Church Of The Saviour On Spilled Blood

Lonely Planet review

This multidomed dazzler, partly modelled on St Basil's Cathedral in Moscow, was built between 1883 and 1907 in memory of reformist Tsar Alexander II. On this spot in 1881, a terrorist group known as the People's Will attempted to assassinate the tsar by blowing up his carriage, which did eventually result in his death. Officially called the Church of the Resurrection of Christ, it was intended as a private place of mourning for the life of the tsar.

It was the Bolsheviks who threw the ornate doors of this amazing candy-cake structure open to the people. Not built to withstand the wear and tear caused by thousands of visitors, its interior quickly began to suffer. Following the closure of churches by Stalin in the 1930s, the church was used to store various items from potatoes to theatre sets. Decades of abuse and neglect finally ended in the 1980s, which was surprising given a political climate that was still very cold to religion.

It's now famed as the church that took 24 years to build and 27 to restore, for that's how long it took to refurbish the 7000 sq metres of mosaics that line the walls inside. It reopened in 1997 to much fanfare. In the western apse, the very spot of the assassination is marked by a small but beautiful canopy built out of rhodonite and jasper. The magnificent floor and iconostasis are all Italian marble. These days, it functions as a museum, though services are sometimes held here on special occasions.

If you're on a tight budget, you can still gawk at the superbly polychromatic exterior of this Russian revival marvel, which is unique in the city. The 20 granite plaques on the façade record, in gold letters, the main events of Alexander's reign. The mosaic panels about half-way up detail scenes from the New Testament, and the 144 mosaic coats of arms each represent the provinces, regions and towns of the Russian Empire of Alexander's time, which all joined in mourning the death of the tsar. The whole shebang is crowned by an 81m-high steeple. Photos from the footbridge that crosses the canal are practically required for all visitors to St Petersburg.