Saviour Church on Sennaya Square
Encyclopedia
The Assumption Church on Sennaya Square
in St. Petersburg was a Late Baroque
penticupolar church underwritten by Orthodox merchants trading at the nearby Sennaya Square market.
The church originated as a wooden building transferred across the Neva from the northern part of the city. It was rebuilt in stone in the 1750s to a Rastrelliesque design attributed to Andrey Kvasov
and was slightly modified on several occasions, most importantly by Luigi Rusca
in 1817. The church boasted a high belfry
of three storeys, a gilded icon screen, and many valuable items. Its parish was one of the richest in the city.
The large building with the distinctive dark-green jug
-like domes, popularly known as the Savour Church, used to dominate the surrounding district. It gave its name to Spassky Island (the central parcel of the downtown wedged between the Fontanka
, Moika, Griboyedov and Kryukov canals) and Spasskaya metro station.
The building survived the Joseph Stalin
period intact and was even elevated by the Living Church
to a cathedral status (in 1923) but was blown up at the height of Nikita Khrushchev
's anti-religious campaign in 1961. A metro vestibule that was to replace it stands slightly to the north. The site of the church has been marked by a very small and plain-looking chapel
since 2003.
Sennaya Square
Sennaya Square or Sennaya Ploshchad , known as Peace Square between 1963 and 1991, is a large city square in Central Saint Petersburg, located at the crossing of Garden Street, Moskovsky Prospekt, and Grivtsova Lane....
in St. Petersburg was a Late Baroque
Baroque architecture
Baroque architecture is a term used to describe the building style of the Baroque era, begun in late sixteenth century Italy, that took the Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church and...
penticupolar church underwritten by Orthodox merchants trading at the nearby Sennaya Square market.
The church originated as a wooden building transferred across the Neva from the northern part of the city. It was rebuilt in stone in the 1750s to a Rastrelliesque design attributed to Andrey Kvasov
Andrey Kvasov
Andrey Vasilievich Kvasov was a notable Baroque architect who worked in Russia and Ukraine. Very little is known about his life, and its dates are still uncertain. Only a handful of his buildings, though much altered, still stand....
and was slightly modified on several occasions, most importantly by Luigi Rusca
Luigi Rusca
Luigi Rusca was a Neoclassical architect from Ticino who worked in St. Petersburg, Russia between 1783 and 1818. He was apprenticed to Georg Veldten and Giacomo Quarenghi, then went on a successful career on his own...
in 1817. The church boasted a high belfry
Bell tower
A bell tower is a tower which contains one or more bells, or which is designed to hold bells, even if it has none. In the European tradition, such a tower most commonly serves as part of a church and contains church bells. When attached to a city hall or other civic building, especially in...
of three storeys, a gilded icon screen, and many valuable items. Its parish was one of the richest in the city.
The large building with the distinctive dark-green jug
Jug (container)
A jug is a type of container used to hold liquid. It has an opening, often narrow, from which to pour or drink, and nearly always has a handle. One could imagine a jug being made from nearly any watertight material, but most jugs throughout history have been made from clay, glass, or plastic...
-like domes, popularly known as the Savour Church, used to dominate the surrounding district. It gave its name to Spassky Island (the central parcel of the downtown wedged between the Fontanka
Fontanka
Fontanka is a left branch of the river Neva, which flows through the whole of Central Saint Petersburg, Russia. Its length is 6,700 meters, its width is up to 70 meters, and its depth is up to 3,5 meters. The Fontanka Embankment is lined with the former private residences of Russian nobility.This...
, Moika, Griboyedov and Kryukov canals) and Spasskaya metro station.
The building survived the Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
period intact and was even elevated by the Living Church
Living Church
The Living Church , also called Renovationist Church or Renovationism was a schism in the Russian Orthodox Church in 1922–1946...
to a cathedral status (in 1923) but was blown up at the height of Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...
's anti-religious campaign in 1961. A metro vestibule that was to replace it stands slightly to the north. The site of the church has been marked by a very small and plain-looking chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
since 2003.