Which Moscow cathedral on Red Square is famous for its colorful onion domes?

Saint Basil’s Cathedral is the Moscow cathedral on Red Square famous for its colorful onion domes.

The church was commissioned by Ivan the Terrible to commemorate the capture of Kazan and Astrakhan, campaigns that ended in 1552 and 1556. Construction took place from 1555 to 1561. Its full traditional name refers to the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos on the Moat.

The building is a complex of interconnected chapels arranged around a central church. Its distinctive domes, patterns, and asymmetrical silhouette developed through later alterations, painting, and restoration rather than following the appearance of a simple single-room church.

The popular name honors Basil the Blessed, a revered holy fool whose chapel was added after his death. Saint Basil’s is often described as a cathedral, but it is also commonly called a church or monument because it no longer functions as Moscow’s principal cathedral.