“St. Petersburg is the Athens of Russia, the capital city of Russian spiritual culture.” -Nikolai Antsiferov

The architecture is reason enough to visit. While reading about St. Petersburg, the most fascinating part was the unbelievable detail in the buildings and the colorful history behind each structure in the city. One in particular stood out the most; the Cathedral of the Resurrection, which was recently opened after many years of restoration. It is also commonly known as “Our Saviour-on-the-Split-Blood”.

In the book, St. Petersburg, Irina Chursina says, “A decision was taken to put up a cathedral at the place of assassination (of Tsar, Alexander II). Its interior encompassed the part of the roadway at the edge of the canal, which was stained with the Tsar’s blood. This accounts for the unusual position of the cathedral. The builders even had to extend the embankment to erect the bell tower. The Cathedral of the Resurrection reflects a recourse to national stylistic devices characteristic of Russian architecture in the second half of the nineteenth century.”

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