St. Basil’s Cathedral, 1
Vocabulary
| saint | symbol | cathedral |
| miss | cover (2) | build/built/built |
| legend | order (3) | completely |
| design | remove | see/saw/seen |
| blind | capture | at this time |
| justice | prevent | impressive |
| like (3) | interior | in comparison |
| at first | section | understated |
| dome | replace | restoration |
| fresco | century | date back to |
| icon | narrow | passageway |
| maze | staircase | lead/led/led |
| chapel | exterior | from one to another |
| seem | abstract | thought out |
| design | architect | think/thought/thought |
| view | situated | demolish |
| moat | dissuade | Soviet Union |
| cost (3) | Kremlin | manage (2) |
| prison | pattern | square (3) |
| camp | toward | appearance (2) |
| bright | weather | intersession |
| metal | similarly | begin/began/begun |
| grave | to do justice |
Video
Transcript
The symbol of Moscow and Russia, St. Basil’s Cathedral, stands at the southern end of Red Square, and is an unmissable part of any Moscow city tour.
It was built between 1555 and 1561 on Ivan the Terrible’s orders after the Russian capture of Kazan and Astrakhan. The design was completely unlike anything else seen in Russia at this time.
There is a legend that Ivan had the builders blinded to prevent them from building a similarly impressive building anywhere else in Russia.
The interior is very understated in comparison with the exterior. This is a section from one of the domes that was removed and replaced during restoration.
There are some beautiful frescoes and the iconostasis in the central part dates back to the 16th century.
It is a maze of narrow passageways and staircases leading from one chapel to another. Although at first, it may seem that there’s little order to the abstract design, it is actually very well thought out. There are eight chapels, all situated around a central ninth chapel.
There are some great views of Red Square from the cathedral.
In Soviet times, there was talk of demolishing the cathedral, like most churches and cathedrals, but one architect managed to dissuade the Kremlin. Although this did cost him five years in a prison camp.
The spectacularly bright-colored and patterned domes were actually covered in metal towards the end of the 18th century, but by 1817 they were returned to their colorful appearance.
St. Basil is actually just the name of one of the churches which houses the grave of St. Basil. Its official name is the Cathedral of the Intercession of the Virgin by the Moat, but almost from the beginning it was called St. Basil’s.
Unfortunately, the weather doesn’t do the colors of the domes justice in this film, so you’ll just have to go and see for yourself. For more information on Moscow and Russian tours, please visit Express to Russia.
Questions
St. Basil’s Cathedral. The most famous symbol of Russia is the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg. True or false?
Clock Tower, Big Ben. Was the St. Basil’s Cathedral constructed in the 1000s?
Pyramids of Giza. Are there only paintings inside the cathedral?
Notre Dame Cathedral.The interior of the cathedral consists of one very large hall. Is this right or wrong?
Taj Mahal. Is St. Basil’s Cathedral surrounded by trees? Is St. Basil’s Cathedral in the middle of a forest?
Machu Picchu. During the Soviet era, was there a “hero” regarding the St. Basil’s Cathedral?
Neuschwanstein Castle. The cathedral is monochrome. Is this correct or incorrect? Has it always been that way?
Leaning Tower of Pisa. I have visited the St. Basil’s Cathedral. Yes or no? Have your friends visited the St. Basil’s Cathedral?
Angkor Wat. What famous buildings and monuments have you been to or visited? I have been to . . . .
Pyramids of Sun. The St. Basil’s Cathedral is the most beautiful building in the world. What do you think?
Acropolis, Parthenon. What buildings or monuments would you like to visit? I would like to visit . . . .
Hagia Sofia. What might happen in the future?
Capitol Hill. Should people elsewhere construct replicas or reproduce the St. Basil’s Cathedral?
