In cold and foggy St. Petersburg, it is impossible not to pay attention to this amazing cathedral. The Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood greets tourists with bright and warm beauty. Its colorful domes seem to be toy, unreal. The old Russian style of the building seems to challenge the pretentious baroque and strict classicism of the architecture of the northern capital.
The cathedral differs from other churches in both the tragic history of its creation and the first application of some building know-how. This is the only Orthodox church in St. Petersburg, where people are asked not to light candles: the fire can smoke the priceless mosaics. Several times the building was in the balance of destruction, but miraculously remained intact.
Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood: all-conquering beauty
Perhaps the soul of the murdered Emperor Alexander II became the guardian angel. In memory of this Russian tsar, a church was built. The building was erected on the site of the tragedy that occurred in 1881. Emperor Alexander was remembered in Russia as a reformer tsar who abolished serfdom. A bomb thrown at his feet ended the life of a man who loved his country and cared for the welfare of the people.
The construction of the temple, which began in 1883, was completed only in 1907. The church was consecrated and named the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ. Perhaps that is why such a life-affirming power emanates from the building. Among the people, the cathedral received a different name - the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood. It is not difficult to understand why the church is called that. The analogy between the martyrdom of the Savior and the innocently murdered emperor is rather transparent.
The fate of the building was not easy. In 1941, the Soviet government wanted to blow it up, but the outbreak of the war prevented. Attempts to demolish the church were repeated in 1956, and again the temple passed a terrible fate. For twenty years, an artillery shell that fell there during the shelling lay in the main dome of the cathedral. An explosion could have thundered at any moment. In 1961, risking his life, a deadly "toy" was neutralized by a sapper.
Only in 1971 the church received the status of a museum, and a long restoration of the building began. The restoration of the cathedral took 27 years. In 2004, the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood was re-consecrated, and its spiritual revival began.
Temple architecture
Tourists who see the church immediately recall the Intercession Cathedral in Moscow and ask who built the building in St. Petersburg. The similarity happened due to the fact that Alexander III, the son of the deceased emperor, ordered a building project that reflects the Russian style of the 17th century. The best was the stylistic solution of Alfred Parland, on which he worked together with Archimandrite Ignatius, abbot of the Trinity-Sergius Hermitage.
For the first time in the history of the construction of St. Petersburg, the architect used a concrete base instead of traditional piles for the foundation. A nine-domed building stands firmly on it, in the western part of which there is a two-tiered bell tower. It marks the place where the tragedy occurred.
Outside on the bell tower are the coats of arms of cities and provinces of Russia. The whole country seems to be in mourning over the death of the emperor. The coats of arms are made using the mosaic technique. Such facade decoration is not quite common. As a rule, the interior of churches is decorated with mosaics.
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Another distinctive feature of the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood is its dome. Five of the nine chapters of the cathedral are covered with four-color enamel. Jewelers made this piece of jewelry according to a special recipe, which has no analogues in Russian architecture.
The architects were generous and richly decorated the cathedral. Of the four and a half million rubles allocated, they spent about half of the amount on decorating the building. Craftsmen used materials from different places and countries:
- red-brown brick from Germany;
- Estland marble;
- Italian serpentinite;
- bright Orsk jasper;
- Ukrainian black labradorite;
- more than 10 varieties of Italian marble.
The luxury of decoration is amazing, but most of all tourists tend to see the mosaics that decorate the temple inside.
Cathedral interior
The church was not originally built for traditional mass worship. Inside the building, a beautiful canopy attracts attention - a luxurious tent-roofed structure, under which a fragment of a cobblestone pavement is kept. This is the very place where the wounded Alexander II fell.
The amazing interior decoration of the room was created by the most famous Russian and German masters. They moved away from the tradition of decorating churches with picturesque works of art. This is due to the damp climate of St. Petersburg.
The cathedral is decorated with a rich collection of semi-precious stones and gems, and mosaics cover all the walls and vaults of the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood. Its area is more than 7 thousand square meters. meters! Even the icons are made of mosaics here.
Monumental images were collected in the "Venetian" way. For this, in reverse display, the drawing was first copied onto paper. The finished work was cut into pieces, on which smalt was glued, choosing the appropriate shades. Then, like puzzles, mosaic blocks were assembled and attached to the wall. With this method, the pictorial drawing was simplified.
Icons were typed in the traditional, "direct" way. With this method, the image hardly differed from the original. The architects used a lot of gold-colored smalt as a background. In sunlight, it fills the interior with a soft glow.
Interesting Facts
Many amazing mysteries are associated with the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood. The cathedral stood in the scaffolding for a long time. A famous bard even had a song about this. People half-jokingly said that restoration structures are as indestructible as the Soviet Union. The scaffolding was finally dismantled in 1991. The same date now means the end of the USSR.
Also, the people talk about the secret of some dates inscribed on a mysterious icon that no one has seen. Allegedly, all important events for the country and St. Petersburg are encrypted on it: 1917, 1941, 1953. The proportions of the church are associated with the numbers: the height of the central hip dome is 81 meters, which coincides with the year of the death of the emperor. The height of the bell tower is 63 meters, that is, Alexander's age at the time of death.
Helpful information
All the secrets associated with the temple, each tourist can try to decipher on their own. To do this, you just need to come to St. Petersburg. The building is located at: Nab. Griboyedov Channel 2B, building A. In the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood, believers can get to the Orthodox service. The cathedral has its own parish. The schedule of services is constantly updated on the church website.
Lovers of art monuments will appreciate the beauty of the cathedral by signing up for a guided tour. Various themes are offered. Tourists will learn about the architecture of the church, its mosaics and plots of images. Opening hours even include evening excursions in the summer. The museum is closed on Wednesday. Ticket prices range from 50 to 250 rubles. Those wishing to take a photo or video are allowed to use the equipment without a tripod and backlight.
Many visitors will want to capture the timeless beauty. According to the British portal Vouchercloud, the Church of the Resurrection of Christ is the most famous tourist attraction in Russia. But neither photographs nor a description of the building can convey the beauty of the cathedral. The temple will open to those who get to know him personally.
