Page 20 - (DK Eyewitness) Top 10 Travel Guide - St. Petersburg

18 ❯❯ Top 10 St Petersburg Highlights

Church on Spilled Blood

The Church on Spilled Blood, a cacophony of colour just off Nevskiy
prospekt, stands out in St Petersburg by nature of its Russian
Revival style, something that is extremely rare in this city of
Baroque and Neo-Classical architecture. De signed by Alfred
Parland and Ignatiy Malyshev, the church, sometimes referred to
as “Saviour on Blood”, was built as a memorial to Alexander II in
1881 on the site of his assassination. The sanctuary doors covered
in semi-precious stones are particularly awe-inspiring.
Mosaic Walls 3
The church has
more than 7,000 sq m
(75,300 sq ft) of mosaics,
both on the interior and
exteri or. Materials such
as jasper, porphyry and
marble were used to
create these lavish
artworks (right).
Window
4
Frames
Mosaic
1 The window frames
Portraits
of Saints are carved out of
marble trans ported
Mosaic portraits (above) from Estonia and cast in
of biblical saints, laid out the form of tradi tional
in rows of kokoshniki decorative patterns.
gab les (tiered decorative
Mosaic
arches), adorn the 5
exterior of the church. Tympanum
The church’s exterior
Steeple
2 (below) is made up of
The main steeple of
panels depicting scenes
the church is 81 m (265 ft) from the New Testament.
high. Steep les were During the Siege (see
banned in Russia in the p38), starving citizens
17th century by Metro- gath er ed to pray
politan Nikon, who felt under the Tympanum,
they were too similar finding solace in its
to Western churches. depiction of Christ
Alexander II
on his 6
throne. Plaques
The perimeter of the
lower wall has 20 dark-
red plaques made of
Norwegian granite,
which illustrate key
events of the 25-year
reign of Alexander II
(1855–81), including
the emanci pation
of the serfs
in 1861.

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