On the site of the execution of the imperial family in Yekaterinburg is one of the largest churches in the country. It was opened in 2003 and since then has attracted pilgrims from all over the country.
History of the Temple-on-the-Blood (Yekaterinburg)
As the story goes, Nicholas II and his family were shot in the basement of a building that used to belong to the engineer Ipatyev and then confiscated by the Bolsheviks. Subsequently, this building housed various government institutions, but the interest of ordinary people to the "house of Ipatiev" as the place of death of the last king did not decrease. In the end, according to the decree of Boris Yeltsin, this house was destroyed.
But even after that, his popularity did not diminish. On a memorable place, believers gathered regularly and even installed a cross - first a wooden one, and then a metal one. And in 1990, it was decided to transfer these lands to the Russian Orthodox Diocese and the subsequent construction of a temple here, which would become a monument to the tragedy that took place.
However, in the 1990s, its erection did not begin, despite the fact that the winner of the competition for the best architectural project (K. Efremov from Kurgan) and even laid the first symbolic stone. Because of the economic and political crisis in the country, construction work started only in 2000.
As a result, the Church of the Savior on the Blood in Yekaterinburg was erected on another project, since K. Efremov had refused to participate by that time. The construction of the church was very fast, and by July 2003 the building was ready, and all 14 bells were put on the belfry. The largest of them, with a mass of 5 tons, bears the name of Andrew the First-Called. It is interesting that the bells were cast into cash, which they collected during a charity event called "The Bells of Repentance".
On July 16, 2003, the Temple-on-the-Blood in Yekaterinburg was solemnly consecrated: it was held on the historic day of the 85th anniversary of the death of the Romanov family. It was attended, in addition to the clergy, musician M. Rostropovich and representatives of the Romanov dynasty. The first service in the Temple was worship in memory of the murder of the Tsar and his relatives. Then the procession was made to the monastery, located in Ganina Yama, the place where the bodies of the deceased family of the emperor were taken.
Architectural features of the Temple
The style of this structure is Russian-Byzantine, which was a tribute to the Orthodox tradition of the reign of Nicholas. The very building of the temple has an area of 3000 square meters. m and a height of about 60 m.
The main feature of the building is that the temple visually restores the room where the execution of the royal family was carried out. Therefore, the project was created taking into account the original features of the house of Ipatiev. Now the complex of the Temple-on-the-Blood consists of two parts - upper and lower, respectively.
The upper church is a beautiful golden-domed cathedral. This is a very bright building with numerous windows. Inside the cathedral you can see a picturesque iconostasis of rare white marble.
The lower part of the temple is located in the basement, since the entire structure is built on a hill. At the very place of the execution there is an altar. In the same part of the Temple-on-the-Blood there is also the Romanov Museum, the exhibits of which illustrate the last days of the tsar's life
Today in the Temple-on-the-Blood, the relics of saints are often brought, to which believers in Yekaterinburg come to pray. So, here at different times came the miraculous hand of St. Spiridon and the icon of Matrona of Moscow with particles of holy relics.
Ul. Tolmachev, 34-a: this is the address of the famous Temple-on-the-Blood, which is worth a visit, being in Yekaterinburg.