Saint Sophia Cathedral, Vologda

It was constructed between 1568 and 1570 at the behest of Ivan the Terrible who had made Vologda the centre of his personal demesne (known as the Oprichnina).

[2] The cathedral is noted for remarkable preservation of its 17th-century wall paintings and for its elaborately carved Baroque icon screen.

The tsar also, for unknown reason, ordered the cathedral's unusual orientation: its altar apse does not face east as is common in churches but rather northeast.

The cathedral's decoration was completed during the reign of Ivan's son Feodor who finally had the church consecrated in 1587.

A legend says that, before leaving Vologda, Ivan gave an order for the cathedral to be demolished (the likely reason being that, during his visit to the construction site, a brick fell on his head).

The cathedral campanile (free-standing bell tower), at 78 metres (256 ft) high, has been the highest building in Vologda since the 17th century.

Its upper tier was fancifully Gothicized in 1869 by Vladimir Schildknecht, the chief architect of Vologda Governorate, at the bidding of Bishop Palladius.