There has been a church dedicated to St Sophia in the area historically known as Srednye Sadovniki since at least 1493. The name Sadovniki comes from the fact that the area was developed as gardens for the royal household, 'sad' is Russian for garden. The current version of the church dates from the 17th centre, but the churches most striking feature is its separate bell tower on the embankment which was built in the Russian Revival style between 1862 and 1868. In 1930 the church was closed and used as a club and then as accommodation. During the war the church was damaged by a bomb. In the 1970s and 1980s the church underwent restoration work and was turned into a laboratory. However in was later returned to the Orthodox Church and the first services were held there in 2004. In 2012 restoration work began on the bell tower.