Or in English “The Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood”.
High on my (Milene) list, but as ALWAYS(!!!) there are constructions thus the main church tower is in scaffolding. Same actually as the fountain at Peterhof, which is also under construction. We always have this, many attractions we want to visit are under construction. A bit annoying. So we couldn’t make the greatest photos because, let’s be honest, it looks a bit like a condom covering the main tower.
Anyway, let’s share the story of this building.
Construction
Construction began in 1883 during the reign of Alexander III, 2 years after the assassination of his father Alexander II. The church was dedicated to be a memorial to his father, Alexander II. Estimates suggest that the construction cost 4.5 million rubles. The construction was completed during the reign of Nicholas II in 1907. Funding was provided by the Imperial family with the support of many private donors.
The church as a memorial
The church is prominently situated along the Griboedov Canal; paved roads run along both sides of the canal. On March 13, 1881 as Tsar Alexander II’s carriage passed along the embankment, a grenade thrown by an anarchist conspirator exploded. The tsar, shaken but unhurt, got out of the carriage and started to remonstrate with the presumed culprit. A second conspirator took the chance to throw another bomb, killing himself and mortally wounding the tsar. The tsar, bleeding heavily, was taken back to the Winter Palace, where he died a few hours later. Inside the church a shrine can be found which is located exactly at the place where Alexander II got assassinated.
Architecture
Architecturally, the cathedral differs from Saint Petersburg’s other structures. The city’s architecture is predominantly Baroque and Neoclassical, but the Saviour on Blood harks back to medieval Russian architecture in the spirit of romantic nationalism. It intentionally resembles the 17th-century Yaroslavl churches and the celebrated St. Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow.
As we were late we weren’t able to enter the church. Tomorrow we will because the inside is even more beautiful than the outside ☺️
