The name "Smolny" is derived from "Smolny Dvor" ( Tar house). The Convent was founded by Elizabeth in 1748. She wanted to take the veil to the end of her life.  Elizabeth commissioned Rastrelli to head the construction. The construcion didn't proceed very fast because of the Seven Years War (1757), and when Elizabeth died, only the basic structure was completed by Rastrelli. After the accession of Catherine II,  in 1797, the convent was closed, but in 1832-35 V.P. Stasov was in charge of completing and decorating Rastrelli's project.  As a result, the Convent represents a combination of ornamental Baroque with purely Russian elements such as the five white and blue onion domes.  The Smolny Cathedral is shaped like a Greek cross and richly decorated with white pilasters and window-surrounds as well as with a 420-foot bell tower.