The CHURCH OF OUR SAVIOR on the SPILLED BLOOD This marvelous Russian-style multicolored, onion-domed church was built on the spot where Emperor Alexander II was assassinated in March 1, 1881. On this site a terrorist Grinevitsky, a member of the revolutionary organization People's Will, mortally wounded Tsar, by tossing a bomb at at his royal carriage. After assuming power in 1855 in the wake of Russia's disastrous defeat in the Crimean war against Britain, France and Turkey, Alexander II initiated a number of reforms. In 1861 he freed the Russian serfs (peasants, who were almost enslaved to their owners) from their ties to their masters and undertook a rigorous program of military, judicial and urban reforms, never before attempted in Russia. However, during the second half of his reign Alexander II grew wary of the dangers of his system of reforms, having only barely survived a series of attempts on his life, including an explosion in the Winter Palace and the derailment of a train. In 1883 son of Alexander II, Alexander III, began construction of the memorial church and it was completed in 1907 during the reign of Nicholas II. The church resembles Church of St.Basil the Blessed (Pokrovsky Cathedral), located on Red Square in Moscow and its flamboyant Russian style can be attributed to a rise in national consciousness at the turn of the century. Architecturally it revives the traditions of the 17th-century Russian church building. The construction of the church was almost entirely funded by the Imperial family and thousands of private donators. The church stands out for its complicated and picturesque outline, as well as rich and multicolored decoration. Both the interior and exterior of the church is decorated with incredibly detailed mind-boggling 7000 square meters of mosaics, designed and created in Frolovs' workshop to the originals by the most prominent Russian artists of the day: Vasnetsov, Nesterov, Riabushkin and Vrubel. Interestingly, despite the church's very obviously Russian aspect, its principle architect, Parland, was not even Russian by birth. The facades are faced with glazed shaped brick and ceramic tiles as well as decorated with mosaic panels. In the decor of interiors Italian marbles and Russian semiprecious stones are used. The church is interesting as a kind of an architectural accent in classical surroundings. On the very spot of the assassination is a marble Shatrovy Cen, a monument to Alexander. The church was closed for services in the 1930s, when the Bolsheviks went on an offensive against religion and destroyed churches all over the country. It remained closed and under restoration for over 30 years and was finally re- opened in 1997 in all its dazzling former glory . Info from http://www.travel.spb.ru/theguide/museums5.html Photos taken with Canon PS A200, collage made in Photoshop Elements 3 Thanks for watching :-)