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Commonly referred to as the Savior on the Blood Church because it was built as a memorial on the spot where Emperor Alexander II was assassinated on March 1, 1881. Designed by architect Alfred Parland in the style of 16th and 17th Russian churches, the Savior on the Blood Church offers an amazing contrast to the Baroque, Classical, and Modernist styles predominant in the Northern Capital. It's unique decorations include icons and panels made from majolica and mosaic, which were created from drawings by the leading Russian artists of last century. Restorers say the church contains more mosaics than any other church in the world.
The Savior on Spilled Blood (1883-1907) was built on the spot where on March 1, 1881 People's Will terrorist Ignaty Grinevitsky fatally wounded Emperor Alexander II. It was the last in several attempts on the Tsar who gave the Russian peasants their freedom and prepared a nation for democratic constitutional rule.
Many talented Russian architects took part in the competition to build the symbolic and important church. However, Alexander III, the heir to the throne, was unsatisfied with their proposals. He wanted the church to be in the style of Russian churches of the 16th and 17th centuries. Indeed, the church's final composition borrowed heavily from the form of St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow and the Vladimir Cathedral in Kiev.
Archimandrite Ignaty eventually offered Parland the job of constructing the church, but according to Ignaty's plan. Construction of the church began in 1883 and shortly afterward Ignaty died leaving Parland to complete the job, according to S. Shultz in his book St. Petersburg Churches.
The project was estimated to cost 3.6 million rubles, but ended up costing 4.6 million rubles, mainly from the extravagant collection of mosaics. The more than 7500 sq. meters of mosaics link Alexander II's murder with the crucifixion.
The cathedral stands along an east to west axis. From the east, the cathedral has three multi-cornered parts; each topped off with small onion-shaped cupolas. From the west, the cathedral has a three-tiered bell tower. The entrance to the cathedral from the northwest forms four wings with high roofs.
The tracery fence outside the church was designed by Parland and has become a single architectural and artistic ensemble in its own right.
The walls of the church are faced with Estonian marble and specially glazed brick. The socle is faced with granite.
Though the church was built on 16th and 17th century designs, it was given state-of-the-art equipment, which included a heating system and electricity. Moreover, the crosses on the central cupola and bell tower were built to serve as lightning rods.
Twenty granite plaques were hung in the alcoves of the church's with carved inscriptions of important events during the reign of Emperor Alexander II.
The interior of the church was faced with Italian multi-colored marble and colored stone from different regions of Russia including Ural jasper, porphyry, violet gray Altai jasper, dark red, pink and green marble.
In fact, half of the cathedral was constructed from multi-colored marble slabs, which were sheer and colorful ornaments in their own right.
One of the most impressive elements of the church is the extravagant shrine which was constructed on the very spot where Alexander II was fatally wounded, and maintained a special place within the church's interior. It was constructed according to Parland's drawing, and completed in July 1907. Four columns of gray violet jasper serve as the base of the shrine. Rising up the shrine, small rectangular columns unite the carved stone awning and the decorated mosaic icons with images of the saint protectors of Alexander II's family, the Romanovs. The columns are supported by a frieze and cornice and stone-carved pediment with vases of jasper along the corners.
The shrine concludes with a high octahedral pyramid and cross completed with 112 pieces of topaz. The frame inside the shrine was faced with a magnificently colored lazurite. In fact, the facing of the arch required more than 100 pounds of lazurite. The arch was inlaid with stars from Siberian semiprecious stones and pieces of topaz.
The shrine was fenced in by a balustrade and finely wrought metal grilles which were installed after the church's consecration in 1913. Parts of the tracery fences of the Catherine Canal Embankment and stones of the cobblestone roadway where the fatally wounded Emperor fell were mounted on the floor under the shrine. The floor of the shrine turned out to be lower than the church floor by seven steps.
The church has an outstanding and varied collection of mosaic icons. Several of the icons were completed in the traditions of academic painting, modernist style and Byzantine icon painting. The large icon of "St. Alexander Nevsky" was created according to the design of Nesterov. The icons of the main iconostasis "Mother of God with Baby" and "Savior" were painted according to the designs of Vasnetsov. The mosaic panel "Pantokrator" or "The All Powerful" which depicts Christ blessing with his right hand, while holding the gospels in his left hand, in the platform of the central cupola was painted according to the design of N. Kharlamov. Parland and Andrey Ryabushkin completed the framed icon mosaic ornaments.
The intricately decorated outside walls of the church rival the magnificence of the church's interior. The entrances to the cathedral are located at the north and south ends, and was built like closed porches on granite columns. On the place where the main entrance is usually located in churches, the crucifix was arranged on the facade, according to the design of Nesterov.
The pediments of four porches of the cathedral are decorated in mosaic panels, based on the gospel scenes according to Vasnetsov, "Executing of the Cross," "Crucifixion," "Removing from the Cross" and "Descending into Hell." All four mosaic panels are magnificent in their composition and coloring.
In the Savior on Spilled Blood there were no baptisms, no funeral services, no weddings or any other traditional rituals of a normally functioning church. This was not in the church's design as a memorial to Alexander II. However, there were weekly requiems and sermon readings that attracted great numbers of worshipers.
Three chapels were registered to Savior on Spilled Blood. Gromovskaya, St. Alexander Nevsky Chapel erected in the Summer Gardens in 1866-1867 on the sight of the first attempt on the life of Alexander II and Sacristy Iversky Icon of the Mother of God Chapel erected in 1907.
The revolution took a terrible toll on the Church. In 1923, the church became an official cathedral, but this didn't save it from the barbarian looting of church valuables that took place along with the destruction of the interior of the church.
The church was closed by Stalin in 1932 and essentially turned into a garbage dump. Rumors were also abounding that the church would be torn down.
The church suffered considerable damage during World War II. One German rocket soared through a window of the central cupola and exploded on the floor causing serious damage to the interior.
After World War II, the church was used as a warehouse for the Small Opera Theatre. The valuable shrine was almost completely destroyed. Four jasper columns with mosaic mountings in them, and a part of the balustrade were all that remained.
On July 20, 1970 the church was made a branch of the St. Isaac's Cathedral museum, and eighty percent of the church's extraordinary restoration was funded by profits from St. Isaac's.
The decades of deterioration and then restoration culminated in the dramatic re-opening of the church in August 1997, when thousands of eager visitors swamped the church.
There is a permanent exhibition "Tsar Alexander II". Open Fri-Tues 11.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m. 2a Nab. Kanala Griboyedova. Tel. 315-1636.
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