Sightseeing in St. Petersburg

Sightseeing in St. Petersburg
① Trinity Bridge
Troitskiy Most (Trinity Bridge) is a bascule
bridge across the Neva in Saint Petersburg,
Russia. It was the third permanent bridge across
the Neva, built between 1897 and 1903 by the
French firm Societe de Construction des
Batignolles. It is 582 meters (1,909 ft) long and
23.6 meters (77 ft) wide.
The bridge takes its name from the Old Trinity
Cathedral which used to stand at its northern
end. In the 20th century it was known as Equality Bridge and Kirovsky Bridge.
② The Peter and Paul Fortress
The Peter and Paul Fortress is the original
citadel of St. Petersburg, Russia, founded by
Peter the Great in 1703 and built to Domenico
Trezzini's designs from 1706-1740 In the early
20th century, it was still used as a prison by the
tsarist government.
Today it has been adapted as the central and
most important part of the State Museum of
Saint Petersburg History. The museum has
gradually become virtually the sole owner of the fortress building, except the structure occupied by
the Saint Petersburg Mint.
③ The Spit of Vasilievsky Island
The ensemble of the Spit (Strelka) of the
Vasilievsky island was built in the early 19th
century between the academic quarters and the
port and is dominated by the Stock Exchange
building. It offers an impressive view of the
Neva river with the Hermitage and the Peter and
Paul Cathedral. Other monuments you'll
immediately notice on the Strelka, the Rostral
Columns, are yet another symbol of the city.
Constructed in 1810 to celebrate the victory over the Swedish navy, the columns are each adorned
with six rostra (traditionally, the prows of captured ships), symbolizing the might of the Russian
Baltic Fleet. At the base of the columns you'll see sculptures representing the great rivers of
European Russia, the Volga, Dnieper, Neva, and Volkhov. In addition to their decorative purpose,
the columns also served as lighthouses, and to this day the gas flames are lit on holidays.
④ St Isaac's Cathedral
Saint Isaac's Cathedral or Isaakievskiy Sobor
in Saint Petersburg, Russia is the largest Russian
Orthodox cathedral (sobor) in the city. It is the
largest orthodox basilica and the fourth largest
cathedral in the world. It was built between
1818 and 1858, by the French-born architect
Auguste Montferrand. When you enter the
cathedral you pass through one of the porticos note that the columns are made of single pieces
of red granite and weight 80 tons each. Inside the church many of the icons were created using
moaic techniques and the iconostasis (the icon wall that separates the altar from the rest of the
church). The cathedral, which can accommodate 14,000 worshipers, now serves as a museum and
services are held only on significant ecclesiastical holidays.
⑤ Admiralty
The original Admiralty was one of the first
structures to be built in St Petersburg. It was
designed to be a dockyard, where some of the
first ships of Russia's Baltic fleet were built
(some with the participation of Tsar Peter
himself who, was an expert in shipbuilding).
The Admiralty was also fortified to be an extra
defense for the newly acquired territory of the
Neva delta.
The Admiralty building we see today was built
between 1806 and 1823 by the architect Adrian Zakharov. The Admiralty was Russia’s Naval
Headquarters until 1917, and now serves as a naval college. The gardens in front of the Admiralty
are particularly beautiful in summer, and you might choose to walk through them on your way
from the Hermitage to the "Bronze Horseman" and St Isaac's.
⑥ The Hermitage
From the 1760s onwards the Winter Palace
was the main residence of the Russian Tsars.
The Winter Palace was built between 1754 and
1762 for Empress Elizabeth, the daughter of
Peter the Great. Today the Winter Palace,
together with four more buildings arranged side
by side along the river embankment, houses the
extensive collections of the Hermitage. The
Hermitage Museum is the largest art gallery in
Russia and is among the largest and most respected art museums in the world.
The museum was founded in 1764 when Catherine the Great purchased a collection of 255
paintings from the German city of Berlin. Today, the Hermitage boasts over 2.7 million exhibits
and displays a diverse range of art and artifacts from all over the world and from throughout
history.
⑦ Kazan Cathedral
Kazan Cathedral, constructed between 1801
and 1811 by the architect Andrei Voronikhin,
was built to an enormous scale and boasts an
impressive stone colonnade, encircling a small
garden and central fountain. The cathedral was
inspired by the Basilica of St. Peter’s in Rome
and was intended to be the country’s main
Orthodox Church. After the war of 1812
(during which Napoleon was defeated) the church became a monument to Russian victory.
Captured enemy banners were put in the cathedral and the famous Russian Field Marshal Mikhail
Kutuzov, who won the most important campaign of 1812, was buried inside the church. The
cathedral was named after the "miracle-making" icon of Our Lady of Kazan, which the church
housed till the early 1930s.
⑧ Cathedral of Our Saviour on the
Spilled Blood
The Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood is
one of the main sights of St. Petersburg,
Russia.
This marvelous Russian-style church was
built on the spot where Emperor Alexander II
was assassinated in March 1881. The decision
was taken to build a church on the spot where
the Emperor was mortally wounded. The
church was built between 1883 and 1907 and was officially called the Resurrection of Christ
Church. Both the interior and exterior of the church is decorated with incredibly detailed mosaics,
designed and created by the most prominent Russian artists of the day (V.M. Vasnetsov, M.V.
Nesterov and M.A. Vrubel).
⑨ The Field of Mars
The Field of Mars or Marsovo Polye is a
large park named after Mars, the Roman god
of war, situated in the center of SaintPetersburg, with an area of about 9 hectares.
At the beginning of the 18th century, what is
now the Field of Mars was essentially an
overgrown bog. The Field of Mars was used
for many years as a training ground for guards'
regiments, and parades on it were
immortalized by dozens of Russian painters
and poets. The Emperor Paul was particularly partial to military parades on the Field of Mars, and
had his official residence - the Mikhailovsky Castle - built on the other side of it from Catherine's
Palace. But in the second half of the 19th century the Field of Mars once again became a place for
ordinary people to spend their leisure time, with lots of attractions and amusements.
⑩ Mariinsky Theatre
The world-renowned Mariinsky Theatre,
known during Soviet times as the Kirov Opera
and Ballet Theatre, reverted to its original
name in 1992. The present building, which
dates back to 1859, originally housed another
theater but was remodeled and taken over by
the Mariinsky company. During prerevolutionary times the theater enjoyed royal
patronage and has played host to some of
Russia’s most celebrated classical performers.
The building and its marvelous 1,625-seat auditorium were severely damaged during the 900day Siege of Leningrad, but later restored in 1944. Since then the theater has maintained its
excellent reputation, particularly for classical ballet.
⑪ Mariinsky Palace
The Mariinsky Palace, situated just across
the square from St Isaac's Cathedral, is better
known today as the seat of the local
Legislative Assembly (i.e. the City Council),
although it was originally built as the
Imperial residence of the Grand Duchess
Maria, daughter of Emperor Nicholas I. Built
between 1839 and 1844, the palace was
filled with magnificent interiors and furniture
and even boasted an enormous greenhouse, where it was said that pineapples grew rather well.
In 1884 the Mariinsky Palace was bought by the government and became the seat of the State
Council, the State Chancellor's office and the Committee of Ministers (later - the Council of
Ministers). Since 1945 the palace has belonged to the city council and local administration.
⑫ Troitskiy Cathedral
The Trinity Cathedral, sometimes called the
Troitsky Cathedral, in Saint Petersburg, Russia,
is a late example of the Empire style, built
between 1828 and 1835 to a design by Vasily
Stasov. It is located due south of the Admiralty
on Izmaylovskiy Prospekt, not far from the
Tekhnologichesky Institut Metro station.
The cathedral, which can accommodate up
to 3,000 visitors, has only recently begun to
be restored to its pre-Revolutionary splendor
after years of neglect. In honor of the victory in the Russo-Turkish War, 1877–1878, when the
Russians liberated Bulgaria from the Ottoman domination, a memorial column was constructed in
front of the northern facade of the cathedral in 1886. The cathedral became a part of the Saint
Petersburg World Heritage Site in 1990.