Touring St. Petersburg

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Today was a day devoted to being a tourist and I have to say I have enjoyed myself.

This morning after breakfast I walked down to the “Church of the Resurrection of Christ” which is also known as the “Savior on the Spilled Blood” (I mentioned this in Saturday’s post). It was built between 1883 and 1907 on the spot where Alexander II, the Emperor of Russia , was mortally wounded in 1881. In fact, in one spot inside of the church is a sectioned off “altar” (wrong term) purported to be the spot where he was wounded (assassins threw bombs at his carriage).

While much different from the other churches in St. Petersburg, it is probably what most American’s would think of, as it is based on St. Basil’s in Moscow (complete with onion dome cupolas). What makes this such an interesting place is the incredible space devoted to the mosaics - they cover nearly every inch of wall and ceiling inside the church and large portions outside. I read that it is 7000 square meters of mosaic (which equates to 75000 square feet). You can see mosaics telling much of the story of Christ’s life depicted on the walls. Somewhat tongue-in-cheek, the church is also known by the name “the savior of the potatoes” or something along these lines, as it was a food warehouse during the revolution/war.

It is also a particular tourist spot and the “souvenir alley” built along the canal across the street is a testament to capitalism. Don’t let on that you don’t understand or the cost will double for that fake military hat or the stacking dolls featuring George W. Bush, Sadaam, and Osama bin Laden (and by the way, Osama was the biggest one).

After that, I had a chance to visit Kazan Cathedral which is one of the few active churchs remaining in town. It is actually only a block from our hotel and looks like it is several hundreds of years old or ravaged by the war when you look at it from the outside. The exterior has not been maintained. However, inside it is a dark but pretty Orthodox Church. While an active tourist stop, it is still an active church, and there was an orthodox service taking place among all the tourists. Because there are no chairs/pews and because the service moves around a little as it is held, I found myself surrounded by hundreds of women wearing head scarves (and a few men) actively praying along with the ten or so Orthodox priests and the choir in the choir loft. The service moved around the church slightly as the priests moved from behind the screen that separates the alter from the church itself (covered in orthodox iconography) and down what would be a center aisle if one had existed. The faithful parted, and they would hand prayers to the priests who were evidently reading them and offering up these prayers as they sang and prayed. While that SOUNDS odd, it was very natural and very moving. There was a lot of sign of the cross and genuflecting by those around me, and you feel guilty not participating to the same level that they do.

After that, we had a group tour of the Russian Museum (all Russian artists) where we had a chance to view a nice collection of iconography collected by the last inhabitant of the palace that now holds the museum (I don’t recall which son of which czar/emperor) as well as paintings/sculptures of the palaces inhabitants. One of the grand halls we were in was evidently the location of one of the last meetings between Bush and Putin.

Finally, we finished the day with a canal tour. Most of the American tour books tell you you must take a canal tour, and it was worth doing. You see the city at a different pace and from a different angle when you do this. Our escort from the university tells us this was perhaps the nicest day she has ever been out on the water. We continue to have clear, blue skies with temps right on the edge of jacket weather (depending on whether or not you are in the sun).

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Photos

Spilled Blood #1
A sample of the mosaics

Spilled Blood #2
The mosaic on the ceiling dome

Spilled Blood #3
From the park across the street

The Hermitage
As viewed from the water

Paul's Palace
Paul was so worried he would be assasinated that he had this palace built to keep him safe. He was killed within a month of moving in (by his servants).

Comments

[Kathy]

blue skies
I kept thinking in all of your outdoor photos that the weather looked tremendous! I checked out the weather channel the other day and they said it was really nice in moscow. How fortunate to start your trip that way! Thanks for the photos, its incredible!