museum in the early 1930’s. Today religious services are held here regularly, on all Great holidays and Sundays. The observation platform on the colonnade provides a magnificent view of the city.
Transfer to the hotel. Free time.

Day 3. St. Petersburg

Breakfast at the hotel.
Excursion to the Peter and Paul Cathedral.
The Peter and Paul Cathedral was the first church in Saint Petersburg built of stone. It was designed by Domenico Trezzini and constructed on the grounds of the Peter and Paul Fortress on Zayachy Island. The cathedral’s magnificent baroque interior is decorated with artificial marble columns, gilded carvings and iconostasis as well as some paintings which are worth seeing. All Russian Emperors and Empresses of the Romanov Dynasty are buried in the cathedral and their tombstones made of semi-precious stones can be seen. The Peter and Paul Cathedral is the highest building in the city. The bell-tower with its gilded needle-spire crowned with an angel bearing a cross (122.5 m high) is one of the important landmarks of Saint Petersburg. 
Transfer to the hotel. Free time.

Day 4. St. Petersburg

Breakfast at the hotel.
Excursion to the Cathedral of Ressurection - Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood.
This marvelous Russian-style church was built between 1883 and 1907at the place where Emperor Alexander II was assassinated in March 1881.  It was designed by the architect Parland in the spirit of 16th-17th century Russian architecture and resembles St. Basil's Cathedral on the Red Square in Moscow. Both inside and outside the church is decorated with unique mosaics designed by a group of renowned Russian artists (Victor Vasnetsov, Mikhail Nesterov and Andrei Riabushkin). The mosaics were created from semi precious stones whose surface was left unpolished in order to better reflect the sunlight. The Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood was closed in 1930. After almost 3 decades of meticulous restorations, the Cathedral of the Resurrection was reopened in August 1997 and today its original beauty can be admired again. 
Transfer to the hotel. Free time.

Day 5. St. Petersburg

Breakfast at the hotel.
Excursion to the Smolny Cathedral of the Resurrection.  
With its dazzling cupolas and baroque style architecture, the Smolny Cathedral rises majestically above the banks of the Neva River. Its construction started in the middle of the 18th century according to the plan of Bartholomeo Rastrelli who has also designed many of St Petersburg’s most outstanding landmarks like the Winter Palace, the Palace of Catherine the Great in Pushkin and the Grand Palace in Peterhof. After the revolution, the cathedral met the fate of most churches in St. Petersburg and was closed for many years. In 1972, the iconostasis was taken from the temple and soon after the cathedral became a museum. Later on, it was converted into a concert hall for Russian spiritual music performances.
Transfer to the hotel. Free time.

Day 6. St. Petersburg

Breakfast at the hotel.
Excursion to the St. Trinity Alexander Nevsky Lavra.
The St. Trinity Alexander Nevsky Lavra is an orthodox monastery founded in 1710 by Peter the Great. It is located on the very place where According to the legend, prince Andrey, a son of the holy prince Alexander Nevsky, gained a victory over the Swedish troops in 1301. The church was consecrated to Saint Alexander Nevsky whose remains where triumphantly brought to St Petersburg from the ancient Russian city of Vladimir in 1724. The relic was placed in the monastery’s St Alexander Nevsky Church that was built in 1717 – 1722 by the architect Domenico Trezzini. In 1790 the relic was transferred to the newly built St Trinity Cathedral, designed by the architect Ivan Starov.  In 1797 the Alexander Nevsky monastery was elevated to the status of Lavra (lavra, a name given to rich monasteries of the highest rank enjoying special privileges). The monastery and its churches suffered the tragic destruction after the Bolshevik Revolution but have gradually been revived. Already in 1956 the cathedral was given back to the Orthodox Church and in 1989 the relics of Alexander Nevsky were brought back to the monastery.
Transfer to the hotel. Free time.

Day 7. St. Petersburg

Breakfast at the hotel.
Free time. Transfer to the airport. Departure.