Church of the Saviour on Blood

As soon as I left Kazan Cathedral, I saw something that attracted me like a magnet. Near the Griboyedov Canal, I saw a church, which seemed to me from afar Saint Basil’s Cathedral. At first, I thought that an exact copy of the Moscow cathedral had been built in Saint Petersburg. Just coming closer, I noticed that these are still different cathedrals. In Saint Petersburg, the cathedral is called the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ; however, the people call it the Church of the Saviour on Blood. It was designed by the Russian architect Alfred Parland whose ancestors moved to Russia from Scotland and Germany.

Indeed the similarities between them are impressive. The Church of the Saviour on Blood also has nine towers painted in various colours, as well as ornate patterns. The difference is that the Church of the Saviour on Blood is not so ancient, as it was built not in the middle of the 16th but at the end of the 19th century. This is noticeable not so much in the exterior as in the interior. The premises in Saint Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow are small; they are similar to the ascetic cells of the monastery. In the Church of the Saviour on Blood in Saint Petersburg, the interior is huge; it is decorated with luxurious mosaics. Inside it looks like a real mosaic museum.

The tragic fate in the 20th century is also a remarkable characteristic of the most beautiful temples of Russia. Now it is hard to believe; nevertheless, in the 30s of the last century, the communist authorities sentenced Saint Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow and the Church of the Saviour on Blood in Saint Petersburg to annihilation. It is a miracle that the will of the communists was not fulfilled, the temples survived.

Another evil encroaching on the destruction of temples became the troops of Nazi Germany, which for several years unsuccessfully tried to conquer the rebellious Saint Petersburg. 16 years after the end of the Second World War, a huge unexploded shell weighing 150 kg was found in the central dome of the Church of the Saviour on Blood.

Risking their lives, a squad of brave Petersburgers from six people carried out a unique operation to extract a shell from the dome of the temple. The Church of the Saviour on Blood survived. Today it is one of the most beautiful temples not only in Saint Petersburg but throughout Russia.