Russia in 1839 -Empire of the Czar: A Journey Through Eternal Russia

The uneven, thinly-inhabited, and only half-cultivated plain, resembles downs dotted with a few stunted firs. It was out of the midst of this solitude that I saw, as it were suddenly spring up, thousands of pointed steeples, star-spangled belfries, airy turrets, strangely-shaped towers, palaces, and old convents, the bodies of which all remained entirely concealed.

This first view of the capital of the Slavonians, rising brightly in the cold solitudes of the Christian East, produces an impression that cannot easily be forgotten.

Before the eye, spreads a landscape, wild and gloomy, but grand as the ocean; and to animate the dreary void, there rises a poetical city, whose architecture is without either a designating name or a known model.

To understand the peculiarity of the picture, it iî` necessary to remind the reader of the orthodox plan of every Greek church. The summit of these sacred edifices is always composed of several towers, which vary in form and height, but the number of which is five at the least — a sacramental number, that is often greatly exceeded. The middle steeple is the most lofty ; the four others respectfully surround this principal tower. Their form varies : the summits of some resemble pointed caps placed upon a head ; the great towers of certain churches, painted and gilded externally, may be severally compared to a bishop's mitre, a tiara adorned with gems, a Chinese pavilion, a minaret, and a clergyman's hat. They often consist of a simple cupola, in the shape of a bowl, and terminating in a point. All these more or less whimsical figures are crowned with large, open-worked