Things I Remember about St Petersburg #1 – Mosaic Church

A beautiful, huge church with amazing multi-coloured domes.

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Covered from “head to toe” in mosaics.

Not kidding. Really. I even took the close up of the “decorations” in case you’re in doubt.

Uh-huh. Mosaics alright. Specifically, 7000 square meters of mosaic works.

From afar, those mosaics look like paintings…

It was such a sight to behold. Even until now, I can close my eyes and vividly imagine seeing this church.

Anyway, about the church…

This church is popularly called “Cathedral of the Saviour on Spilled Blood” (its real name is “Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ”). It derived its popular name from the purpose for which the church was built. Alexander II, the then Tsar of Russia, was assassinated here (anarchist conspirator threw grenade and exploded a bomb) and Alexander III, his son, built the church as a memorial to his father. The church was covered entirely in mosaics because the St Petersburg climate made traditional paintings and frescos deteriorate quickly. Unfortunately this church’s fate has not been so smooth. In Russian Revolution, the church was used for several nonreligious purposes such as corpses repository and vegetable storage. Long stories short, the church was gradually restored to its full glory, opening again in August 1997.

Info thanks to Church of Saviour on Spilled Blood Wikipedia Page and a friend Julia Tvorogova (always trust locals!).

More (captioned) photos on my Facebook album.

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