St. Paul's Cathedral in London

Along with the world-famous Big Ben, Tower Bridge and Baker Street, St. Paul's Cathedral has long been a visiting card of London. In England, there is probably not more than one as unusual and ancient cathedral as the St. Paul's Cathedral in London, which is on the list of sights of any self-respecting tourist. From our article you can learn a little about the history of this amazing structure.

Where is St. Paul's Cathedral?

St. Paul's Cathedral is located on the highest point of the capital of foggy Albion, in the very place where, during Roman rule, there was the temple of the goddess Diana. With the advent of Christianity it was here that the first Christian church of England was located. As far as it is true - it is for certain difficult to judge, because the first documentary evidence of being in this place of the church refers only to the 7th century.

Who built St. Paul's Cathedral?

The building of the cathedral, which has survived to our times, is already the fifth, erected on this very place. The previous four died in the fire of fires or as a result of the raiding raids of the Vikings. The father of the fifth cathedral of St. Paul was the English architect Christopher Wren. The work on the construction of the cathedral was carried out for 33 years (from 1675 to 1708) and throughout this period the project of construction was repeatedly changed. The first project involved the construction of a fairly large church on the foundation of the previous cathedral. But the authorities wanted something more ambitious and this project was rejected. According to the second draft, the cathedral was to have the appearance of a Greek cross. After the project was worked out in detail and even the mock-up of the cathedral was made at the scale of 1/24, it was still considered too radical. The third project, executed by Christopher Wren, assumed the construction of a temple with a dome and two towers. This project was recognized as final and in 1675 construction work began. But soon after the work began, the king ordered to make regular changes to the project, thanks to which a huge dome appeared on the cathedral.

What is unique about St. Paul's Cathedral in London?

1. Until recently, the cathedral remained the tallest building in the English capital. But even now, in the era of skyscrapers, he did not lose his greatness due to perfectly adjusted forms and sizes. The height of the cathedral is 111 meters.
2. The dome of St. Paul's Cathedral in London completely repeats the dome of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.
3. In order to find funds for the construction of the cathedral in England, an additional tax was imposed on the coal imported into the country.
4. In the course of the construction, Christopher Wren got the right to make changes to the approved project, due to which the cathedral has little in common with the project.
5. The dome of the cathedral has a unique complex construction: it is made of three layers. Outside, only the outer lead shell is visible, which rests on the middle layer - a brick dome. From the inside, a brick dome is hidden from the eyes of visitors by an internal dome that serves as a ceiling. Thanks to this three-layer construction, the dome was able to survive the bombing during World War II, when the eastern part of the cathedral was damaged.
6. The Crypt of St. Paul's Cathedral became the site of the last shelter of many outstanding people of England. Here Admiral Nelson, painter Turner, Lord Wellington found peace. The father of the cathedral is the architect Christopher Wren, who also rests here. On his grave there is no monument, and the inscription, carved on the wall next to the grave, says that the cathedral serves as the monument to the architect.