Church of the Saviour of Spilled Blood
This seems an unusual name for a church but this iconic
Russian-style church was built on the spot where Emperor Alexander II was
murdered in 1881 when a student member of the revolutionary organisation,
"The People's Will" threw a grenade at him. We learnt that Alexander
II was buried in the Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul where been earlier
today.
When we arrived the church entrance was enthroned by masses of
tourists like ourselves. We should not have been surprised as this church is
the most visited site in St. Petersburg after The Hermitage Museum. However,
the throng was very active and the numerous lines of tourists began to eagerly
press forward at one point and wondered if we'd be crushed. Our guide took
control and squished through the lines to speak to an official crowd
controller. He held the entrance gate shut and turned his back on the crowd but
our smiling guide kept her cool and managed to convince him that our tour group
had pre-booked tickets for a set entrance time. Within 5 minutes we were
escorted through the ever enlarging crowds, through the gate and up the
entrance steps. Looking back we wondered how long the crowds would have to wait
for their tour of the Church of the Saviour of Spilled Blood. What's more, as
we entered the building the rain clouds opened up and we were grateful that
our guide had thought to pre-book our tickets to avoid the l-o-n-g lines.
The construction of the Church of the
Saviour of Spilled Blood begin in 1883, during the reign of Alexander III, son
of Alexander II. However, this unique memorial building was not complete until
1907 during the reign of Nicholas II. Following Alexander II's death his son
organised a competition to find the most suitable church design to build in
honour of his father. Hundreds of designs were submitted. The new emperor chose
the architect Alfred Parland's design which best encompassed and gave ascent to
his father. Thousands of builders, craftsmen, artists, engineers and artisans
were involved in producing this iconic building over the next 24 years. 
The chosen design was modelled after
the 16th and 17th century church styles like St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow.
"The height of the heist dome is 81 metres, and the bell tower is 63
metres high. Emperor Alexander II was killed in 1881, at the age of 63" -
these numbers did not escape the new emperor's attention and nor did the
suggested inclusion of 20 memorial plaques which chronicle the major events and
achievements of Alexander II's life, his manifestos, edicts, statues and
reforms and foreign policy success. These plaques made from red granite with
gilt-inlay inscriptions have been carved. They are mounted on the walls of the
basement of the church, along with the other plaques include special dates and
history of the building; such as the date the foundation stone, day of consecration
and a list of all the donors who paid for the construction. The exterior sight
of the Church of the Saviour of Spilled Blood is refreshingly breathtaking. It
almost looks like a ginger-bread house with its brightly coloured decorative
elements which are not unlike those on a cake . It attracts thousands of
visitors every year because it is so different from the other buildings in the
city. It stands out like a special decoration amongst the mostly baroque or
neoclassical architectural styles seen all around it . This building has the
affect of inspiring notions of romantic nationalism because it is so
reminiscent of the past glories of Russia.
The church is a red brick construction with 11 domes: 9 onion
domes; 5 of which are multicoloured, gilded, enamel onion domes and 4
onion domes that are gold plated. Each of the other 2 domes are on the bell
tower and the main temple roof. The interior of this special church is ever so
eye-boggling, mesmerising and totally surprising. I will talk more about this
later in the blog.
The glass-encased model of the Church of the Saviour of Spilled
Blood best shows how intricate and odd-shaped the buildings' design is. You can
also appreciate the special architectural features and decorative trimmings
that the model displays. Some say the building is ten churches because there
are many side chapels and nooks and crannies with special features or mosaics.
Over the years this beautiful building
has suffered neglect and damage and has not always functioned as a place of
worship. It was damaged during the 1917 Russian Revolution and in 1930
the Soviets closed all church buildings.
During WWII, the church building was used for food storage during
years when the city was under siege. Later it was used to store the sets and
property of a local opera company. Then in 1972 when the Church of the Saviour
of Spilled Blood was made a branch of the Museum of St. Isaac Cathedral
permission was given for the management to begin reconstruction works to
restore the building to its former glory. This massive restoration task took
another 25 years to complete which is longer than it originally took to build
and decorate the church. The outcome is superb and appreciated by people
from all over the world.
At the moment cleaning works are taking place, hence the
scaffolding that you will see in some photographs. Summer is a safe time to
clean the dust, grim and bird dirt that builds up over the years for in winter
the snow capped anion domes are impossible towork on safely.
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