Saint Sophia Cathedral, Vologda

59°13′28″N 39°52′57″E / 59.22444°N 39.88250°E / 59.22444; 39.88250

Saint Sophia Cathedral (Russian: Софийский собор) is the oldest surviving building in the city of Vologda^[1] and the main church of the Vologda Eparchy of the Russian Orthodox Church. 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). The cathedral is located on the right bank of the Vologda River, just outside the former citadel known as the Vologda Kremlin.^[2]

The cathedral is noted for remarkable preservation of its 17th-century wall paintings and for its elaborately carved Baroque icon screen. It is listed as an architectural monument of federal significance (#3510063013).^[3]