Sundays. The Day You Aren't Supposed to do Anything.

Back in OKC, Sundays are the days you go to church (or, in my case, wake up, notice service starts in 2 hours, go back to bed and wake up to find that service is nearly over), and then spend the rest of the day doing absolutely nothing. Maybe the work you neglected until the night before it's due, but, beyond that, a whopping nada.

I'm Russia, that is not the case. Well, not for me, the person who decided it would be the best idea in the world to cram pack my life with as much culture as possible. For me, Sundays are another free day to actually explore.

Today, Hot Stuff and I walked the rest of Nevsky Prospect. Well... that's not entirely true. We didn't walk on Nevsky Prospect, per-say, but we did follow the path of it. I just wanted to show her something cool, and get a little hidden pleasure out of it myself.

So... when it come to walking, Google still sucks, so please only pay attention to the black lines.

This was our path for the day. (Admiralteyskaya M --> Hermitage --> Place of Interest --> Mayakovskaya M) Something I carefully planned. ...and yes, it was just so I could see the Japanese Consulate. The French one was a plus! Also, I wanted an excuse to cross in front of the Hermitage again...

 When we approached the Hermitage (before we had to go out of our way to cross the street), we saw a group of people gathered in the square. We were wanting to check it out and hoping it wasn't a protest. Much to our amusement, it was Tai Chi (or some form of something) in the square. Regardless of what was truly happening, it involved a yellow hippo, who was demonstrating things to the best of its abilities and jumping around. Laughter really does make a person so much happier....

This is the Hermitage (aka: Winter Palace). This is the place where Alexander II died after being fatally wounded at the place I was not telling Hot Stuff. (At this point, it was still a surprise.)

This is the monument in the center of the square.

Okay. The Hermitage was not the cultural focal point of the day, so I won't be talking about it. That, with any luck, will be the topic withing two weeks. For now, I will continue along our walk.

The picture above is the sole reason I took Hot Stuff in the direction that I did. I don't need to know the location of the consulate. I never will. But I saw the flag on my map and had to. As Japanese is my Minor, I had to. The French Consulate wasn't a main attraction for me, but it still deserves a mention. If you ever need to know where it is, just look at the map above.

Now for the main attraction.

CHURCH OF THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST
or as it is more famously known
THE SAVIOR ON THE SPILLED BLOOD

This was the thing I had been hiding from Hot Stuff, and, again, I had to provide the history lesson.

Emperor Alexander II was assassinated and his son, Alexander III, demanded that a memorial church be built on the site. (FYI, that's point C on the map.) Alfred Alexandrovic Parland presented the idea and official name, and, after getting Alexander III's approval, things got set into action.

To give you a timeline...
-1881: Alexander II dies
-1883: Alexander III approves plans
-1887: Construction begins
-1907: Church was formally consecrated

So, this beautiful church was built, but it was never actually used as a church. The only services it saw, were those in memorial of Alexander II. Nothing else. Period.

The Church's decline:

After the revolution in 1917, the church started to deteriorate due to looting and vandalism. In 1930, it was closed as a church and was used as a warehouse. In 1931, people voted to tear it down, but it never happened. A second motion was approved to tear down the church and the date was set for 1941. The Nazis prevented it's demolition and the only thing that saved it from being destroyed in the war anyway, was that a nearby shell didn't explode. After the war, it continued to be a warehouse, this time for the opera, and again, in 1956, proposals were made to tear it down.

By this point, the church was in such bad shape. But someone saved it.

The Director:

The reason that the Church of the Resurrection of Christ still stands today is all due to one man. The director of St. Isaac's Cathedral and Museum. In 1970, he was able to convince the government of the church's historical value and it was made a branch of the St. Isaac's Cathedral and Museum in 1971.

After completing phase 1 of restoration, the church was opened to the public in 1997.

Did we go in? Sadly, no. We are planning on going back. It was just so insanely cold that we passed on waiting in line to buy a ticket. I would love to go in it. The only thing this church has for art are mosaics, and, I don't know if people can see it, but inside the church is the blood stained portion of the street where Alexander II's assassination took place.

I only have one more thing to say about today, besides the fact that it was cold and semi unproductive. There was a bridge near the church that had locks all over it. Can you tell me what it signifies?

I will post the answer tomorrow.