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The original Cathedral of Christ the Savior was erected by the order of Russian Emperor Alexander I as a monument to the courage and fortitude of the Russian people in the struggle against the Napoleon’s invasion of 1812. The conception of building a grandiose gold-headed memorial resurrected the ancient tradition of vow temples dating back to the pre-Mongolian times and symbolized thanksgiving to God for the victory in the Patriotic War. The solemn laying of the cornerstone took place on October 12, 1817 on the Vorobyovy Gory (Sparrow Hills). However, after a short time, all the work was ceased in the view of soil unsteadiness. The new project of the church designed by the architect K.A.Ton was endorsed in 1832 already by Nicholas I, who personally chose the location for the future temple – on the bank of the Moscow river, not far from the Kremlin. The construction of the white-marble giant took almost 44 years – the sublime edifice first appeared before Muscovites in 1860. Its creation was the result of the collaboration of the best architects and renowned artists of the time including V.Surikov, I.Kramskoy, V.Vereshchagin. In 1880 the temple was granted the title of the Cathedral, it hosted such solemn events as coronations, nation-wide holidays and anniversaries (including the 300th anniversary of the House of Romanovs). However, in 1931 in the heat of the persecution of the Church by the Soviet regime the Cathedral was brutally vandalized and ruined. After 17 years the huge «Moscow» swimming-pool appeared on that spot. Nevertheless, in the end of the 80s a social movement appeared calling for the recreation of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, and in 2000 the principal Cathedral of the Russian Orthodox Church reopened its doors. Now, as a century ago, the Cathedral hosts Orthodox divine services, along with housing a museum.  
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