The Church of the Spilled Blood was built on the embankment of Catherine Canal where on March 1st, 1881 Alexander II was killed by populists. In the same year they chose out of many architectural projects to use it for building the grand electrified church whose illumination was provided by 1689 lamps. In 1907 the new church in the Russian style was dedicated in honour of Christ Resurrection.
In 1930 the church was closed. When Leningrad was being sieged bodies of dead citizens were brought here. The main dome of the cathedral had been destroyed by a German blind 240 mm shell, it had been lying in the roof rafters until 1961.
After the war the church building had been used as a warehouse of theater decorations until 1968 when it was announced to be a landmark.
The external of the cathedral was made from many different materials: coloured bricks, Estland marble, granite, ceramic tiles, it was widely decorated with mosaic and Russian emblems. The domes were covered with enamel, gilded copper, the roof – with glazed tiles.
The height of the church is 81 meters, it symbolizes the year when the tsar-liberator was killed.
The lower tier of the building is decorated with twenty granite boards having golden inscriptions about the deeds of Alexander II.
Since 1997 the church has been used as a museum. Since 2004 they have been holding services and taking parishioners.
Replaced elements of the finish.
Initially it was planned to be visited by members of the tsar family and their guests only that’s why the interior is so posh and gorgeous.
All the walls are covered with mosaic, Bible images.
The mosaic area is 7065 m2.
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