CHURCH OF THE BLEEDING SAVIOR

The moniker "Bleeding Savior" is somewhat arbitrary as this church has twenty different names depending on whom you ask. For some reason Bleeding Savior has stuck in most English-language tourist publications, winning out over "Resurrection of Christ," "Assumption," "Church of the Redeemer," and the nearly identical "Savior on the Spilled Blood." On this site a terrorist from the revolutionary organization People's Will mortally wounded Tsar Alexander II on March 1, 1881, by tossing a bomb at his feet. His son, Alexander III, began construction of the memorial church in 1883 and it was completed in 1907 during the reign of Nicholas II. The church was modelled after the over-photographed St. Basil's in Moscow's Red Square and its flamboyant Russian style can be attributed to a rise in national consciousness at the turn of the century.

The inside of the church has just reopened after 27 years of restoration (and 90 years after its first opening in 1907) although the restorantion works are still going on. Inside, as well as the enshrined exact spot where Alexander was assassinated is a mind- boggling seven thousand seven thousand square meters of mosaics. Located at the head of Kanal Griboyedova just off Nevsky Prospekt. Open 11:00-18:00 Mon-Sun. Tel: 314 4053. You can't miss it.