Why should you visit Church of our Savior on the Spilt Blood?

The Church of our Savior on the Spilt Blood is an icon of St Petersburg standing on the bank of the Griboedov canal and covered with 7000 sq. m. of colorful mosaics; it was erected on the place where Russian Tsar Alexander II was killed by terrorists.

The church was constructed by Alfred Parland in the style of Russian churches from the 16th and 17th centuries. It contrasts sharply (some may say jarringly) with its surroundings of Baroque, Classical, and Modernist architecture.

The Church of our Savior on the Spilt Blood was in neglect gradually ruining for long decades of Soviet power. They opened it in 1975 only after a long restoration which, actually, is not finished yet.

The church's spectacular re-opening in August 1997, when hundreds of delighted tourists rushed in, ended decades of deterioration and finally repair.

The project was originally estimated to cost 3.6 million rubles, but it ended up costing 4.6 million rubles due to the rich mosaic collection. The murder of Alexander II and the crucifixion are linked by more than 7500 square meters of mosaics.

The church is much more beautiful than famous churches in Italian Ravenna and you do not have to pay extra to switch on the light to look at the mosaics as long as you wish- the light is always on.

The church, being not a typical sample of classical St Petersburg architecture caused displeasure of the local people first.

It is difficult to believe, but communists wanted to ruin it as the place "of no artistic value" but for some reason, they failed.

One of the most remarkable aspects of the Church of Our Savior on the Spilt Blood is the enormous shrine erected in the spot where Alexander II was mortally wounded, and it occupies a special location inside the church's interior. It was completed in July 1907, according to Parland's design. Four columns of gray violet jasper support the shrine. 

The carved stone awning and the beautiful mosaic icons with depictions of the Romanov family's patron saints are connected by little rectangular columns rising above the shrine. A frieze and cornice, as well as a stone-carved pediment with jasper vases in the corners, support the columns.

The mosaic icon collection in the cathedral of the Church of our Savior on the Spilt Blood is remarkable and diversified. Academic painting, modernist style, and Byzantine icon painting traditions were all used to construct icons. 

The mosaic panel Pantokrator (Almighty), which is placed on the platform of the central cupola and depicts Christ extending a blessing with his right hand while bearing the gospels in his left, was designed by Russian artist Kharlamov. Parland and  Ryabushkin completed the framed icon mosaic decorations.