STROGANOV PALACE & CHURCH OF THE SPILLED BLOOD

Saturday, September 1^st, I finally made it to the Stroganov Palace and the Church of Spilled Blood!

The Stroganov is pretty and pink. It sits on the corner of Nevsky Prospekt and the Moika River alongside the Green Bridge. 

It, too, was designed by Rastrelli, the same Italian architect who did the Hermitage and other palaces here in SPB. My book even states that in addition to being built at the same time and in the same high Baroque style, it was constructed by the same workers, many that Rastrelli brought from Italy.

The Stroganov family made their mint in salt. They were active in the Empire’s court. In the late 1700s, the palace was redesigned by Andrey Voronikhin, a onetime serf on the Stroganovs’ lands and the architect of the Kazan Cathedral, in addition to other works.

I took too many photos, but here are a few.

STROGANOV PALACE FROM ACROSS THE MOIKA RIVER.

INNER COURTYARD. IN THE CENTER IS A CAFE/RESTAURANT AND ALONG THE OTHER SIDES ARE A HOUSE OF WAX FIGURES, A CURRENCY EXCHANGE AND THE CHOCOLATE MUSEUM. THIS SIDE IS WHERE THE HISTORIC ROOMS ARE, AND IF YOU WERE TO GO THROUGH THE DOOR HERE AND HEAD STRAIGHT, YOU'D END UP IN THE MOIKA.

THE DETAIL OF JUST ONE WINDOW IN THE COURTYARD.

THE CENTRAL STAIRCASE LEADING UP TO THE SECOND FLOOR WHERE THE HISTORIC ROOMS ARE.

  

I BELIEVE THIS MAY HAVE BEEN THE FORMAL DINING ROOM. RUSSIA IS CELEBRATING 200 YEARS OF THE VICTORY OVER NAPOLEON'S GRAND ARMY, AND AN EXHIBIT OF ART ABOUT THE WAR WAS ON DISPLAY.

ARABESQUE HALL. A FINE EXAMPLE OF A CLASSICAL INTERIOR DECORATION. CHECK OUT THE PARQUET FLOORS. THE WALL PAPER WAS VERY INTERESTING, TOO.  

THE CUPOLA IN THE MINERAL STUDY. THIS WAS A REALLY NEAT ROOM. ON THE LEVEL ABOVE IS A GALLERY OF COUNT ALEXANDER STROGANOV'S MINERAL COLLECTION.

FOR HENRY. THIS CABINET CONTAINS A FEW EXAMPLES OF THE COUNT'S  GEOLOGIC SAMPLES.

THE GREEK ROOM. THIS WAS MY FAVORITE ROOM OF THEM ALL. ITS MANY WINDOWS OVERLOOK THE RIVER, AND WHILE CERTAINLY MORE MODEST THAN THE GREAT HALL NEXT DOOR, ITS COLOR SCHEMES AND DECOR APPEALED TO ME. I ALSO LIKED THE STATUE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROOM. IT'S CALLED FIDELITY AND PORTRAYS A LITTLE BOY BEING PROTECTED FROM A SNAKE BY HIS DOG.

THE STROGANOV HAS UNDERGONE EXTENSIVE RECONSTRUCTION SINCE IT CAME UNDER THE CONTROL OF THE RUSSIAN MUSEUM IN 1988. WW II TOOK A HEAVY TOLL ON IT, AND EVEN BEFORE THEN, IT WAS USED AS THE PEOPLE'S COMMISSARIAT FOR THE SHIPBUILDING INDUSTRY. THE PHOTOS IN EACH ROOM OF WHAT THEY LOOKED LIKE BEFORE REHAB ARE REALLY DEPRESSING. THIS FIREPLACE DISPLAYS WEDGEWOOD CAMEO INSERTS THE WEDGEWOOD FACTORY CONTRIBUTED IN 2004.

THIS IS THE GREAT HALL, APPARENTLY THE ONLY EXTANT ORIGINAL RASTRELLI INTERIOR IN SPB. IT IS STUNNING.

THE CEILING IN THE GREAT HALL. IT'S CALLED "THE HERO'S ESCAPADE."

Andrea spent much of her time at the Stroganov visiting a special embroidered lace exhibit and taking copious notes. When she was kicked out close to 6:00 p.m., we high tailed it over to the nearby Church of Spilled Blood before it closed. We had been trying to visit the church almost as long as we’ve been here.

The actual name of the church is Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood. It was built as a memorial to Alexander II, known as the “tsar liberator” because he freed the serfs in 1861 and had other reforms in mind, but apparently not enough and much too late. 

Alexander II was assassinated on this spot on March 1, 1881 by a member of one of the revolutionary groups (People’s Will, which I read a lot about in the Trubetskoy Bastion) that wanted to overthrow the tsars and instill democracy in Russia.

Of the many photos I took, here are some to give you a sense of the place’s Russian neo-nationalist grandeur.

THE LITTLE JEWEL BOX ON THE GRIBOEDOVA CANAL.

SOME DETAIL AS SEEN OVER THE ENTRANCE DOOR.

CEILING - ARCH - IMAGE OF THE SAVIOR IN THE DOME.

THE ICONOSTASIS IS VERY IMPRESSIVE. IT IS ENCASED IN MARBLE AND GRANITE, THE DOORS DRIP WITH GOLD AND ARE ENCRUSTED WITH JEWELS. THE SOVIETS CLOSED THE CHURCH IN 1930 AND USED IT TO STORE THEATRICAL SETS! THE CHURCH WAS BOMBED DURING WW II AND REOPENED IN 1997 AS A STATE MUSEUM WITH EXTENSIVE RESTORATION WORK.  

ANDREA TELLS ME FAMOUS RUSSIAN ARTISTS NESTEROV, KHARLAMOV AND VASNETSOV CONTRIBUTED DESIGNS TO THE CHURCH. THEN MOSAIC CRAFTS FOLK CARRIED OUT THE DESIGNS. THAT'S THE VIRGIN MARY UP THERE. 

THE MARBLE WORK IS OUTSTANDING. ACROSS THE CENTRAL FLOOR IS THE MEMORIAL TO ALEXANDER II. THAT IS THE SPOT ON WHICH HE WAS KILLED BY A HAND-THROWN BOMB. WHILE HE WAS A REFORMER, HIS SUCCESSOR, ALEXANDER III (OF RUSSIAN MUSEUM FAME A FEW BLOGS AGO) INTRODUCED A WAVE OF REPRESSION THAT ONE MIGHT ARGUE FOSTERED EVEN MORE DISCONTENT AND THE REVOLUTION.

SEE THE GOLD HALOS? THE CHURCH INTERIOR AND EXTERIOR ARE GARISH FOR SURE YET THE SHEER  CRAFTSMANSHIP IS INSPIRATIONAL.IT TOOK 24 YEARS TO BUILD CHURCH OF SPILLED BLOOD. LOOKING AT THIS INTERIOR, I NOW UNDERSTAND WHY IT IS VERY COMMON TO SEE RUSSIAN MEN WEARING PLAID PANTS WITH STRIPED SHIRTS.

THE CANDELABRAS ARE MAGNIFICENT.

IF THIS CHURCH IS EYE CANDY, THEN I HAVE OVER EATEN AND HAVE A TUMMY ACHE!