SMOLNY RESURRECTION CATHEDRAL

A masterpiece of Russian Baroque, the Cathedral of the Resurrection is the centrepiece of the monastic ensemble of the Virgin and Resurrection (Voskressenski Novodievitchi, commonly known as Smolny because of its proximity to the court of the same name), an ensemble invested by the apparatchiks during the Soviet period. Restored to the Orthodox clergy in 2009, this superb blue, white and gold baroque monument bears in its baroque elegance the signature of Rastrelli, who worked there from 1748 to 1769. The cathedral was erected at the request of the future Empress Elisabeth Petrovna, daughter of Peter the Great, on the site of the palace where she had spent her childhood. Initially prevented from acceding to the throne and sent to a convent, she did not forget her vows after her accession to power in 1741. You can visit one of its four bell towers, from which there is a superb view of St. Petersburg. The Cathedral of the Resurrection houses an exhibition and concert hall, but the Orthodox liturgy has regained its rights there for the main religious ceremonies. The magnificent church is surrounded by monastery buildings which housed Russia's first female educational institution, reserved for the aristocracy. It is hard to imagine that this string of pastel walls also housed the hierarchs of the Communist Party. Yet it was in the monastery's monastery buildings that Lenin set up his staff before moving to Moscow.