Saint Basil’s Cathedral anchoring the south end of Red Square was commissioned by Ivan the Terrible in 1554 and finished in 1561. The iconic landmark consists of eight brick churches in perfect symmetry around the ninth tallest one. The Cathedral of Intercession of the Virgin by the Moat is stunning with its towers, scales, arches and onion domes. Originally all white, the rainbow of colors was added in 1860. Thankfully, this former Russian Orthodox church survived attempted demolition by Napoleon in 1812 and Joseph Stalin in 1936.
