Founded in 1703, within ten years St Petersburg had become capital of the Russian empire and quickly gained a reputation as one of Europe's most beautiful cities. In the 20th century it underwent three name changes, three revolutions and a 900-day siege. For a city only three hundred years old, it has an amazing history.

The Church on Spilled Blood was built on the spot where Tsar Alexander II was murdered on 1st March 1881. In 1883 his sucessor, Alexander III, launched a competition for a permenent memorial. The winning design was by Alfred Parland and Ignatiy Malyshev.