P110 - Russia - Church of the Savior on Blood

Church of the Savior on Blood, St. Petersburg, Russia ( UNESCO WHS )

The Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood is one of the main sights of St. Petersburg, Russia. It is also variously called the Church on Spilt Blood and the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ, its official name. The name refers to the blood of the assassinated Alexander II of Russia, who was mortally wounded on that site on March 13, 1881 (Julian date: March 1).

Architecturally, the Cathedral differs from St. Petersburg's other structures. The city's architecture is predominantly Baroque and Neoclassical, but the Savior on Blood harks back to medieval Russian architecture in the spirit of romantic nationalism. It intentionally resembles the 17th-century Yaroslavl churches and the celebrated St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow. The Church contains over 7500 square metres of mosaics—according to its restorers, more than any other church in the world. This record may be surpassed by the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis, which houses 7700 square meters of mosaics.

The interior was designed by some of the most celebrated Russian artists of the day—including Viktor Vasnetsov, Mikhail Nesterov and Mikhail Vrubel — but the church's chief architect, Alfred Alexandrovich Parland, was relatively little-known (and Russian, despite his name). Perhaps not surprisingly, the Church's construction ran well over budget, having been estimated at 3.6 million roubles but ending up costing over 4.6 million. The walls and ceilings inside the Church are completely covered in intricately detailed mosaics — the main pictures being biblical scenes or figures — but with very fine patterned borders setting off each picture.

基督喋血大教堂（Храм Спаса на Крови）是俄罗斯圣彼得堡的一个主要景点，正式名称为“基督复活大教堂”（Собор Воскресения Христова）。1881年3月13日（儒略历：3月1日），亚历山大二世的马车通过格里博耶多夫运河河堤时，一个无政府主义者扔进一枚手榴弹，皇帝出血严重，被送回到冬宫后几小时后死亡。1883年，其子亚历山大三世为纪念亡父在此地点修建教堂。工程进展缓慢，直到1907年尼古拉二世在位时期才最终完成。

暗杀发生现场的一段街道被封闭在教堂的墙内，因此该段堤防延伸到运河中。在内部，在亚历山大遇刺的精确地点设计了一个祭坛，装饰以黄玉、琉璃和其他宝石。沙皇的血从简单的鹅卵石中溢出，溅到地板上，与周围与极为丰富的装饰形成鲜明对照。

喋血大教堂的建筑风格迥异于圣彼得堡的其他建筑，该市主要是巴洛克和新古典主义风格，但喋血大教堂特意设计成中世纪俄罗斯建筑，类似于17世纪的雅罗斯拉夫尔教堂和著名的莫斯科红场的华西里·柏拉仁诺教堂 。教堂内有7500平方米的马赛克 -超过世界上任何其它教堂。

1917年俄国革命以后，教堂遭到洗劫和掠夺，其内部破坏严重。苏联政府在1930年代初关闭了该教堂。在第二次世界大战时，列宁格勒被德国军队围困期间，引发严重的饥荒，它被用作蔬菜仓库，因此得到了绰号“马铃薯上的救主”。它遭到严重的损害。战争结束后，它被用作附近的一个歌剧院的仓库。

1970年7月，教堂的管理改属圣以撒大教堂 （当时作为高利润的博物馆）。1997年8月，教堂在关闭27年后重新开放，但尚未祝圣，不作为全时间的礼拜场所。现在，它是马赛克博物馆。即使在革命以前，它也从未充当公众礼拜场所，只是专门用来纪念被暗杀的皇帝，只举行东正教的追思礼拜。现在，它是圣彼得堡的一个主要旅游景点。

References sources : Wikipedia