SMOLNY CATHEDRAL
The Empress Elizabeth commissioned Rastrelli to construct a convent where she planned on spending her last days. It was not finished before the Empress' death and the convent was never completed. Catherine the Great in her endless desire to inflict enlightenment upon her subjects, took what there was of the Smolny project and turned it into a finishing school for daughters of the gentry, the first educational establishment for women in Russia. On the grounds of the convent there is a beautiful cathedral. Now it is the home of temporary exhibitions and occasional choral or chamber concerts.
Cathedral open 11:00 - 17:00, closed Tuesdays
