The church was built in St. Petersburg as a memorial on the spot where Emperor Alexander II was assassinated on March 1, 1881 and is commonly known as the Savior on the Blood Church. The church was built between 1883-1907 in the style of Russian churches on the 16th and 17th century, especially St. Basil's Cathedral on Red Square in Moscow. The interior of the church is decorated with beautiful shades of multi-colored marble and over seven thousand square meters of mosaic as a memorial to Emporer Alexander II. Granite plaques carved with inscriptions of historical events adorn the walls of the church. An elaborate shrine decorated with mosaic icons and columns sits on the exact spot where Emporer Alexander II was murdered. The church was closed in 1932 and badly damaged during World War II. St. Isaac's Church Museum took over the church in 1970 and after much needed restoration, the Church of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ (Savior on the Blood Church) was restored to its old glory and reopened in August 1997.