Placed for MiGO Winter Social 2020.
The cache is in a cemetery so please be respectful and NO night caching. Also avoid Sunday mornings or if there are services going on.
The Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood is one of the main sights of Saint Petersburg, Russia. Construction began in 1883 during the reign of Alexander III, and was completed during the reign of Nicholas II in 1907. Estimates suggest that the construction cost 4.5 million rubles.
Architecturally, the cathedral differs from Saint Petersburg's other structures. The city's architecture is predominantly Baroque and Neoclassical, but the Savior on Blood harks back to medieval Russian architecture in the spirit of romantic nationalism. It intentionally resembles the 17th-century Yaroslavl churches and the celebrated St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow. The walls and ceilings inside the church are completely covered in intricately detailed mosaics. There is over 7500 square meters of which the main pictures being biblical scenes or figures, and have 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 the Second World War when many people were starving due to the Siege of Leningrad by Nazi German 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.
In July 1970, management of the church passed to Saint Isaac's Cathedral and it was used as a museum. The proceeds from the Cathedral funded the restoration of the church. It was reopened in August 1997, after 27 years of restoration, but has not been reconsecrated and does not function as a full-time place of worship. The Church of the Saviour on Blood is a museum of mosaics. In the pre-Revolution period it was not used as a public place of worship. The church was dedicated to the memory of the assassinated tsar and only panikhidas (memorial services) took place. The church is now one of the main tourist attractions in Saint Petersburg.
Me and my wife CoachO were able to visit the church while on a Baltic Sea cruise in 2019. If you happen to go you will also be able to grab a virtual cache while you are there! GCGNHF - St. Petersburg's Most Beautiful
