Onion dome

An onion dome, also known as onion cupola, is a dome whose shape resembles an onion. Such domes are often larger in diameter than the tholobate (drum) upon which they sit, and their height usually exceeds their width. They taper smoothly upwards to a point.

This feature is typically associated with churches belonging to the Russian Orthodox Church, although they also persist in other Eastern European countries, and occasionally in Western Europe: Bavaria (Germany), Austria, and northeastern Italy. Buildings with onion domes are also found in the Oriental regions of Central and South Asia, and the Middle East.

Other types of Eastern Orthodox cupolas include helmet domes (for example, those of the Dormition Cathedral in Vladimir), Ukrainian pear domes (St Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv), and Baroque bud domes (St Andrew's Church in Kyiv) or an onion-helmet mixture like the St Sophia Cathedral in Novgorod.