Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood - a brief history. Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ on Blood. Architectural features of the temple

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The architecture of the historical center of St. Petersburg is pure classicism, Empire and Art Nouveau. And suddenly, in the midst of this ensemble, verified by the most talented architects, the eye rests on multi-colored domes, brick patterns, kokoshniks and pilasters, vividly reminiscent of St. Basil's Cathedral on Red Square. Who and why allowed the strict and majestic image of the imperial capital to be destroyed by such liberties? The reason was tragic - at this place the terrorist Ignatius Grinevitsky mortally wounded Alexander II the Liberator. The Savior on Spilled Blood is a memorial church erected on the site of the regicide.

A little history

Famous architects of the country took part in the competition for the best cathedral design. The main requirements of the new Emperor Alexander III were the Russian style of the building and a separate chapel on the site where the august blood was shed. Only on the third attempt did they choose the project of Alfred Parland, a professor at the Academy of Arts. They founded the temple in 1883, built it quickly, but it took 10 years to finish it and consecrated it in 1907.

After the revolution, as usual, the cathedral was closed, for some time it was used as a vegetable storehouse, during the blockade - as a morgue, and after the war - as a warehouse for theatrical scenery. Several times it was going to be destroyed, but in 1970 restoration began. Since 1997, the renovated temple was opened to visitors, and services resumed in 2004.

It was rumored that when the scaffolding was removed from the Savior on Spilled Blood, Soviet power would collapse. They were dismantled just before August 1991...

What to see

The single-altar, three-apse church was built in the form of a traditional quadrangle. Around the high 8-sided tent are crowded 4 domes, each with a special roof made of multi-colored tiles, copper, and smalt. A bell tower with a height of 81 m stands close by. The facades are richly and variously decorated with belts, tiles, platbands, kokoshniks, and trimmed with granite and marble. Above the entrances there are mosaic panels based on sketches by V. M. Vasnetsov, M. V. Nesterov, A. A. Parland, V. V. Belyaev and N. A. Bruni on gospel subjects.

The interior of the cathedral is striking, decorated with Ural gems and multi-colored marble. The main shrine is a section of cobblestone pavement covered with thick glass, where Alexander II died. Above it, on gray-violet columns made of Altai jasper, there is a canopy with a cross made of rock crystal, strewn with topaz stars from the inside.

All walls, vaults and pillars are completely covered with mosaics with a total area of ​​about 6000 square meters. m. The smalt images of “The Virgin and Child” and “The Savior” on the marble iconostasis according to the sketches of V. M. Vasnetsov make an indelible impression, although they violate generally accepted canons. Restoring these masterpieces took longer than it took to build.

During the work, an unexploded German bomb was discovered stuck in the ceilings of the dome.

The Savior on Spilled Blood is both a functioning temple of the St. Petersburg diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church and part of the museum complex of St. Isaac's Cathedral.

Practical information

Address: St. Petersburg, Griboyedov Canal embankment, 2. Website.

How to get there: by metro to the station. "Nevsky Prospekt", then walk along the embankment. Griboedov Canal.

Opening hours: from 10:30 to 18:00, day off - Wednesday. Divine services are held on Sundays and holidays, starting at 7:00; All-night liturgy on Saturdays from 18:00. Ticket price for adults - 250 RUB, students, pensioners - 50 RUB. Ticket price for thematic and evening excursions is 400 RUB. Prices on the page are for October 2018.

On October 18, 1883, at the site of the assassination of Emperor Alexander II in St. Petersburg, the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood was founded. Construction lasted 24 years. Now this monument of Russian architecture is one of the main attractions of the Northern capital and the most beautiful churches in the country. There are many mysterious stories and incredible facts associated with it..

Bloody Stones

Initially, they wanted to build a small chapel on the spot where Emperor Alexander II was mortally wounded. The son of the murdered king, Alexander III, ordered the construction of a spacious and majestic temple here. He ordered that the pavement stones on which his father’s blood had been spilled be preserved inside the temple. These stones remain in the walls of the temple to this day, and along with them - sidewalk slabs and a fragment of the grating of the Catherine Canal (now the Griboedov Canal, editor's note), which remember the day of the Tsar's assassination.

Mysticism of numbers

The height of the central structure of the temple is 81 meters. This number corresponds to the year of the death of Alexander II - 1881. Another dome of the Savior on Spilled Blood rises 63 meters above the pavement. This figure is the age of the emperor at the time of his mortal wound. Historians consider this a mere coincidence, but fans of urban legends are convinced that there is no accident here.

Mosaic collection

The Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood is also known for its collection of mosaics - one of the largest in Europe. The area of ​​mosaic covering on the walls of the temple is truly impressive - more than 7 thousand square meters! Even the iconostasis is decorated with mosaics. The best artists - Nesterov, Vasnetsov, Ryabushkin and others - more than 30 people worked on the creation of such luxurious decoration. This painstaking work took a lot of time even for such masters and delayed the consecration of the temple for 10 years.

The collection of mosaics in the temple is one of the largest in Europe. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org

Crosses under water

After the revolution, the Bolsheviks removed the bells from the temple. There is a legend that the city residents decided to hide the crosses so that they would not be sent for melting down. The crosses were lowered to the bottom of the Griboyedov Canal. As it later turned out, the townspeople were not in vain worried about the fate of the temple: the Soviet government three times intended to dismantle the Savior on Spilled Blood, but this intention was never realized. When the temple was no longer in danger, the crosses could not be found. A passer-by told the restorers about their location. His words were confirmed. The crosses were lifted from the bottom of the canal, returned to their place and were no longer removed from the domes.

Siege morgue

During the blockade, the Dzerzhinsky district morgue opened within the walls of the Savior on Spilled Blood. The bodies of Leningraders who died from hunger and artillery shelling were brought here from the city center. After breaking the blockade, the temple was adapted into a vegetable storehouse, thanks to which people began to call it “Savior on Potatoes.” There was no irony in this: potatoes literally saved thousands of Leningraders from starvation.

Projectile under the dome

In 1961, restorers discovered a German high-explosive shell in the central dome of the temple. It has lain here, unexploded, since the Great Patriotic War - for 20 years! A 150-kilogram shell pierced the dome of the Savior on Spilled Blood, but got stuck in the roof ceiling. From here it was extracted by a whole team of former sappers and restorers. The shell was safely removed from the dome and exploded in the Pulkovo Heights area.

Prophetic forests

In 1972, a large-scale restoration of the Savior on Spilled Blood began. It lasted a quarter of a century - 25 years. For two decades, the temple was covered with scaffolding. They even began to make fun of the protracted repairs. Thus, Alexander Rosenbaum performed a song in which he admitted that he dreams of removing the forests from the Savior on Spilled Blood. People joked: when the scaffolding is finally removed from the temple, the Soviet Union will collapse. Interesting, but that's exactly what happened. The forests were removed in 1991.

The Savior on Spilled Blood is often compared to St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow. Photo:

The temple, built in memory of the death of Alexander II, is considered one of the main attractions of the city on the Neva. But not everyone knows that it holds many mystical mysteries and secrets: about how the temple turned into a morgue and influenced the collapse of the USSR, where the icon is located that can predict the future, and why the crosses were kept under water.

The Church of the Savior on Spilled 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 uniqueness.
The temple was built in memory of Emperor Alexander II. Back in 1881, tragic events took place on the site 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 member I. I. Grinevitsky, the emperor was mortally wounded.

By order of Alexander III, the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood was erected at the site of the tragedy, where regular services were to be held for the murdered man. This is how the name of the Savior on Blood, the official name of the Church of the Resurrection of Christ, was assigned to the temple.

The main place of the temple is an inviolable fragment of the Catherine Canal.
It includes paving slabs, cobblestones, and part of the grating.

It was decided to leave the place where the emperor died untouched.
To implement this plan, the shape of the embankment was changed, and the foundation of the temple moved the canal bed by 8.5 meters.

Under the bell tower, exactly on the spot where the tragic incident occurred, there is the “Crucifixion with those to come.”

The unique cross is made of granite and marble. On the sides there are icons of saints.

An architectural competition was announced to select the best project for the construction of the temple. The most famous architects took part in it. Only on the third attempt (the number of times the competition was announced) did Alexander III choose the project that seemed most suitable to him. Its author was Alfred Parland and Archimandrite Ignatius.

The Savior on Spilled Blood in St. Petersburg was built with donations collected from the whole world. Contributions were made not only by Russians, but also 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, and counties that donated savings, all of them were made of mosaics.
A gilded crown was installed on the main cross of the bell tower as a sign that the greatest contribution to the construction was made by the august family.
The total cost of construction was 4.6 million rubles.

The temple was founded in 1883, when the construction project had not yet been finally approved. At this stage, the main task was to strengthen the soil so that it would not be subject to erosion, because the Catherine Canal was nearby (renamed the Griboedov Canal in 1923), and also to lay a solid foundation.

The construction of the Cathedral of the Savior on Spilled Blood in St. Petersburg began in 1888.
Gray granite was used to cover the base, the walls were lined with red-brown bricks, the rods, window frames, and cornices were made of Estonian marble. The base 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, and by 1897, nine chapters were completed. Most of them were covered with multi-colored bright enamel.

The walls of the temple, domes, and towers are completely covered with amazing decorative patterns, granite, marble, jewelry enamel, and mosaics. White arches, arcades, and 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; on the southern side there is the “Christ in Glory” panel. From the west, the façade is decorated with the painting “The Savior Not Made by Hands,” and from the east you can see “The Blessing Savior.”

The Savior on Spilled 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 kokoshnik pediments, and the eastern side is decorated with three rounded asps with golden heads. To the west there is a bell tower with a beautiful gilded dome.

The interior decoration - the decoration of the temple - is very valuable and far superior to the exterior. Spas's mosaics are unique, all of them are made according to sketches by famous masters of the brush: Kharlamov, Belyaev, Koshelev, Ryabushkin, Novoskoltsev and others.

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 Savior on Spilled Blood rightfully received the status of a cathedral, but by the will of fate or due to turbulent historical changes, the temple was closed in 1930. The building was transferred to the Society of Political Prisoners. For many years, under Soviet rule, a decision was made to destroy the temple. Perhaps the war prevented this. The leaders at that time were faced with other important tasks.
During the terrible Leningrad siege, the cathedral building was used as a city morgue.
At 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, it came under the protection of the State Inspectorate, and in 1970, the Church of the Resurrection of Christ was declared a branch of St. Isaac's Cathedral.
During these years, the cathedral begins to gradually be revived. Restoration proceeded slowly, and only in 1997 did the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood begin to receive visitors as a museum.
In 2004, more than 70 years later, Metropolitan Vladimir celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the church.

And now seven secrets and legends of the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood.

1. Underwater crosses of the Savior on Spilled Blood.
At one time, the location of the temple played an important role in its history: they say that in order to save the decoration of the temple from the Bolsheviks, the townspeople removed the crosses from it and lowered them to the very bottom of the Griboyedov Canal. Subsequently, when the danger had passed, and they began to restore the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood, but could not find the crosses that crowned the temple, a curious incident occurred: a random passer-by, who knew the legend, approached the team of restorers and advised them to look for decoration in the water. The workers decided to try and sent a team of divers to examine the bottom - to everyone’s surprise, the crosses turned out to be exactly where the stranger had indicated.

2. A story about how the temple influenced the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Another interesting legend associated with the Savior on Spilled Blood and the materialization of thoughts took place already in the very beginning of the 90s. For a long time, one of the main attractions of the city on the Neva stood in scaffolding for decades, which gave rise to many anecdotes and was even reflected in poems and songs. In the wake of the wave, there was an ironic belief among the townspeople that as soon as the forests were removed from the Savior, the entire Soviet Union would collapse. It may seem like a fable to some, and others will write it off as a coincidence, but the fact remains: in 1991 the temple was “liberated” from scaffolding, and a little later, in August of the same year, the end of Soviet power came.

3. The largest collection of mosaics in Europe.
Many people know that one of the main churches of the Northern capital is a real museum of mosaics, because under its roof is the richest and largest collection of mosaics, on which the most famous domestic masters worked - Vasnetsov, Nesterov, Belyaev, Kharlamov, Zhuravlev, Ryabushkin and others. Mosaics are the main decor of the temple, because even the iconostasis of the Savior on Spilled Blood is mosaic. It may also seem curious that precisely because the works of art took a very long time to make, the opening of the temple and its consecration were delayed for a good ten years.

4. Siege morgue and “Spas-on-potatoes”.
It's no secret that in wartime (and under Soviet rule) the churches and temples of the city worked in an unusual mode for them - cowsheds were equipped somewhere or enterprises were located. So, during the siege, Spas-on-Blood turned into a real morgue. The bodies of dead Leningraders were brought from all over the city to the district Dzerzhinsky morgue, which the temple temporarily became, confirming its historical name. In addition, one of the functions of the attraction in those difficult times was the storage of vegetables - some townspeople with a sense of humor even nicknamed it “Savior on Potatoes”. At the end of the war, the Savior on Spilled Blood was again not returned to its religious function; on the contrary, it began to be used as a storage facility for the scenery of the Maly Opera House, which is now known as the Mikhailovsky Theater.

5. Secrets of numerology and the Savior on Spilled Blood.
The magic of numbers really exists, and the St. Petersburg temple quite successfully proves this - for example, guides who want to add some mystical charm often turn to numerology and talk about the fact that the height of the central structure is 81 meters, which fully corresponds to the year of the death of Alexander II , and another number 63 - not only the height to which one of the domes rises, but also the age of the emperor at the time of the attempt on his life.

6. Mysterious icon.
In addition to the famous ghost of the Griboyedov Canal embankment, there is another mystical and mysterious legend (neither proven nor disproven): supposedly under the roof of the Savior on Spilled Blood there is an icon on which the fatal years for Russian history appeared - it says 1917, 1941 and more . It is believed that the icon has power and is capable of predicting turning points for the history of Russia, because other fuzzy silhouettes of numbers can be seen on the canvas - perhaps they will appear as a new tragedy approaches.

7. Bloody pavement.
It's no secret that the Savior on Spilled Blood was built on the site where the last attempt on the life of Emperor Alexander II took place on March 1, 1881. Naturally, immediately after the tragic events, the City Duma proposed to build a small chapel here, but the new Emperor Alexander III ordered not to limit ourselves to the chapel and to build a magnificent temple on this site.
The sovereign also ordered that an untouched section of the pavement, where his father’s blood was shed, be left inside the future cathedral.

Unbreakable Church
Another belief that has not yet been refuted is that this cathedral cannot be destroyed. One of the striking examples confirming the legend is the story of how in 1941 the authorities decided to blow up the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood, calling it “an object that has no artistic and architectural value.” Holes were drilled in the walls and explosives had already been placed there.
But the Great Patriotic War began, so all the explosives were urgently sent to the front.

In the 60s, while examining the domes of the temple, they discovered the only bomb that still hit the temple.
It hit, but didn't explode.
A five hundred kilogram bomb lay in the hands of the Savior.

my photos + materials from open sources used

Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ on the Blood

Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ on Spilled Blood, or Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood in St. Petersburg - an Orthodox memorial single-altar church in the name of the Resurrection of Christ; built in memory of the fact that at this place on March 1, 1881, Emperor Alexander II was mortally wounded as a result of an assassination attempt (the expression on the blood indicates the blood of the king). The temple was built as a monument to the martyr tsar using funds raised throughout Russia

Alexander II Nikolaevich - Emperor of All Russia, Tsar of Poland and Grand Duke of Finland (1855-1881) from the Romanov dynasty. The eldest son of first the grand ducal, and since 1825, the imperial couple Nikolai Pavlovich and Alexandra Feodorovna.

The very next day, March 2, the City Duma at its emergency meeting decided to ask the new Emperor Alexander III to “allow the city public administration to erect a chapel or monument” to the deceased sovereign.

The canopy over the site of the mortal wound of Emperor Alexander II. Under it, part of the pavement and the canal embankment fencing, stained with the blood of the Tsar-Martyr, have been preserved. Located in the western part of the temple, directly above it is a bell tower with a large golden dome.

The temple was erected by decree of Emperor Alexander III in 1883-1907 according to the joint project of the architect Alfred Parland and Archimandrite Ignatius (Malyshev), who later withdrew from construction. The project is made in the “Russian style”, somewhat reminiscent of Moscow's St. Basil's Cathedral. Construction lasted 24 years. On August 19, 1907, the cathedral was consecrated.

The site of the mortal wound of Alexander II. Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood. The original part of the pavement has been preserved

Immediately after receiving such permission, a temporary wooden chapel by L.N. Benois was consecrated at the site of the assassination attempt. This chapel was built at the expense of timber merchant I.F. Gromov. And when large donations for the monument to Alexander II began to arrive from the provinces, the government decided to build a cathedral here.

Drawing of the future temple, made by Archimandrite Ignatius, before the design was finalized by the architect Alfred Parland, 1883

An architectural competition was announced. His conditions were: orientation towards Russian religious architecture of the 17th century, inclusion of the site of the tragedy in the internal volume of the cathedral. The projects were personally reviewed by Alexander III. N. L. Benois, A. I. Rezanov, V. A. Shreter, R. I. Kuzmin and other architects proposed their projects. The winner of the competition was academician of architecture Alfred Aleksandrovich Parland. He carried out further work together with another architect - Archimandrite of the Trinity-Sergius Hermitage Ignatius, in the world I. V. Malyshev.

Alfred Parland

He wrote:
“The project for the Church of the Resurrection, which was most highly approved in Gatchina on May 1, 1887, was drawn up by me at the direction of His Majesty in the style of the times of the Moscow tsars of the 17th century. Outstanding examples of this era are St. Basil's Church in Moscow and a whole group of churches in Yaroslavl, Rostov, etc. Studying these beautiful monuments of Russian antiquity, trying to perceive not only with my mind, but also with my heart those ways and techniques, those means that the architects of that time used, trying, as far as possible, to understand the secret of their creativity, I enthusiastically took up the work entrusted to me.”

The foundation stone for the building took place on October 18, 1883. The first stone was laid by the son of the murdered sovereign, the new emperor - Alexander III. The emperor ordered construction management to his brother, Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich. The Grand Duke was the president of the Academy of Arts, and during the construction of the temple he could take advantage of his connections among architects and artists.
Immediately after the foundation of the cathedral, the wooden chapel was dismantled.

Spas-on-Blood was created on the basis of an unusual engineering solution, which was influenced by its location on the bank of the canal. To prevent the canal waters from penetrating under the building, they abandoned the use of piles when strengthening the soil. For the first time in urban planning, a concrete foundation was constructed under the entire area of ​​the building. To build the bell tower, a protrusion of eight meters was made on the embankment.

The Savior on Spilled Blood was created in the Russian style, in the image of Moscow's St. Basil's Cathedral. One of the decorations of the facades of the Cathedral of the Savior on Spilled Blood was a mosaic from which the coats of arms of Russian cities, provinces and districts were made.

Panels with evangelical subjects, created according to sketches by famous artists and located on all four facades, were also made using the mosaic technique. There are 20 granite boards in the niches with descriptions of important historical events during the reign of Alexander II.

The icon cases were created according to the drawings of Alfred Parland, the mosaic icons - according to the drawings of Mikhail Nesterov. The total area of ​​mosaics in the interiors of the temple is 7050 square meters. m., they cover not only the walls, but also the floor, ceiling, columns.

A special canopy was built over the remaining intact fragments of the embankment - parts of the fence, sidewalk slabs, pavement on which the emperor fell. The canopy vault is lined with azure and decorated with stars made of topazes and gems. The height of the highest dome of the cathedral is 81 meters.

The Savior on Spilled Blood took a long time to build. Its consecration took place only on August 19, 1907, already under the grandson of Alexander II, Emperor Nicholas II. At the same time, the palace of Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich was built twice as quickly. The commission for the construction of the cathedral discovered embezzlement of public funds on an especially large scale

The Soviet government, as is known, did not spare monuments of church architecture and mosaics. The Savior on Spilled Blood was not demolished, although the decision to dismantle it was made: it was listed as an object “of no artistic or architectural value.” They say that holes have already been drilled in the walls and explosive charges have been prepared. But war broke out, and the bombers were sent to the front. During the war and the Leningrad siege, the temple housed - not much less - the regional Dzerzhinsky morgue, and the temple seemed to live up to its name for the second time - “On the Blood”. A little later, the building was rented by the Maly Opera Theater to store its scenery there.

The investigation quickly found the culprit. He became an employee of the Grand Duke, conference secretary of the Academy of Arts Pyotr Fedorovich Iseev. Despite the petition of the emperor's brother, Iseev was exiled to Siberia. However, there were rumors that he lived there very richly.

The Cathedral of the Savior on Spilled Blood is separated from the Mikhailovsky Garden by a unique fence. It was executed in 1903-1907 according to the design of Alfred Parland.
In 1908, the Iverskaya Chapel was consecrated nearby. In 1923, the Savior on Spilled Blood became a cathedral.

After its closure in 1930, the cathedral began to be used as a warehouse. It was planned to be demolished as being of neither historical nor artistic value. But at the last moment, war intervened in the fate of the Savior on Spilled Blood. They simply didn’t have time to demolish it.
During the siege, the temple was used as a morgue; the bodies of the dead were brought here. An unexploded shell hit one of the domes. After the Great Patriotic War, Spas-on-Blood was used to store the scenery of the Maly Opera House.

Chapel-sacristy of the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God. Western façade

In 1970, the cathedral was transferred as a branch to the St. Isaac's Cathedral Museum. From 1977 to 1991, the temple was restored, all this time it stood in scaffolding. In this regard, stories arose similar to conversations about the scaffolding of St. Isaac's Cathedral. They said that forests last as long as Soviet power lasts. They were dismantled shortly before the August events in Moscow in 1991. The cathedral was opened to visitors on August 19, 1997.

The composition of the temple is based on a compact quadrangle, which is crowned with a five-domed structure, and the place of the central chapter is occupied by a tent 81 meters high. In total, the Savior on Spilled Blood is crowned with 9 chapters, creating an asymmetrical pictorial group, some of the chapters have a gilded coating, and some have an enamel coating.

At the base of the octagonal tent on its wall there are eight oblong windows with kokoshnik-shaped platbands. The tent narrows at the top and has eight projections with windows cut into it. The tent is completed by a lantern topped with a bulbous dome with a cross. The head is covered with white, yellow and green enamel in the form of colored stripes wrapping around it.

There are four onion domes around the tent, forming a symmetrical shape of the composition. All four domes are covered with colored enamel, but with different designs. These domes are located on low drums that are smaller in size than the domes themselves.

In the western part of the cathedral there is a bell tower topped with a dome, which makes it similar to the bell tower of Ivan the Great in the Moscow Kremlin. The belfry has eight arched openings separated by columns. The remaining three domes, smaller in size, are located on extensions in the eastern part of the temple.

Surprisingly, even the proportions of the Church of the Resurrection of Christ are symbolic: the height of its central structure is 81 meters, and this number was chosen as a reminder of the year of the death of Emperor Alexander II - 1881. The second highest dome is 63 meters, a symbol of the age of the murdered emperor. The symbolism of numbers is generally characteristic of Orthodoxy, and it can also be found in the number of domes and other details chosen by the architects. Twenty red granite memorial tablets are installed in the basement of the temple. They indicate the actions of Emperor Alexander II: the main events from February 19, 1855 to March 1, 1881. Also on the temple you can find a double-headed eagle, and on the bell tower - the coats of arms of Russian cities, provinces and districts. The cross of the bell tower of the Savior on Spilled Blood is crowned with a gilded royal crown.

The architecture of the temple is an example of the late stage of the evolution of the “Russian style”. The building is a collective image of a Russian Orthodox church, focused on the examples of Moscow and Yaroslavl of the 16th-17th centuries.
The architecture of Moscow's St. Basil's Cathedral had a great influence on the appearance of the temple.

On the outside of the temple there are inscriptions highlighting the achievements of Russia during the reign of Alexander II.

A variety of finishing materials were used in the decor of the building - brick, marble, granite, enamels, gilded copper and mosaics.

Spas-on-Blood stands right on the Griboyedov Canal. In order for the temple to stand and the waters of the canal not to penetrate under the building, they abandoned the use of piles when strengthening the soil. For the first time in urban planning, a concrete foundation was constructed under the entire area of ​​the building. To build the bell tower, a protrusion of 8 meters was made on the embankment. This canal, according to legend, played a significant role in the restoration of the cathedral. There is a story about how the crosses of the Savior on Spilled Blood were “baptized” with the water of the canal. They say that in order to save them from the Bolsheviks, in Soviet times, the residents of St. Petersburg hid them... at the bottom of the city. And when the temple finally began to be restored, one St. Petersburg resident, a “random passer-by,” told the team of restorers about where the crosses might be and pointed out the location. The divers actually found the hidden shrines, and they returned to their domes.

Interior of the cathedral

The temple was planned as a memorial; it was mainly to be visited by members of the royal family and their guests, so the interior decoration was done on a grand scale and pomp.

Inside the temple is a real museum of mosaics, the area of ​​which is 7065 square meters.

All the walls and vaults of the cathedral are covered with mosaics depicting saints and biblical scenes.

The collection of mosaics of the Cathedral of the Savior on Spilled Blood in St. Petersburg is one of the largest in Europe. More than 7 thousand square meters of the temple building are covered with mosaics, and the production of these masterpieces delayed the completion of work on the temple and its consecration for ten years! Among the producers of sketches for mosaics are the most famous Russian masters - Vasnetsov, Nesterov, Belyaev, Kharlamov, Zhuravlev, Ryabushkin. Even the iconostasis in the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood is mosaic. The temple was originally built as an electrified one, and it was illuminated by 1689 electric lamps. The mosaics should have looked special in such lighting. In addition to this technical innovation - electricity, there were others in the temple, for example, a lightning rod system was skillfully built into its multi-colored domes.

The mosaic was created in the workshop of V. A. Frolov according to sketches by more than 30 artists, among whom were V. M. Vasnetsov, F. S. Zhuravlev, M. V. Nesterov, A. P. Ryabushkin, V. V. Belyaev , N. N. Kharlamov. The mosaic exhibition of the Savior on Spilled Blood is one of the largest collections in Europe.

Vladimir Aleksandrovich Frolov is an outstanding mosaic artist. His works decorated many Russian churches and Soviet administrative buildings. The master’s last work was mosaics for the Novokuznetskaya station, created according to sketches by A. A. Deineka in besieged Leningrad in 1943.

It took Frolov’s group of forty people 12 years to complete the mosaics.

A special role in the cladding of the cathedral is played by the polished floor made of various types of Italian marble.

The lower part of the walls is lined with Naples serpentinite.

In the altar part of the temple there are three semicircular projections.

In these ledges to the right and left of the iconostasis there are icon cases made of pink rhodonite.

The icon cases contain mosaic paintings depicting Jesus and saints.

In addition, the icon cases are decorated with carvings made of Ural jasper.

The iconostasis of the temple was made in Genoa according to the sketches of A. A. Parland. Marble of various shades was selected for it so that they smoothly transition into each other. Below it is red-brown with multi-colored veins, above it gradually brightens, smoothly turning into ocher-yellow, and at the top it becomes almost white. The upper part resembles wood carving.

The vault of the altar of the cathedral is decorated with a huge mosaic of the Savior in power.

On the opposite side of the hall, directly under the bell tower, is the site of the assassination of Alexander II, covered with a canopy of Revnev jasper.

Whether this is true or not, no one knows, but in connection with the Savior on Spilled Blood they constantly talk about a mysterious icon located in this cathedral, on which turning dates for the history of Russia are supposedly encrypted: 1917 is the year of the October Revolution, 1941 is the year the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, 1953 - the year of the death of Joseph Stalin. In addition to these dates, some other dates appear on the amazing icon, which are still unclear and, perhaps, related to the future. We don’t know whether this icon actually exists or is an invention of mystically minded citizens, but the temple guides love to tell this story to its visitors.

The forests around the Savior on Spilled Blood stood for so long that they became a legend of St. Petersburg, if not its landmark. And they even entered the culture: for example, Rosenbaum in his song “Show me Moscow, Muscovites...” sings about his dream of removing the forests from the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood. People said, half jokingly, half seriously, that as soon as these forests were removed, the entire Soviet Union would collapse. Surprisingly, the scaffolding was dismantled in 1991, although it had not been touched for decades. And in August 1991, famous events took place that put an end to Soviet power in Russia.

Description

At the very edge of the embankment, reflected in the waters of the Griboyedov Canal (until 1923, the Catherine Canal), next to the Mikhailovsky Garden, stands the building of the Church of the Resurrection of Christ, unique in its beauty.

The architecture of the religious building corresponds to the neo-Russian style. Compact in plan, crowned with a slender tent 81 meters high, with nine elegant domes, with a slender bell tower, its appearance reminiscent of the bell tower of Ivan the Great in the Moscow Kremlin, the building stands out sharply for its original asymmetrical composition, surrounded by architectural masterpieces built in the style of Russian classicism.

Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood at the site of the assassination attempt on the Emperor

The temple received the second name “Savior on Spilled Blood” in memory of the tragic events that occurred at this place on March 1, 1881 (old style). Here Emperor Alexander II was mortally wounded by the Narodnaya Volya revolutionary Ignatius Grinevitsky. A few hours after the assassination attempt, the king died. Immediately after these events, which shocked the entire progressive public of Russia, a temporary chapel was built here. At the same time, we began designing a memorial temple.

Tsar Liberator

An autocrat and a reformer at the same time, Alexander II left a good but controversial memory in the people's consciousness, having accomplished the main work of his life - the abolition of serfdom in Russia in 1861. 23 million peasants received civil rights and liberation from slavery; for these gifts, Alexander II remained in people's memory as the “Tsar Liberator.” Reforms in all areas of state and public life (military, zemstvo, judicial, public education and others) gave impetus to accelerated development in industry, modernization of the army, local zemstvo self-government, construction of railways, and a progressive judicial system.

The Tsar was actively involved in the most important state matter: preparing for Russia's transition from autocracy to a constitutional monarchy.

As a result of the victories of Russian weapons, the Balkan peoples were liberated from Turkish rule (Russian-Turkish War of 1877-78). During the reign of Alexander II, the Russian Empire expanded into vast territories of Central Asia and the Caucasus.

However, reforms and transformations were not easy. The dilapidated state and economic systems were difficult to transform. Reforms took place with delays and distortions on the ground. This difficult period of change, which affected both the position of the ruling class and all segments of the population, gave rise to a powerful protest movement among commoners and students. The revolutionary terrorist organization “People's Will” that appeared in Russia chose the path of violent overthrow of the autocratic government in Russia. People's Volunteers chose terror as a method of achieving their goals. A systematic hunt began for the highest officials of state power, and most importantly, “the culprit of all difficulties” - Emperor Alexander II. Eight attempts were made on the tsar’s life, the last one - on the embankment of the Catherine Canal - became fatal for the monarch.

Construction and architecture of the temple

The death of the martyr Tsar evoked a strong response and compassion in the souls of all layers of Russian society. Requiem services for the repose of the emperor were constantly held in the temporary chapel. Several competitions were held for the design of the memorial temple. In 1887, Emperor Alexander III approved the project carried out by the architect Alfred Parland with the participation of Archimandrite Ignatius, rector of the Trinity-Sergius Hermitage. An example for the authors was the architectural canons of Pre-Petrine Rus', according to which Moscow and Yaroslavl churches were built in the 16th – 17th centuries.

The foundation stone of the Church of the Resurrection of the Lord took place in 1883, and even before the final approval of the project, work was carried out for three years to strengthen the weak soils in this place and install a solid foundation from the Putilov slab. In 1888, immediately after the highest approval of the project, a granite base was erected, on which memorial plaques made of red granite were mounted in false niches with a narration of the main events during the reign of Alexander II and his decrees. The erected walls were lined with clinker facade bricks of various shades, brought from Germany. All the various decorative elements on the facades were made of white Estonian marble.

The building is a traditional ancient Russian quadrangle, ending with a five-domed structure; the central chapters are created in the image and likeness of the chapters of the Moscow Intercession Cathedral (St. Basil's Cathedral). However, the facing of domes with tiles coated with colored enamel has no analogues in Russian and European architecture.

The altar part on the façade on the eastern side is defined by three altar apses topped with gilded domes. The central dome is covered with gold smalt.

Instead of the central chapter, there is a high (81 meter) hexagonal tent, covered with glazed tiles and glazed tiles made by Kharlamov’s artel. It ends with a gilded onion dome with a cross.

Attached to the western part of the main volume of the building, extending towards the canal, is a high bell tower 62.5 meters high, also crowned with a gilded onion dome with a high gilded cross and an imperial crown (an example was the bell tower of Ivan the Great in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin). In the outer volume, the bell tower defines the very place where the emperor was mortally wounded. At the western wall of the bell tower under a gilded canopy there is a marble crucifix with the image of Jesus Christ and on the sides there are icons with images of St. Zosima of Solovetsky and the Holy Martyr Evdokia. Above the semicircular window there is an iconographic image of the Holy Blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky. The coats of arms of the provinces and cities of the Russian Empire, made on copper plates according to the drawings of academician of painting P. A. Cherkasov, are depicted on the facades of the bell tower.

The entrances are elegant hipped double porches adjacent to the main volume of the bell tower from the north and south. The hipped ceilings are decorated with colored tiles and topped with gilded double-headed eagles. Mosaic paintings on the theme of the Passion of Christ, made according to original paintings by artist V. M. Vasnetsov, decorate the tympanums of the porches.

In 1894-95, vaults and sails were erected, and metal structures of the domes were manufactured at the capital's foundries. Some of them were decorated with colored enamel at the factory of A. M. Postnikov. The gilded cross above the main tent was installed in 1897.

The construction of the building and the finishing of all the decorative elements of the exterior and interior space took 24 years, because when decorating the entire temple, 7065 square meters of mosaic coverings were made according to the sketches of outstanding Russian artists of the late 19th century, who worked in different stylistic directions within the framework of the great European Art Nouveau style .

More than 30 painters were involved in the grandiose work, including such famous names as M. V. Nesterov, V. M. Vasnetsov, A. P. Belyaev, N. N. Kharlamov, N. A. Koshelev. Mosaic masters from V. A. Frolov’s artel brought to life all the ideas of talented artists. Mosaic images of the Savior Not Made by Hands on the western facade and the Resurrection of Christ on the northern facade were made according to sketches by the artist M. V. Nesterov. The author of the mosaic image on the southern facade “Christ in Glory” is the artist N. A. Koshelev. The image of the “Blessing Savior” on the eastern facade was made according to the sketches of the architect of the entire structure, academician of architecture and painting A. A. Parland.

The completion of construction and the solemn consecration of the Church of the Resurrection of the Lord took place on August 19, 1907 in the presence of the highest royal persons, Emperor Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. On the same day the first solemn liturgy was celebrated.

Despite the fact that the external appearance of the temple and the interior decoration are made in the traditions of ancient Russian architecture, the most progressive methods of that time were used during construction and decoration, and the most daring ideas and technological methods in the field of art were brought to life in the artistic decoration. The main materials used in the decoration of the temple: multi-colored and glazed facing bricks, colored glazed figured tiles, several types of marble from Russia and Italy, granite, multi-colored artistic enamels and mosaics, gold smalt, rock crystal, semi-precious and precious rocks, gold, silver .

Thanks to full electrification (1,689 electric lamps were installed), the decorative and artistic decoration of the interior of the 81-meter building was very well illuminated, which made it possible to see all the details of the interior even at a great height.

Interior of the temple

The Memorial Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood was erected on a landmark site. Here the emperor was mortally wounded at the hands of a terrorist. In the internal volume of the bell tower there is a place where this tragic event took place: part of the embankment with cobblestones, on which the blood of the “Tsar-Liberator” was spilled. The memorial place is covered by a canopy, arranged in the form of an octagonal tent supported by four columns. All details of the architectural composition from Altai and Ural jasper were made by Russian stone cutters. Everyone who entered the temple, entering through the entrances arranged in the bell tower building, immediately understood that they had come to a deeply sacred memorial place.

The Church of the Resurrection of the Lord is unique due to its decorative decoration, because mosaic artistic compositions on a religious theme and decorative elements covering the walls and vaults amount to more than seven thousand square meters. The pictorial series reflects a memorial and religious purpose dedicated to the Nativity of Christ.

The earthly journey of Jesus Christ from the Nativity of Christ to the miraculous deeds he performed during his earthly life is depicted in mosaic icons located in the central part. All artistic compositions are depicted on a blue background. Above the altar, according to a sketch by icon painter N. N. Kharlamov, on a golden background made of gold smalt - cantorel, two icons are laid out: “The Savior in Power” and “Christ in Glory”.

In the central altar apse there is an icon of the Eucharist, made according to a sketch by the icon painter N. N. Kharlamov. When the royal doors open, believers see Jesus Christ in a golden glow, giving the holy gifts and the apostles Peter and Paul bowing before him.

Mosaic icons “The Ascension of Christ” and “The Descent of the Holy Spirit”, laid out according to sketches by the artist V.V. Belyaev, are located in the final hemispheres of the side apses above the iconostasis.

In the hemisphere of the central vault in front of the altar there is an icon laid out according to a sketch by the artist N. N. Koshelev “The Transfiguration of the Lord.” Christ appears before his disciples in a golden divine radiance, from now on he is surrounded by the prophets - Elijah and Moses. Nearby are the disciples - the apostles Peter, James and John.

On the inner surface of the central vault there is an icon of “Christ the Pantocrator”. The mosaic canvas was made according to the sketch of the icon painter N. N. Kharlamov. The icon, laconic in color and design, is made in the Byzantine tradition.

On the surfaces of the four dome pylons, on the walls and arches from top to bottom there are mosaic iconographic images of saints. In small plafonds based on sketches by icon painter N. N. Kharlamov, mosaic icons “Savior Good Silence”, “Savior Emmanuel”, “John the Baptist”, “Our Lady” are laid out, made according to Byzantine canons.

The interior decoration in the western part of the temple, where the canopy is located over the place where the emperor was wounded, is filled with special solemnity and light sadness. Opposite the canopy in the western wall there is a window through which evening light pours onto the memorial site. Above the window is the icon of the New Testament Trinity. On both sides of the window are depicted the Tsar’s guardian angel and his heavenly patron, the Holy Blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky. The backgrounds of the wall coverings are made in golden tones, which gives this place a special soft light.

The visual range in the iconographic design of the temple is diverse in style and author's manners.

The iconostasis, in contrast to the mosaic decoration of walls, pylons and vaults, made within the framework of monumental expressive techniques, is made in the traditions of easel fine art. The central icons “Savior” and “Blessed Virgin Mary”, laid out according to the originals of the painter V. M. Vasnetsov by masters from the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, are distinguished by their laconic composition and a subtle pictorial approach to the depiction of images in mosaic art.

To the right of the Savior icon is the iconographic image of the Descent into Hell, to the left of the Most Holy Theotokos icon is the Ascension of the Lord. Both icons are laid out based on picturesque paintings by the artist M. V. Nesterov in the Art Nouveau style.

The single-tier iconostasis is an example of the high art of Italian stone carvers. The selection of marble types and exquisite carvings create the impression that this is not an architectural element of the interior, but a work of jewelers. In the center of the iconostasis are the royal doors, decorated with various decorative elements. Three carved kokoshniks crown the entire architectural composition. The iconostasis was designed by the architect A. A. Parland.

In the northern and southern naves there are two icon cases, which are a solid wall of carved stone. The icon “Holy Blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky” can be seen in the northern icon case, the icon “Resurrection of Christ” - in the southern one. The author of the original paintings from which the mosaic images were typed was the artist M. V. Nesterov, who worked in the Art Nouveau style.

The decorative decoration of the temple is a unique combination of stone-cutting art (more than 80 designs of ornaments were developed by architect A. A. Parland and artist A. P. Ryabushkin) and mosaic art (the area of ​​surfaces covered with artistic mosaic paintings is 7065 square meters). For exterior and interior decoration, various types of stone from Russia and Italy were used: granite, marble, serpentine, Ural and Kolyvan jasper, orlets; semi-precious and precious rocks: rock crystal, topaz - this is only a small part of the finishing materials used to decorate architectural elements. Gold smalt, multi-colored jewelry enamels, gold and silver were widely used.

The floor in the temple resembles an exquisite carpet of extraordinary beauty. Laid out of various types of Italian marble (more than 10 varieties), the flooring was made by craftsmen from Genoa and assembled by Russian craftsmen according to the drawings of Architect A. A. Parland.

In 1903-1907, according to the design of the architect A. A. Parland, a bronze forged fence was built separating the Mikhailovsky Garden from the semicircular square on which the Church of the Resurrection of the Lord was built. Made in Art Nouveau style, the fence is of great artistic value. The large floral ornament is stylized to resemble the painted ornaments that decorate the walls of the Moscow Intercession Cathedral. Masterfully executed floral arrangements amaze with their similarity to their natural counterparts. This architectural and decorative work of art combines the deep traditions of medieval Russia and the innovative trends of the Art Nouveau era.

The exterior and interior of the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood amazes with its unique imagery, variety of architectural forms, and exquisite sophistication of decorative and artistic elements. The entire appearance of the temple reminds everyone who sees it of the main idea, for the sake of which so much human effort, talent, state will and financial resources were applied. Everything here is permeated with thoughts of the bright memory of the great man who has left us, and the Christian covenant of the Resurrection of the Lord instills in the souls of people a feeling of joy and faith in the best.

The Savior on Spilled Blood in the 20th and early 21st centuries

The fate of the Church of the Resurrection of the Lord, a very short period after the completion of its construction and consecration, developed as dramatically as the fate of the entire Russian people. Both the martyr king and the religious memorial structure underwent many difficulties.

Immediately after the October Revolution of 1917, the temple was deprived of financial revenues from the treasury and existed on donations from Petrograd residents. In the 1920s, by the will of the Commissariat of National Property, the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood was subjected to several bouts of looting. The justification for this unprecedented vandalism was the decision of experts from the Academy of the History of Material Culture about the insignificant artistic value of the religious building of the late 19th century, which is an example of decadence and eclecticism in Russian architecture.

In 1930, things got to the point where they decided to demolish the temple and temporarily use it as a warehouse. From the decision we moved on to preparations for demolition. In 1941, the Great Patriotic War began and plans to destroy the temple were postponed.

During the enemy blockade, the temple, like the entire city, was bombed; one of the city morgues was built under its arches, because there was nowhere to bury people who died from cold and hunger. An enemy artillery shell was stuck in the main dome, which was neutralized only in 1961. This incredibly dangerous work, more like a feat, was carried out by sapper Viktor Demidov.

Under Khrushchev, during the period of the next persecution of the Orthodox Church in 1956, they again decided to destroy the temple.

The difficult time of uncertainty lasted 10 years. Healthier forces in the Soviet architectural community prevailed over the forces of obscurantism and lack of culture. A turning point in the revival of the long-suffering religious building came in 1968, when the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood was taken over by the State Inspectorate for the Protection of Monuments and became a branch of the St. Isaac's Cathedral Museum. Restoration and restoration work took 27 long years: from 1971 to 1997.

Soviet and Russian restorers accomplished a real professional and civic feat, reviving from complete desolation and insignificance one of the most beautiful and beloved by all St. Petersburg temple-monuments, which shared with its people times of greatness and persecution, but was revived to glory and light thanks to the work and talent of the Russian people .

The new life of the memorial church as a museum began on August 19, 1997, on the day of the Transfiguration of the Lord. Since May 23, 2004, from the day of the new consecration, regular services have been held in the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood. In memory of the tragic death of Alexander II, every year on March 14 (March 1, old style), a bishop's service and a memorial litany for the murdered emperor are held.