# Church on the Blood, Yekaterinburg > The Church on the Blood is a working Orthodox memorial church at 10 Tsarskaya Street, built where the Ipatiev House stood — the house where Nicholas II, his family and four retainers were shot on the night of 16–17 July 1918. Entry is free and it opens daily, from about 7:00 to 23:00 according to local guides. Allow 45 minutes, or 90 with the Romanov museum next door. Web page: https://yesgo.io/russia/yekaterinburg/yekaterinburg-church-on-the-blood - City: [Yekaterinburg](https://yesgo.io/russia/yekaterinburg), Russia - YesGo score: 55/100 (Yes, go) - Time on site: 45 min - Opening hours: Church: daily, about 7:00–23:00 according to local guides; Tsarsky Centre with the Romanov museum: Mon 10:00–17:00, Tue–Sun 10:00–19:00 - With kids: Better without small kids - Church: Daily, usually 7:00–23:00 - Entry to the church: Free - Tsarsky Centre and Museum of the Holy Royal Family: Mon 10:00–17:00, Tue–Sun 10:00–19:00 - Museum ticket: Paid separately from the church; ask the price at the desk - Guided tours by the centre: Groups of up to 25, about an hour, in Russian - Museum rules: Coats and large bags to the cloakroom, shoe covers on; photos without flash allowed - Dress code in the church: Women: headscarf and skirt (loaned at the door); men: no shorts, no hats - Address: 10 Tsarskaya Street (ulitsa Tsarskaya, 10) - Metro: Dinamo, about 1 km, a 12–15-minute walk - Coordinates: 56.84439, 60.60911 - Facts checked: 30.10.2026 ## Key facts - **17 July 1918** — in the early hours Nicholas II, Alexandra, their five children and four retainers were shot in the Ipatiev House cellar (source: English Wikipedia, Ipatiev House; Russian Wikipedia, Дом Ипатьева) - **16 July 2003** — the church was consecrated, 85 years after the murders and three years after building began (source: English Wikipedia, Church on Blood in Honour of All Saints Resplendent in the Russian Land; Russian Wikipedia) - **1998** — the family’s remains were buried in St Petersburg’s Peter and Paul Cathedral — they are not in this church (source: English Wikipedia, Murder of the Romanov family; Russian Wikipedia, Расстрел царской семьи) - **1977** — the Ipatiev House was demolished in September on Soviet orders, carried out by the regional party chief Boris Yeltsin (source: English Wikipedia, Ipatiev House; Russian Wikipedia, Дом Ипатьева) - **60 m** — tall, with five golden domes in the Russo-Byzantine style (source: Russian Wikipedia, Храм на Крови (Екатеринбург); Tripster article on the church) - **2 churches** — the upper church of All Saints and the lower church of the New Martyrs, with the crypt (source: Russian Wikipedia; English Wikipedia) - **11 people** — died in the house: the family of seven, Dr Yevgeny Botkin, a cook, a valet and a maid (source: English Wikipedia, Murder of the Romanov family; Russian Wikipedia) - **2000** — the Russian Orthodox Church canonised the family as passion-bearers (source: English Wikipedia, Romanov sainthood; Russian Wikipedia, Канонизация царской семьи) - **≈ 21 km** — the length of the night-time Tsar’s Procession from the church to Ganina Yama each July (source: Russian Wikipedia; E1.ru and Rossiyskaya Gazeta reports) - **1992** — the foundation stone was laid on 23 September; construction only started in 2000 (source: English and Russian Wikipedia) > **Dress code: cover up before you go in** This is a working church with services every day. Women should cover their hair and wear a skirt — scarves and wrap skirts are lent free at the door. Men take off hats and leave shorts for another day. Keep shoulders covered, don’t photograph people praying, and keep your voice down in the lower church. ## What is the Church on the Blood? It’s the memorial church built on the exact spot where Russia’s last imperial family was murdered. In the spring of 1918 the Bolsheviks held Nicholas II, Empress Alexandra and their children Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia and Alexei in a merchant’s mansion called the **Ipatiev House**. In the early hours of 17 July they were taken to the cellar and shot, together with their doctor and three servants. “On the Blood” is a Russian tradition for churches built where someone was killed. The full name is the Church on the Blood in Honour of All Saints Resplendent in the Russian Land, and Wikipedia lists it as the Church of All Saints. Locals simply say Khram na Krovi. Don’t confuse it with St Petersburg’s Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood — that one marks the assassination of Alexander II in 1881 and is run as a museum. The Yekaterinburg church is the newer one, and the one tied to the Romanovs. ## What happened to the Ipatiev House? The house no longer exists. People kept coming to it quietly for decades, and in **September 1977** it was pulled down in a matter of days. The order came from Moscow; the man who carried it out was the then head of the Sverdlovsk regional party, Boris Yeltsin — later Russia’s first president, who called it a decision he regretted. The first memorial service on the empty plot was held in 1989, and the foundation stone was laid in 1992. Work only started in 2000, the year the Church canonised the family, and the church was consecrated on 16 July 2003. The lower church follows the outline of the house’s foundations almost exactly. One thing many visitors expect and won’t find: the remains. They were found in a forest outside the city and buried in 1998 in St Petersburg’s Peter and Paul Cathedral. This is a memorial to the place, not a tomb. ## What to see inside and around - **The crypt in the lower church** — a dim, low-vaulted space that recalls the cellar room where the family died. Most people come for this. - **The upper church** — tall and bright, with a white marble iconostasis and murals of the family’s life; the altar sits above the murder site. - **The “Royal Passion-Bearers” sculpture** by Konstantin Grünberg at the entrance, showing the family walking down to the cellar. - **The Museum of the Holy Royal Family** in the building next door — the family’s belongings, documents from their exile and objects from the Ipatiev House. - **The view from Voznesenskaya Hill** over the old centre and the City Pond. - **The Kharitonov-Rastorguev estate** across the street — a mansion from the turn of the 19th century with a park and pond behind it, and the best spot to photograph the church whole. - **The Literary Quarter** — wooden house-museums a few minutes’ walk away. ## Is it free, and is the museum worth it? The church itself is **free**, with no ticket and no fixed visiting hours beyond opening times. The Museum of the Holy Royal Family is in the Patriarchal Compound next door, run by the Tsarsky Centre, and needs a separate paid ticket. The centre doesn’t publish the price online, so ask at the desk. Foreign Visa and Mastercard cards don’t work in Russia since March 2022, so bring roubles in cash for the museum ticket, candles and the church shop. The museum is open Monday 10:00–17:00 and Tuesday to Sunday 10:00–19:00. Coats and large bags go to the cloakroom, and you wear shoe covers in the halls. Photos without flash are allowed. Labels and the centre’s own tours are in Russian, so if the Romanov story is why you came, a guide makes the museum far more rewarding. Our honest take: the church is worth 45 minutes for anyone interested in 20th-century history. Add the museum only if the Romanovs really interest you — otherwise the building alone tells the story. ## Church on the Blood opening hours The church opens every day. Local guides agree on roughly **7:00 to 23:00**, but the church doesn’t publish visitor hours and RUSSPASS lists a shorter day, so check Yandex Maps or 2GIS if you plan a late-evening visit. Morning liturgy starts around 8:00 and the evening service around 17:00; at those times the church is full of worshippers and harder to look around. The quietest window for sightseeing is weekdays between 10:00 and 16:00. On the night of 16–17 July, the anniversary of the murders, everything changes: an open-air night liturgy draws tens of thousands of pilgrims, and the church is hard to get into the day before. ## How to get to the Church on the Blood 1. From the [Plotinka dam](https://yesgo.io/russia/yekaterinburg/yekaterinburg-plotinka): about 800 m, a 10–12-minute walk. Head east along Lenin Avenue (prospekt Lenina) past the [Sevastyanov House](https://yesgo.io/russia/yekaterinburg/sevastyanov-house), then turn left and walk up Karla Libknekhta Street to Voznesenskaya Hill. You’ll see the golden domes ahead. 2. By metro: ride to **Dinamo** station, then walk about 1 km (12–15 minutes) along the City Pond and through the park to Tsarskaya Street. 3. From **Ploshchad 1905 Goda** metro station: 5 minutes down Lenin Avenue to the Plotinka, then follow the walk above — 15–20 minutes in total. 4. The nearest bus and trolleybus stops are TYuZ and Filarmoniya, about 5 minutes away. Route numbers change, so check Yandex Maps, which works best in Russia. 5. The church entrance is up the wide staircase from Tsarskaya Street; the museum is in the building next door and can be reached through the church grounds. 6. Parking nearby is scarce, especially on Sundays and church holidays. A taxi to 10 Tsarskaya Street is easier. ## Tsar’s Days and the night walk to Ganina Yama Every year on the night of **16–17 July**, a liturgy is held outside the church and then the Tsar’s Procession sets off — roughly 21 km on foot to the monastery at [Ganina Yama](https://yesgo.io/russia/yekaterinburg/ganina-yama), the forest site where the bodies were taken in 1918. It’s the climax of the week-long Tsar’s Days festival. The centre fills with pilgrims, streets close and nearby hotels sell out early. Unless the procession is the reason for your trip, pick other dates. ## Before you go: checklist - [ ] Headscarf and skirt (women), long trousers (men) - [ ] Visiting outside service times — weekdays 10:00–16:00 are best - [ ] Roubles in cash for the museum and candles - [ ] Ready to check a big bag into the museum cloakroom - [ ] Know that the remains are in St Petersburg, not here - [ ] Decided whether to add Ganina Yama — it’s outside the city - [ ] Not visiting on 16–17 July unless you’re joining the procession ## Church on the Blood, Ganina Yama or Yeltsin Center | | Church on the Blood | Ganina Yama | Yeltsin Center | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | What it is | Memorial church on the Ipatiev House site | Monastery in the forest where the bodies were taken | Museum of Russia in the 1990s | | Where | City centre, Tsarskaya Street | Outside the city, 15–20 km north | City centre, on the Iset River | | Entry | Free | Free | Paid | | Time needed | 45 min, 90 with the museum | Half a day with the drive | 2–3 hours | With one day in Yekaterinburg, YesGo puts the Church on the Blood first — it’s central and tells the story the city is known for. Pair Ganina Yama with it on a guided tour; the [Yeltsin Center](https://yesgo.io/russia/yekaterinburg/yeltsin-center) is a very different 20th century, 15 minutes’ walk away. ## Churches and monasteries in Yekaterinburg Every place of faith in Yekaterinburg rated by YesGo. - [Church on the Blood](https://yesgo.io/russia/yekaterinburg/yekaterinburg-church-on-the-blood) — YesGo score 55/100 (Yes, go) · 45 min · Free entry to the church - [Ganina Yama](https://yesgo.io/russia/yekaterinburg/ganina-yama) — YesGo score 31/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 30 min · Free entry ## Church on the Blood and the old centre in half a day Start at the Plotinka, pass the Sevastyanov House, climb to the Church on the Blood and walk down to the Yeltsin Center. Add it to your route — YesGo sorts the timing and walks. 1. [Plotinka Dam](https://yesgo.io/russia/yekaterinburg/yekaterinburg-plotinka) — YesGo score 44/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 45 min · Free 2. [Sevastyanov House](https://yesgo.io/russia/yekaterinburg/sevastyanov-house) — YesGo score 39/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 45 min · Free, outside only 3. [Church on the Blood](https://yesgo.io/russia/yekaterinburg/yekaterinburg-church-on-the-blood) — YesGo score 55/100 (Yes, go) · 45 min · Free entry to the church 4. [Yeltsin Center](https://yesgo.io/russia/yekaterinburg/yeltsin-center) — YesGo score 40/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 2 h 30 min · Museum 400 ₽, building free ## Tips - Go down to the lower church first while it’s quiet, then climb to the upper church. - Weekdays between 10:00 and 16:00 are the calmest — no service and rarely a queue. - If a visiting relic is on display, the queue can last hours; come back another day. - For the classic photo of the whole church and bell tower, cross the street to the Kharitonov estate. - Most signs are in Russian only — read up on the story before you go, or book a guide. - Ganina Yama is outside the city; without a car, a tour starting at the church is the easiest way there. - The Plotinka and the riverside are a 10-minute walk downhill — an easy way to continue. ## Questions ### Is the Church on the Blood free to visit? Yes, the church is free. Only the Museum of the Holy Royal Family next door charges for a ticket — pay in roubles, as foreign cards don’t work in Russia. ### What are the Church on the Blood opening hours? It opens daily, from about 7:00 to 23:00 according to local guides. The Tsarsky Centre with the museum opens Monday 10:00–17:00 and Tuesday to Sunday 10:00–19:00. ### Is this where the Romanovs were killed? Yes. The church stands on the site of the Ipatiev House, where Nicholas II, his wife, their five children and four retainers were shot on the night of 16–17 July 1918. ### Can you still see the Ipatiev House? No. It was demolished in September 1977. The lower church follows the outline of its foundations, and the crypt recalls the cellar room. ### Are the Romanovs buried in the Church on the Blood? No. Their remains were buried in 1998 in the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St Petersburg. ### Is the Church on the Blood worth visiting? Yes, if the history draws you: 45 minutes on the actual site of the Romanov murders is the city’s most famous experience. The building itself is new, so don’t expect centuries-old frescoes. ### Is there a dress code? Yes. Women cover their hair and wear a skirt — both are lent free at the entrance. Men remove hats and shouldn’t wear shorts. ### How do I get to the Church on the Blood? Walk 10–12 minutes from the Plotinka dam via Lenin Avenue and Karla Libknekhta Street, or take the metro to Dinamo and walk 12–15 minutes. ### How far is Ganina Yama from the Church on the Blood? About 15–20 km north by road. On foot the July procession route is about 21 km; most visitors go by car or with a tour. ## How we checked Opening hours of the Tsarsky Centre and its museum, the museum rules, the tour format and the address come from the centre’s official website. The church’s own website gives no visitor hours: travel guides (travelbelka, kupibilet, sputnik8) say 7:00–23:00 daily while RUSSPASS says 8:00–19:00, so that row is marked as being checked. The centre doesn’t publish the museum ticket price, and the only figure we found is undated and from a tour operator, so we leave it out. Russian Wikipedia counts 15 bells and the Tripster article gives both 14 and 15, so we don’t give a number. Russian Wikipedia dates the demolition to 15–17 September 1977 and English Wikipedia to 22 September, so we give only the month and year. Yeltsin’s later regret is from his memoirs as quoted by Wikipedia. Time on site, walking times and distances are our estimate from the map. Every other fact is backed by at least two independent sources. ## Sources - Official website of the Tsarsky Centre at the Church on the Blood: opening hours, visitor rules, tours, address, 30.10.2026 - Official website of the Church on the Blood, 30.10.2026 - English and Russian Wikipedia: Church on Blood in Honour of All Saints Resplendent in the Russian Land, Храм на Крови (Екатеринбург), Ipatiev House, Murder of the Romanov family, Romanov sainthood; Wikidata Q631979 - Tripster article on the Church on the Blood in Yekaterinburg - T—Zh, Yekaterinburg in one day; travelbelka, kupibilet, sputnik8, RUSSPASS listings - E1.ru and Rossiyskaya Gazeta reports on the Tsar’s Procession, July 2026 - Visa and Mastercard statements on suspending operations in Russia, March 2022 --- This is the Markdown version of a YesGo page for AI assistants. Quote the web page link above, not this file.