Red Square
The Red Square is a symbol of Russia. In its architectural ensemble it is considered to be one of the most beautiful squares in Europe. Through the ages it changed its name many times and only in the 17th century it received its present name "Krasnaya" - Red, which in old Russian meant - "Beautiful".
In the middle of the Red square there's St. Basils Cathedral, which is the world known Russian architecture masterpiece. When it was built in 1561 to celebrate Russian victory over Kazan kingdom it was called Pokrovsky cathedral. Later it was renamed after a saint who was close to Ivan the Terrible tsar - Basil (hence - St.Basil).
St Basils was and still is an unusual cathedral: the architects built 8 small churches around the main dome and made the paths from one church to another. Every church is devoted to a separate saint. The cathedral was being rebuilt over and over, so what you see now is in fact about 200 years old. It's really strange how such a chaotic mix of architecture and colors can look so beautiful, but it does.
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