Beautifully decorated exterior of the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood
Dates visited: August 9, 2012 – August 13, 2012
Saint Petersburg, Russia’s gateway to Europe, is 445 miles northwest of Moscow and easily reachable by Sapsan high speed trains. The proximity to Europe makes it a more popular tourist spot that Moscow so finding an English-speaking person here is easy. It is designated as a UNESCO Heritage World Site under the long moniker: Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments!
I was most interested in seeing the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood (aka the Church on Spilt Blood and the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ) for its exquisite architecture and the many ornate bulbous domes. And I wasn’t disappointed! This magnificent church is perched on the banks of the Neva River, and its grandeur only increases as you approach it. Another church I loved was the Saint Isaac’s Cathedral. It’s domed-exterior isn’t as stunning (I was biased because of wanting to see more onion-shaped domes), but it makes up for it on the inside. This was the most beautiful interior of any church that I had seen so far—bronze doors, marble floors, granite columns and an elaborate iconostasis. The gilded carvings, statues, and paintings were very elegantly done and they really appealed to my taste.
The other huge attraction is the State Hermitage Museum, founded in 1764 by Catherine the Great, which gets over 2.5 million visitors annually. It reminded me of the Louvre, and it has the collection to match. The most famous painting here was the Madonna Litta by Leonardo da Vinci. We spent close to five hours in this museum appreciating its outstanding collection of art from the Paleolithic age till present era. We ended the day by visiting the nearby Bronze Horseman—an equestrian statue of Peter the Great—standing on Thunder Stone which is the largest stone ever moved by man! This enormous boulder weighed 1500 tonnes and was carved down to 1250 tonnes during transportation. That is heavy!
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- The magnificently beautiful Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood… …built in 1183 on the site where Tsar Alexander II was assassinated and was dedicated in his memory
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- Model of the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood at Aleksandrovsky park
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- The Winter Palace (main building of the State Hermitage Museum)… …the museum was founded in 1764 by Catherine the Great and has been open to the public since 1852… …includes the largest collection of paintings in the world
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- Madonna Litta by Leonardo da Vinci… …the most famous painting at the State Hermitage Museum
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- The Raphael Loggias, painted by Raphael’s pupils… …the loggia is a copy of the famous Gallery created in the 16th century in the Vatican Palace by the architect Donato Bramante
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- Portrait of Catherine the Great at the State Hermitage Museum
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- Don’t remember the name of the painting… …but I just loved it!
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- Kazan Cathedral… …seen from Griboedov Canal
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- Model of the Kazan Cathedral at Aleksandrovsky park
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- Iconostasis inside Saint Isaac’s Cathedral
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- Statues and paintings, a part of the iconostasis, inside Saint Isaac’s Cathedral
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- View of the city from the dome of Saint Isaac’s Cathedral
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- The richly decorated façade and onion domes of the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood
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- Main staircase of the Winter Palace (main building of the State Hermitage Museum)
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- Sleeping Hermaphroditus by the Italian artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini
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- Don’t remember the name of the painting… …but it looks dark and mysterious!
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- Singer House (House of Books), a historical landmark (Art Nouveau building) located at the intersection of Nevsky Prospekt and the Griboyedov Canal
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- Grand Peterhof Palace and the Grand Cascade… …laid out on the orders of Peter the Great
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- Vista of the Grand Cascade… …seen from the Grand Peterhof Palace
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- Gilded domes of the Grand Peterhof Palace
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- Black basalt sarcophagus from the Late Period of Ancient Egypt (664–332 BC) at the State Hermitage Museum
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- The Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral inside the Peter and Paul Fortress
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- The list of things you cannot do inside the Peter and Paul Fortress
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- Burial place of Peter the Great (aka Peter I) inside the Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral
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- Domes of the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood… …basking and glistening in the sun
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- St George’s Hall, the principal throne room of the Tsars of Russia at the State Hermitage Museum
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- Peasant Woman with her Child by Aime-Jules Dalou
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- Don’t remember the name, but what an exquisite painting!!
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- The Bronze Horseman, an equestrian statue of Peter the Great… …with it’s pedestal, Thunder Stone, the largest stone ever moved by man. The stone originally weighed about 1500 tonnes, and was carved down to 1250 during transportation to its current site.
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- Oranzhereiny Fountain (at the Grand Peterhof Palace)… …representing a triton battling with the jaws of sea monster
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- The Roman Fountain in the Parterre Garden at Peterhof Palace
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- The Sun Fountain in the Menagerie Pool
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- The Settee trick fountain at Peterhof Palace… …you never know when the jets will soak you
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- The great dome of the Saint Isaac’s Cathedral… …the white dove in the center represents the Holy Spirit
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- Stroganov Palace on Nevsky Prospect… …built in 1753 for Baron Sergei Grigoriyevich Stroganov
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- View of the State Hermitage Museum and the gold-plated dome of St. Isaac’s Cathedral seen from Neva River
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- Invalid Handing a Petition to Napoleon at the Parade in the Court of the Tuileries Palace by Emile Jean-Horace Vernet
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- The Dance (La Danse) by Henri Matisse at the State Hermitage Museum
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- Samson Fountain at Peterhof Palace… …depicting he moment when Samson tears open the jaws of a lion, representing Russia’s victory over Sweden in the Great Northern War
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- The spectacularly attractive Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood
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- Mosaic of Christ Pantocrator under the central dome of the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood
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- Lomonosov Bridge across the Fontanka River… …built in 1785
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- Russian coat of arms showing a double-headed eagle at the entrance to the Peter and Paul Fortress
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- Prison for high-ranking or political prisoners at the Peter and Paul Fortress
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- Sapsan—Russian gauge high speed train from Moscow to Saint Petersburg