If there was a prize for the most photographed building in the world, which building from around the world would win it? Big Ben perhaps? The Empire State? Or maybe the Taj Mahal?
I don’t actually have the answer, so if you do, let me know!
I do however know what building I’ve photographed the most: The Church of Our Savior on Spilled Blood in St Petersburg. I was stuck like superglue to this beast of a building for the best part of the day, much to the chagrin of Ruchi, my travel buddy. And I continued to return to it many times during the days I was staying in the city. How could I not? Just look at it! It’s like a crown jewel brought up from the pits of the ocean. Absolutely glorious.
If you looked up the word ‘ornate’ in the dictionary and saw nothing but a photo of this church you’d understand the meaning. Nothing comes more ornate than this with its intricate mosaics, murals, colourful domes, arches gables, stone carvings, and that is before I even begin talking about the gold leaf interior.
I distinctly remember the first time I clapped eyes on it from Nevesky Prosprekt, the main street in St Petersberg, sitting alongside the Griboedov canal.
‘Shing, look!’ said Ruchi whilst nudging me in the side.
‘What?’ I replied.
‘Look down there’ she said with a grin on her face whilst pointing ahead.
‘Holy. Moly’ I gasped.
Now I was grinning. We were both grinning like two screwballs high on the discovery of something that transcends all expectations.
Wherever we were going, whatever we had planned to see all of a sudden became massively irrelevant. All that mattered was seeing this spectacular building with the shiny onion domes that shone like halos.
But it’s not all about appearances either; the Church of Our Savior on Spilled Blood was born out of an assassination that shook the country.
This monumental construction was built on the spot where Tzar Alexander II was assassinated in March 1881 by a group of revolutionaries called the ‘People’s Will’ who threw a bomb at his royal carriage. The main objective of the left-wing People’s Will group was to achieve socialism and a system of self-governance instead of Russia’s tzarist autocracy. Arguably, Tzar Alexander II did much to liberalise Russia, including the abolishment of serfdom in 1861. But for some that was not enough, the People’s Will wanted more, and they wanted it fast.
With force comes resistance. The tzar felt the pressure from the group and began to tighten his reigns, showing you can’t fight fire with fire. And you certainly can’t go about change through terrorism.
After the tzar’s death he was succeeded by his 36-year-old son, Alexander III, who squash the revolutionary group and decided to build the Church of Our Savior on Spilled Blood in his father’s honour. So when you’re looking at this architectural feast, you’re not just admiring an incredibly beautiful building, you’re standing on a landmark of history.
And a few more to make use of the million I ended up taking.
14 Responses
WOW! The color and detail is SO insanely gorgeous! I’ve wanted to visit Russia for such a long time now, maybe I can convince the hubby to do a Scandinavia cruise 😉
Oh you must convince him!! Scandinavia + Russia is one recipe for an IMMENSE adventure Danielle!
I think only people of the old will be capable of building something like this. I don’t think we will see new buildings that can come close to this magnificent church. I cannot even imagine how much passion and creativity were involved in the entire building process.
I do often walk around, admiring the architecture of places and think, ‘they don’t make ’em like they used to do!’
I love your intro. My guess would be the Eiffel Tower (if that counts as a building). I was surprised to hear St. Petersburg is the 4th biggest city in Europe ahead of Berlin. Did it seem that way, or are the touristy areas concentrated together?
I thought about the Eiffel Tower, but I don’t count it as a building, however, there is a restaurant on top so you could argue it’s a building and therefore you may be right 😉
Russia is massive so it didn’t really surprise me, however, it doesn’t feel that big, Berlin feels bigger. I would say the main parts are concentrated, however, I was there for 6 days and there is still soooooooooooo much I didn’t to see, it’s an amazing city, I truly loved it. Moscow feels huge in contrast, but I think there are more interesting things to see in St. Petersburg. You should get yourself and the wife there Richard, it’s very romantic too!
I was there not too long ago as well and my neck was uber sore after staring at the ceiling. I stayed at the Hello Hostel, very very cool place. Hope you went to the Hermitage too!
Hi Shaun! I must check out your posts now! ‘Hello hostel’ sounds very inviting, thanks for mentioning it so anyone stumbling across this page who’s thinking of going to the city but wondering where to stay can now follow your recommendation.
Indeed, the Hermitage was another spectacular building, inside and out!
That is quite an impressive building indeed, we saw religious buildings with a very similar architecture in Kiev, Ukraine, but nothing so elaborate in comparison. I love how it looks from afar in contrast with the other more “normal” looking buildings of the surrounding area. I can understand totally why you took so many photos of it 🙂
I’ve seen photos of the architecture in Kiev Franca and they look very similar! I’m going to hop on over to your archives now to read your thoughts on Ukraine, that country interests me a lot!
Churches are my favorite kind of buildings and this one looks like such a glorious sensory overload in the best possible way! So amazing! Can’t wait to visit some day!
It was a sensory overload and in the best possible way Julika! It’s unbelievable, you’d be in your element here!
That’s lovely to discover your blog! The destinations you’ve seen are so original, I love it! 🙂
Great that you’ve found my blog because now I’ve found yours! 😀