Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Cathedral of the Resurrection

This amazing cathedral is one of St. Petersburg's main tourist attractions.  It was modeled after St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow with a bit different feel to the color and decoration.  Commonly known as Our Saviour on the Spilt Blood it was built on the spot where Tsar Alexander II was murdered in 1881.  In fact a small canopy chapel area was incorporated on the exact spot of his death.  

I spent an hour simply walking around the exterior of the cathedral with my camera in hand.  Built in a decorative pattern with red brick, small squares contain mosaic panels and majolica insets.  Nine onion domes reach towards the sky, four gilded and five covered by jewelry enamel.  Orthodox double crosses top each dome.  


I was not prepared for the ornate interior which took my breath away.  Not a single space was left unadorned with mosaic made from semi precious stones.  Scenes from the Bible along with geometric and floral patterns are composed of brilliant blues, oranges and golds.  I spent another hour inside just gazing up at the beauty.
This gaudy church is now tied with Sainte Chapelle in France as my favorite church.




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