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The Admiralty (Admiralteystvo), standing at the western end of Nevskiy prospekt, is one of the world's most magnificent expressions of naval triumphalism, extending 407m (1300ft) along the waterfront, from Palace Square (Dvortsovaya ploshchad) to Decembrists' Square (ploshchad Dekabristov). Originally founded by Peter the Great in 1704 as a fortified shipyard, with a primitive wooden tower and spire, the Admiralty gradually became purely administrative in function and a suitable building was erected in the early 1820s. Today, the key feature of the building is still its central tower (72.5m high), rising from an arched cube and culminating in a slender spire. Largely obscuring the Admiralty, the wooded Admiralty Garden (Admiralteyskiy sad) leads towards Decembrists' Square. The square is named after a group of reformist officers who, in December 1825, marched three thousand soldiers into the square in an attempt to proclaim a constitutional monarchy. This revolt turned from farce to tragedy when Tsar Nicholas I ordered his loyalist troops to attack and crush the rebellion. From here, your eyes are inevitably drawn to Falconet's renowned statue of Peter the Great, known as the Bronze Horseman (Medniy vsadnik), which rears up towards the waterfront, and the newlyweds who come here to be photographed. Looming majestically above the rooftops, St Isaac's Cathedral (Isaakievskiy sobor; daily except Wed 11am-7pm, colonnade till 5pm; $6, colonnade $4), just off ploshchad Dekabristov, is too massive to grasp at close quarters. Standing in its own square, the cathedral's gilded dome is one of the glories of St Petersburg's skyline, while its opulent interior is equally impressive, decorated with fourteen kinds of marble. The cathedral's height (101.5m) and rooftop statues are best appreciated by climbing the 262 steps up to its dome - the third largest cathedral dome in Europe, with enough gold leaf used to push the total cost of the cathedral to 23,256,000 rubles (six times that of the Winter Palace). Few tourists can resist the St Nicholas Cathedral (Nikolskiy sobor), to the south of St Isaac's Cathedral and Theatre Square (Teatralnaya ploshchad). Traditionally known as the "Sailors' Church" after the naval officers who once prayed here, the cathedral is a lovely example of eighteenth-century Russian Baroque - painted ice blue with white Corinthian pilasters and aedicules, and crowned by five gilded onion domes. Its low, vaulted interior is festooned with icons, and during services (6pm) the cathedral resounds with the sonorous Orthodox liturgy, chanted and sung amid clouds of incense.
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