Kolomenskoe

This is the spire of Church of the Beheading of St John the Baptist at Kolomenskoe Estate in Moscow.  We're enjoying a few days of 'real' winter, at least in terms of snowfall.  Lots of it around though maybe not for long as temperatures head above zero this week.

Kolomenskoye goes back to the 13th century, when a settlement was founded there by people from the nearby town of Kolomna, who were fleeing a Tatar assault.  A hundred years later it became a summer retreat for the imperial family. 

The Church was built circa 1547 during the reign of Ivan IV ('Ivan the Terrible'), apparently to mark the pending birth of his son, Vasily.  Reputedly designed by architect Postnik Yakovlevwho also designed the iconic Saint Basil's Cathedral on the Red Square.