Top 10 Amazing Facts about Church of the Savior on Blood

Top 10 Amazing Facts about Church of the Savior on Blood

Tourists visit different destinations because of their varying historical and cultural aspects that attract them to a particular place. The Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood is one attraction site that tourists like to frequent because of its unique look that features onion-shaped domes and colourful exteriors. The site remains a memorable experience for travellers when they visit St. Petersburg.

Therefore, this article will explore some interesting facts about the place and the history behind the construction of the church. Additionally, the knowledge from the article can be a good way to engage family and friends in trivia questions to see who knows more about the historical building.

1. The church is built on the site where the Tsar was fatally wounded

Church of the savior on spilled blood by Richard Mortel-Wikimedia

Alexander II endured more assassination attempts than any other tsar and the seventh one was the most fatal. While returning to the Winter Palace in his royal carriage in March 1881, Tsar Alexander II was met with terrorists. A terrorist threw a bomb on the embarkment of Ekatarina Canal and thus causing them to stop.

The tsar got out and he was shaken but unhurt. However, the conspirator threw another bomb directly at his feet which severely wounded him. He died an hour later at his palace chambers. His son known as Alexander III erected a shrine in memory of his father at the site where he was bombed.

2. The design of the church

A picture of Church on the Savior on Blood by Алексей Заякин-Wikimedia

When the tender of the construction of the shrine was announced, Alexander III insisted that it should adhere to the traditions of the church architecture of 17-century Yaroslavl and Moscow. This was highly unusual in St. Petersburg as the city did not have any old Russian churches as it was built in the 18^th century.

3. Alfred Parland was the architect

After Alexander, the third announcing the tender for the construction of the new edifice, Alfred Parland who was of German-Scottish roots won the tender. The architect was also the leader of the Archimandrite Ignatius. The official groundbreaking ceremony to start the construction of the church took place in 1883.

The construction of the church was from 1883 to 1907 and it was almost entirely funded by the Imperial Family and thousands of private donors. This can be attributed to the fact that the church was dear to the tsar’s heart as he was building it to commemorate the life of his father.

4, The church features more than 7,000 square metres of unique mosaics

The interior of the church by Richard Mortel-Wikimedia

The construction of the church took 24 years and it is believed that the consecration of the church was delayed because the mosaics by the hereditary mosaicist Vladimir Frolov were complex and thus spent 10 years perfecting them.

The stunning mosaics cover around 7,000 square metres and thus making it one of the largest mosaic exhibitions in Europe. The inclusion of the mosaics in the church made it unique and created a nice ambience that attracts tourists to it up to date.

5. The building operated as a church but very briefly

After the mosaicist had finished perfecting the mosaics, the church was consecrated in 197. The ceremony was done by Nicholas the second who was the new emperor and the grandson of the long-dead Alexander the second.

However, the church did not have any parish and it did not offer public masses. Entry to the church was strictly controlled and it was managed by the state. But after the revolution of 1912, the state cut off its funding and thus forced the church to finance itself and thus set up its parish. The local priest was not cooperative with the soviet authorities and this led to the closure of the church in 1930.

6. The church was used as a morgue in the second World War

The Bolsheviks who were against religion had destroyed many churches in the 1930s and the 1940s and they had set their sights on the Savior on Spilled Blood. However, the second World War intervened and during the siege of Leningrad which is the former name of St. Petersburg, the church was converted into a morgue where bodies that were found on the streets were brought to be kept.

7. The church housed an unexploded German shell for nearly 20 years

During the Second World War, the church had been repeatedly shelled by German troops which caused serious damage to the walls. This majorly complicated the restoration process afterwards. While doing the restoration process in 1961, the workers discovered a 240mm high explosive shell in the wall of the church.

It is by some miracle that the shell had lain dormant and not exploded for close to twenty years. A specialist detonation crew was called to the site to remove the bomb.

8. The church is now a museum

A picture of the church by randreu-Wikimedia

The church was recognized as an architectural monument in the 1960s. the restoration of the church took 27 years which is three years more than the period that it took for it to be constructed. It was then reopened in 1997.

Now, the Savior on Spilled Blood is used as a museum in that tourists visit the place to view the famous mosaics and also a section of the pavement that is located inside the building where the wounded tsar fell. Masses are held here but only during the weekends and church holidays.

9. The interior of the church was done by many Russian artists

Apart from Vladimir Frolov who worked on the mosaics, other celebrated Russian artists worked on the interior of the church. Some of them include Viktor Vasnetsov, Mikhail Nesterov and Mikhail Vrubel. This shows how the construction of the church was a collective effort by different experts in different fields.

10. It is among the largest churches in Russia

The church of the Savior on Spilled Blood is one of the largest churches in Russia and thus makes it one of the choices that tourists want to visit coupled with the fact that it has great exhibitions that will interest someone. The attraction site is also ideal for history enthusiast as it has been around for a very long time and thus give an extensive insight into history.