Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
IZZET KERIBAR / LONELY PLANET IMAGES ©
TOP SIGHTS
CHURCH ON THE SPILLED BLOOD
This multidomed dazzler, partly modelled on St Basil's Cathedral in Moscow, is
St Petersburg's most elaborate church. It was built between 1883 and 1907 in
memory of reformist Tsar Alexander II, who was attacked on this spot in 1881 by
a terrorist group known as the People's Will. The bomb blew up the tsar's car-
riage, and he later died from his injuries. Officially called the Church of the Re-
surrection of Christ, its far more striking colloquial name has become its de
facto one.
It was the Bolsheviks who threw the ornate doors of this amazing candy-cake struc-
ture open to the people. Not built to withstand the wear and tear by thousands of visit-
ors, its interior suffered. Following Stalin's closure of churches in the 1930s, it was
used to store various items, from potatoes to theatre sets, and quickly fell into disre-
pair.
