church on the blood yekaterinburg

The Church on the Blood has become the symbol of Ekaterinburg.

A tragic historic event is the reason for building The Church at that particular place.

The Church stands on the place of the brutal murder of the last Russian Tsar Nicholas II, his wife Alexandra, and their children Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia, and Tsarevitch Alexis. They were executed by Bolsheviks at the engineer Ipatiev’s house on the night of July 16, 1918.
In 1977, the house was torn down, following the order of Boris Yeltsin, the then leader of Ural Communists, who later became first Russia’s President.
The Church on the Blood was consecrated on the 16th of July, 2003.
The ground floor of The Church, which is in the place of the basement of the Ipatiev’s house, tells the story of the canonized Romanov family. The part of the basement where the family was executed unites the upper and the lower churches, which makes The Church.

Read More

Yekaterinburg War Memorial

 

Located in Ekaterinburg is the Yekaterinburg War Memorial, better known as the Black Tulip War Memorial. In the center of the memorial sits a soldier. He has his rifle in one hand, and his other arm rests over a raised knee. The soldier has his head bowed and he is staring intently at the ground. Etched upon his face is the emotion of complete powerlessness, horror, defeat and devastation. This strong soldier tears at your heart and evokes emotions of terror and tragedy, for lives that were taken, maimed and lost in both Afghanistan and Chechnya. The soldier was erected in 1996 after the Afghanistan and First Chechen War, and the curved black pillars that flank him, are arranged in date order, and bare the names of the soldiers lost in Afghanistan and Chechnya. The Yekaterinburg War Memorial, or Black Tulip War Memorial, stands as reminder to all those that visit Ekaterinburg, of the unnecessary loss of life and environmental damage that is suffered at the hands of war.
The war in Afghanistan was a nine year battle for the Soviet troops that served and fought in the war. This war often referred to as the Afghan-Soviet War. The first Soviet Troops were deployed in Afghanistan on 25 December 1979 and the last troops to leave Afghanistan, did so between 15 May 1988 and 2 February 1989. Finally on 15 February 1989, the Soviet Union announced that all the Soviet Troops had been evacuated out the country. But the damage had already been suffered and the withdrawal of the Soviet Troops came too late. Only 80 000 – 104 000 soldiers served in Afghanistan at one time, even though a total of 620 000 Soviet soldiers served in various companies and platoons. The Armed Forces (internal and frontier security troops) suffered a loss of 14 453 men. Army formations and units lost 13 833 soldiers, the KGB sub units lost 572, and other units lost another 48. Besides for the Soviet soldiers that were killed in battle, another 417 were either missing in action or taken prisoner, and only 119 prisoners were ever freed. And the devastation does not stop there, 469 685 soldiers were sick or wounded and 10 751 men were left permanently disabled.

Read More

The Church of Ascension Yekaterinburg

This temple, built in honor of the Lord's Ascension, is one of the oldest Orthodox churches in Yekaterinburg. The temple was founded in May 1770 and was consecrated on September 19th of the same year. Originally the church was a small wooden structure. By 1789, however, the church building had fallen into disrepair, and, at the request of the parishioners, it was decided to build a two-story stone church. The ground floor was dedicated to the Virgin Mary and the top floor to the Lord's Ascension. Throughout the 19th century, the temple was repeatedly reinforced and expanded. In 1834, the clergy and parishioners decided to attach two chapels on the southern side and two chapels on the northern side of the temple and to add a new porch. In 1926 the church was closed. It subsequently served as a school and later as a museum. On February 15, 1991, during the Feast of the Purification, the liturgy was once again served.

Read More

Chertovo Gorodische Yekaterinburg

Chertovo gorodishche. Russian devil and Tatar Satan are often mentioned in the titles of the Ural rivers, coastal rocks and lairs. Each place has its own legend, but they have one thing in common - the wild beauty of many parts of the Ural nature always scared people: it seems that it is not a God's creation, but the scene of the battle between good and evil, exertion of evil forces.

Perhaps that is why the rock on top of a small mountain located near the station Iset is called the Chertovo Gorodishche. Once it was a wilderness in the 30 miles from Yekaterinburg. Now it is almost in the city.

Chertovo Gorodishce - is majestic cliffs on the mountain top in 6 km to the south-west of the village Iset. The top of Chertovo gorodishche is 347 m above the sea level. The last 20 meters are the mighty granite ridge. The notched ridge of granite towers stretches from southeast to northwest. From the north Chertovo gorodishche cuts off by an impregnable wall, but from the south the rock is flatter and you can climb it as it has giant stone stairs. The southern part of Chertovo gorodishche is rather intensively destroyed. It is evidenced by stone deposits on the southern slope of the mountain. It is caused by sharp temperature variations on the well-sunlit southern slopes.

You can get to the top of the rock by a wooden staircase set up out there. From the summit you can see a broad panorama of surrounding mountains, forests and lakes.

Chertovo gorodishche has a structure similar to a mattress and creates a false impression that it is composed of flat plates. The origin of the "stone cities" refers to the distant past of the Ural Mountains. The rocks are made from granites, which have a volcanic origin and were formed about 300million years ago. During this time the Mountain was subjected to severe deterioration of the temperature difference, wind and water. As a result a bizarre natural formation was formed.

Read More

Rastorguyev-Kharitonov's House Yekaterinburg

The Kharitonov house is located in the Urals of Russia.  The house was built by Lev Rastorguyev in 1794, one of the wealthiest merchants in the region at the time.  Rastorguyev associated with the Old Believers of Russia, which are a group of Russian Orthodox Christians that separated from the main Russian Orthodox Church in 1666 in response to unfavorable reforms in the Church.  Anyway, Rastorguyev’s son in law, Pyotr Kharitonov, inherited the house, which is currently named after him.  In 1824, Kharitonov made additions to the palace which consisted of connecting building with covered passageways. Although, in 1837, Rastorguyev was sentenced to life in prison after being charged for the cruel treatment of his serfs.  Years later after the communist revolution, the house was rented out by the Ural Communist University starting in 1924.  Along with the house acting as these functions, it also served as a high court, prison, and a granary.  Currently, the house is mainly a tourist attraction.
The architectural design of the house is highly regarded as one of the most prominent structures in the entire region.  M.P. Malakhov, one of the most respected architects/designers of the time, is accredited for his use of Corinthian style columns and eye catching garden landscapes.

Read More

Ganina Yama Yekaterinburg

Monastery Ganina Yama, the burial place of the Romanovs (17km from Yekaterinburg) is changing all the time. Some of the wooden churches get burnt, then restored again. The first stone church is being built now. So, even if you have been to Ganina Yama already, there is always something new and interesting to see. Recently, a bust of tsarina Alexandra appeared on the central valley of the monastery.
German Princess Alix of Hesse and by Rhine, a favourite granddaughter of Queen Victoria was given a Russian name Alexandra Feodorovna as she married Nicolas II.  The new tsarina was heartily disliked in Russia from the very beginning. She seemed very reserved in public, ignored Russian culture and the court in St. Petersburg. Her obsession with mysticism and relationships with a controversial ‘holy man’ Rasputin didn’t add popularity. When the Romanovs were kept in the Ipatyev house in Yekaterinburg, Alix drew swastika and other cabalistic signs for good luck, which later gave rumors that it could be a ritual murder.   

Read More

Visotsky Business Center Lookout Yekaterinburg

Vysotsky is the tallest skyscraper in Russia outside Moscow (188m and 54 floors). The tower was built in the city center on 51 Malysheva st. The building was involved in a big scandal before the construction of it started. The construction company destroyed a heritage-listed wooden house of 19^th century. Officially it was a fault of single bulldozer driver who was subsequently sent to jail and because the house was no longer there the construction began.Vysotsky is named after Vladimir Vysotsky, a Soviet poet, musician and an actor. Besides it’s a play on words: vysoky means tall in Russian. A bronze sculpture of Vladimir Vysotsky and his third wife a French actress Marina Vladi can be found behind the building.
The most interesting thing about Vysotsky is its viewing platform on the 52d floor. It was foggy when I got there, but you may take better pictures on a bright day or at night.

Read More