Nizhniy Novgorod Oblast: Nizhniy Novgorod – Nativity Church

Nizhniy Movgorod has a lot of cathedrals and churches but perhaps the most beautiful is the Nativity Church. The colorful red church was built in 1696 by Grigoriy Stroganov, a super wealthy merchant (perhaps the forefather of Russian oligarchs), who actually defined his own style in church building known as Stroganov Baroque. There are five onion domes – four pointing to the four parts of the world and one bigger one above them – all super colorful with bright tiles. The church itself is equally colorful, as is the standalone Bell Tower – an octagon on top of a cube.