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The Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood River Reflection
The Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood is one of the main sights of Saint Petersburg. Other names include the Church on Spilled Blood the Temple of the Savior on Spilled Blood and the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ. The church is prominently situated along the Griboedov Canal; paved roads run along both sides of the canal.
Construction began in 1883 during the reign of Alexander III, two years after the assassination of his father Alexander II. The church was dedicated to be a memorial to his father. Estimates suggest that the construction cost 4.5 million rubles. The construction was completed during the reign of Nicholas II in 1907. Funding was provided by the Imperial family with the support of many private donors.
Architecturally, the cathedral differs from Saint Petersburg's other structures. The city's architecture is predominantly Baroque and Neoclassical, but the Savior on Blood harks back to medieval Russian architecture in the spirit of romantic nationalism. It intentionally resembles the 17th-century Yaroslavl churches and the celebrated St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow.
The church contains over 7065 square meters of mosaics. It may be the 2nd largest collection of mosaics in the world, after the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis, which houses 7700 square meters of mosaics. The interior was designed by some of the most celebrated Russian artists of the day—including Viktor Vasnetsov, Mikhail Nesterov and Mikhail Vrubel – but the church's chief architect, Alfred Alexandrovich Parland, was relatively little-known (born in Saint Petersburg in 1842 in a Baltic-German Lutheran family).
Perhaps not surprisingly, the church's construction ran well over budget, having been estimated at 3.6 million rubles but ending up costing over 4.6 million. The walls and ceilings inside the church are completely covered in intricately detailed mosaics – the main pictures being biblical scenes or figures – but with very fine patterned borders setting off each picture.
The Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood River Reflection
The Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood is one of the main sights of Saint Petersburg. Other names include the Church on Spilled Blood the Temple of the Savior on Spilled Blood and the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ. The church is prominently situated along the Griboedov Canal; paved roads run along both sides of the canal.
Construction began in 1883 during the reign of Alexander III, two years after the assassination of his father Alexander II. The church was dedicated to be a memorial to his father. Estimates suggest that the construction cost 4.5 million rubles. The construction was completed during the reign of Nicholas II in 1907. Funding was provided by the Imperial family with the support of many private donors.
Architecturally, the cathedral differs from Saint Petersburg's other structures. The city's architecture is predominantly Baroque and Neoclassical, but the Savior on Blood harks back to medieval Russian architecture in the spirit of romantic nationalism. It intentionally resembles the 17th-century Yaroslavl churches and the celebrated St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow.
The church contains over 7065 square meters of mosaics. It may be the 2nd largest collection of mosaics in the world, after the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis, which houses 7700 square meters of mosaics. The interior was designed by some of the most celebrated Russian artists of the day—including Viktor Vasnetsov, Mikhail Nesterov and Mikhail Vrubel – but the church's chief architect, Alfred Alexandrovich Parland, was relatively little-known (born in Saint Petersburg in 1842 in a Baltic-German Lutheran family).
Perhaps not surprisingly, the church's construction ran well over budget, having been estimated at 3.6 million rubles but ending up costing over 4.6 million. The walls and ceilings inside the church are completely covered in intricately detailed mosaics – the main pictures being biblical scenes or figures – but with very fine patterned borders setting off each picture.