Konstantin Thon's design was approved in 1832 for the original cathedral, replacing Aleksandr Vitberg's Neoclassical scheme of 1817. The cornerstone was laid in 1839, and the cathedral was consecrated on May 26, 1883, after more than 40 years of construction. The dome was gilded by electroplating. The article calls the style Russian Revival.
The Soviet government dynamited it on December 5, 1931. A Palace of the Soviets was started in 1937 but halted in 1941 and never built. In 1958 the site became the Moskva Pool, described as the world's largest open-air swimming pool, dismantled in 1994.
Reconstruction began in 1994. Aleksey Denisov was hired to design the replica but was fired, and Zurab Tsereteli replaced him. The completed cathedral was consecrated on August 19, 2000. It is 259 feet (79 m) square, 339 feet (103.4 m) high and holds 9,500 people.
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