Yury Felten, court architect to Catherine the Great, designed the church, which she directed. It commemorates Russia's 1770 victory over Turkish forces at Chesme Bay and is dedicated to John the Baptist. The foundation was laid in 1777, attended by Gustav III of Sweden, and it was built by 1780. The article calls it one of the earliest Neo-Gothic structures in the Saint Petersburg area.
It is built of brick with white stone, on a quatrefoil plan of four semicylindrical parts under barrel vaults. A main tower and four small towers with small domes replace the usual onion domes, and the walls are striped pink and white. The article gives no dimensions.
The church was closed in 1923 and used as a storehouse. It was restored from 1970 to 1975, became a museum of the Battle of Chesme in 1977, and returned to the Russian Orthodox Church in 1991. The article gives no visiting hours.
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