Church of Our Saviour on Spilled Blood in St. Petersburg, Russia was built between 1883 and 1907. It was commissioned by Tsar Alexander III to commemorate his father, Tsar Alexander II who was assassinated at the site in 1881. The church was designed by Alfred Alexandrovich Parland and constructed with red brick, mosaic tiles and marble decorations. Its onion domes are decorated with colorful glazed tiles and gilded ornaments which give it its distinctive look. Inside the church is an extensive collection of mosaics made from over 7 million pieces of glass and stone depicting biblical scenes as well as Russian saints.
The Church of Our Saviour on Spilled Blood also served as a memorial to those who died during World War I; many names were inscribed on walls inside the building that were dedicated to fallen soldiers. In 1917, after the October Revolution, the church became a museum dedicated to atheism but it returned to religious use in 1998 when restoration work began on the building. Since then, services have been held regularly at the church which has become one of St Petersburg’s most popular tourist attractions.