History and Culture: Exhibition "Requiem Temple" devoted to the history of design and construction of the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood launched in Rostov-on-Don

The Sholokhov Centre of the Mikhail Sholokhov State Museum-Reserve (Rostov-on-Don) hosts an exhibition "Requiem Temple" (History of the design and construction of the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood), arranged by the State Memorial Museum "St. Isaac's Cathedral" from Saint-Petersburg.

A temple of extraordinary beauty in the very centre of the Northern capital was built in the traditions of ancient Russian architecture. It differs from other churches not only by its multicoloured facade but also by the tragic history of its appearance. The Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ was erected on the site of the mortal wound of Emperor Alexander II, so the people began to call it the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood.

Alexander III decided to build a temple on the site of the tragedy in memory of his father. It should remind "the viewers' soul of the martyr's death of the late Emperor Alexander II and evoke loyal feelings of devotion and deep sorrow in the Russian people". A. Parland, the architect of the cathedral, and Archimandrite Ignatius (Malyshev), the author of the idea, realized the emperor's wishes and created a memorial complex, using compositional and decorative techniques of ancient Moscow and Yaroslavl architecture.

2021 marks the 50th anniversary of the decision of the Executive Committee of the Leningrad City Council to make the memorial church a branch of the State Memorial Museum "St. Isaac's Cathedral" and the 140th anniversary of Alexander II's death. These memorable dates inspired museum specialists to create the exhibition "Temple Requiem". Unique exhibits tell about the history of design and construction and also the life of the temple. For the first time, it showcases drawings with an architect's autograph and projects that show the long painstaking work. The exhibition features a portrait of the architect Alfred Parland by artist Nikolai Bodarevsky and numerous photographs.

The exhibition will run until January 21, 2022.

The colourful decoration of the temple deserves special attention. It is represented by modern and historical photographs, restoration schemes and samples of materials and fragments of original elements replaced during the restoration work. The most valuable items are the drawings, sketches and designs by the masters involved in the interior decoration - N. A. Bruni and M. V. Nesterov. The exposition includes albums by the artist N. P. Shakhovsky. His designs were the base for the original nineteen mosaics of the Church of the Resurrection of Christ. The exhibition also features memorial items of applied art that entered the collections of the State Memorial Museum "St. Isaac's Cathedral" during the past few years.