Dormition Cathedral, Moscow

Assumption Cathedral
Успенский Собор
The Cathedral of the Dormition in the Moscow Kremlin, (south façade, viewed from Cathedral Square, summer)
Coordinates: 55°45′04″N 37°37′01″E / 55.75111°N 37.61694°E / 55.75111; 37.61694
Location	Moscow
Country	Russia
Denomination	Russian Orthodox
Website	http://www.kreml.ru/en/kremlin/buildings/Uspenskiy/
History
Consecrated	1479
Architecture
Style	Russian

The Cathedral of the Dormition (Russian: Успенский Собор, or Uspensky sobor), also known as the Assumption Cathedral or Cathedral of the Assumption is a Russian Orthodox church dedicated to the Dormition of the Theotokos. It is located on the north side of Cathedral Square of the Moscow Kremlin in Russia, where a narrow alley separates the north from the Patriarch's Palace with the Twelve Apostles Church. Southwest is Ivan the Great Bell Tower. Separately in the southwest, also separated by a narrow passage from the church, is the Palace of Facets. The Cathedral is regarded as the mother church of Muscovite Russia. In its present form it was constructed between 1475–79 at the behest of the Moscow Grand Duke Ivan III by the Italian architect Aristotele Fioravanti. From 1547 to 1896 it is where the Coronation of the Russian monarch was held. In addition, it is the burial place for most of the Moscow Metropolitans and Patriarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Archaeological investigations in 1968 indicated that the site of the present Cathedral was a medieval burial ground, supporting hypothesis that a wooden church existed on the site in the 12th century. This was replaced by a limestone structure built around 1326, which is mentioned in historical records.