Smolny Cathedral

Smolny Cathedral (here by Heath Flor) was originally built as part of a Russian Orthodox convent to house Empress Elizaveta Petrovna. After her father Peter the Great died, she was one of the two surviving heirs, but she was prevented from ascending to the rule of Russia. So she decided to become a nun, until fate turned her way again and she returned to rule in the coup of 1741. The convent founded for her continued under her patronage, though today it serves as a concert hall and the location of some government and university offices.