The Church
of the Saviour on Blood stands in the very heart of Saint Petersburg, easily
visible from the Nevsky Prospect. Colourful and fancy, it looks like a birthday
cake.
 |
| The Church of the Saviour on Blood, film photo, January 2015 |
It drew my attention from the first sight, but it took me two weeks to
make up my mind to go inside. I have seen it numerous times both in daylight
and night. Still, it was a bit pricey for me and I didn’t have any discounts as
I wasn’t a Russian student.
The day I
have bought a ticket was the one when I froze and couldn’t stay outside any
longer. The Church was nearby so I dared.
First, I
came in and walked around. But it was useless without excursion and explanation.
Luckily (and what I didn’t know) the excursion was included and that was a
blessing.
 |
| Replica of the Church inside, mobile photo |
The church has
a very interesting life story. It was built in honour of Russian Emperor Alexander
II. He was an ill-starred reformer, he started everything with a good cause in
mind, but somehow it didn’t work and only made lots of people angry. The Church
of the Saviour on Blood was constructed on the very place where the tsar was
attacked. He died a few hours later at the Winter palace.
The mosaic
inside was heavily damaged during world wars, revolution and soviet times. It
was used as a warehouse for vegetables and even a morgue. Neglected and despised
it survived until favourable times.
 |
| Interior mosaic, mobile photo |
To me it
looks a lot like St. Basil’s Cathedral at the Red Square.
The
interior is covered with mosaics all over. Multitude of biblical scenes is
impressive, but my favourite part of the design is greenish floral motive.
 |
| The left altar of the Church |
 |
| Part of the floral decoration |
All in all,
I never regretted those 250 rubles (which was a sum of money to me at the time).
