Miaka 450 ya Kanisa la Mtakatifu Basil

Ni kanisa lenye historia ya aina yake, lilijengwa kwa miaka sita, na sasa linatimiza miaka 450.

Majengo ya kanisa hilo la Mtakatifu Basil nchini Russia yana mvuto wa aina yake, yanatumika kwa shughuli za utalii, kupiga picha za harusi na sherehe za kukaribisha mwaka mpya.

Kila Januari 2 huwa ni sikukuu ya Mtakatifu Basil, nafurahi kulifahamu kanisa hili lenye jina langu, na ninaamini kwamba, huko Russia sherehe zitakuwa bomba.

He was naked, homeless and fiercely argumentative — and his name is immortalized in one of Russia's most remarkable buildings, St. Basil's Cathedral.

An exhibition detailing the lives of St. Basil and other religious zealots known as "holy fools" opened Tuesday as part of ceremonies marking the 450th anniversary of perhaps Moscow's most famous tourist attraction.

After years of restoration work that cost 390 million rubles ($14 million) — including the reinforcement of the walls and the pile of brightly colored onion domes and spires that crown the architectural fantasia — the iconic church looks lavish, and a striking contrast to the extreme asceticism that the holy fools practiced.

Although originally named the Cathedral of the Intercession of the Virgin by the Moat, most know it as St.

Basil's, referring to Basil the Blessed, a Muscovite "holy fool" who was buried on the original site before the present building was erected.

The Russian Orthodox church sits on Moscow's Red Square just yards from the Kremlin, and its distinctive onion domes have been a backdrop for military parades, concerts, New Year celebrations and Muscovites' wedding photos.

St Basil's, built by order of Ivan the Terrible to celebrate Kazan and Astrakhan being captured, was completed in 1561 after six years of work.

Legend has it the church's architect was blinded on its completion to ensure he could not recreate the spectacular design elsewhere.

Originally made up of eight churches around a central church, a 10th was later built over the grave of local saint Vasily - Basil in English. It was made entireley secular in 1929 under the Communist regime.

Now a museum, it is part of the Unesco World Heritage Site designated as the Moscow Kremlin and Red Square.