<P> The domes are often brightly painted: their colors may informally symbolise different aspects of religion . Green, blue, and gold domes are sometimes held to represent the Holy Trinity, the Holy Spirit, and Jesus, respectively . Black ball - shaped domes were once popular in the snowy north of Russia . </P> <P> The onion dome is not only found in Russian architecture: it was also used extensively in Mughal architecture, which later went on to influence Indo - Gothic architecture . Outside India, it is also used in Iran and other places in the Middle East and Central Asia . At the end of the 19th century, the Dutch built Baiturrahman Grand Mosque in Aceh, Indonesia, which incorporated onion shaped dome . The shape of the dome has been used in numerous mosques in Indonesia since then . </P> <P> Baroque domes in the shape of an onion (or other vegetables or flower - buds) were common in the Holy Roman Empire as well . The first one was built in 1576 by the architect John Holl (1512 - 1594) on the church of the Convent of the Franciscan Sisters of Maria Stern in Augsburg . Usually made of copper sheet, onion domes appear on Catholic churches all over southern Germany, Czech lands, Austria and Sardinia and Northeast Italy . Onion domes were also a favourite of 20th - century Austrian architectural designer Friedensreich Hundertwasser . </P> <P> The World's Only Corn Palace, a tourist attraction and basketball arena in Mitchell, South Dakota, also features onion domes on the roof of the structure . </P>

What are the tops of russian buildings called