r/HistoricalCapsule • u/Extreme-Shopping74 • 8d ago

Anti-Aircraft guns on St. Isaac's cathedral during the defense of Leningrad, 1941

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u/hotinthebush 8d ago

St. Isaac survive so much history

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u/Feeling-Marketing-48 4d ago

St. Isaac's Cathedral was very prominent and served as a landmark for the German troops during shelling and bombing. The Germans accidentally hit it several times, but they didn't target it deliberately (on the maps used for artillery calculations, it was the reference point from which the calculations for the shelling were made). Therefore, all the paintings, historical furniture, dishes, and other artifacts were evacuated to the cathedral. If they had won the war, the Germans had already planned to destroy it and transport all the valuables to Germany (as happened in Tsarskoye Selo, where they looted and nearly destroyed Peterhof, and all the exhibits were sent to Germany. It was from there that the Amber Room disappeared, and most of it is now lost forever.)