The Savior on Blood in St. Petersburg is one of the most beautiful, festive and vibrant churches in Russia. For many years, during the Soviet era, it was consigned to oblivion. Now, restored, it attracts thousands of visitors with its grandeur and originality.
The beginning of the story
The Savior on Blood in St. Petersburg was built in memory of Emperor Alexander II. Back in 1881, tragic events took place at the place where the temple was later erected. On March 1, Tsar Alexander II was heading to the Field of Mars, where a parade of troops was to take place. As a result of a terrorist act committed by Narodnaya Volya I. I. Grinevitsky, the emperor was mortally wounded.
By order of Alexander III, the Church of the Savior on Blood was erected on the site of the tragedy, where regular services were to be held for the murdered. So the name of the Savior on Blood was assigned to the temple, the official name is the Church of the Resurrection of Christ.
Decision to build a temple
To select the best project for the construction of the temple was announcedarchitectural competition. The most eminent architects took part in it. Only on the third attempt (the competition was announced so many times) Alexander III chose the project that seemed to him the most suitable. Its author was Alfred Parland and Archimandrite Ignatius.
The Savior on Blood in St. Petersburg was built on donations collected by the whole world. Contributions were made not only by Russians, but by citizens of other Slavic countries. After construction, the walls of the bell tower were crowned with many coats of arms of various provinces, cities, counties that donated savings, all of them were made of mosaic. A gilded crown was installed on the main cross of the bell tower as a sign that the august family made the greatest contribution to the construction. The total construction cost was 4.6 million rubles.
Construction of the Cathedral
The temple was laid in 1883, when the construction project had not yet been finalized. At this stage, the main task was to strengthen the soil so that it would not be subject to erosion, because the Griboyedov Canal was nearby, as well as to lay a solid foundation.
The construction of the Cathedral of the Savior on Blood in St. Petersburg began in 1888. Gray granite was used for facing the plinth, the walls were laid out from red-brown bricks, the rods, window frames, cornices were made of Estonian marble. The plinth was decorated with twenty granite boards, which listed the main decrees and merits of Alexander II. By 1894, the main vaults of the cathedral were erected; by 1897, nine domes were completed. Bigsome of them were covered with colorful bright enamel.
Temple Decoration
The walls of the temple, domes, towers are completely covered with amazing decorative patterns, granite, marble, jewelry enamel, mosaics. White arches, arcades, kokoshniks look special against the background of decorative red brick. The total area of the mosaic (inside and outside) is about six thousand square meters. Mosaic masterpieces were made according to the sketches of the great artists Vasnetsov, Parland, Nesterov, Koshelev. The northern side of the façade features the Resurrection mosaic, while the southern side features the Christ in Glory panel. From the west, the facade is decorated with the painting "The Savior Not Made by Hands", and from the east you can see the "Blessing Savior".
The Savior on Blood in St. Petersburg is somewhat stylized as Moscow's St. Basil's Cathedral. But the artistic and architectural solution itself is very unique and original.
According to the plan, the cathedral is a quadrangular building crowned with five large domes and four slightly smaller domes. The southern and northern facades are decorated with pediments-kokoshniks, the eastern side - three rounded apses with golden cupolas. From the west there is a bell tower with a beautiful gilded dome.
Beauty from within
The main place of the temple is an inviolable fragment of the Catherine's Canal. It includes paving slabs, cobblestone pavement, part of the lattice. The place where the emperor died was decided to be left untouched. To implement this plan, the shape of the embankment was changed, and the foundation of the temple moved the canal bed by 8.5meters.
The most majestic and significant in St. Petersburg can safely be called the Church of the Savior on Blood. Photos are proof of this. Under the bell tower, exactly at the place where the tragic incident occurred, there is a “Crucifixion with the upcoming ones”. The unique cross is made of granite and marble. Icons of saints are placed on the sides.
The interior design - the decoration of the temple - is very valuable and far superior to the outside. The mosaics of the Savior are unique, all of them are made according to the sketches of eminent masters of the brush: Kharlamov, Belyaev, Koshelev, Ryabushkin, Novoskoltsev and others.
Further history
The cathedral was opened and consecrated in 1908. It was not just a temple, it was the only temple-museum, a monument to Emperor Alexander II. In 1923, the Church of the Savior on Blood rightfully received the status of a cathedral, but by the will of fate or due to turbulent historical changes in 1930, the temple was closed. The building was handed over to the Society of Political Prisoners. For many years, under Soviet rule, the decision was made to destroy the temple. Perhaps the war prevented this. The leaders at that time had other important tasks.
During the terrible Leningrad blockade, the cathedral building was used as a city morgue. After the end of the war, the Maly Opera House set up a warehouse for scenery here.
After the change of power in the Soviet government, the temple was finally recognized as a historical monument. In 1968, he fell under the protection of the State Inspectorate, and in 1970 the Church of the Resurrection of Christ was declaredbranch of St. Isaac's Cathedral. During these years, the cathedral begins to gradually revive. Restoration was slow, only in 1997 it began to receive visitors as the Museum of the Savior on Spilled Blood.
In 2004, more than 70 years later, Metropolitan Vladimir celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the church.
Today, everyone who visits St. Petersburg seeks to visit the Savior on Blood. The opening hours of the museum allow you to do this at any time in summer from 10 am to 10 pm, in winter from 10 am to 7 pm.
Spas-on-Blood (Yekaterinburg)
If we talk about the suffering that the Romanov family endured, we cannot fail to mention the temple in Yekaterinburg. It was in this city that the august family spent their last days, at the place of their death, the descendants erected the Savior on Blood. The map of the city indicates that the cathedral was erected on the site of the Ipatiev house. As history says, this house was confiscated by the Bolsheviks from the engineer Ipatiev. Here the Romanov family was kept for 78 days. On July 17, 1918, all the martyrs were shot in the basement. During the years of Soviet power, the memory of the royal family was trampled down and denigrated. In 1977, by order of the Central Committee of the CPSU, the house was demolished, and B. N. Yeltsin. In his memoirs, he called this event a barbarism, the consequences of which cannot be remedied.
Building a temple
Only in 2000, on the site of the tragic events, they began the direct construction of the temple. The official name is "Temple-Monument on the Blood in the name of All Saints". It was in this year that the glorification of the family of Nicholas II took place. Already in 2003, on July 16,grand opening, illumination of the temple.
The structure, which is 60 meters high, has five domes, the total area is three thousand square meters. The Russian-Byzantine architectural style emphasizes the severity and grandeur of the building. The complex consists of the upper and lower temple. The upper temple is a symbol of an inextinguishable lamp, lit in memory of the tragedy that took place here. The lower mortuary temple is located in the basement. It includes the execution room, where there are authentic remains of the Ipatiev house. The altar is located directly on the spot where the Romanov family tragically died. A museum was immediately created, where exhibits are exhibited dedicated to the last days of the life of the royal family.
Every year on the memorable night of July 17, an all-night liturgy is held in the church, culminating in a procession (25 km) to Ganina Yama - the bodies after the execution were brought to this abandoned mine. Thousands of pilgrims annually come here to pay their respects to the Royal Passion-Bearers, to bow to the shrine.
