St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow, Russia was built between 1555-1561 by order of Ivan the Terrible to commemorate Russia's defeat of the Khanate of Kazan. It is located in Red Square near the Kremlin. The cathedral was originally white with gold onion domes, but it acquired more decorative elements over time. It has eight towers representing the eight days of the Siege of Kazan and nine churches total, with the central one commemorating Basil the Blessed.

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Where and when was this church built?

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Geographic coordinates
Red Square, Moscow, Russia, 109012
St. Basil's Cathedral, Address
55°45′9″N37°37′23″E
It was built from 1555–61 on orders from Ivan the Terrible to (16th century) commemorate the capture of the Tatar stronghold
of Kazan in 1552, which occured on the Feast of the Intercession of the Virgin.
The site of the church had been, historically, a busy marketplace between the St. Frol's (later Saviour's) Gate of the Moscow
Kremlin and the outlying posad. The centre of the marketplace was marked by the Trinity Church. It is centrally located
The cathedral was built in the geographical centre of Moscow City – the city developed around this location since 14th century.
Cathedral is located close to the Kremlin, but outside it.
What is a posad?
Posad = A posad (Russian: посад) was a settlement in the RussianEmpire, often surrounded by ramparts and a moat, adjoining a
town or a kremlin, but outside of it, or adjoining a monastery in the 10th to 15th centuries. The posad was inhabited by craftsmen and
merchants and was its own distinct community, separate from the city it adjoined.
How the context, building period and evolution makes the building historically significant and meaningful?
St. Basil the Blessed (a.k.a. St. Basil Fool for Christ; 1468-1552), almost from the beginning. Basil impressed Ivan in 1547 when he
foretold a fire that swept through Moscow that year. Upon his death, Basil was buried in the Trinity Cathedral that stood on this site at
the time.

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Ivan had the architect blinded in order to prevent him from building a more magnificent building for anyone else.
"The Cathedral of the Intercession of the Virgin by the Moat". The popular alternative refers to Basil the Blessed, a Muscovite
'holy fool' who was buried on the site (in the Trinity Cathedral that once stood here) a few years before the present building was
erected.
The Cathedral was ordered by Ivan the Terrible to mark the 1552 capture of Kazan from Mongol forces. It was completed in
1560.
8 churches around a central ninth
signify the victory of ivan the great
Is a showcase of Renaissance Russian architecture built during the :Middle Muscovite period
The Siege of Kazan in 1552 was the final battle of Russo-Kazan Wars. It led to the fall of Khanate of Kazan. However, it was not the
last battle on the khanate's territory. After the fall of Kazan, rebel governments formed in Çalım and Mişätamaq, and a new khan was
invited from the Nogais. This continuation guerrilla war was ended only in 1556.

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Eight towers to represent 8 stages of the siege of Kazan.
Made out almost entirely of brick and geometric in shape.
The original concept hidden from us beneath layers of stylistic additions and new churches added to the main building. In fact,
when built, the Cathedral was all white to match the white-stone Kremlin, and the onion domes were gold rather than multi-
colored and patterned as they are today.
In the 17th century a hip-roofed bell tower was added, the gallery and staircases were covered with vaulted roofing, and the
helmeted domes were replaced with decorated ones. In 1860 during rebuilding, the Cathedral was painted with a more
complex and integrated design, and has remained unchanged since.

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1580's the onion domes were added
Hand painted metal sheet

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Elevation Plan

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Floor plan

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Section Plan
To conclude, the location of Saint Basil's Church, was entirely based upon the achievements of Ivan the terrible, thus the previous
location site was intentionally made to be close to the Kremlin wall. Furthermore the space was unused for what was deemed
inappropriate. In addition, the Cathedral is now a world wide tourists attraction due to its location, of being close to the central areas of
the city, making it entirely assessable as a cathedral and museum. The heavy duty legends and myths that soak upon the tales of the
creation and alteration of this cathedral make it a super historical structure, mostly due to how little is known about it.
References
http://www.webcitation.org/607f8dRdv
http://www.moscow.info/red-square/st-basils-cathedral.aspx
http://www.history.com/videos/building-st-basils-cathedral style="color: #444444; font-family: Merriweather, serif; line-height: 20px;">