Masha in the Motherland: Спас на Крови (Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood)

Its about time I got some religion in Russia!

If you've noticed, my blog picture has been a picture of the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood. Well today I FINALLY went there, and it was easily one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen.

Some interesting history: Спас На Крови is the site of the assassination of Tsar Alexander the II. He was riding in his carriage along канал грибоедова (Griboedov Canal) where a grenade was thrown at him by a conspirator. Injured, he got out of the carriage and tried to reconcile with him. While out of the carriage, another conspirator threw a grenade, wounding him significantly. He started bleeding heavily (hence the name) and was taken back to the Winter Palace where he died a few hours later.

Two years after his death, they started building the church. The actual place on the street where the assassination occurred is enclosed within the walls of the church. So they extended the embankment to allow enough room for the actual building.

The inside of this Church is unreal. Upon entry you are overwhelmed with the detail of every inch. There are over 7500 sq feet of mosaics.

After the Russian Revolution it was badly damaged (ooooof course), and it was closed in 1930. After the Siege of Leningrad it was used as a temporary storage facility for dead bodies (awesome) , and then it was used as a potato warehouse. Clearly it's the perfect place for potatoes...

It was re-opened in 1997 after 27 years of restoration. It has never held services- serves solely as a museum/memorial. Also, it was never reconsecrated after the restoration.

Alexander II must have been quite the dude if he had such an awesome church built in honor of his death. I'll know I've made it if I'm assassinated and get an awesome church built in my honor. But that's a little old school.

And of course this awesome religious filled-experience had to be ruined by a creepy man who asked for my phone number and followed me for 3 blocks.

Alas, here are some pictures. I am glad I can share it with you!