Alexander II was writing a national constitution, and just before he announced his reforms, young revolutionaries who opposed the changes threw a bomb at his royal carriage, Mar 1881. His successor, son Czar Alexander III (ruled1881–94), chose instead to pursue more severe policies. Still, Alexander III planned to immediately erect a church on the site of the assassination by bomb, in his father's memory: Church of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, St Petersburg.
This Russian Byzantine Revival style church was to be very different architecturally from St Petersburg's other structures. The city's architecture was mainly Baroque & Neo-classical, but this church referred back to Russian Byzantine architecture in the spirit of traditional nationalism.
Beginning in 1883, and locally referred to as the Church of the Saviour on the Spilled Blood, architects were asked to plan the building in traditional Russian style. After Alexander had rejected several architects' designs, the job was eventually given to Alfred Parland.
Finished by 1907, the building’s 16th and C17th Russian taste was largely funded by the Imperial family and rich donors. It resembled the C17th Volga-city of Yaroslavl churches and had a similar façade to Moscow’s famous St Basil's Cathedral and Kiev’s Vladimir Cathedral. Its special multicoloured exterior made the church differ from the city’s strict architectural proportions and colour mixes, sharply contrasting to nearby Baroque, Classical and Modernist architecture.
An elaborate shrine was built on the spot where Alexander II lay, still a special place within the church's interior, with columns of grey violet jasper as the shrine’s base. Rising up the shrine, small rectangular columns united the carved stone awning and the decorated mosaic icons with images of the Romanovs’ patron saints. The columns were supported by a frieze, cornice and a stone-carved pediment with vases of jasper to the corners.
Restoration
After WW2 the church was used by the Small Opera Theatre warehouse. The valuable shrine was very largely destroyed. 4 jasper columns with mosaic mountings in them, and a part of the balustrade were all that remained. The Church in St Petersburg looks amazing from the outside but it’s even more impressive inside. Its interior walls are covered with 7 sq km of mosaic! These mosaics covers the cathedral’s interior, created by the workshop of Vladimir Frolov. The artwork depicts religious narratives and figures as well as natural motifs, the first time mosaics provided the primary décoration of a Russian church. Designed to be viewed from a distance and using an incredibly rich array of shades, some of the mosaics are very realistic, capturing light, colour & emotion of the depicted scenes.
Management of the church was handed to St Isaac's Cathedral so it could be used as a museum of mosaics. If fact 80% of the church's restoration in July 1970 was funded by profits from St Isaac's. The decades of deterioration and then restoration culminated in an episodic use of the church in Aug 1997, when thousands of visitors gathered around. The projected cost had been c3.6 mill rubles, but ended up costing 4.6 mill rubles, due to the mosaics’ overrun. The mosaics linked Alexander II's murder with the crucifixion.
It took c24 years to construct a majestic structure like this Church and, after early Soviet vandalism, another 27 years to restore. Reconstruction ended in 1991, just as the Communist regime ended.
This Russian Byzantine Revival style church was to be very different architecturally from St Petersburg's other structures. The city's architecture was mainly Baroque & Neo-classical, but this church referred back to Russian Byzantine architecture in the spirit of traditional nationalism.
Beginning in 1883, and locally referred to as the Church of the Saviour on the Spilled Blood, architects were asked to plan the building in traditional Russian style. After Alexander had rejected several architects' designs, the job was eventually given to Alfred Parland.
Finished by 1907, the building’s 16th and C17th Russian taste was largely funded by the Imperial family and rich donors. It resembled the C17th Volga-city of Yaroslavl churches and had a similar façade to Moscow’s famous St Basil's Cathedral and Kiev’s Vladimir Cathedral. Its special multicoloured exterior made the church differ from the city’s strict architectural proportions and colour mixes, sharply contrasting to nearby Baroque, Classical and Modernist architecture.
An elaborate shrine was built on the spot where Alexander II lay, still a special place within the church's interior, with columns of grey violet jasper as the shrine’s base. Rising up the shrine, small rectangular columns united the carved stone awning and the decorated mosaic icons with images of the Romanovs’ patron saints. The columns were supported by a frieze, cornice and a stone-carved pediment with vases of jasper to the corners.
Intricate mosaics of biblical scenes or figures
with fine patterned borders around each picture.
stone carving art were represented by the iconostasis
St Petersburg Guide
The highlight of the interior and exterior of the Cathedral were its mosaic decorations designed and created by prominent Russian artists then: Mikhail Vrubel, (d1910) Viktor Vasnetsov (d1926) and Mikhail Nesterov (d1942). The huge area made it one of the largest mosaic collections in Europe, emphasising the church’s very obviously Russian aspect. The church has an outstanding and varied collection of mosaic icons. Several icons were completed in the traditions of academic painting, modernist style and Byzantine icon painting. The large icon of the medieval St Alexander Nevsky was created to a design by Nesterov. The icons of the main iconostasis Mother of God with Child and The Saviour were painted to designs by Vasnetsov. The mosaic panel depicted Christ, blessing with his right hand and holding the gospels in his left. It was on the platform of the central cupola, painted to a design by N Kharlamov. Parland completed the framed icon mosaic ornaments.
The Cathedral was decorated with Italian limestone and semi-precious stones eg jasper, mountain crystal and topaz. The exterior displayed 20 granite plates which told the most important events of Alexander II's reign.
The Russian Revolution of 1917 broke out only 10 years after the completion of the Church on Spilled Blood when the Cathedral was looted, lost its funding, was plundered for its valuables and its staff was arrested. In Oct 1930 the Central Executive Committee ordered the church’s closure and it was left to rot. Incredibly the church was declared to be of no historical or architectural value so its demolition was planned. This was interrupted only when the thugs were conscripted, given the Nazi invasion of Russia in mid 1941. 1944's catastrophic Siege of Leningrad damage is still seen on the church's walls.
The Russian Revolution of 1917 broke out only 10 years after the completion of the Church on Spilled Blood when the Cathedral was looted, lost its funding, was plundered for its valuables and its staff was arrested. In Oct 1930 the Central Executive Committee ordered the church’s closure and it was left to rot. Incredibly the church was declared to be of no historical or architectural value so its demolition was planned. This was interrupted only when the thugs were conscripted, given the Nazi invasion of Russia in mid 1941. 1944's catastrophic Siege of Leningrad damage is still seen on the church's walls.
Restoration
After WW2 the church was used by the Small Opera Theatre warehouse. The valuable shrine was very largely destroyed. 4 jasper columns with mosaic mountings in them, and a part of the balustrade were all that remained. The Church in St Petersburg looks amazing from the outside but it’s even more impressive inside. Its interior walls are covered with 7 sq km of mosaic! These mosaics covers the cathedral’s interior, created by the workshop of Vladimir Frolov. The artwork depicts religious narratives and figures as well as natural motifs, the first time mosaics provided the primary décoration of a Russian church. Designed to be viewed from a distance and using an incredibly rich array of shades, some of the mosaics are very realistic, capturing light, colour & emotion of the depicted scenes.
Management of the church was handed to St Isaac's Cathedral so it could be used as a museum of mosaics. If fact 80% of the church's restoration in July 1970 was funded by profits from St Isaac's. The decades of deterioration and then restoration culminated in an episodic use of the church in Aug 1997, when thousands of visitors gathered around. The projected cost had been c3.6 mill rubles, but ended up costing 4.6 mill rubles, due to the mosaics’ overrun. The mosaics linked Alexander II's murder with the crucifixion.
Onion domes
People admire the 5 onion domes, vibrantly coloured and enamel covered. They were popularly believed to symbolise burning candles, often appearing in 3s, representing the Holy Trinity. Or 5 representing Jesus Christ and the Four Evangelists. A dome standing alone stood for Jesus.
It took c24 years to construct a majestic structure like this Church and, after early Soviet vandalism, another 27 years to restore. Reconstruction ended in 1991, just as the Communist regime ended.
Grand Choral Synagogue, St Petersburg
built in Moorish style in 1880-88 by
architects Shaposhnikov, Bakhman, Shreter
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22 comments:
The cathedral interior is so incredible. I haven't visited the country so far but now not so sure if I want to do that.
What a magnificent church with such interesting history the photos are wonderful
The Grand Choral Synagogue of St Petersburg was built at about the same time (1880s) and was lovely. But the Church is much more stunning.
It's both magnificent and too much at the same time. A fairy tale church.
It's wonderful. I've seen photos of its exterior but not of its interior, nor its history. What a contrast to some grim and drab churches, I'm sure designed to ensure you feel as if you are doing penance for your sins.
It certainly is a delight to see, so magnificent and I'm glad it was restored.
Good to read the story of it too - it's history that turned out alright in the end.
Great church especially the inside is incredible. But also the information given to us with detail and care. Thanks for the post. Have a beautiful weekend!
I was fortunate to visit the church in 2019 and it is stunning from both the outside and inside.
roentare
ahh you would love it. St Petersburg was, in my opinion, the most beautiful city in all of Russia with the best architecture, history, culture, education and European focus. And not just in Russia; like Paris and Venice, St Petersburg appeals to people from all over the world.
Jo-Anne
the photos are fantastic, and there are plenty more available on line! My only problem is that if you take a photo up close to one element eg a panel, the details will be clear but with no context. If you move right back to take very broad photos, you lose all the beloved mosaics etc. Thank goodness the colours came out very well :)
Hi cous.,
I added a photo of the Grand Choral Synagogue of St Peterburg (above) so that we can make a comparison. There were some 200,000 Jews in the city at that time, so the new synagogue had to be both large in numbers of seats and grand in style. But there was no doubt that the Church of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ was much bigger, much more glamorous and more suitable to the eternal memory of Czar Alexander II.
River
I agree that on first examination, the Church of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ was way over the top! The Russian Byzantine Revival style with its strange colours and exotic shapes must have shocked the locals, but I imagine that within a shortish time, it became the best loved icon of the then-capital city. Even today, though the building is used more as a secular museum than as a church.
Andrew
I know that church designers often preferred grim and drab buildings because 1] there would be nothing to distract the congregants thinking away from their religious obligations and 2] a largely concrete building with little decoration was always much cheaper. But when most people couldn't read, they _depended_ on the stained glass windows, church sculptures and the preachers' sermons to learn Biblical stories.
Doing penance for your sins? I don't know what sins are, and I don't know how to do penance :)
Margaret
I cannot believe that the Central Executive Committee ordered the church’s closure, years before WW2 started!!! Whatever they thought about more orthodox historical or architectural value, to demolish the church voluntarily would have been an obscenity. Thank goodness the historical architecture and decorative arts were eventually saved, despite the many years and the huge amount of money.
Fun
Many decades ago, the beloved and I lived in Europe for 4 years and travelled at will. If we wanted to see something special, we could take off from Friday lunchtime to Sunday night, then return in time for work on Monday morning.
St Petersburg would be the first place I would go to, if I lived in London or Tel Aviv now. You went to see how stunning the church is, from both the outside and inside *sighs happily*.
Katarina
As I said to Fun60, I want to live in Europe again! I would go by train from Central Macedonia to St Petersburg and would spend a few days examining the most interesting religious facilities, art galleries, cultural centres etc etc. You are in an excellent part of the world.
It is beautiful and looks like a very large, ornate wedding cake. The artistry and workmanship involved in such a large creation is incredible. Such people are unsung heroes.
jabblog
In mosaic work, a small piece of hard, decorative material was cut in a regular shape. Glass or ceramic was the major material for wall mosaics of early Byzantine churches, later used to advertise the faith in its dogma, scriptural stories and symbolism. But imagine the eyes of St Petersburg's mosaic makers going blind, sorting 7500 square meters of mosaics :(
Hello Hels, Are most of the mosaics original, or from the restoration? It sounds like little was left of the interior, but mosaics have the advantage of being attached to the walls and floors; however, vandals are often possessed of pickaxes and the like, of which I have seen first-hand evidence. It is not too surprising that in 1930 the 23-year-old building was deemed irrelevant--so often buildings one generation old are despised. Look at the hatred directed toward fancy Victorian buildings. Even the Brutalist style is now coming back, but for most of my life was utterly reviled, with many torn down and other important examples barely escaping the wrecker's ball.
--Jim
Parnassus
I had mixed feelings about possibly pulling down the Church of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ in 1930. On one hand, the Russian Orthodox religion represented old pre-Soviet values, and old Czarist power. On the other hand the Russian Byzantine architecture and Byzantine paintings themselves harked back to a much earlier era.
Once a style falls out of favour and a new style takes over, it takes a lot of time and advertising before everyone gets on board. As you say, the Brutalist style would have horrified the Czars, and it would have horrified me too. Fortunately it was the Czar who commissioned the Russian Byzantine art and architecture, and not the vandals.
I did not know the history behind the construction of the Church of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is absolutely exquisite
Mandy
the history of a church is always important because it influences its location, choice of architects, architectural style, decorative arts, religious practices and source of funding. That was equally true after Czar Alexander II was assassinated in 1881. Czar Alexander III selected the style, chose and instructed the architects, and provided a lot of the funding to honour his late father. No wonder it was majestic.
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