Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood
Location: Canal Griboedova emb., 2a
Distance from the hotel: 1,1 km / 0.7 miles
The Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood is one of the main Russian Orthodox churches of St. Petersburg, Russia. It is also variously called the Church on Spilt Blood and the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ, its official name. The name refers to the blood of the assassinated Alexander II of Russia, who was mortally wounded on that site on March 13, 1881.
The construction of the church was almost entirely funded by the Imperial family and thousands of private donators. Both the interior and exterior of the church is decorated with incredibly detailed mosaics, designed and created by the most prominent Russian artists of the day (V. M. Vasnetsov, M. V. Nesterov and M. A. Vrubel). Interestingly, despite the church’s very obviously Russian aspect, its principle architect, A. Parland, was not even Russian by birth. The church was closed for services in the 1930s, when the Bolsheviks went on an offensive against religion and destroyed churches all over the country. During Soviet times, it was used to store potatoes. It was renovated in the early 1990s and was reopened as a museum in 1997. It’s still one of the city’s most beautiful landmarks. It got its awkward name because it was built on the spot where Tsar Alexander II was murdered in 1881. Locals sometimes call it ‘the mosaic church,’ because of the rich colors on its onion domes.
