St Petersburg First Day, 7 of 11 Inside The Church of the Saviour of Spilled Blood

Once we entered the building we were entranced. It was so different from  any other church interior we'd seen in our travels over the years.

The walls and ceilings are covered in luxurious mosaics which are renowned  for their beauty and size. 

The designers of this special building intentionally planned to use mosaics instead of paintings to prevent the damaging effects of the humidity in summer and the contrasting freezing winter temperatures which erode the colours of paintings. 

These amazing and unique mosaics which completely cover over 7000 square metres on the walls and ceiling of the church were painstakingly created by over 30 of the finest artists at the time. 

The cost of this magnificent building which was largely met by the Imperial family, went well over the budget and blew out to 4.6 million rubles. Donations from private families made up the shortfall in costs and the building finally solemnly consecrated in 1907.

Looking at the expression on Ken's face says it all. How on earth did artists achieve such incredible craftsmanship using materials like marble and small coloured tiles to create realistic 'paintings'! It is hard to take it all in and to process what you are seeing.

Ken is standing infront of the central iconostasis. It looks like it is carved in timber but in fact it is made from carved Italian marble of various shades of yellows, red-browns and orange which have been so carefully blended that the whole iconostasis looks like it is carved from timber. Added  to church's decorations are pink rhodite, jasper and other coloured stones that adorn the doors that are part of the iconostasis. These gems sparkle and shine in the light that filters through the high windows above, to give a jewelled effect. It is another example of stone-cutting art that the builders of this church have achieved at the highest standard.

Other materials that add to the beauty of the interior of the church include coloured marble and precious stones. Coloured marble shapes have been inlaid in the floor to form an interesting variety of geometric patterns. 

The use of semi-precious stones on doors, windows and altar pieces adds to the opulence of the interior as well. 

Hanging high above our heads were a series of outrageously large crystal chandeliers which not only light up the geometric-patterned marble floor but eluminated the gold tiles of the many large mosaic artworks on the walls. 

Some may say that the interior design is a bit of a miss match because there is not one single style of art work by the diverse display of  art designs from academic, modern and Byzantine styles. Some artists of the day who contributed to these unique works of art included Mikhail Nesterov, Viktor Vasnetsov and Mikhail Vrubel. 

The main themes of the intricately created mosaics include: 

Old Testament narrative scenes, Biblical  scenes from the life of Jesus, including the calling of the disciples, Jesus miracles, Jesus sufferring and crucifixion. Images  of apostles, martyrs and saints are also displayed on the walls and ceilings.

The church was closed for worship by the Bolsheviks 1930 and it remain closed and under restoration until 1997.    And again at worship in church in 2004.