Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood

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An easy start to the day today, as we wanted to do some souvenir and gift shopping. We spent most of the morning walking along Nevsky Prospekt looking in the shops, purchasing some souvenirs, and ended up in a modern multi storey shopping centre with glass lifts. We had hoped to find some unique Russian clothing merchandise, however, all of the shops in the centre were western culture brand names that you would find in upmarket Sydney or Melbourne. It seems Russians, at least in the wealthy city of St Petersburg, are trying desperately to acquire western lifestyle status.



After completing our shopping, we headed back to our hotel to drop off the purchases, then walked to the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood. The church is prominently situated along the Griboedov Canal. On 13^th March 1881, as Tsar Alexander's carriage passed along the embankment, a grenade thrown by an anarchist conspirator exploded. The tsar, shaken but unhurt, got out of the carriage and started to remonstrate with the presumed culprit. A second conspirator took the chance to throw another bomb, killing himself and mortally wounding the tsar. The tsar, bleeding heavily, was taken back to the Winter Palace, where he died a few hours later.



In order to build a permanent shrine on the exact spot where the assassination took place, it was decided to narrow the canal so that the section of road on which the tsar had been driving could be included within the walls of the church. An elaborate shrine was constructed at the end of the church opposite the altar, on the exact place of Alexander's assassination. It is embellished with topaz, lazurite and other semi-precious stones, making a striking contrast with the simple cobblestones of the old road, which are exposed in the floor of the shrine.



Construction began in 1883 during the reign of Alexander III, and was completed during the reign of Nicholas II in 1907. The church contains over 7,500 square meters of mosaics, according to its restorers, more than any other church in the world. The walls and ceilings inside the church are completely covered in intricately detailed mosaics, the main pictures being biblical scenes or figures, with very fine patterned borders setting off each picture.



In the aftermath of the Russian Revolution, the church was ransacked and looted, badly damaging its interior. The Soviet government closed the church in 1932.During WWII when many people were starving due to the Siege of Leningrad by Nazi Germany military forces, the church was used as a temporary morgue for those who died in combat and from starvation and illness. The church suffered significant damage. After the war, it was used as a warehouse for vegetables, leading to the sardonic name of Saviour on Potatoes. It was reopened in August 1997,after 27 years of restoration.



It was awe inspiring to walk into the Church and look up at the high vaulted ceilings and walls covered with bright mosaics, more than one could count in a lifetime. It was interesting to research the history of the Church, as I wrongly assumed from the name that the Church was built on the site of a great battle in which many Russian lives were lost. No, just one important Tsar.



Opposite the Church, we found a burger joint, called True Burgers, which played grungy music, endless reruns of Quentin Tarantino westerns and served great burgers, even 100% Angus Beef Patties inside lettuce leaves for Kim. After enjoying our burgers and homemade lemonades, we headed for the Faberge Museum, located in the Shuvalov Palace on the Fontanka River, the same river that our hotel is located on, just two blocks away. Carl Faberge was the head of the House of Faberge, the famous Court Appointed Jeweller to the Tsars of Russia.



The Faberge Museum is a privately-owned museum which was established by Viktor Vekselberg and his Link of Times Foundation in order to repatriate lost cultural valuables to Russia. The Foundation began restoring the 18th-century Shuvalov Palace (which is rented by the foundation) in St. Petersburg in 2006, with the goal of opening the museum in the palace.A significant amount of work was done over seven years to recreate the historical appearance of the palace. This was the first full-fledged restoration of the palace in its entire 200-year history. The official opening ceremony of the Faberge Museum took place on 19 November 2013. The Interior of the Palace is a sight to see, without considering the museum’s collections.



The museum's collection contains more than 4,000 works of decorative applied and fine arts, including gold and silver items, paintings, porcelain and bronze. A highlight of the museum's collection is the group of nine Imperial Easter Eggs created by Carl Faberge for the last two Russian Tsars. All of the Imperial Easter eggs in the museum's collection are connected to the rule and personal life of the last two Russian emperors, Alexander III and Nicolas II.



The House of Faberge made fifty such "Imperial" Easter eggs, of which only forty three are still known to exist. Two planned for Easter 1917 were not delivered due to the Russian Revolution in which the Romanov Dynasty was overthrown and all the members of the imperial family executed. Each Imperial Easter Egg took twelve months to design and manufacture, and were delivered personally at Easter time to the Tsar and his family by Carl Faberge. Each new egg was striking for it’s novelty, the originality of it’s composition and it’s virtuoso jewellery work. The Kremlin Armoury in Moscow is the only other museum which has more Imperial Easter Eggs, ten in total. The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond Virginia has five eggs, the Royal Collection in London has three eggs, as does the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The remainder are held in Museums, Royal and Private Collections around the world.



Fabergé eggs have become symbols of the splendour, power and wealth of the Romanov dynasty and the Russian Empire, priceless treasures to hunt, steal, etc. As such, they have been part of the plot in several films and television series, such as Octopussy (1983), Love Among Thieves (1987), Murder She Wrote episode "An Egg to Die For" (1994), Ocean’s Twelve (2004), American Dad episode "A Jones for a Smith" (2010), The Intouchables (2011), to name a few.



The craftsmanship, precious stones and intricate design of each Imperial Egg are extraordinary. Incorporated in the design of some of the eggs are photos of the Tsar and his family. The Museum allowed visitors to take photos of the items in the collections, notwithstanding that they were each displayed in a high security glass cabinet, with security guards hovering in each room carefully watching over their prized items. It was interesting to be able to visit the Faberge Museum and view a large collection of the famed Imperial Easter Eggs that have become an important part of Russian History, directly linked to the wealth and opulence of the Romanovs.



It was late in the day by the time we exited the Museum, and so we walked back along the Fontanka River to our Hotel, to have a quick change and walk across the bridge over the river to Fiolet Restaurant, which is located on the ground floor of the 4 star Rossi Hotel. Food and service at the Hotel was excellent, and we will be coming back here for dinner tomorrow night.

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