Day 4 St Petersburg by the water

Day 4 in the afternoon.
We took a tour of St Petersburg by the water and visited the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood.

Hermitage from the water

The Russian Museum.  We passed the Faberge museum which we were supposed to tour it, but it was closed this week.

      This young man ran from bridge to bridge to wave at us and then ran to where we docked.

                                       Summer home and gardens of  Peter the Great

This Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood was built to memorialize the spot that Alexander II was assassinated by a terrorist bomb. It took 24 years to complete. It has 70,000 square feet of mosaics and glass to give it color and shine.

There are 3 blocks in each column and the blocks are covered with 3000 sq meters of mosaics.   It takes 1 year to make 1 meter of mosaics.
This church was marked to be destroyed by the Soviets during their attempt to remove semblances of religion; but the day it was to be done on June 22, 1941, the city was invaded by the Nazis. As a result, it was spared.  During the war it was used as a morgue and also underwent a fire.
In 1970 it was decided that it would be restored. It was washed with soap and scrubbed with toothbrushes. The original crosses were found in the moat that surrounds the building and they too were refurbished and replaced to their original places on the domes. It took 27 years to complete the restoration.  During that time a bomb was discovered from the day it was to be destroyed. It was taken out and defused.

The doors are hand carved in marble.

The height of this is 81 meter in honor of the year Alexander II was killed.

Our last view as we exit.

Our carriage awaits us!

One last look at this magnificent building.  Because it is a dull day the mosaics aren't as brilliant as they can be.
Tomorrow we are off down the river.
Ciao :-)