The blue and white Smolny Cathedral is the heart of Smolny Convent.
The complex is located on the banks of the Neva River and was built for Elizabeth, the daughter of Peter the Great. After she could not take the throne, she wanted to become a nun. However, she did not become one.
In 1741 Elizabeth, member of the House of Romanov, became Empress of Russia. She took over the sceptre from Ivan VI, who was proclaimed emperor at the age of only two months, but was overthrown in a coup not one year later.
The church of the convent was designed by the Italian architect Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli. He was also responsible for the design of the Winter Palace, Peterhof Palace near St. Petersburg and Saint Andrew’s Church in Kiev.
In 1923 the churches were closed by the Soviet authorities. 92 years later it was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church and is being used as a church again.
