The Cathedral of Our Savior on the Spilled Blood was put up in 1883-1907 on the place where Russian Emperor Alexander II was assassinated on the 1st of March, 1881. The tsar was mortally wounded by the terrorists from the People's Will. The next day it was decided to construct the cathedral to commemorate the tsar-liberator.
The church was put up for money collected all over Russia. It was decided to arrange a contest for the best project of the cathedral. The winner of the contest, Alfred Parland, worked together with the archimandrite of the Troizhe-Sergiev hermitage, Ignatiy. According to the legend, the archimandrite saw in his dream the Mother of God who showed him what the cathedral should look like.
Architecturally the Cathedral of Our Savior on the Spilled Blood revives the traditions of the 17th-century Russian church-building. In particular, the compositional techniques and shapes used are similar to those characteristics of the famous Pokrovsky Cathedral (Church of St. Basil the Blessed) that stands on Red Square in Moscow. Once it was declared that after foundation of Saint Petersburg the architects passively started to imitate the samples of Western architecture. As for Parland, he made an attempt to return two centuries back and applied to the monuments of Moscow and Yaroslavl of the 17th century. He was inspired by the Old Russian architecture and imitated the composition and details of the old cathedrals. Emperor Alexander III approved such an approach.
The Cathedral of Our Savior on the Spilled Blood stands out for its complicated and picturesque outline, as well as rich and multicolored decoration. The facades are faced with glazed shaped bricks and ceramic tiles, as well as decorated with mosaic panels. The interior boasts of the mosaic panels made in Frolov's workshop to the originals by outstanding Russian artists, including Vasnetsov, Nesterov, Riabushkin and others. Outside the mosaic compositions draw attention to the main parts of the cathedral, and inside the walls - the pylons, the cupolas and the vaults are covered with delicate mosaics. The decoration of the Cathedral of Our Savior on the Spilled Blood is the unique collection of mosaic works of art in Russia. The total area of mosaics of the cathedral equals 7,050 square meters. The iconostasis of the temple is decorated with two compositions made in the mosaic technique after the sketches by Nesterov and Vasnezhov. They are Virgin Mary with the Child and the Savior.
In the decor of interiors Italian marbles and Russian semiprecious stones, such as jasper, topaz, rock crystal and others are used. On the socle of the cathedral, there are 20 granite desks, dedicated to the major events and reforms of the ruling of Alexander II. On the belfry there are coats of arms of all the regions and provinces of Russia. The height of the main cupola of the cathedral equals 81 meters. The cupolas are covered with gold and multicolored enamel.
From 1930 till 1970 the building of the cathedral served as the storehouse, which dramatically ruined its decorations and interiors. In 1970, the Cathedral of Our Savior on the Spilled Blood became the filial of St. Isaac's Cathedral Museum. The restoration of the Cathedral of Our Savior on the Spilled Blood had been lasting for more than twenty years. Only in 1997, when all the major restoration works were completed, the cathedral was opened for the public.
The place of Alexander II assassination is included in the cathedral's interior. It was the condition of the cathedral construction, and that's why Our Savior on the Spilled Blood is located on the embankment. The visitors of the cathedral can see preserved to our time embankment fragments, parts of the railings, the plates and the stones of the pavement, on which the wounded Emperor fell. The parts of the old pavement are carefully enclosed. The place of the tragedy is marked with four jasper columns, holy cross and tracery wrought railing. Some people, approaching this place in the cathedral, still hear the moans of the tsar-martyr.
The Cathedral of Our Savior on the Spilled Blood is separated from the Mikhailovsky Garden with the railing made in 1903-1907 on the Binclers' manufactory after Parland's sketches. The wrought links with plant ornament reminds the samples of early modern.