Spas-on-the-Blood in St. Petersburg (the temple). Church of the Savior on the Blood

Spas-on-the-Blood in St. Petersburg is one of the most beautiful, festive and colorful churches in Russia. For many years in the days of Soviet power, it was consigned to oblivion. Now, restored, it attracts with its grandeur and uniqueness thousands of visitors.

The beginning of history

Spas-on-the-Blood in St. Petersburg was built in memory of the emperor Alexander II. In the distant 1881 on the place where the church was later erected, tragic events took place. On March 1, Tsar Alexander II went to the Field of Mars, where a parade of troops was to be held. As a result of the terrorist act committed by the people's volunteer II Grinevitsky, the emperor was mortally wounded.

On the orders of Alexander III, on the spot of the tragedy, the Church of the Savior on the Blood was erected, where regular services for the murdered were to be performed. So the name of the Savior on the Blood, the official name of the Church of the Resurrection of Christ, was fixed behind the church.

Decision on the erection of the temple

To select the best project for the construction of the temple, an architectural competition was announced. The most eminent architects took part in it. Only at the third attempt (as many times as the competition was announced), Alexander III chose the project, which seemed to him the most suitable. Its author was Alfred Parland and Archimandrite Ignatius.

Spas-on-Blood in St. Petersburg was built on donations that were collected by the whole world. Contributions were made not only by Russians, but by citizens of other Slavic countries. The walls of the bell tower after the construction were crowned with a multitude of coats of arms of various provinces, cities, counties, which sacrificed their savings, all of them were made of mosaic. On the main cross of the bell tower was installed a gilded crown in a sign that the largest contribution to the construction was made by the august family. The total amount of construction amounted to 4.6 million rubles.

Construction of the Cathedral

The church was laid in 1883, when the construction project was not yet finalized. At this stage, the main task was to strengthen the soil so that it was not washed out, because the Griboedov channel was nearby, and also lay a solid foundation.

The cathedral of the Savior on the Blood in St. Petersburg began to erect in 1888. Gray granite was used for the lining of the basement, the walls were laid out of red-brown brick, traction, platbands for windows, cornices were made of Estland marble. The plinth was decorated with twenty granite boards, on which the main decrees and merits of Alexander II were listed. By 1894 the main vaults of the cathedral were erected, by 1897, nine chapters were completed. Most of them were covered with colorful bright enamel.

The decoration of the temple

The walls of the temple, domes, towers completely cover the amazing decorative patterns, granite, marble, jewelry enamel, mosaic. In particular, white arches, arcades, kokoshniki look against the 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 north side of the facade represents the mosaic "Resurrection", on the south there is a panel "Christ in Glory". From the west the facade is decorated with the picture "Savior not made by hands", and from the east one can see "The Savior Blessing".

Spas-on-the-Blood in St. Petersburg is somewhat stylized to the Moscow Cathedral of St. Basil the Blessed. But the very artistic and architectural solution is very unique and original.

According to the plan, the cathedral is a quadrangular building, which is crowned by five large heads and four small cupolas of a slightly smaller size. The southern, northern facade is decorated with pediments-kokoshniki, the eastern side - three rounded upsides with golden cupolas. From the west there is a bell tower with a beautiful gilded dome.

Beauty from the inside

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, it was decided to leave untouched. To implement this plan, the shape of the embankment was changed, and the foundation of the temple moved the canal channel by 8.5 meters.

The most majestic and significant in St. Petersburg can safely be called the Church of the Savior on Blood. Photos are a confirmation. Under the bell tower, exactly at the place where the tragic event occurred, is the "Crucifixion with the impending". A unique cross is made of granite and marble. On the sides are placed icons of saints.

The interior decoration - the decoration of the temple - is very valuable and far superior to the outside. Mosaics of the Savior are unique, all of them are made according to the sketches of famous 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 Spas-on-the-Blood was rightfully given the status of a cathedral, but by the will of fate or because of the stormy historical changes in 1930 the temple was closed. The building was handed over to the Politkotorzhan Society. Over the years, under Soviet rule, the decision was made to destroy the temple. Perhaps this was prevented by war. Before the leaders at that time, other important tasks were posed.

During the terrible Leningrad blockade the building of the cathedral was used as an urban morgue. At the end of the war, the Little Opera House arranged 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 declared a branch of the St. Isaac's Cathedral. During these years the cathedral begins to gradually revive. Restoration was slow, only in 1997 as a museum of the Savior on the Blood began to receive visitors.

In 2004, more than 70 years later, Metropolitan Volodymyr served a divine liturgy in the church.

Today everyone who visits St. Petersburg is eager to visit the Savior on the Blood. Opening hours of the museum allow you to do this at any time in the summer from 10 to 22 hours, in the winter from 10 to 19.

Spas-on-the-Blood (Yekaterinburg)

If we talk about the sufferings suffered by the Romanov family, we can not help mentioning the temple in Yekaterinburg. It was in this city that the august family spent its last days, in the place of their death the descendants and built the Savior on the Blood. The map of the city indicates that the cathedral was erected on the site of Ipatiev's house. As history says, this house was confiscated by the Bolsheviks from engineer Ipatiev. Here the Romanov family held 78 days. July 17, 1918, all the martyrs were shot in the basement. During the Soviet era, the memory of the royal family was trampled and blackened. In 1977, according to the decision of the Central Committee of the CPSU, the house was demolished, BN was instructed to supervise the event. Yeltsin. In his memoirs, he called this event barbarity, the consequences of which can not be corrected.

Erection of the temple

Only in 2000, on the spot of tragic events, the immediate construction of the temple began. The official name is "Temple-Monument on Blood in the name of All Saints". It was in this year that the family of Nicholas II was glorified. Already in 2003, on July 16, a grand opening, lighting of the church took place.

The structure, whose height is 60 meters, 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 church. The upper temple is a symbol of an unquenchable lamp, lit in memory of the tragedy that occurred here. The lower funeral temple is located in the basement. It includes the execution room, where there are genuine remains of the house of Ipatiev. The altar is located directly on the site, where the family of the Romanovs was tragically killed. Immediately created a museum, which exhibits dedicated to the last days of the life of the royal family.

Every year, on the memorable night of July 17, a vigil is held in the church, ending with a procession of the cross (25 km) to Ganina Yama - bodies were brought to this abandoned mine after the execution. Thousands of pilgrims come here every year to pay tribute to the Royal Passion-Bearers, to bow to the shrine.