Saint Petersburg
City in Russia
Saint Petersburg was previously known as Petrograd from 1914 to 1924, and later Leningrad from 1924 to 1991, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow.
Day-1:
Sobor Sv.nikolaya Chudotvortsa
Church
It is a Russian Orthodox Church.
How to go: It is located at Artilleriyskaya Ulitsa, 2. The area is located about 17 km from the Pulkovo Airport towards southeast.
Gorbatyy Most
Bridge
How to go: It is located about 550 meters from Sobor Sv.nikolaya Chudotvortsa towards northwest at Peschanyy Pereulok, 11.
Pamyatnik Anne Ivanovne Zelenovoy
Tourist Atrraction
How to go: It is located about 500 meters from Gorbatyy Most bridge towards northeast.
Nikolayevskiye Vorota
Historical Landmark
How to go: It is located about 320 meters from Apollo Colonnade towards northwest at Sadovaya Ulitsa.
Round Hall
Tourist attraction
There is a Kruglozalnye pond nearby.
How to go: It is located about 600 meters from Nikolayevskiye Vorota towards north.
Day-2
Pavilion Trekh Gratsiy
Pavilion
How to go: It is located about 250 meters from Pamyatnik Anne Ivanovne Zelenovoy towards east.
Pavlovsk Palace
Palace
In 1777, Empress Catherine II gifted this thousand-hectare forest along the Slavyanka River to her son Paul I and his wife Maria Feodorovna to celebrate the birth of their first son, Alexander I. The forest was about 4 km awat from her residence in Tsarskoye Selo. At that time there were two rural log lodges in the forest, Krik and Krak. Paul and his wife spent the summers of 1777 to 1780 at the krik, while their new house and garden were being built.
They started by building two wooden buildings a kilometer apart. Paul's house, a Dutch-style two-story house with a small garden, was called "Marienthal" or "Valley of Maria". Maria's house was a small wooden house with a cupola and flower beds, called "Paullust", or "Paul's Joy". Paul and Maria Feodorovna began to build picturesque "ruins", a Chinese kiosk, Chinese bridges and classical temples in the English landscape garden style.
In 1780, Catherine the Great commissioned architect Charles Cameron to design the palace. Cameron started with two classical pavilions. The first was the Temple of Friendship. It was placed on a bend of the Slavyanka river. The second was the Apollo Colonnade. It was placed at the entrance of the park. At the same time the river Slavyanka was dammed, to create a lake that would reflect the facade of the palace.
In September 1781, as construction of the Pavlovsk Palace began, Paul and Maria embarked on a journey to Austria, Italy, France and Germany.
Paul and Maria Feodorovna returned in November 1782. In 1783 came a shipment of ancient marble, statues, statues, urns and pottery purchased from Pompei (a city in the Metropolitan City of Naples, Italy). 16 sets of furniture were ordered from Paris between 1783 and 1785 for the State Room. In 1784, twelve Hubert Robert landscapes were commissioned for Pavlovsk. The couple purchased 96 watches from Europe. Imperial Glass Factory, made special chandeliers for each room.
In the middle of construction, a misunderstanding grew between them and Cameron over all these purchases, leading to their separation in 1786. Cameron left and the task of decorating the interior was taken over by the architect Vincenzo Brenna from Florence.
Catherine the Great died in 1796 and Paul became emperor. He added two new wings on either side of the main building and a chapel to the south wing. Between 1797 and 1799, he spent huge sums on interior works. Emperor Paul was assassinated by members of his court in 1801, and his son Alexander became emperor. Pavlovsk Palace became the residence of Empress Maria Feodorovna (1759–1828), mother of both Emperor Alexander I and Emperor Nicholas I.
Maria Feodorovna made the house a memorial to her husband. In 1803, a fire destroyed a large part of the interior of the palace. Much of the furniture was saved, including some door panels, fireplaces and mirrors, but much of the palace had to be rebuilt. In 1805 she built the Centaur bridge and the Visconti Bridge in the park, which crossed the Slavyanka. Rose Pavilion Park was built in 1811.
The library, designed in 1824, houses over 20,000 books as well as a collection of rare coins and butterflies. Maria Feodorovna died on October 24, 1828. She leaves home to her youngest son, Michael. After Michael's death, it passed to Nicholas I's second son, Konstantine Nikolayevich. Then it passed to his widow and then to their eldest son Konstantine Konstantinovich. His descendants have turned the house into a family museum.
During the Russian Revolution in 1917, some of their descendants were living in a wing of Pavlovsk. They left when the political situation deteriorated and the house passed into the care of the Art Institute and Museum of Applied Arts in St. Petersburg. When Lenin and the Bolsheviks seized power in November 1917, Pavlovsk was turned into a museum, open to the public two or three days a week.
During World War II, most of the furniture was moved. The headquarters of the Soviet Department was located in a wing of the palace. On September 16, the Germans captured the Pavlovsk Palace and held it for two and a half years. The sculptures and furniture in the house and all the books in the Rossi Library were taken to Germany. The palace was recaptured on 24 January 1944. When Soviet troops arrived, the palace had already been burning for three days.
As the war ends, a search begins for the treasure stolen from the palace. In 1950, parts of the park were opened to the public. In 1955, the restoration of the facade of the palace was completed, then the restoration of the interior began. Next comes the furnishings. In 1957, the first seven rooms were opened to the public. By 1977, the palace's 200th anniversary, fifty rooms had been completed. The palace looked exactly as it had then, as it had in Maria Feodorovna's time.
Visiting Time: Grand Palace - 10 AM to 6 PM every day except Friday and the first Monday of each month. Pavlovsk Park - 10 AM to 6 PM every day. Rose Garden - May to October - every day except Friday and Monday. Private Garden of Empress Maria Fyodorovna - May to October - 11 AM to 7 PM every day. Temple of Friendship - May to October - 11 AM to 6 PM daily except Monday and Friday. Museum of Costumes - 10 AM to 6 PM daily except Friday and Tuesday.
Entry Fee: 500 Ruble for adult. 900 Ruble for family (2 Adults + 1 Child): 1150 Ruble for family (2 Adults + 2 Child). Temporary exhibits - 150 Ruble each. Pavlovsk Park - May to October - 150 Ruble. November to April - 150 Ruble on Saturday, Sunday and holiday, free on weekday. Rose Pavilion - 150 Ruble for adult and 100 Ruble for schoolchild. Private Garden of Empress Maria Fyodorovna - 150 Ruble for adult and 100 Ruble for schoolchild. Temple of Friendship - Free. Museum of Costumes - 150 Ruble for adult and 150 Ruble for English audio guide.
Photography: Photo - 200 Ruble Video - 300 Ruble.
How to go: It is located north of Pavilion Trekh Gratsiy.
Skul'ptura "Pravosudiye"
Sculpture
How to go: It is located about 50 meters east of Pavlovsk Palace.
Skul'ptura "Mir"
Sculpture
How to go: It is located about 90 meters east from Skul'ptura "Pravosudiye".
Besedka Rossi
Gazebo Russia
How to go: It is located about 80 meters from Skul'ptura "Mir" towards east.
Pamyatnik Imperatritse Marii Fedorovne
Historical Landmark
Monument to Empress Maria Feodorovna.
How to go: It is located about 70 meters from Besedka Rossi towards south.
Pavil'on "Vol'yer"
Pavilion "Aviary"
How to go: It is located about 100 meters from Monument to Empress Maria Feodorovna towards west.
Pavlovsk Museum
Museum
Visiting Time: Tuesday to Sunday - 10 AM to 6 PM.
How to go: It is located about 100 meters from the Pavlovsk Palace towards southeast.
Monument to Johann Strauss
Monument
How to go: It is located southeast of Pavlovsk Museum.
Bol'shaya Lestnitsa
Stairway
How to go: It is located about 80 meters northeast of Pavlovsk Palace.
Apollo Colonnade
Historical Landmark
Across the river from the palace in Pavlovsky Park is a view of the Apollo Colonnade, from which the cascade and bridge descend.
Apollo Colonnade Pavlovsk Architects C. Cameron's one of first buildings. Founded in 1783. Apollo is the god of sunlight, patron of the arts.
It was an open double colonnade in the form of a circle, with thirteen pairs of columns supporting the entablature. All decorative elements of entablature, columns, capitals are made of gray, porous pudost stone. A sloping gable roof, made of sheet iron and also painted grey, covers the entablature.
Apollo Colonnade has changed a lot since its inception. When the palace was built, it was found that the structure was poorly visible from the windows of the palace. Then Empress Maria Feodorovna (25 October 1759 – 5 November 1828) expressed her desire to move the colonnade closer to the river and build a new cascade on the upper bank slope opposite the palace. But Cameron did not agree to such a change. The colonnade was moved only in the last years of the reign of Emperor Paul I.
In 1817, during a thunderstorm, the part of the colonnade near the cascade collapsed. The colonnade has not been restored. The broken elements of the columns were placed in such a way as to create the effect of ancient ruins. The cast iron pipe under the colonnade was laid in 1824. Initially, the cascade was full of water.
How to go: It is located about 160 meters from Pamyatnik Anne Ivanovne Zelenovoy towards north.
Pavilion "Temple of Friendship"
Temple
How to go: It is located about 170 meters from Chornyy Most-Plotina bridge towards east.
Pamyatnik Lyubeznym Roditelyam
Historical Landmark
Monument to Dear Parents.
How to go: It is located about 450 meters from Pavilion "Temple of Friendship" toeards east.
Viskontiyev Most
Bridge
How to go: It is located about 120 meters from Pamyatnik Lyubeznym Roditelyam towards northwest.
Twelve Tracks
Sculpture
How to go: It is located about 70 meters from Pamyatnik Lyubeznym Roditelyam towards northeast.
Pamyatnik Velikomu Knyazyu Vyacheslavu Konstantinovichu
Monument
Monument to Grand Duke Vyacheslav Konstantinovich
How to go: It is located about 80 meters from Twelve Tracks towards north.
Amfiteatr
Amphitheater
How to go: It is located about 70 meters from Monument to Grand Duke Vyacheslav Konstantinovich towards northwest.
Pil' Bashnya
Dust Tower
How to go: It is located about 200 meters from Amphitheater towards northeast.
Kolonna Konets Sveta
Konec Sveta column
How to go: It is located about 300 meters from Pil' Bashnya toawrds northeast.
Yelizavetin Pavil'on
Elizavetin Pavilion
How to go: It is located about 500 meters from Konec Sveta column towards north by crossing Novosil'viyskiy Most Bridge.
The Mausoleum of Paul I
Historical landmark
How to go: It is located about 250 meters from Pil' Bashnya towards east.
Rozovyy Pavil'on
Pavilion
How to go: It is located about 350 meters from the Mausoleum of Paul I towards south.
Oleniy Most
Bridge
How to go: It is located southwest of Rozovyy Pavil'on.
Kolonna Grafini Liven
Historical Landmark
Column Countess Lieven.
How to go: It is located about 320 meters from Rozovyy Pavil'on towards south after a cafe "U Rozovogo Pavil'ona"
Day-3: Pushkin
Catherine Park
Historical Park
Catherine Park is a park built around the Catherine Palace in the city of Pushkin (Tsarskoe Selo). The history of the park begins in 1717-1720 when Dutch masters of landscape gardening began to create a regular park around her palace during the reign of Catherine I. Later in 1760-1796, English-style landscape parks became popular. Both parks are separated by a large ponds.
Visiting Time: May to July - 7 AM to 11 PM, August - 7AM to 10 PM. September to April - 7 AM to 9 PM.
Entry Fee: Palace - 700 Rubles for adult. 360 Ruble for student (with ID), Schoolchildren above 16. Free for age below 16. 150 Ruble for Audio-guide (English, French, German, Chinese). Individual Guided Tour - 5.000 Ruble. Guided admission includes park fee, escort to palace via VIP Room, guided tour in English. 150 Rubles for Catherine Park Entry. You cannont buy park ticket from online, which must be purchased at the ticket office in the Palace lobby. Visit to the park is free from the end of October to the end of April.
How to go: Trains depart every half hour from Vitebsky Vokzal train station. Tickets are available at the ticket desk or from a machine in the station's suburban train pavilion. A one-way ticket costs 47-49 rubles. Choose trains going towards Pavlovsk which are less crowded. Other trains go to Oredezh, Novolisino, Poselok, stopping at Tsarskoe Selo. The train takes about 30 to 35 minutes. You need to walk about 30 minutes to the park from the train station or take the small bus 371, 382, or 377 from the station.
By Metro on the Blue Line will take 40 minutes from Nevsky Prospekt to arrive at Kupchino. You need to head for the exit Vitebsky Avenue (the blue signposts will have it in English). When you get outside you will see a line of old soviet buses, called Marshrutka’s, waiting. You will be looking for the bus with the number K-286 or K-342. To confirmed Ask the driver. Bus fare is approximately 40 Rubles and take about 40 minutes, the bus will drop you off 200 metres from the park.
It takes 40 minutes to reach Kupchino from Nevsky Prospekt on the Blue Line metro. You need to exit Vitebsky Avenue (blue signposts will have it in English). Outside you will see a line of minibus (martshrutka) K-286, K-342 or K-545 that will take you to the Palace. Ask the driver to confirm. The bus fare is approximately 40 rubles and takes about 40 minutes, the bus will drop you off 200 meters from the park. From Moskovskaya Metro Station, catch the minibus (martshrutka) K-342 or K-545 that will take you to the Palace.
Orlov Gate
Gate
The 15-meter high gate, also called "Orel Gate" or "Gatchina Gate", was built in 1777-1782. It was named after General Grigory Orlov, a revered favorite of Empress Catherine II and who led the fight against the plague epidemic in Moscow in 1771.
On the roof of the gate is an inscription, which reads: "When in 1771 there was a pestilence of people and a national disorder in Moscow, the general-feldzeichmeister Count Grigory Orlov, at his request, received an order to go there, established order and obedience, delivered food and healing to the poor and the poor, and stopped the ferocity of the plague with his good institutions". On the facade of the gate, facing Gatchina, there is an inscription "Orlov saved Moscow from trouble".
How to go: It is located in Catherin Park, Pushkin.
Ruin Tower
Tower
The tower was built to commemorate the heroic battles of the Russo-Turkish War of 1768-1774 at the request of Catherine II.
It was designed to be a naturally damaged architecture. For this reason, in the summer of 1773, cracks were cut in the exterior walls painted and plastered surfaces to simulate natural damage. The huge stone arch at the base of the tower adds to the impression that it extends deep into the earth.
In World War II, it was damaged by shelling. The first major repair of the tower took place in 1883. Restoration was completed in 2006 and the pavilion reopened in August 2009. Now it has been incorporated into a museum garden.
Visiting Time: 11 AM to 5 PM every day.
How to go: It is located about 100 meters east from Orlov Gate in Catherin Park, Pushkin.
Gothic Gate
Gate
A Gothic pig-iron gate is found at one end of the embankment. It was cast in 1782 at the Demidovsky factory in Yekaterinburg (city in Russia). It is notable as one of the first architectural products found in Russia made of pig-iron.
How to go: It is located about 280 meters east from Ruin Tower in Catherin Park, Pushkin.
Pyramid
Pavilion
The Pyramid Pavilion, in the Neo-Egyptian style, was built around 1770-1772 on the shores of Swan Lake. The facade of the "Pyramid" has an entrance, four columns were placed at the corners in 1773. In 1781, the "Pyramid" was dismantled. It was rebuilt in the same place in 1782-1783. A merchant from Sofia, created works, provided craftsmen and materials. The entrance to the pavilion was located next to the large pond, with the door narrowing slightly upwards as the very edge of the building narrowed.
The inner hall of the pyramid is circular. In January 1780, Roman marble statues, columns, vases, were delivered from the capital St. Petersburg to Tsarskoe Selo (Puskhin). On the opposite side of the entrance to the building, at the foot of the pavilion, three of Catherine II's favorite dogs are buried.
How to go: It is located about 110 meters north from Gothic Gate.
Marble Bridge
Bridge
A pedestrian roofed Palladian Bridge connects the Swan Islands to the park. The bridge was modeled on the Palladian Bridge (1736) in the park of Wilton House, England, and served as a showcase for Ural marble. All materials for the bridge were produced in Yekaterinburg, transported to Tsarskoe Selo, and then assembled in 1774.
How to go: It is located about 70 meters from Pyramid towards northeast.
Red Cascade
Historical Place
How to go: It is located about 90 meters from Marble Bridge towards northwest.
Tufovyy Most
Attraction
How to go: It is located about 100 meters from Red Cascade towards northwest.
Kukhnya Ruina
Tower
Catherine Palace Kitchen Ruin is a historical place. The Kitchen Ruin, located next to the concert hall, were built in the 1780s and are counted among the architect's finest works. It was built to look like a ruined structure. Dilapidated brickyards have been erected at various places; The cornice and plaster of the walls are covered with cracks.
How to go: It is located about 200 meters from Tufovyy Most towards northeast.
Creaking Summer House
Pavilion
The summer-house was built in 1778-86 during the reign of Catherine II. It has a weathervane in the shape of a Chinese banner attached to its roof that creaks loudly as it turns with the wind. For this reason it is popularly known by this name.
Its central domed oval hall is flanked by two smaller, almost square chambers. The Creeking summer-house has two entrances on the east and west sides. Its facade was restored in 1954-56.
How to go: It is located about 100 meters from Kukhnya Ruina towards north, on the bank of a pond on the boundary between the Catherine Park and the New Garden of the Alexander Park.
Vecherniy Zal
Landmark
How to go: It is located about 110 meters northeast from Creaking Summer House.
Kagul Obelisk
Obelisk
The Kagul Obelisk was erected in 1772 by order of Catherine II to commemorate Pyotr Rumiansev's victory at the Battle of Kagul.
The inscription on the pedestal reads: "In memory of the victory at the Kagul River in Moldavia, July 21, 1770, under the command of Count Peter Rumyantsev the Russian army of seventeen thousand caused the Turkish Vizier Galil-Bey and his army of one hundred thousand and a half to flee to the Danube".
How to go: It is located about 130 meters from Vecherniy Zal towards southeast.
Granite Terrace
Sturcture
The location of Katalnaya Gora was chosen in 1748 or 1749, on the broad slope beyond the old garden, with a view of the old garden and large pond.
The "Grand Slide" pavilion was a massive stone building. The entire building was decorated with antique style sculptures and baroque ornaments. The doors on the second floor led to two platforms, from which one could ascend ramps or artificial "hills." Riding cars were designed with copper wheels on steel axles. The wheels are to ride on two iron rails set on wooden slopes.
A third ramp was added in 1765, running along the slope and up to the island in the middle of the pond. Katalnaya Gora was demolished in 1792-1795. In its place today are the granite terraces, built in the early 1800s.
How to go: It is located about 170 meters from Kagul Obelisk towards south.
Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich Monument
Monument
Monument to Nicholas Alexandrovich
How to go: It is located about 250 meters from Granite Terrace towards northeast.
Grotto Pavilion
Pavilion
The grotto was built in 1755-1756 under Empress Elizabeth Petrovna. The pavilion's interior decoration was created in the 1770s under Catherine II. In the 1780s, the pavilion began to be called the "Morning Hall", as Empress Catherine II liked to spend her mornings in the grotto, doing business and reading.
From the entrance to the gardens of the Catherine Palace to the grotto leads the main alley of the garden, decorated with sculptures and decorated with decorative shrubs and trees. The sculpture can also be seen in the Grotto Pavilion.
It was decorated inside with shell and tuff. The light, refined design of the mandapa walls has been preserved even today. There was a jetty in front of the grotto pavilion. During the Great Patriotic War, it was almost completely destroyed and in 1971-1972 it was rebuilt with granite. The pavilion is currently used for temporary exhibitions.
Entry Fee: The "Grotto" pavilion, are not included in the cost of entering the park - they are paid separately.
How to go: The pavilion is located about 250 meters from Monument to Nicholas Alexandrovich towards east, on the bank of the Tsarskoye Selo Big Pond in the center of the Catherine Park.
Girl with a Jug
Fountain
The most famous statue in Catherine Park is called 'Girl with a Jug'. A barefoot girl sits on a huge rock. At his feet is a broken jug from which flows a trickle of spring water. Following an unspoken tradition, the best poets who lived or visited Tsarskoe Selo dedicated their poems to the statue girl.
How to go: Near the jetty.
Cameron Gallery
Museum
Charles Cameron was a Scots-born architect and interior designer who came to Russia in 1779, also invited by Catherine. Cameron first settled in Chernyshev House in St. Petersburg but soon moved to his own home in Tsarskoye Selo. He has worked here for over fifteen years. His first work was to build a Roman bathhouse next to Catherine Palace.
Cameron's next job for Catherine was the adjacent Cameron Gallery, the most prominent of his creations at Tsarskoe Selo. Catherine instructed Cameron to create a colonnade for strolling and philosophical discussion. The upper storey of the building is surrounded by a colonnade consisting of 44 slender ionic columns and decorated with bronze busts of the great figures of antiquity. Approached by a magnificent staircase from the northern end, the Gallery is now used to house temporary exhibitions.
Cameron's next work for Catherine was the adjacent Cameron Gallery, the most prominent of his creations in the Tsarskoe Selo. Catherine instructed Cameron to create a colony for wanderings and philosophical discussions.
Visiting Time: Open Summer, 10 AM to 8 PM everyday.
Entry Fee: Free entry with park ticket.
How to go: It stands perpendicular to the east wing of the Catherine Palace
Kholodnaya Banya S Agatovymi Komnatami
Museum
How to go: It is located west of Cameron Gallery.
Lower Bath
Handicraft Museum
How to go: It is located about 200 meters north east from the south of Cameron Gallery.
Standing Stables
Museum
How to go: It is located about 150 meters north from lower bath.
Pavil'on Pridvornyy Ekipazh
Museum
How to go: It is located about 100 meters north from Standing Stables.
Fontan Lebed
Fountain
How to go: It is located about 100 meters straight from Standing Stables towards northwest.
Memorial Lyceum Museum
Museum
How to go: It is located about 170 meters straight from Standing Stables towards northwest.
Monument to Rastrelli
Sculpture
How to go: It is located about 80 meters from Memorial Lyceum Museum towards northwest.
Catherine Palace
Palace
In 1710, Peter the Great gave the estate to his wife Catherine 1, The village was first called Sarskoye Selo, and then finally Tsarskoye Selo. In 1723, the Stone Palace of Catherine 1 was built to replace the original wooden house. It was a two-storied sixteen-room building. The south-eastern part of the estate included a garden.
During the reign of Peter the Great's daughter, Empress Elizabeth, the design was redesigned and work began in 1744. In 1745, the palace was extended by 300 meters. It included a middle house, two side wings, a chapel and conservatory hall, all connected by four galleries to the hanging garden.
Then in 1751, a major reconstruction took place, integrating several buildings, giving the palace a unique color that required about 100 kg of gold. Other notable rooms include the Chinese Room, the Portrait Hall, the Light Gallery and the Amber Room, which had 5 eastern rooms attached to the Great Hall. Construction was completed in 1756, when the palace included 40 state apartments and over 100 private and service rooms. A new garden was added.
In the 1770s, Tsarskoye Selo became the summer residence of Catherine the Great. Tsarskoye Selo was expanded in 1771. The south facade of the palace was redesigned, the side wings were converted from one storey to four storeys. The original staircase has been replaced by the Chinese Room and a new staircase has been built where the Chinese Room used to be. Added High and Lower Baths, Chesme Column, Moriah Column and Kagul Obelisk. The Opera House was built in 1778-79.
Interior designs from the 1780s include the Arabesque Room, the Lyons Room, the Empress's Bedroom, the Blue Room or "snuff-box". The Mirror and Silver Room was designed in 1789. In the 1780s, Chinese villages began to be built. A music pavilion and the Temple of Ceres were added on a upper pond island. His Kitchen Ruin folly was added next to the Concert Hall. Neyolov's Babolovo Palace was added by 1785, and in 1790, there was the Alexander Palace.
With the death of Catherine the Great in 1796, construction of the park stopped.
In 1809, granite terraces were built. In 1817, the Triumphal Arch was built. Damage caused by the fire of 1820 was restored and included Rastrelli's chapel and adjoining apartments. From 1851 to 1852, Turkish baths were added. In the 1850s, the ceiling of the state rooms and the canvases of the Hermitage Museum were decorated. In 1860, the central staircase and main porch were reconstructed.
When German forces retreated after the Siege of Leningrad in World War II, they destroyed the residence, leaving a hollow shell of a palace. Reconstruction of the palace began in 1957.
Visiting Time: May and September - Wednesday to Sunday - 12 PM to 5 PM. Junuary to August - Wednesday to Sunday - 12 PM to 7 PM Monday - 12 PM to 8 PM. Tuesday remains closed. October to April - Wednesday to Sunday - 10 AM to 5 PM, Monday - 10 AM to 8 PM. Tuesday and the last Monday of each month remains closed.
Entry Fee: Included Catherine Park entrance fee.
How to go: Is located south of Memorial Lyceum Museum.
Hermitage Pavilion
Museum
It is the largest structure in the complex after the palace.
How to go: About 350 meters from Lower Bath towards southeast.
Ostrov U Bol'shoy Plotiny
Island
Island near Big Dam
How to go: It is located about 370 meters from Hermitage Pavilion towards southwest.
Dutch Admiralty
Pavilions
Dutch Admiralty is the name of the three follies designed in the traditional Dutch style and laid in the summer of 1773. The pavilions are flanked by two towers in the Russian Gothic style. The central pavilion, which was destroyed during World War II.
How to go: It is located south of Island near Big Dam on the bank of the Big Pond.
Hall on the Island Pavilion
Landmark
A small pavilion in the middle of a large pond. There is a path to the column in the chasm. The pavilion was built in the late 1740s. It was intended for concerts and the entertainment of boatmen, and was occasionally used for court dinners.
How to go: It is located in the center of the large pond.
Chesme Column
Monument
The Chesme Column commemorates three Russian naval victories in the Russo-Turkish War of 1768–1774: the Battle of Chios, the Battle of Chesma, and the Battle of Mytilene. It was built in 1774-1778. The pillar is decorated with a rostra of three ships' bows and is crowned by a bronze figure of an eagle (a symbol of Russia) crushing a crescent (a symbol of Turkey).
A description of the battle is written on the pedestal of the pillar. It was partially destroyed by the Germans during World War II and subsequently replaced using old photographs. The column was reopened in June 1996 to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the Russian Navy.
How to go: It is located southwest of Hall on the Island Pavilion in the large pond.
Turkish Bath
Museum
The Turkish bath was the last building on the grounds of Catherine Park. It was built in 1850-1852 by order of Emperor Nicholas I to commemorate the victory in the Russo-Turkish War of 1828-1829. The design is similar to a Turkish mosque. This is why this pavilion looks like a small Turkish mosque.
The Turkish bath has five rooms: an entrance (lobby), a changing room, a soap room, a dome hall and a hexagonal office.
How to go: It is located at the western end of the big pond.
Monument to Alexander Pushkin
Monument
Alexander Pushkin (6 June 1799 – 10 February 1837) was a Russian poet, playwright and novelist. Many consider him the greatest Russian poet, as well as the founder of modern Russian literature.
How to go: The monument is located about 130 meters north from Memorial Lyceum Museum.
Concert Hall "St. Petersburg serenade"
Hall
How to go: It is located about 80 meters north from Monument to Alexander Pushkin.
Day-4:
Magazin Gvardeyskogo Ekonomicheskogo Obshchestva
Landmark
Store of the Guards Economic Society.
How to go: It is located at Pavlovskoye Shosse, 4. South of Police School university.
Gate "To my dear colleagues"
Gate
How to go: It is located about 300 meters from Magazin Gvardeyskogo Ekonomicheskogo Obshchestva towards north at Garden Street.
Kaskadnyye Prudy
Cascade Ponds
It is a scenic spot.
How to go: It is located about 50 meters north of Gate "To my dear colleagues".
Church of the Resurrection of Christ
Lutheran Church
Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Resurrection of Christ. The Lutheran community in Tsarskoe Selo was organized in 1811. In 1817, construction of the parish church began.
How to go: It is located about 200 meters from Gate "To my dear colleagues" towards north at Naberezhnaya Ulitsa, 4.
Pushkinskiy Dom Kul'tury
Concert Hall
How to go: It is located about 250 meters from Resurrection of Christ Church towards northeast.
Moskovskiye Vorota
Moscow Gate
These two towers or yellow decorated two-story buildings are located at the intersection of "Sofiyskiy" boulevard and "Moskovsky Shosse" highway. It is a monumental triumphal arch and before the railway between St. Petersburg and Moscow was built, the road from Tsarskoe Selo to Moscow passed through this gate.
Pushkin Station on the railway, very close to Moscow Gate, connects Moscow with St. Petersburg.
How to go: It is located about 470 meters from Pushkinskiy Dom Kul'tury towards southeast at Moskovskoye Shosse, 2/7.
Dacha of Grand Duke Boris Vladimirovich
Historical Landmark
Grand Duke Boris Vladimirovich of Russia (24 November 1877 – 9 November 1943) was a son of Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia, a grandson of Tsar Alexander II of Russia and a first cousin of Tsar Nicholas II.
The house was built in 1896-1897 and 1899. When the prince turned 20, Queen Victoria gave him an English country house. The house was transported disassembled from England and assembled by London craftsmen. The house and other buildings are very attractive, situated in a quiet, secluded part of the park, hidden by huge thuja plantations and vines.
How to go: It is located about 530 meters from Moscow Gate towards south.
Dom-Muzey Pavla Chistyakova
Museum
Visiting Time: Wednesday to Sunday - 10:30 AM to 6 PM. Monday and Tuesday remains closed.
How to go: It is located about 480 meters from Moscow Gate towards southeast and about 150 meters from Dacha of Grand Duke Boris Vladimirovich towards northeast at Moskovskoye Shosse, 23.
Ernst Telman
Monument
Ernst Tellmann was a German communist and anti-fascist. The German communist leader became a victim of Hitler. He was executed in Buchenwald concentration camp in 1944. The monument to Telman was installed in Pushkin in 1960.
How to go: It is located about 400 meters from Moscow Gate towards northeast.
Cathedral of St. Catherine
Cathedral
The cathedral was founded in 1835 by the order of Emperor Nicholas I. The architectural design appealed to Nicholas so much that he immediately commissioned two cathedrals: one of St. Catherine in Pushkin (then Tsarskoye Selo) and another of Christ the Savior in Moscow.
The church was demolished in 1937 by order of the Bolshevik government. A monument to Lenin was erected in its place. In 2004, the residents of Pushkin took the initiative and brought down the monument. The cathedral was rebuilt with one hundred percent charitable donations. The cathedral's museum has a large volume of books on display with the names of all the contributors.
How to go: It is located about 950 meters from Moscow Gate towards northwest and 750 meters from Catherine Palace towards northeast.
Historical and Literary Museum of G. Pushkin
Museum
Visiting Time: Wednesday to Sunday - 10 AM to 5:30 PM. Monday and Tuesday remains closed.
How to go: It is located west side of Cathedral of St. Catherine at Leont'yevskaya Ulitsa, 28.
Interactive Museum-Theater "Pushkin's Tales"
Children's Theater
How to go: It is located about 280 meters from Historical and Literary Museum of G. Pushkin towards northwest.
Alexander Pushkin Memorial Museum-Dacha
Museum
How to go: It is located about 230 meters from Interactive Museum-Theater "Pushkin's Tales" towards northwest.
Day-5: Pushkin
Alexander Palace
Palace Museum
Alexander Palace was commissioned by Empress Catherine the Great (reigned 1762–1796) for the 1793 wedding of Elizaveta Alexeievna to her favorite grandson, Grand Duke Alexander Pavlovich, the future Emperor of Russia Alexander I (reigned 1801–1825). The palace was built between 1792 and 1796.
Alexander used the palace as a summer residence during his stay at Catherine Palace. He gave the palace to his brother, the future Nicholas I, for use in the summer. From the 1830s to the 1850s, extensive remodeling was done. Nicholas I and his family lived in the palace from early spring to late May. In 1842, the Imperial couple celebrated their silver wedding anniversary. On 19 October 1860, Empress Alexandra (wife of Nicholas I) died in the palace.
Alexander III (reigned 13 March 1881 to 1894) and his Danish-born wife Maria Feodorovna had their apartment in the western part of the palace. Before ascending to the imperial throne, Maria gave birth to their first child, the future Nicholas II, at the Alexander Palace. After the death of Alexander III in 1894, Maria lived in the palace while visiting his son (Nicholas II) and daughter-in-law (Alexandra Feodorovna).
Nicholas II and his wife Alexandra Feodorovna loved the palace and made it their permanent residence. They remodeled and added rooms. During the reign of Nicholas II, the palace was equipped with cables for electricity and a telephone system. In 1899, a hydraulic lift was installed to connect the empress's suite with the children's rooms on the second floor. A screening booth was built in the semi-circular hall to show films.
Nicholas II abdicated the Russian throne on March 2, 1917. Thirteen days later, he returned to the Alexander Palace as Colonel Romanov. Later, the Imperial family was kept under house arrest in this palace. Due to an increasingly uncertain situation in St. Petersburg, the leader of the Provisional Government decided to move the family into internal exile in Siberia. On the morning of August 1, 1917, a train took the family away. They never returned.
Shortly after their departure to Siberia, a museum was established within Alexander's palace. It operated until the beginning of World War II. During the Nazi German occupation, the palace was used as the headquarters of the German military command. After the expulsion of the German forces, the palace was handed over to the Soviet Navy and remained there until 1996. In the summer of 1997, a permanent exhibition was opened.
In 2010 the three largest public rooms in the middle wing were renovated and reopened. The Russian government undertook the recovery from September 2015 to August 2021. The eastern wing of the palace was reopened to visitors. The first floor of this wing, once the rooms of Nicholas II's children, is now home to exhibits belonging to the children of various emperors.
Visiting Time: Thursday to Tuesday - 10 AM to 6 PM. Wednesday remains closed. November to April 20s - Last Thursday of each month, January 1 also remains closed.
Entry Fee: 650 Rubles for adult. 400 Rubles for student (with hard-copy ID) or visitor age below 18 (free on 3rd Sunday of each month). Free for age below 14. Combined Tickets Alexander Palace + Martial Chamber - 900 Rubles for adult. 600 Rubles for student (with hard-copy ID) or visitor age below 18.
How to go:
Alexandr Pushkin Memorial Museum-Dacha
Museum
This literary museum is dedicated to the memory of Alexander Pushkin, Russia's most famous poet, in the apartment where he lived and died between 1836 and 1837. Pushkin's apartment was carefully preserved and remains an excellent example of an aristocratic residence of the 1830s. Visitors can enter the museum and see the study of the great poet and famous epic novel verse "Eugene Onegin" and the well-known story "The Queen of Spades".
Visiting Time: Wednesday to Monday - 10:30 AM to 6 PM. Tuesday and the last Friday of each month remains closed.
Entry Fee: 200 Rubles for adult. 100 Rubles for children.
How to go: It is located about 500 meters from Alexander Palace towards northeast at 12, Naberezhnaya Reki Moyki.
Feodorovskiy Gorodok
Historic Landmark
Nicholas II built Feodorovsky Sovereign Cathedral that became his family chapel. He then buillt few buildings for clergy to live in a area nearby the cathedral. The complex is called "Feodorovsky Gorodok". The construction of the 4.2 acres of complex began in 1913 and went on until 1917-18. The most notable of which are the Whitestone Chamber for the priests of the Cathedral, Pink Chamber for deacons, Yellow Chamber for clerks, White Chamber for the lower staff, Refectory, and Martial Chamber.
How to go: It is located about 450 meters from Alexandr Pushkin Memorial Museum-Dacha towards northwest.
Feodorovsky Sovereign Cathedral
Cathedral
When Emperor Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra moved into Alexander Palace in 1895, they found that it did not contain a chapel. So, in 1897, they converted a room into the home church of St. Alexander Nevsky. But this temporary church was not enough, so Nicholas II financed the construction of a new church in the vicinity of the palace. The foundation stone of the cathedral was laid on 20 August 1909 in the presence of the Imperial family.
The cathedral consists of two churches - the upper church, with a capacity of 1000 people, and the main altar in the name of the Mother of God. The Upper Church includes a side chapel named after St. Alexis. the Lower Church (Cave Church) named after St. Seraphim of Sarov. The consecration of the cathedral took place on 20 August 1912 in the presence of the Imperial family. The emperor and his family visited the cathedral on holidays and Sundays.
Empress Alexandra often came to pray in the cave church, of which she was particularly fond. A special room was arranged for her. The chapel, a small room less than a meter wide, was placed to the right of the altar. It contained a mosaic icon of St. Seraphim of Sarov. Many common people wanted to pray, however, they were allowed only with tickets.
Shortly after the Tsar's abdication in March 1917, the cathedral was turned into an ordinary parish church. In December 1933, the cathedral was closed by the local Soviet. The property of the cathedral was distributed among several museums in Leningrad. Much is lost. The upper church was adapted for a cinema hall, the screen being placed in place of the altar. The lower cave church was turned into a warehouse.
During the Nazi occupation of Pushkin (1941-44), the cathedral was badly damaged. The northern wall and the western right wall were partially destroyed, and the main dome was broken. The cathedral lay in ruins until the 1980s. In 1991, the cathedral was transferred to the Russian Orthodox Church. In the same year, the icon of the Mother of God was found buried in a park. It was returned to the cathedral and has since become one of its most revered shrines.
Extensive reconstruction and restoration work on both the facade and interior of the cathedral has restored it to its historic original over a period of 20 years.
How to go: It is located west side of Feodorovskiy Gorodok.
Monument to Vasily Vasilyevich Dokuchaev
Monument
How to go: It is located about 180 meters from Feodorovsky Sovereign Cathedral towards northeast at Akademicheskiy Prospekt, 31.
Egyptian Gate
Gate
Yegipetskiye Vorota or the Egyptian Gate was built in 1829 to replace the old toll bar, which was rendered redundant by the expansion of Tsarskoe Selo. The gate was designed inspired by the Khonsu gate temple. Alexander Park extended up to this gate until 1895, when part of it was used for the construction of barracks. Because of the French expedition to Egypt, the world became more interested in ancient Egyptian architecture.
How to go: It is located about 250 meters northeast of Monument to Vasily Vasilyevich Dokuchaev.
Station "Imperial Station"
Station
The original Imperial Pavilion was built of wood in 1895, however, it was destroyed by fire on 25th January 1911. A new stone pavilion was built in the same style as the buildings at nearby Feodorovsky Gorodok. It was here that the emperor received many foreign dignitaries. A special road was built from the station to the Alexander Palace.
In 1918, the station was renamed Uritsky Pavilion and closed in the mid-20th century. The pavilion was badly damaged during the Great Patriotic War (1941-45).
How to go: It is located about 800 meters from Egyptian Gate towards northwest.
Ratnaya Palata
Museum
The Ratnaya Palata or Martial Chamber is a Russian World War I museum building.
The Museum of Russian Military History was conceived in 1911 based on an exhibition proposal by Elena Tretyakov, widow of a Russian entrepreneur and art collector Sergei Tretyakov, brother of founder of the Moscow-based Tretyakov Gallery. Construction on the building began in 1913, just a year before World War I. The museum opened in February 1917 just before the fall of the Russian monarchy and closed two years later.
Since then the Martial Chamber has served various other purposes. The building was legally transferred to the Tsarskoye Selo Museum Complex in 2008. After three years of restoration, the building reopened as a First World War museum in August 2014.
Visiting Time: Thursday to Tuesday - 10 AM to 6 PM. Wednesday remains closed.
How to go: It is located about 750 meters from Station "Imperial Station" towards south and about 300 meters from Feodorovsky Sovereign Cathedral towards west.
The White Tower
Tower
In 1824, at the behest of Emperor Alexander I, architect Menelas began building the 105-foot-tall White Tower to house the pavilion's servants, using materials from the walls of the zoo. The White Tower is surrounded by a balcony on each story and is open to the public in summer. The furniture is of the same style, and was probably made from sketches by Menelas.
The first floor has a dining room and a service room. Two rooms on the second floor. On the third floor is a drawing room with four windows and a door that opens onto a balcony. The fourth floor has a study room and a bedroom. Both rooms have wicker chair seating. There is a room on the fifth floor. It contains children's furniture. There is a door on the sixth floor, which leads to the top of the tower. A magnificent view of Tsarskoe Selo can be seen from the top of the tower.
How to go: It is located about 300 meters from Feodorovskiy Gorodok towards southwest.
Children’s House
Landmark
In Alexander Park, there is a children's pond, with the Children's Island in the middle and the Children's House above it.
The children's "kingdom" was founded by Emperor Nicholas I, who donated an island in the middle of a pond for his children. The pond was built in 1817. Several years later, in 1830, a children's room was built, with a sitting room and 4 rooms arranged, each child its own, for Olga, Alexander, Maria and Alexandra. Children's furniture was kept here. A wooden kitchen was built nearby, where the boys prepared their own meals.
Children's Island was only accessible by boat. The boats were docked in a small granite harbor guarded by a sailor. In total, there were 7 Guard sailors on the island. They maintained order, ferried passengers and taught children about maritime customs. Classes and games are held at home. Also, the royal children celebrated their holidays here by inviting their peers.
In front of the Children's House, a marble bust of Karl Karlovich, tutor of Sasha (the future Emperor Alexander II), and to the right of the house, a bust of the poet Vasily Andreevich Zhukovsky, who taught him Russian language and literature. The last Russian emperor Nicholas II and his princesses together, planted flowers, rode a boat on the pond and in winter they removed the snow.
On the island, the royal family buried their pets, marking the graves with small tombstones. Currently, the Children's House is closed and in a state of preservation. In the post-revolution era, busts of teachers disappeared. The statue of Marder has not yet been found and the bust of Zhukovsky can now be seen in the Cameron Gallery. Two tombstones are still standing in the burial ground of the royal dogs.
How to go: It is located northwest corner of Alexander Palace.
Mountain "Parnas"
Tourist attraction
There is nothing on top of it.
How to go: It is located south of Children’s House in Alexander Park.
Dragon Bridge
Bridge
The bridge is located over the Krestovy Canal in Alexander Park. The Dragon Bridge was built in 1785 across the lane from the Alexander Palace to the Arsenal Pavilion Museum entrance. When the bridge was built during the reign of Empress Catherine II, the dragon figures were made of limestone. The existing cast-iron dragons were cast in the 1860s.
How to go: It is located on the center of the north side of Alexander Park.
Chinese Theater
Theater
Catherine the Great decided to build a "Little Chinatown". In 1770 the architect from italy proposed the creation of a "Chinese" village with houses, theaters and pavilions. But then the plan was not implemented. Later in 1780, the work began on the "Chinese" village by the architects from scotland.
The auditorium, which could seat five hundred people, had the stage and imperial box, an entrance and grand staircase leading to a pair of drawing rooms. The names Red Drawing Room and Blue Drawing Room reflect the color of their furniture. Guests were received and dinner served in these rooms. The Imperial Box was accessed directly from the Red Drawing Room. The Imperial Box and the Grand Dukes' boxes were beautifully decorated.
It was first performed in a Chinese theater on 13th June 1779 in the presence of Catherine the Great. Two months later, on August 16 of the same year, another opera was staged at the theatre. After the death of Catherine the Great, the theater was used only occasionally. Later in 1830, another performance was staged in the presence of Emperor Nicholas I. Later in 1893, Leo Tolstoy's play 'The Fruits of Enlightenment' premiered there. The following year "Sophecles Oedipus Rex" was staged.
The Chinese Theater was electrified in 1902 in preparation for a state visit by the President of France. The gala performance took place at the Chinese Theatre. In 1908, Nicholas II commissioned his architect to undertake major repairs and alterations to the Chinese Theatre. A marble staircase was built, replacing old 18th-century stage equipment with the very latest stage technology to present new large-scale operas and ballets. A new heating system has been installed.
Performances stopped in 1914 with the outbreak of World War I. It was on September 15, 1941, the first victim of a Nazi bomb. Today the Chinese Theater lies in ruins.
How to go: It is located in Alexander Park, about 180 meters south of Dragon Bridge.
Pamyatnik Zhertvam Revolyutsii
Monument
Obelisk Monument to the Victims of the Revolution.
How to go: It is located center of Alexander Park, about 180 meters from Chinese Theater towrds northeast.
Alleya, Aleksandrovskiy Park
Museum
How to go: It is located south of the Monument to the Victims of the Revolution.
Little Mushroom Garden
Garden
How to go: It is located about 120 meters from Grand Chinese Bridge towards southwest.
Grand Chinese Bridge
Bridge
Chinese Bridge, noted for pink granite vases and imitation coral branches, were completed in 1785.
How to go: It is located about about 180 meters from Obelisk Monument to the Victims of the Revolution towards southeast on the way to catherine park.
Krestovyy Most
Bridge
The Cross-Shaped Bridge had been constructed by the Neyelov Brothers six years earlier of 1779.
How to go: It is located about 190 meters from Grand Chinese Bridge.
Minor Chinese Bridges
Bridges
Chinese Bridges are Two small bridges, located close to each other. The bridges were built a few years later than the Grand Chinese Bridge in 1785. Initially, there was a wooden bridge on the site, which was built in 1781 according to the plans of Charles Cameron. The construction was done during the reign of Empress Catherine II, who was fond of Chinese culture. In 1786, by that time, the old wooden bridges were replaced with metal ones, but on the model of the earlier wooden Cameron bridges.
How to go: This are located 230 meters from Krestovyy Most towards northwest. On the way of Chinese Village.
Kitayskaya Derevnya
Chinese Village
Catherine commissioned Antonio Rinaldi and Charles Cameron to model the village. The village consisted of 18 stylized Chinese houses and was dominated by an octagonal domed observatory. But only ten houses were completed, and the observatory was never completed. Works were suspended due to Catherine's death in 1796. In 1818, Alexander I had the village remodeled to provide accommodation for his guests. Guests lived in one of the houses between 1822 and 1825.
The village was renovated in 1859-61 under the direction of a russian architecture. The cottages were severely damaged during the Nazi occupation but were restored in 1990 to accommodate VIP guests.
How to go: It is located west of Minor Chinese Bridges.
Grand Caprice
sculpture
During the time of Catherine the Great, Grand Caprice was used as a beauty spot.
How to go: It is located about 230 meters west of Creaking Summer House.
Shapel
Pavillion
This pavilion was built in 1825-1828 in the form of a Gothic chapel. The "chapel" was supposed to be two towers, one of which was normal and the other appeared to have completely "collapsed". At the beginning of the Patriotic War, the pavilion was used to install anti-aircraft guns. After the war, the pavilion was abandoned for a long time and only in 2018 the restoration was completed and it was opened for tourists. But it closed again in 2020.
How to go: It is located about 200 meters from Grand Caprice towards north.
Arsenal Pavilion
Pavilion
The Arsenal Pavilion was built in 1819-1834 under Emperors Alexander I and Nicholas I. The pavilion was built in place of the dilapidated pavilion "Montblijou", built in 1747-1754. Montblijou was used as a hunting lodge. Inside the Arsenal Pavilion, there is a grand staircase, an entrance hall, a dining room, an office, rooms, a library and an octagonal hall of knights.
The best part of Nicholas I's collection of weapons was housed in the Hall of Knights. Tickets were issued to view the collection and thus, the Arsenal became Russia's first public museum of weapons. Nicholas I's collection of Western European and Eastern weapons was also housed in the office of the Arsenal Pavilion. In 1885–1886, Emperor Alexander III transferred the collection from the Arsenal to the Imperial Hermitage. During the Patriotic War, the Arsenal was destroyed and remained in ruins for a long time.
In 2001, large-scale renovations to the pavilion began. Opened to the public on August 24, 2016, it today displays The Imperial Collection of Weapons. The museum in the Arsenal Pavilion has more than 5 thousand items, including memorabilia of Russian emperors. In addition to items from its own collection, the museum displays items purchased at auction for its own funds. These are valuable items of 16th and 17th century European arms and equipment, including armour, helmets, halberds and swords.
How to go: It is located about 700 meters from Shapel towards north, and about 500 meters from Minor Chinese Bridges towards northwest.
Kladbishche Loshadey
Horse Cemetery
On the other side of the stables is a burial ground where rows of marble slabs mark the resting places of beloved imperial horses. Here is the horse "Ami" with Emperor Alexander I in Paris. "Flora", the horse that carried Emperor Nicholas to Varna, and "Kob", the horse that Alexander III rode when reviewing his troops.
How to go: It is located about 350 meters from Arsenal Pavilion towards north.
Bol'shoy Lamskiy Most
Bridge
How to go: It is located about 280 meters from Arsenal Pavilion towards west.
Llama Pavilion
Pavilion
The Lama House or Photographic Pavilion was built in 1822 for llamas brought from South America. A tower 56 feet high with a house for their keeper, a store house and a small rest room was built at the same time. Built in 1860 on the site of the Monighetti Gallery, which had been above the store-house, a photographic pavilion added a staircase, another room in front of the pavilion, and a darkroom in the tower.
At the present time the deer brought from Mongolia by Lieutenant-Colonel Yukovsky are kept in Llama Manege. The keepers' quarters are now occupied by park rangers, the photographic pavilion is now vacant.
How to go: It is located about 250 meters from Bol'shoy Lamskiy bridge towards northwest.
Elephant House
Pavilion
The Elephant House pavilion was built in 1828 by architect Menelas. In the same year some of the emperor's elephants were brought here from Volinkin Dvor in St. Petersburg. Apparently these elephants died soon.
How to go: On the street, which leaves Fir Avenue near the Llama House and leads to Stolbovaya, is a decaying wooden pavilion decorated with small turrets and surrounded by a square yard with servants' quarters and sheds. This is the Elephant House.
Llama Bridge
Bridge
How to go: It is located about 400 meters from Bol'shoy Lamskiy Most towards southwest along the river.
Babolovsky Park
Park
How to go: It is located west of Llama Pavilion.
Most Plotina
Bridge
How to go: It is located about 2.2 km from Llama Pavilion towards southwest.
Babolovo Palace
Palace
In 1780, Catherine II built a temporary wooden palace. It was rebuilt in stone between November 2, 1782 and 1785. The Babolovsky Palace was originally a summer house with seven rooms, a park, an octagonal tower and no second floor. Alexander I of Russia used the palace for his promiscuous courtship with Sophia Velho, the daughter of a court banker. He renovated the palace. The tower was replaced with a huge bath.
The palace fell into disrepair after the Russian Revolution and currently stands in ruins. Other structures in Babolovsky Park have disappeared, apart from a 1770s reservoir and Adam Menelaws' Gate separating the two parks.
How to go: It is located south of Plotina Bridge.
Zamok V Pushkine
Heritage Hotel
How to go: It is located northwest side of Alexander Park.
Day-6:
Joki Joya
Childrens Playground
Joki is a children's playhouse inside Jaya Okhta Mall. Parents can go inside with them. Nice place for locals.
How to go: It is located It is located about 2 km from Pulkovo Airport towards north.
Monument to the Heroic Defenders of Leningrad
Historic Landmark
The monument was erected as the centerpiece of Victory Square in the early 1970s to commemorate the heroic efforts of the residents of Leningrad and the soldiers of the Leningrad Front to resist the Nazis during the 900-day siege of Leningrad during World War II.
In 1962 the square was officially named Ploshchad Pobedy (Victory Square). Until then it was called Sredney Rogatki Ploshchad. A tall obelisk, rising from the broken ring.
How to go: It is located about 2.5 km from Joki Joya through E-95 highway.
Fountain Complex on Moscow Square
Square
This square is famous for its fountain. Moskovskiy Business Center is located east of the square. Built between 1936 and 1941. It was to accommodate the Soviet of People's Deputies, the city's main legislature at the time. It is the largest office building in St. Petersburg. Its main facade is 220 meters long and 50 meters high. In the 1950s, "Stalinka" apartment buildings were built around the square in a similar style.
In 1970, a life-size bronze monument to Vladimir Lenin on a granite pedestal was placed in the center of the square, and in 2006, a series of eleven musical fountains were unveiled in front of the monument. Beginning at ten in the morning on weekends and holidays, classical music plays in the square for twenty minutes every two hours.
How to go: It is located about 750 meters from Monument to the Heroic Defenders of Leningrad towards north. Nearest Metro station is Moskovskaya.
Chesme Palace
Palace
Chesme Palace was built by Catherine II between 1774 and 1777 as her intermediate travel-stop palace. After finishing, he would stop there to rest on his way to Sarkoye Cello. From the second half of the 19th century until 1919, the palace was largely unused and uninhabited.
There is a church east of the palace.
How to go: It is located about 550 meters from Fountain Complex on Moscow Square towards north.
Chesme Church
Church
In 1777, King Gustav III of Sweden participated in the laying of the foundation of the church. The church was built between 1777 and 1780. It is a memorial church to honor the Russian victory at the Battle of Chesme in 1770. Empress Catherine chose the site because it was here that she received news of the Russian victory over the Turks (1768–1774). Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor attended the consecration of the church.
The church and Chesme Palace were turned into a labor camp when the Soviet government occupied it. In 1923, the church was closed and used as a warehouse. During World War II, the Institute of Aviation Technology occupied the church and the Chesme Palace. In 1970-75, it was completely restored. In 1977, the church became a museum of the Battle of Chesme. Religious control was restored in 1991.
Visiting Time: 9 AM to 7 PM.
How to go: It is located east of Chesme Palace at Ulitsa Lensoveta, 12.
Knigi Blokadnogo Goroda
Museum
Books of the Siege City.
How to go: It is located about 700 meters from Chesme Church towards north.
Gagarin Park
Amusement park
Great place to visit with kids. All rides are mainly for kids. Only one or two rides for adults.
How to go: It is located inside Moskovsky Victory Park, North of Knigi Blokadnogo Goroda Museum. Nearest metro station is Park Pobedy.
Day-7:
Multimedia historical park "Russia - My History"
History museum
It is a large multimedia educational and exhibition complex. The total area of the complex is 14,000 square meters and it can accommodate 800 visitors at the same time. The historical park has about 900 pieces of multimedia equipment. The space is divided into two main sections and, thus, two main parts of Russia's long and eventful history: the ancient period, Rurikovich and Romanov, and the modern period.
Visitors can examine maps of Russia, find out what people ate, where they lived and how they dressed with a funny animated film, or try reading a love letter in old Cyrillic. When you enter the section dedicated to the Christianization of Russia, the elements feel like water under your feet as if you are truly "walking" through Russian history.
Textbooks provide information, where you can feel the atmosphere of each particular era. Apart from a few subtitled mini-documentaries there isn't much in English.
Visiting Time: Tuesday to Sunday - 10 AM to 8 PM. Monday remains closed.
How to go: It is located east of Moskovsky Victory Park or Gagarin Park. Nearest metro station is Park Pobedy.
Cinema Park
Cinema Theater
How to go: It is located east of Multimedia historical park "Russia - My History".
Yablonevyy Sad
Park
It is located about 450 meters east from Cinema Park.
Ekzoopark
Zoo
Visiting Time: 10 AM to 10 PM every day.
Entry Fee: 500 Rubles on weekend and 400 Rubles on weekday.
How to go: It is located about 1.5 km from Yablonevyy Sad Park towards northeast. Northwest corner of Kubatura Exhibition and trade centre.
Center beach sports Beach
Sports complex
How to go: It is located west of Ekzoopark.
MazaPark
Indoor Sports
More than 20 entertainments
Visiting Time: Saturday and Sunday - 10 AM to 6 AM (next day). Monday to Friday - 12 PM to 6 AM (next day).
How to go: It is located about 1.3 km from Ekzoopark towards northeast. Nearest metro station is Bukharestskaya Subway station.
Day-8:
Grand Maket Russia
Museum
Grand Maket Rossiya is a private museum. In this area, collective images of the regions of the Russian Federation are presented. It is the largest model layout in Russia and the second largest in the world (after the Miniature Wonderland in Hamburg, Germany). The model is housed in a two-story building built in 1953. The model took five years to build and employed over a hundred people.
Visiting Time: 10 AM to 8 PM every day.
Entry Fee: Week day - 400 Rubles for adult age above 14. 200 Rubles for child age 3-14. Weekend and holiday - 450 Rubles for adult age above 14. 250 Rubles for child age 3-14. 10% discount for family for 3 persons or more).
How to go: It is located about 2.5 km from MazaPark towards northwest. Nearest metro station is Moskovskie vorota Subway station. It is about 1 km from the museum towards northewest.
Kukol'nyy Teatr Skazki
Puppet Theater
How to go: It is located about 750 meters from Grand Maket Russia towards west at Moskovskiy Prospekt, 121.
Moscow Triumphal Gate
Gate
The Moscow Triumphal Gate was built in 1834–1838 to commemorate the Russian victory in the Russo-Turkish War of 1828–1829. The main material used in the construction of the gate was cast iron. All 12 columns weigh about 450 tons. The first column was laid on July 14, 1836. The gate was opened on October 16, 1838. At the time, the Moscow Gate was the world's largest structure made of cast iron.
In 1936, the gate was dismantled to move them to Moscow Square Park. Later, during the Siege of Leningrad in 1941, when the German army reached the outskirts of Leningrad, the cast iron blocks of the gate were used to build an anti-tank defensive structure near the southern border of the city, which helped to repel the Germans during the siege.
From 1958 to 1960 the cast iron blocks of the gate were collected and restored. Most of the lost sculptural details of the monument were recreated as before.
How to go: It is located about 350 meters from Kukol'nyy Teatr Skazki Puppet Theater towards north and nearest metro station is Moskovskie vorota Subway station.
Mogila Poeta N.a. Nekrasova
Historical landmark
How to go: It is located about 600 meters from Moscow Triumphal Gate towards northeast at Novodevichy Cemetery.
Voskresensky Novodevichy monastery
Monastery
The first brick of the monastery was laid here by Emperor Nicholas I on November 15, 1849. A cemetery was also established here 4 years ago. In 1854, the nuns moved into the rebuilt complex. After the foundation, various workshops were conducted in the monastery, such as drawing, gold embroidery, carpets, shoes etc. In 1901, monastery buildings were built, which housed a refectory, sacristy, library, hospital, etc. An orphanage, an almshouse at the monastery and the parochial Prince Vladimir school began to function.
By 1917, 77 nuns and 66 novices lived in the monastery. In 1918, the monastery was abolished. Property and church valuables were confiscated. In 1929–1932 the main cathedral and all the monastery's churches were closed, except for the one that housed the Metropolitan's residence, and the monastery's bell tower was demolished. In February 1932, about 90 nuns and novices living in the monastery building were arrested and deported.
At the end of 1937, the church life in the monastery stopped completely, the last functioning church was closed, the metropolitan residence was confiscated. Since 1990, the monastery began to gradually recover. In the summer of 2001, the Prince-Vladimir parochial school was given to the monastery, and in the autumn of the same year it was decided to return all the buildings belonging to it to the monastery. Since 2002, restoration work has started. At this point, the domes of both these churches have been restored.
How to go: It is located west of Novodevichy Cemetery. About 700 meters south of Frunzenskaya Subway station, and about 700 meters north from Moskovskie vorota Subway station.
Varshavskiy Vokzal
Railway station
The station was originally built in 1851 for a railway line, which was completed in 1858 from the city to the Tsar's residence in Gatchina. The present building was built between 1857 and 1860 in a mixture of historical styles. The line was extended to Pskov in 1859 and Warsaw in 1862. A branch from the main line connects St. Petersburg to Lithuania with other European capitals. A church was built in front of the station in 1908, it was later demolished.
In 2001, the station was closed, with long-distance rail service diverted to Vitebsky Railway Station and commuter service to the Baltiysky Rail Terminal. Trade center Warsaw Express has occupied the building since 2005. On the track, a railway museum was displayed. The museum is closed, and the exhibits have been moved to the Russian Railway Museum adjacent to the Baltiysky railway station.
How to go: It is located about 1.5 km from Voskresensky Novodevichy monastery towards northwest.
Russian Railways Museum
Museum
Visiting Time: Wednesday - 12:30 AM to 8:30 PM. Thursday to Monday - 10 AM to 6 PM. Tuesday remains closed.
Entry Fee: 150 Rubles for adult. 50 Rubles for student and child. 200 Rubles for photo and video.
How to go: It is located about 750 meters west from Varshavskiy Vokzal Railway station.
Narva Triumphal Arch
Gate
The Nerva Triumphal Arch was built to commemorate the Russian victory over Napoleon in 1814. The wooden structure was built on the then highway to Narva to welcome soldiers returning from abroad after the victory over Napoleon. Between 1827 and 1834 it was redesigned and the gate rebuilt in stone. A similar gate was built by Stasov on the road leading to Moscow.
It was damaged by bombing during the Siege of Leningrad. The arch was restored in 1951. In 1989 a small military museum was opened in the upper part of the arch. At the beginning of the 21st century, the gate was completely restored.
Visiting Time: Monday to Thursday and Saturday - 10 AM to 5 PM. Friday - 10 AM to 4 PM. Sunday remains closed.
How to go: It is located about 1.5 km from Russian Railways Museum towards southwest. Narvskaya Metro station is the nearest.
Monument to the Heroes of Krasnodon
Monument
How to go: It is located about 400 meters from Narva Triumphal Arch Gate towards northwest in Yekateringofskiy Park.
Church of the Epiphany
Church
It was built in 1888.
How to go: It is located about 1 km from Monument to the Heroes of Krasnodon towards north after crossing the Gutuevsky bridge over Reka Yekateringofka river at Gutuevsky Island.
Territoriya Byvshego Pivovarennogo Zavoda Im. Stepana Razina
Museum
The territory of the former Brewery named after Stepan Razin
Visiting Time: Monday to Friday - 9 AM to 6 PM. Saturday and Sunday remains closed.
How to go: It is located about 550 meters from Church of the Epiphany towards northeast. From the church cross back to Gutuevsky bridge and walk towards east. Then turned north and cross the Most Stepana Razina (bridge), and walk north about 130 meters. The museum is on the left.
Urban Gaming Bumperball Archery Tag Laser Tag
Amusement park
Urban Gaming is a space for active recreation. Here you can celebrate a birthday, a corporate party, have team building. Play games such as: Bumperball, Archery Tag, Laser Tag, Quidditch, Gyropolo.
How to go: It is located north of Stepan Razin Museum.
Krasnyy Treugol'nik
Historical Landmark
The Red Triangle Factory Complex is a huge industrial area. It was founded in 1860. Since 1908 it has been called "Triangle". The main product of the plant was rubber. The plant was the country's monopoly until the end of the 19th century, and in the 20th century, it was the largest enterprise producing rubber products in Russia and Europe. During World War 1 (1914-18) it produced automobile tire casings, gas masks and artillery buffers. In 1918 the plant was nationalized and then called "Red Triangle".
Today the enormous property is a mix of abandoned buildings, small companies, garages, and rehearsal spaces for musicians. But mostly it is a decaying wasteland, a monument to the old industrialization of the city.
How to go: It is located about 1 km from Urban Gaming towards southeast.
Muzey Khristianskoy Kul'tury
Museum
Museum of Christian Culture
Visiting Time: Tuesday, Wednesday, Sunday - 11 AM to 5 PM. Thursday, Friday, Saturday - 11 to 9 PM.
Entry Fee: 400 Rubles for adult. 200 Rubles for child or student.
How to go: It is located about 1.2 km from Krasnyy Treugol'nik towards northeast.
Trinity Cathedral
Church
July 12, 1733, a large field tent to serve as a church. The church functioned only in summer, in winter soldiers and officers had to attend other parish churches. In 1754-1756, a wooden church was built on the site by order of Empress Elizabeth. It suffered severe damage in the flood of 1824 and had to be rebuilt. Construction of the new church began in May 1828 and the cathedral was consecrated in May 1835.
In 1922, during the Russian Revolution, most of the cathedral's valuables were stolen. The theft continued for several more years until the cathedral was closed in 1938. Later it was used as a warehouse. In 1990, the cathedral returned to the hands of the Russian Orthodox Church. They began to restore it. On August 24, 2006, while the cathedral was undergoing reconstruction, a fire in the main dome destroyed one of the four smaller domes and severely damaged the interior.
How to go: It is located about 1.1 km from Muzey Khristianskoy Kul'tury towards east.
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Kosmonavt
Concert Hall
Modern rock club on 2 levels, with a dance floor for 1500, plus upstairs VIP lounge and restaurant.
How to go: It is located about 530 meters from Tekhnologicheskiy Institut 2 Metro station towards east.
Planetarium 1
Planetarium
Planetarium 1 has the largest projection dome in the world, with a diameter of 37 meters. The total area (4000 m2) includes star hall, space exhibition museum, VR interactive room, educational area and prototyping laboratory.
Visiting Time: 10 AM to 10 PM every day.
Entry Fee: 350 Rubles for adult. 200 Rubles for school children and student. Free for child under 7 with accompanying adult.
PHoto and Video: Permitted.
How to go: It is located about 730 meters from Kosmonavt Concert hall towards southeast.
Oceanarium
Aquarium
Visiting Time: 10 AM to 8 PM every day.
Entry Fee: 800 Rubles for adult. 600 Rubles for age 7-18. 350 Rubles for chld age 5-6. Free for child age 0-4. 2500 Rubles for guided tour.
How to go: It is located about 1.1 km from Planetarium 1 towards northeast at Ul. Marata, 86.
Teatr Yunykh Zriteley Im. A.a. Bryantseva
Children's Theaters
Bryantsev Youth Theater is one of the first professional children's theaters in Russia, opened in 1922. In Soviet times the theater was called the Leningrad Young People's Theater. In 1962 it was shifted to the present newly constructed building. The theater is named after its founder Alexander Bryantsev (1883–1961). He was the leader of the theater from 1921-1961 and directed more than fifty plays there.
How to go: The theatre is located northwest of Oceanarium on the Pionerskaya Square near the end of Gorokhovaya Street. Nearest Metro station is Pushkinskaya.
Monument to Alexander Griboyedov
Monument
Alexander Griboyedov was born on January 15, 1795 in Moscow. He was a Russian diplomat, playwright, poet and composer. In 1812, he enlisted in the military and resigned in 1816. His verse comedy "The Young Spouses", which he staged in 1816 in St. Petersburg. In 1817, he entered the civil service. In 1818 he was appointed Secretary of the Russian Legation in Iran and moved to Georgia. One of his notable works was the 1823 verse comedy "Woe from Wit".
Several months after his marriage to Nino on August 22, 1828, Griboyedov was suddenly sent to Iran as Minister Plenipotentiary. There was strong anti-Russian sentiment in Iran. On reaching Tehran he was awarded the Order of the Lion and the Sun.
Three Armenian eunuchs, after fleeing the harem, took refuge in the Russian legation. By agreeing to the Turkmenchay Treaty, Georgians and Armenians living in Persia at the time were allowed to return to Georgia and Eastern Armenia. However, Shah demanded the return of the three fugitives. Griboyedov refused. His decision caused an uproar in the whole city.
Griboyedov's body, being delivered to Tbilisi, Georgia. Griboyedov was buried there in the monastery of St. David.
In St. Petersburg, the monument was erected in 1959.
How to go: It is located about 170 meters northwest from Bryantsev Youth Theater. Nearest Metro station is Zvenigorodskaya and Pushkinskaya.
Voyenno-Meditsinskiy Muzey
Museum
The Russian Museum of Military Medicine was established in 1942. Today, the museum has about 210,000 exhibits related to the history of Russian and world military medicine.
Visiting Time: Wednesday - 12 PM to 8 PM. Thrusday, Friday and Monday - 10 AM to 6 PM. Saturday and Sunday - 11 AM to 7 PM. Tuesday remains closed.
Entry Fee: 200 Rubles for adult. 50 Rubles for student or child.
Photography: 100 Rubles for photo, 150 Rubles for video. By phone - 50 Rubles.
How to go: It is located about 400 meters from Monument to Alexander Griboyedov towards northwest and North of Vitebsky Rail Terminal after crossing main road.
Memorial Museum Raznochintsy Petersburg
Museum
Vladimir Lenin (22 April 1870 – 21 January 1924), a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist, lived here from 12 February 1894 to 25 April 1895. After Lenin's death in 1924, on the initiative of residents of nearby houses, "Ilyich's area" was established on Cossack Lane. Based on it in 1938, it opened the museum. In 1992, the museum was preserved as a historical monument by the decree of the mayor of St. Petersburg from 27 July, 1992.
In September 2003, by decree of the administration of St. Petersburg, the museum was transferred to the Committee for Cultural Affairs of St. Petersburg. In 2006, with the opening of the new exhibition museum received its modern name, "Memorial Museum Raznochintsy Petersburg".
Visiting Time: Tuesday to Saturday - 11 AM to 5 PM. Sunday and Monday remains closed.
How to go: It is located about 350 meters from Voyenno-Meditsinskiy Muzey towards northeast.
Dom Kol'tso
Historical Landmark
In the early 20s of the 19th century, a merchant set a task for an architect: to build a residential building in the center of the courtyard-well so that it would not block sunlight from neighboring houses, would have its own courtyard, and would be comfortable and beautiful. The architect built a round house. A Russian poet, playwright, and novelist, Alexander Pushkin's (6 June 1799 – 10 February 1837) mother, father and older sister lived here for a time. Nowadays, the house is occupied and its premises are rented out.
How to go: It is located north of Memorial Museum Raznochintsy Petersburg.
Day-10:
Lego museum Polegon
Museum
Visiting Time: Wednesday to Sunday - 11 AM to 6 PM. Monday and Tuesday remains closed.
Entry Fee: 400 Rubles for adult. 300 Rubles for student.
How to go: It is located about 270 meters from Zvenigorodskaya Metro station towards northeast at Zagorodnyy Prospekt, 42 B.
Rimsky-Korsakov Apartment and Museum
Museum
On 27 December 1971, a museum was established in the memory of the composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov in his St. Petersburg home. The Rimsky-Korsakov family moved into the house in the fall of 1893. Apartment 39 on the third floor, where Rimsky-Korsakov lived his last fifteen years. After the Russian Revolution in 1917, the composer's widow, Nadezhda, was forced to leave the apartment with her son Andrei in early 1918. Before leaving, Nadezhda listed everything in the house.
In the early 1920s, Rimsky-Korsakov's children transferred his works to the manuscript section of the public library. The dream of setting up a museum became a reality in 1967. The apartment was restored. Inside remains the original tiled corner stoves, an elegant marble fireplace, tall folding doors, and window fanlights with bronze handles and bolts. More than 250 items preserved by the composer's family were returned to their original places in the museum.
An exhibition room and concert hall were built in the apartment. The most valuable exhibit is the 'Golden Pen', given to the composer at the premiere of his opera May Night in 1880. From then on he used this pen to write all his works. A baker's piano, acquired by Rimsky-Korsakov in 1902, now stands in the drawing room as it was. In the dining room are portraits of Rimsky-Korsakov's ancestors, painted by unknown artists from the 18th to early 19th centuries.
Visiting Time: Wednesday - 1 PM to 8 PM. Thursday to Sunday - 11 AM to 6 PM. Monday and Tuesday remains closed.
Entry Fee: 100 Rubles for adult. 20 Rubles for child. 100 Rubles for audio guide.
How to go: It is located about 270 meters from Lego museum Polegon towards northeast.
Pyat' Uglov
Square
"Pyat' Uglov" means "Five Angles" or "Five Corners". It is a tourist attraction due to beautiful view of "Pyat' Uglov" building.
How to go: It is located about 170 meters from Rimsky-Korsakov Apartment and Museum towards northeast.
Tolstoy House
Historical Landmark
After changing hands several times, the land was purchased by Major-General Mikhail Tolstoy in the early 20th century. Tolstoy was a hero of several wars, for example, he fought in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878, defended the Shipka Pass, and was honored with the Order of St. George. Tolstoy began construction on the building in March 1910, but did not see his home completed as he died in Nice, France in 1913. The property was inherited by his widow Olga Alexandrovna.
The building was provided with the most modern facilities, including air-conditioning, ventilation and drainage systems, river depth determination, electricity, telephone lines, garbage disposal and 19 elevators. For steam heating, 10 coal-fired boilers were installed in the basement. 16 laundries, several billiard rooms and a gym were opened. The building had 15 entrances, the 16th in the side wing was for staff.
Before the revolution of 1917, more than 1000 inhabitants lived in the Tolstoy house. During the Russian Civil War (7 November 1917 – 16 June 1923), many apartments were empty. During World War II (1939 to 1945), Apartment No. 106 was used as a pillbox, the basements served as bomb shelters. After the battle a statue was installed in the fountain.
Many Russian films were shot in the Tolstoy House. It was also used for Holmes's London segments in "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson". In 1987 Tolstoy House housed over 3000 residents in 327 apartments. In 1970 the building was designated as an architectural monument of regional importance. In 1988 it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site number 540, part of the Historic Center and Monuments of Saint Petersburg.
By 2013, 300 apartments were registered in the building. In 2021 a museum dedicated to all the residents of the house was opened in the basement.
How to go: It is located on the bank of Fontanka River. About 300 meters from Lomonosov Bridge towards east. About 600 meters from Pyat' Uglov Square towards north.
Beloselsky-Belozersky Palace
Museum
The first Beloselsky-Belozersky Palace was built in 1747 for Prince Mikhail Andreevich Beloselsky. The building, much smaller than today, with a large private garden. The building was inherited by his son, Prince Alexander Mikhailovich Beloselsky (1752-1809). Prince Alexander bought a plot of land in 1800 which allowed the building to be greatly expanded.
Prince Alexander was a close friend and supporter of Paul I (Emperor of Russia from 1796 to 1801). Because of the relationship between the two, in 1800, Paul I allowed the revival of the ancient title of Prince of Belozersk. From then on the family would be known as Beloselsky-Belozersky. Beloselsky-Belozersky is also named after their palace. The palace passed to his son Esper Alexandrovich Beloselsky-Belozersky, who died young.
His widow, Princess Elena Pavlovna, demolished the old building and built a new palace (1846-48). The current palace looks similar to the Stroganov Palace, about 1.5 kilometers away on the corner of the Moica Canal. The princess remarried Prince Vasili Viktorovich Kochubey. After their palace was rebuilt and opened to the public, it gained a reputation as one of the grandest palaces in Russia and one of the grandest ball and concert venues in St. Petersburg.
There is a painting of Elena at The Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. The Beloselsky-Belozersky Palace was inherited by Princess Elena Pavlovna's son and lived there with his wife and their many children. In 1883 Sergei Alexandrovich, Grand Duke of Russia and Princess Elisabeth of Hesse and the Rhine bought the palace and it became their main residence. The couple gave the palace its current red exterior.
Under the ownership of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, the palace underwent another extensive reconstruction and the interior was remodeled. Remodeling included the addition of a large library and a Slavic Revival chapel. The couple never had children of their own, but became foster parents to her younger brother's children. Sergei's nephew (Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich of Russia) and niece (Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna).
As governor of Moscow, Sergei Alexandrovich suffered the violence of the 1905 uprising in Moscow and was killed by a terrorist bomb on February 17, 1905. The palace was then the property of his widow who became a nun in 1909. She went to live at the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent in Moscow and donated the palace to Grand Duke Dmitry. During the First World War, from January 1916 to January 1918, the palace was the base of the Anglo-Russian Hospital.
Grand Duke Dmitry sold it on the eve of the Russian Revolution (started in 1917). Two years later it was nationalized and moved home to a regional soviet. The interior of the palace was considerably damaged during World War II, and it was restored to its original condition in 1954. In 1991, it was designated a municipal cultural center, and now hosts chamber concerts for small audiences. It now also hosts a large waxwork exhibition.
Visiting Time: Tuesday to Sunday - 11 AM to 7 PM. Monday remains closed.
How to go: It is located about 400 meters from Tolstoy House towards northeast at Nevsky Avenue 41.
Magic Museum
Museum
Illusionists and mind readers perform amid exhibits on magic history and methods, plus arranged seances.
Visiting Time: 10 AM to 9 PM every day.
Entry Fee: 600 Rubles for adult. 350 Rubles for child age below 14.
How to go: It is located about 130 meters from Beloselsky-Belozersky Palace towards east.
Third Place
Art Garllery
St. Petersburg-based architecture and interior design studio "DA Bureau" has revitalized the courtyard of an 15 years abandoned palace with a temporary pop-up space. Named third place, where Lopukhins and Naryshkin lived before the revolution. During the Soviet period, there was a railway museum here.
The team carefully restored the historic facade of the building while preserving the identity of the existing structure.
How to go: It is located about 30 meters north of Magic Museum.
Nevsky Avenue, 86
Landmark
Nevsky Prospekt 86 is a neoclassical palace, also known as the Palace of Arts or Zinaida Yusupova Palace. The first palace on the site of the present palace was built by Prince Troubetzkoy in the mid-18th century. In the 1780s, his son rebuilt and expanded the original wooden structure in stone. At the end of the 18th century, the palace passed to the diplomat Prince Kurakin.
In the first quarter of the 19th century, the palace was sold to Colonel Fyodor. He rebuilt the palace. He created the neoclassical five-pillared centerpiece of the main facade as it looks today. Between 1829 and 1832 the building was extended towards the rear of the building. In 1835, the building had another new owner, Count Vladislav Branitsky. He rebuilt and expanded the palace. He is responsible for the facade that faces Nevsky street today.
The palace has four floors. Branitsky sold the palace, and it changed hands several times, then in 1917 the palace belonged to Princess Zinaida Yusupova, although she probably never lived there, as she is known to have lived in her larger St. Petersburg residence, the Moika Palace. In 1917, after the Russian Revolution, the building was nationalized.
How to go: It is located about 100 meter from Magic Museum towards east at Nevsky Avenue, 86.
Lensovet Theatre
Theater
The building was built in the second half of the 18th century and renovated in 1826-28. The facade was decorated with an 8-columned portico. The auditorium and small foyer were added in the 1840s. From the 1860s it was a merchant's club, and guest actors performed in its hall. Later it became the Vladimirsky Club with a gambling hall, restaurant and other entertainment.
From 1935 the building housed the Theater of Working Youth (TRAM). In 1936-39 it became the home of the Lenin Komsomol Theater and then the B.W. the zone.
A theater was established in 1933 as the "New Theatre", and opened in 1934-36 in the premises of the former Dutch Church at 20 Nevsky Street. In 1936–40 it was located at 13 Rubinsteina Street; and has occupied its present building since 1945. In 1953 the theater was renamed "Lensovet Theater" and in 1981 it received academic status.
How to go: It is located about 250 meters from Magic Museum towards south at Vladimirskiy Prospekt, 12.
Sobor Vladimirskoy Ikony Bozhiyey Materi
Cathedral
The Cathedral of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God is a Russian Orthodox church. The street got its name from the church. The present five-domed church was built between 1761 and 1769. The building has two floors, the lower church is dedicated to St. John Damascene. The belfry was built in 1791. Portico, chapel, fences and outbuildings were added in the 19th century. Inside the church is an iconostasis, which was moved from the Anichkov Palace Chapel in 1808.
In 1888, the church was restored. The church was closed in 1932 and restored to the Russian Orthodox Church in 1989. A cathedral was named in 2000. It names Vladimirsky Avenue and Vladimirskaya Square.
How to go: It is located about 170 meters from Lensovet Theatre towards south at Vladimirskiy Prospekt, 20.
Dostoevsky Museum
Museum
The Dostoyevsky Museum opened on November 12, 1971 in the former apartment of Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky (November 11, 1821 – February 9, 1881). Dostoyevsky lived in the apartment twice in his life: first for a short time in 1846 at the beginning of his career, and again from October 1878 until his death in January 1881. The apartment was his home during the time of some of his most notable compositions.
The apartment was reconstructed based on the memories of the author's second wife, Anna Dostoyevskaya, and her friends. The museum library has about 24,000 volumes and a small collection of manuscripts. Every November, the museum hosts an international scholarly conference, Dostoyevsky and World Culture, and a journal of the same name is published with the conference proceedings.
Visiting Time: Tuesday to Sunday - 11 AM to 6 PM. Monday remains closed.
Entry Fee: 200 Rubles for adult. 100 Rubles for child.
How to go: It is located about 150 meters from Vladimirskoy Cathedral towards east at Kuznechnyy Pereulok, 5/2.
Muzey-Kvartira L'va Gumileva
Museum
Visiting Time: 11 AM to 6 PM every day.
How to go: It is located about 250 meters from Dostoevsky Museum towards east at Kolomenskaya Ulitsa, 1/15 4.
Tsentr Sovremennogo Iskusstva Imeni Sergeya Kurokhina
Museum
Sergey Kuryokhin Center for Modern Art is a non-profit cultural center. The center was founded in 2004 and named after the Russian composer, pianist, music director, film actor and writer, Sergey Kuryokhin (16 June 1954 – 9 July 1996). The venue is located in an old cinema building. The Kuryokhin Center hosts visual art exhibitions, art events and festivals several times each year.
The annual international music festival SKIF (Sergey Kuryokhin International Festival) in St. Petersburg is named after him. Kuryokhin festivals are held annually in Berlin, Amsterdam and New York.
How to go: It is located about 150 meters from Muzey-Kvartira L'va Gumileva towards east at Ligovsky Avenue, 73.
Loft Project Floors
Observation deck
Visiting Time: Sunday to Thursday - 9 AM to 11 PM. Friday and Saturday - 9 PM to 5 AM next day.
Entry Fee: 150 Rubles.
How to go: It is located about 400 meters from Sergey Kuryokhin Center for Modern Art towards southwest at Ligovsky Avenue, 74.
Day-11:
Cathedral of the Feodorovskaya Icon of the Mother of God
Orthodox church
In 1904, a small church of the Feodorovskaya icon of the Mother of God and St. Alexius, Metropolitan of Moscow, was consecrated. It stood roughly where the brick-red "Kremlin" wall stands today. To expand on this, the foundation of the cathedral took place on August 5, 1911. The upper church was consecrated on January 15, 1914. World War I affected the construction and decoration plans of the cathedral and other buildings on its premises. However, the clergy house was built in 1915-1916. It was demolished in the 1960s.
The parish closed on May 10, 1932. It was used as a milk factory for over seventy years. At that time it was reconstructed to meet the needs of the factory. As a result, the original two-story five-domed building became a nearly five-story industrial building, surrounded by chaotically added brick enclosures. On August 4, 2005, the parish took over the Fyodorovsky Cathedral building which was a waste with smelly, dirty, cluttered and poorly heated rooms. There was almost no running water or sewerage.
Over a year and a half, the premises were repaired and educational activities started. Worship services were held from August 28, 2005 to August 29, 2007. Restoration began in the summer of 2007 and lasted six years without a single day of service interruption. The cathedral's five domes with their new golden cupolas were erected on August 29, 2009. In 2010–2011, restoration of some ceiling, bell towers, and interior paintings began.
A marble altar was erected in the lower church in the fall of 2011. All eleven bells were recreated, to be played for the first time on March 27, 2011. In 2012, the cathedral's white-stone facades were restored. The interior of the church was decorated, the five-tiered iconostasis of the upper church was recreated. The Clergy House was rebuilt in 2010-2014, and although the historical name "Clergy House" was retained, religious and educational activities are now held here.
Another piece of architecture is a fragment of a red brick "Kremlin" wall adjacent to the cathedral's bell tower. This wall was also supposed to be lined with white stone, but it remains in its "unfinished" form. On the centenary of its construction, in 2013, the cathedral was restored and redecorated.
Visiting Time: Sunday to Friday - 6:30 AM to 8 PM. Saturday 9 AM to 8 PM.
How to go: It is located about 670 meters from Ploshchad Vosstaniya Subway station towards south at Mirgorodskaya street, 1-B.
Lyuda Gallery
Art gallery
How to go: It is located about 900 meters from Feodorovskaya Cathedral towards southeast at Telezhnaya Ulitsa, 37.
St. Petersburg Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church
Church
Visiting Time: Monday to Friday - 10 AM to 4 PM. Saturday and Sunday remains closed.
How to go: It is located about 250 meters from Lyuda Gallery towards southeast at Monastyrka River Embankment.
Alexander Nevsky Lavra
Monastery
The St. Alexander Nevsky Lavra or St. Alexander Nevsky Monastery was founded in July 1710 by Peter I of Russia, in the belief that it was the site of the Battle of the Neva in 1240 when Alexander Nevsky, a prince, defeated the Swedes. But the battle took place about 19 km away from that place. In 1712, the first church was built of wood and consecrated on April 5, 1713 in the presence of Peter I.
In 1724, a new church was consecrated. The new church was named after Alexander Nevsky. The relics of St. Alexander Nevsky were solemnly transferred from Vladimir by decree of Peter the Great on September 12, 1724 (August 30 Julian or September 10 Gregorian). However, since the Russian Orthodox Church still follows the Julian calendar, the transfer of the relics is celebrated on the Julian date of August 30.
In 1750, a silver shrine was built using one and a half tons of pure silver to house the holy relics by order of Empress Elizabeth. In 1790 the temple was moved to a new cathedral, and in 1797 Emperor Paul granted the monastery its current Lavra status, making it only the third Lavra in the Russian Orthodox Church. The other two are the "Kiev Monastery of Caves" in the city of Kiev and the "Trinity Monastery of St Sergius" in the city of Sergiev Posad.
Many attempts were made to close the church. On 19 January 1918, a group went to attack it, a fight broke out with an angry mob of worshipers and a priest was shot dead. All the churches and cathedrals of the monastery were closed from 1931-36. The Holy Trinity Cathedral was returned to the Orthodox Church in 1955. Services began in 1985 at St. Nicholas' Church. During the Soviet period in the 20th century, the Silver shrine was transferred to the State Hermitage Museum. It's still there today.
At the beginning of the 20th century the territory of the monastery complex was home to 16 churches. Today, only five survive: the Holy Trinity Cathedral (1778-1790), the Church of the Annunciation (1717-1722 and 1742-1750), the Church of St. Lazarus, the Church of St. Nicholas and the Church of the Holy Mother of God. It also includes Lazarevskoe, Tikhvin, Nikolskoe, and Kazachye cemeteries. Alexander Nevsky Square developed in front of the St. Nevsky Lavra. Visitors can visit the cathedral and cemetery for a small admission fee.
How to go: It is located east of St. Petersburg Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church at naberezhnaya reki Monastyrki, 1 B.
Nikolskoe Cemetery
Cemetery
The cemetery was opened in 1863. It was the third of four cemeteries in the complex, following the Lazarevskoe Cemetery in the 1710s and the Tikhvin Cemetery in 1823. It was built in place at the main entrance of the monastery. It was originally called Zasobornoye Cemetery, but after the construction of the Church of St. Nicholas between 1868 and 1871, it became known as Nikolskoe. Lavara Cemetery is not open to all like city cemeteries, only dignitaries and monastic monks are buried here.
It was closed in 1927 and sporadic attempts were made in the 1930s and 1940s to eliminate the cemetery. The Church of St Nicholas was closed on 10 December 1932 and it was planned to be turned into a crematorium. In 1934 a furnace was tested for cremation, but the plan was eventually abandoned and the church turned into a warehouse and workshop instead.
The Nikolskoe cemetery was restored between 1979 and 1980. The cemetery church was repaired and re-consecrated on 22 April 1985. The size of the cemetery was slightly reduced due to the construction of an overpass for the Alexander Nevsky Bridge through the northeastern part of the cemetery. Burials resumed in the late 1970s and an extensive restoration of the monuments has been underway since 1989.
How to go: It is located east of Alexander Nevsky Lavra Cathedral.
Church of St. Nicholas
Chapel
Construction of the Church of St. Nicholas church between 1868 and 1871. The church was funded by the wealthy merchant N I Rusanov, who placed his family mausoleum on the ground floor. The Church of St Nicholas was closed on 10 December 1932 and it was planned to be turned into a crematorium. In 1934 a furnace was tested for cremation, but the plan was eventually abandoned and the church turned into a warehouse and workshop instead.
How to go: It is located east of Alexander Nevsky Lavra in Nikolskoe Cemetery.
Holy Spiritual Spiritual and Educational Center
Orthodox church
How to go: It is located east of Alexander Nevsky Lavra in Nikolskoe Cemetery.
Theodore Church
Religious Institute
How to go: It is located south end of Holy Spiritual Spiritual and Educational Center.
St. Petersburg Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church
Russian Orthodox Church
How to go: It is located west of Alexander Nevsky Lavra.
Kazachye Kladbishche
Cemetery
The Kazachye Cemetery is a historical cemetery that was the fourth and final cemetery to be established in the monastery complex, following Lazarevskoe in the 1710s, Tikhvin in 1823, and Nikolskoe in 1863. The first burial was in July 1917, the Cossacks who were killed during the July Days. This gave the burial place its name, Kazachye meaning Cossack. The cemetery was officially opened in December 1919.
It was also the site of a mass grave for soldiers who fought to defend Petrograd from Nikolai Yudenich's White forces in 1919, and some of those killed during the suppression of the Kronstadt Uprising in 1921 were buried in a mass grave at the cemetery. Burials stopped temporarily after 1938, but resumed during World War II and the Siege of Leningrad. Burials in the cemetery continued until the 1970s.
The cemetery was transferred from the city administration to the supervision of the monastery, and in 2005, the monument "The Triumph of Orthodoxy" was erected in the cemetery in memory of all victims of the Orthodox faith. In 2009 its original name Kazachye was restored.
How to go: It is located west of St. Petersburg Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Muzey Drevlekhranilishche Aleksandro-Nevskoy Lavry
Museum
Museum of History The Museum of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, which opened its doors in December 2013, in the year of the 300th anniversary of the monastery, is located in the historical premises of the sacristy of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. The new museum exhibition, created in 2017, presents to visitors a collection of church antiquities, including iconography and religious painting, church vestments and liturgical objects, as well as decorative and applied arts, historical documents and photographs. The Museum of the Ancient Storage of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra is a member of the Union of Museums of Russia.
Visiting Time: Friday, Sunday and Wednesday - 12 PM to 5 PM. Saturday, Monday, Tuesday and Thursday remains closed.
How to go: It is located north wings of Alexander Nevsky Lavra.
1Y Lavrskiy Most
Bridge
How to go: It is located north end of Alexander Nevsky Lavra.
Tikhvin
Cemetery
Tikhvin Cemetery is a historic cemetery is a part of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, and is one of four cemeteries in the complex. It opened in 1823 after the first cemetery in the monastery, the Lazarevskoe Cemetery, had been established in 1717, and it was becoming overcrowded. The cemetery was initially called the "New Lazarevsky". It acquired its name after the building of its cemetery church.
The brothers D. M. and N. M. Polezhaev, wealthy merchants, funded the construction of a cemetery church, laid down on 26 September 1869 and built. The church was consecrated on 2 February 1873 in the name of the icon of the Tikhvin Mother of God, which from about 1876 became the common name of the cemetery. Two icons, one of Saint Dimitry of Rostov, and one of Saint Mary of Egypt, were painted by Pavel Pleshanov for the church. In 1825 the church and cemetery were visited by Emperor Alexander I.
The church was closed in 1931 and converted into a post office between 1935 and 1937, with its facade and interior destruction. With the establishment of the State Museum of Urban Sculpture, there is now an exhibition hall as part of the museum.
How to go: It is located about north of Alexander Nevsky Lavra.
State Museum of Urban Sculpture
Museum
The brothers D. M. and N. M. Polezhaev, wealthy merchants, funded the construction of a cemetery church, laid down on 26 September 1869 and built. The church was consecrated on 2 February 1873 in the name of the icon of the Tikhvin Mother of God, which from about 1876 became the common name of the cemetery. Two icons, one of Saint Dimitry of Rostov, and one of Saint Mary of Egypt, were painted by Pavel Pleshanov for the church. In 1825 the church and cemetery were visited by Emperor Alexander I.
The church was closed in 1931 and converted into a post office between 1935 and 1937, with its facade and interior destruction. With the establishment of the State Museum of Urban Sculpture, there is now an exhibition hall as part of the museum.
Visiting Time: Monday to Friday - 9 AM to 6 PM. Saturday and Sunday remains closed.
How to go: It is located in Tikhvin Cemetery.
Nekropol' Masterov Iskusstv
Museum
Necropolis of the Masters of the Arts.
Visiting Time: 10 AM to 4 PM every day.
How to go: It is located in Tikhvin Cemetery.
Lazarevskoe Cemetery
Cemetery
The Lazarevskoe cemetery is the oldest of the four historical cemeteries of the monastery complex. The burial began in 1717 when Natalya Alexeyevna, sister of Peter the Great, was buried in the cemetery of St. Lazarus Church, the first stone building of the monastery complex, from which the cemetery takes its name. The site soon became the burial place for Peter's family and other members of the court, and became the most prestigious burial ground in the city, requiring Peter's personal permission.
Burial was extended to the wealthy merchant class in the late eighteenth century, in exchange for large sums of money. Wealthy merchants hired Russia's most prominent sculptors for tombstones and monuments. The cemetery was becoming overcrowded, so in 1823 the Tikhvin Cemetery was opened. After that only in special cases were burials at the Lazarevskoe cemetery. The last burial was in 1915, and in 1919 the cemetery was closed for new burials.
In 1932 it was declared an "Necropolis of the eighteenth century" and became part of the State Museum of Urban Sculpture. A group of Soviet writers visited the cemetery in 1934 and, with the support of Maxim Gorky, declared it of great cultural and historical significance. Beginning in 1935, lesser historical or artistic monuments were removed, while higher historical or artistic ones were brought from other cemeteries. The museum was restored and opened to the public in 1952.
How to go: It is located east of Tikhvin Cemetery
The Church of St Lazarus
Church
St. Lazarus Church was built in 1717 on the banks of the Monastyrka River. The stone church was the monastery's first stone building, was probably consecrated on 17 October 1717 after Peter the Great's return from abroad. The church was rebuilt and enlarged between 1787 and 1789, adding a small sacristy at the north end and the refectory at the west end, bringing the church to its present dimensions.
The church was completely rebuilt between 1835 and May 1836. The roof and floor were replaced, the foundations and walls rebuilt to an increased height. Further repairs were made in 1845 and 1867. The last burial in the church vault was in 1890. In 1923 the church was closed along with the cemetery and served as a warehouse. With the establishment of the Necropolis Museum in 1932, the interior of the church was extensively remodeled.
With the destruction of the Lavra's Dukhovskaya Church in 1937, many monuments were transferred to the museum, and later other monuments were brought from the Feodorovskaya Lavra Church, the Smolensky Armenian Church and the Catholic Church in Tsarskoye Selo. The church was repaired in 1944. It was opened several years later as an exhibition hall of monuments. Now the Church of St. Lazarus contains Eighty-two monuments, of which thirty-three have been brought from other places.
How to go: It is located in Lazarevskoe Cemetery.
Graffiti Sergeya Bodrova
Painting
How to go: It is located about 50 meters from the east end of the Church of St Lazarus towards north.
Nadvratnaya Tserkov' Vo Imya Ikony Bozhiyey Materi Vsekh Skorbyashchikh Radost'
Church
Gate Church In the Name of the Icon of the Mother of God of All Who Sorrow Joy.
How to go: It is located on the north entrance gate of Lazarevskoe Cemetery. It is near Ploschad Aleksandra Nevskogo 1 metro station.
Alexander Nevsky Square
Square
How to go: It is located near Ploschad Aleksandra Nevskogo 1 Metro station, front of Alexander Nevsky Monastery.
Monument to Alexander Nevsky
Monument
On 9 May 2002, as part of the 300th anniversary celebrations of Saint Petersburg, a bronze equestrian statue of Alexander Nevsky was unveiled in the square. The pedestal is 5 meters high, and the statue 5.1 meters. On 12 September 2005 two bronze bas-reliefs were installed on the pedestal, which depict the Battle of the Neva and the installation of the relics of Alexander Nevsky in the Alexander Nevsky Monastery.
How to go: It is located in Alexander Nevsky Square.
Nevsky Prospect
Street
Nevsky Prospect is a main street. Its name comes from the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, the monastery which stands at the eastern end of the street, and which commemorates the Russian hero Prince Saint Alexander Nevsky (1221–1263). Following his founding of Saint Petersburg in 1703, Tsar Peter I planned the course of the street as the beginning of the road to Novgorod and Moscow.
How to go: It is started from Admiralty (west end) to Alexander Nevsky Lavra (east end) via Moscow Railway Station.
Day-12:
Chapel of the Blessed Virgin Mary "Joy of All Who Sorrow"
Church
How to go: It is located about 550 meters from Alexander Nevsky Square towards north at Sinopskaya Embankment, 34/36.
Museum of the History of Vocational Education
Museum
Visiting Time: Monday to Friday - 10 AM to 6 PM. Saturday and Sunday remains closed.
Entry Fee: Free.
How to go: It is located about 320 meters from Chapel of the Blessed Virgin Mary towards northeast at Sinopskaya Embankment, 64.
Muzey-Kvartira Alliluyevykh
Museum
Stalin's in-laws rented the flat for two years 1916-18 around the 1917 Revolution. When Lenin was accused of being a German spy by the Kerensky government in July 1917, he fled his quarters in the Elizarov apartment and came here with his colleague Zinoviev for 3 days. He and his party colleagues debated here, whether to fight the charges, or flee.
Lenin fled, eventually to Finland, returning in October at the moment of the Bolshevik Revolution. Although this flat is very much associated with Stalin and his wife and his family. Stalin lived here for several months in 1918–19, before he and his wife moved to Moscow. The furniture dates from the period but is mostly not original to the flat. But it has the typical furnishings of a modest middle-class flat of this period. There are English language sheets which give you adequate accompaniment to the place.
Visiting Time: Wednesday - 1 PM to 9 PM. Thursday to Sunday - 10 AM to 6 PM. Monday and Tuesday remains closed.
Entry Fee: 350 Rubles for adult.
How to go: It is located about 550 meters from Museum of the History of Vocational Education towards west at 10-Ya Sovetskaya Ulitsa, 17, 6 Etazh, Kvartira 20.
Memorial "Nyenskans Fortress"
Historical Site
Excavations in 1992-2000 revealed the remains of three different medieval forts at the site. The only Swedish castle known historically is "Landskrona", built in 1300 by Tyrgils Knutsson, who was Lord High Constable of Sweden. Landskrona was a very large wooden castle with eight towers. In the spring of 1301 a large Russian army besieged the fortress. When the fire broke out inside the castle, the Swedish retreated to the basement. The last Swedish defenders were captured and the Russians burned the fort.
After the death of the childless Tsar Feodor I on January 7, 1598, his brother-in-law, Boris Godunov, was crowned Tsar on September 1, 1598. In 1605, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth unofficially invaded Russia against the crowned Tsar Boris Godunov with the support of False Dmitry I for their own gain. In April 1605, after the death of Boris Godunov, and in June 1605 False Dmitry I came to power. He was killed during an uprising in Moscow in May 1606. Vasily Shuisky ruled from 19 May 1606 to 19 July 1610.
As Russian unrest continued, the Polish attacked again in 1607 in support of the new occupier, False Dmitry II. In 1609, Vasili IV approached the King of Sweden to form a military alliance against False Dmitry II and the Polish occupiers. The two signed the Treaty of Vyborg, in which Russia ceded Kexholm County and Korela Castle to Sweden in exchange for military assistance. The Polish–Muscovite War lasted from April 1609 to 4 June 1610 and was a joint victory of the Russo-Swedish army.
The Swedish attempted to control the territory of Ingria (the Gulf of Finland to the northwest of England, Lake Ladoga to the north, and the Narva River on the border with Estonia to the west), including the occupied territories, in violation of the terms of the Treaty of Vyborg. Sweden built "Nyenskans fortress" in Ingria in 1611, capable of housing 500 people. In 1632, Nyenskans settled in the vicinity, known as Nyen. By the mid-17th century Nain flourished as a trading center and had a population of about 2,000.
Ethnic Russian, Izhorian, and Karelian residents were banned from Nyen. In 1656, the Nyenskans wes invaded by Russia. The attack is repelled, but Nyen is badly damaged. In 1677, defensive measures were implemented in Nyenskans and Nyen. By the end of the 17th century, Nyenskans fort was expanded and modernized to accommodate 600 people. After the completion of the project, Nyenskans was considered by Sweden to be the most modern fortress in the world.
In 1700, Russian attacks increased after the start of the Great Northern War, which reignited hostilities between Sweden and Russia. On May 1, 1703, Sweden lost Nyenskans fort to the Russians when the fort was captured by Peter the Great. In 1703, Peter decided to build St. Petersburg. The site of Nyenskans and Nyen was renovated by Peter into the new town of Schlötburg. The exact date of the destruction of Nyenskans is also unknown, starting with the fact that most were destroyed as early as 1704.
Today, nothing remains of Nyenskans above ground, and the site is now located in the Krasnogvardeysky district of St. Petersburg. On June 15, 2000, a monument was unveiled at this place. In May 2003, on the occasion of the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg, the museum "700 years: Landskrona, the Neva Mouth, Nyenschantz" was opened on the site of the fortress.
How to go: It is located on the right bank of Neva River, after crossing Bolsheokhtinsky bridge. About 750 meters from Muzey Istorii Professional'nogo Obrazovaniya Museum towards northeast.
Monument to Peter I
Monument
How to go: It is located about 400 meters from Memorial "Nyenskans Fortress" towards north by crossing Malookhtinskiy Bridge towards northeast.
Pamyatnik Moldagulovoy
Monument
Aliya Moldagulova was born in 1925 in the village of Bulak. During World War II, he served as a sniper in the 54th Separate Rifle Brigade of the 22nd Army of the Second Baltic Front, disabling more than 70 enemy soldiers and officers. He died in early January 1944 during the Leningrad-Novgorod operation. In June of the same year, Aliya Moldagulova was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
The sculptural composition of bronze with a height of 3 meters is mounted on a pedestal of pink granite. The monument has been installed on the eve of the 74th Anniversary of the World War II Victory.
How to go: It is located about 150 meters from Monument to Peter I towards north.
Sculpture "Exupery's Dove"
sculpture
How to go: It is located about 130 meters from Pamyatnik Moldagulovoy towards east.
Pryatki V Temnote
Amusement Center
Hide and Seek in the Dark.
How to go: It is located about 150 meters from Sculpture "Exupery's Dove" towards north.
Day-13:
Street Art Museum
Street Art
The museum allocated to the ongoing factory has become an attraction since 2014. The territory of the museum is divided into two separate areas - the permanent exhibition in the factory area and the open public space, the place of temporary exhibition. The factory site is hidden from public view with a permanent exhibition of wall paintings or "murals" created by contemporary artists. It now houses more than 20 works of art by modern street artists. There is a significant amount of murals inside the factory shop.
How to go: It is located on the acting Laminated Plastics factory in the East of Saint Petersburg. About 2 km from Pryatki V Temnote towards northeast.
Temple of the Holy Prophet Elijah
Church
In 1715, the Okhtinsky gunpowder factories were established in this place. In 1717, a wooden chapel was built on their land, which was consecrated in the name of Saint Elijah the Prophet. In 1721, the chapel was demolished and in 1722 the construction of the wooden church of Saint Elijah the Prophet began. In 1742-1743, the church was replaced by a larger wooden-church on a stone foundation. Its consecration took place on July 18, 1743.
In 1760, a chapel was added to the church, consecrated on December 27, 1760 in the name of Dmitry of Rostov. A small cemetery was established within the churchyard. At this site, the construction of the present church began in 1782. Completed and consecrated in 1785. In 1805-1806, a chapel named after Alexander Nevsky was added to the church. This extension has a single tier bell tower with a spire on top.
In 1875-1877, the Alexander Nevsky Chapel was combined with the main building of the church. In 1901-1902, another reconstruction of the temple was done, the shape of the bell tower and dome were slightly changed. minor consecration of the church took place on July 8, 1911. The bell tower is decorated with pilasters; Both levels on each side are completed by a triangular pediment. The second level is completed by a spire atop a small dome, a lantern at the top of the spire and a cross above the lantern.
On May 8, 1923, the church was granted cathedral status. From that moment until 1938, the temple belonged to the Renovationist Church. On July 11, 1938, the Ilyinsky Cathedral was closed, its building transferred to the Moscow military. In 1974, there was a fire in the temple building. In 1983, after the fire, restoration of the temple began and in 1988 it was returned to the diocese. The main temple was consecrated in 1989 and is still functioning today.
How to go: It is located about 650 meters from Street Art Museum towards east.
Aleksandrovskiye Vorota
Historical landmark
Alexander Gate of the former Okhta Gunpowder Factory near The Okhta River. The factory was founded by Peter The Great
How to go: It is located about 380 meters from Temple of the Holy Prophet Elijah towards north opposite of Okhta River.
Okhtinskaya Plotina
Okhta Dam
The Okhta is the largest tributary of the Neva River and has a rich history that dates back long before the founding of St. Petersburg. A succession of ancient settlements and fortresses have been discovered at the mouth of the Okhtar, which has given the place the name "St. Petersburg Troy". The Okhta Dam was originally built in 1716 to create the Okhta Reservoir to supply fresh water to the city.
How to go: It is located about 250 meters from Aleksandrovskiye Vorota towards east.
Temple of St. Spyridon of Trimifuntsky
Srine
How to go: It is located about 750 meters from Okhtinskaya Plotina towards northeast at Capsule Highway, 45.
Memorial "Rzhev Blockade Corridor"
Memorial
How to go: It is located about 200 meters from Temple of St. Spyridon of Trimifuntsky towards northeast.
Pamyatnik Regulirovshchitse
Monument
Monument to the Traffic Controller.
How to go: It is located about 850 meters from Memorial "Rzhev Blockade Corridor" towards northeast.
Day-14:
Sfinksy
Scupture
How to go: It is located about 1.4 km from Hide and Seek in the Dark amuzement center towards northwest at the front of Villa Kushelev-Bezborodko
Villa Kushelev-Bezborodko
Landmark
Built by 1777 as a two-storied building. In 1782, A.A. Bezborodko became a landowner. The building was completely rebuilt in 1783-1787. A moat with a granite sphinx was placed on the embankment in front of the house.
How to go: It is located north of the Sfinksy at Sverdlovskaya Naberezhnaya, 40.
Church of the Name of St. Panteleimon
Church
How to go: It is located north of Villa Kushelev-Bezborodko at Sverdlovskaya Naberezhnaya, 38I.
Lenrezerv
Museum
In 2017, the largest private museum dedicated to the Great Patriotic War was opened in St. Petersburg. Lenrezerv displays vehicles and military equipment related to World War 2.
Visiting Time: Monday to Friday - 11 AM to 6 PM. Saturday and Sunday remain closed.
How to go: It is located about 500 meters from Villa Kushelev-Bezborodko towards northwest at Feodosiyskaya Ulitsa, 4A.
Pedestrian Fountain
Fountain
How to go: It is located about 1 km from Lenrezerv Museum towards north in Lyubashinsky Garden.
Museum of Russian Submarine Forces
Museum
The AI Marinesko Museum is a state museum of the history of the Russian submarine force. The museum was named in honor of Soviet submarine commander Alexander Marinesko (15 January 1913 – 25 November 1963). The museum was established in 1997.
Visiting Time: Wednesday and Thursday - 10:30 AM to 6 PM. Friday - 10:30 AM to 5 PM. Saturday and Sunday - 11 AM to 5 PM. Monday and Tuesday remain closed.
How to go: It is located about 1.8 km from Lyubashinsky Garden towards north at Kondrat'yevskiy Street, 83.
Bogoslovskoe Cemetery
Cemetery
The name "Bogoslovskoe Cemetery" comes from the church of John the Apostle, to which a cemetery was attached in the early 18th century, mostly for those who died in the nearby military hospital. In 1788 the church and cemetery were closed and the land sold into private ownership. A small two-storied chapel was built in 1853-1854.
In 1915-1916, a new wooden three-fronted church of John the Apostle was built in the cemetery. The church remained closed during the Soviet era and was finally looted and demolished in 1938, along with part of the cemetery. In October 2000, a newly rebuilt wooden church of John the Apostle was consecrated.
The grave of the leader of the Russian rock group Kino, Viktor Robertovich Tsoi, is located inside the cemetery. Tsoi organized his first group at age 12, and by age 20 he was performing with established rock musicians. Perestroika allowed him to gain mainstream exposure and perform in concerts across the country. He was also seen in the films 'Needle' and 'Assa'. He died in a car accident at the height of his popularity.
There is a Grave of submariner Alexander Marinesko, and a Memorial obelisk to Soviet soldiers killed in the Second World War inside the cemetery. There is also a Prefabricated Hammered Machine Gun Reinforced Concrete Firing Point at the west side of cemetery.
How to go: It is located about 750 meters from Museum of Russian Submarine Forces towards north at Mechnikova Street, 31.
Piskaryovskoye Memorial Cemetery
Cemetery
The memorial complex was opened on May 9, 1960. About 420,000 civilians and 50,000 soldiers were buried in 186 mass graves during the Siege of Leningrad. An eternal flame is located near the entrance. At the center of the complex, there is a bronze monument symbolizing the Mother Motherland. It is located about 350 meters inland from the Eternal Flame. A granite wall behind the monument bears the words of the poet Olga Berggolts.
Visiting Time: 9 AM to 6 PM every day.
How to go: It is located about 1.5 km from Bogoslovskoe Cemetery towards northeast at Nepokoronnykh Street, 72. From Ploshchad Muzhestva Metro Station, it is 3 km towards east. Take buses 123, 138 or 80 east along Nepokoronnykh Street. From Akademicheskaya metro station, take buses 78 or 61.
Day-15:
Suvorov Museum
Museum
Visiting Time: Tuesday, Thursday to Sunday: 10 AM to 6 PM. Wednesday - 1 to 9 PM. Monday remains closed.
Entry Fee: 400 Rubles for foreign citizen. 200 Rubles for Russian adult. 100 Rubles for student or age below 18. 50 Rubles for military personnel.
How to go: It is located about 560 meters from Chernyshevskaya metro station towards east.
Monument to the lamplighter
Monument
The cast-iron lamplighter monument depicts a man seated on a sidewalk railing with a ladder and rope in hand. Placed on the site where the world's first electric street lamp was installed in 1873.
How to go: It is located about 500 meters from Suvorov Museum towards northeast.
SMOLNY Cathedral
Cathedral
The name Smolny comes from the Smolny Palace, built in 1729 by Peter I near the village of Smolny, in which there was a tar factory. Pitch ("smola" in Russian) was processed here for use in shipbuilding and maintenance. As a result, the local was called "Smolny", the place of the pitch.
This Russian Orthodox convent was built in the house of Elizabeth, daughter of Peter the Great. On the night of November 25, 1741, Elizabeth seized power. The convent's main church, catholicon or sobor, was designed by the architect of Italy, who also redesigned the Winter Palace and built the Grand Catherine Palace in Pushkin, the Grand Palace in Peterhof and many other landmarks. The cathedral was built between 1748 and 1764. But it was unfinished.
Empress Elizabeth died in 1762. When Catherine II ascended the throne, the empress firmly rejected the design. The building was completed in 1835 by a new architect. The cathedral was consecrated on 22 July 1835. The church was closed by the Soviet authorities in 1923. It was looted until 1982, when it became a concert hall. Smolny Cathedral was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church in April 2015, and is now an active Orthodox church.
Visiting Time: Thursday to Tuesday - 11 AM to 7 PM. Wednesday remains closed.
Entry Fee: Exhibition hall - 150 Rubles. Bell tower - 100 Rubles. Joint ticket - 200 Rubles. Panorama of St Petersburg audio tour - 100 Rubles.
How to go: It is located north of west end of Bolsheokhtinsky bridge. East side of Monument to the lamplighter at 3/1, Ploshchad Rastrelli.
SMOLNY Institute
Museum
Formal education for women only began in 1764 and 1765, when Catherine II established first the Smolny Institute for girls of the nobility and then the Novodevichii Institute for girls of commoners. Smolny was Russia's first educational institution for women and operated under the personal patronage of the Empress of Russia until just before the Revolution of 1917.
The building was constructed in 1806-08, borrowing its name from the nearby Smolny Convent.
In 1917, Vladimir Lenin chose the building as his party headquarters just before and during the October Revolution. It was Lenin's residence for several months until the national government moved to the Moscow Kremlin in March 1918. After that, Smolny became the headquarters of the local Communist Party, effectively the city hall. In 1927, a monument to Lenin was erected in front of the building. The Smolny Institute was also the site of the assassination of Sergei Kirov in 1934.
After 1991, Smolny was used as the seat of the city's mayor. Vladimir Putin served there from 1991 to 1997. Today, this historic building is the official residence of the Governor of St. Petersburg and also houses a museum dedicated to Lenin. Visitors to the museum can tour Lenin's office and living room and see the assembly hall where the victory of the October Revolution was declared in 1917.
Vistiting Time: Monday to Friday - 10 AM to 6 PM. Closed Saturday and Sunday. Visits only with organized tour and by prior arrangement.
How to go: South of SMOLNY Cathedral at 1/3, Ploschad Proletarskoy Diktatury (Smolny, room 137). Nearest metro station is Chernyshevskaya metro station.
Monument FE Dzerzhinsky
Monument
Felix Edmundovich Dzerzhinsky (11 September 1877 – 20 July 1926) was a Bolshevik revolutionary and politician. From 1917 until his death in 1926.
How to go: It is located about 350 meters from SMOLNY Cathedral towards west.
Monument of General Brusilov
Monuement
Aleksei Alekseyevich Brusilov (31 August 1853 – 17 March 1926) was a Soviet general best known for developing new offensive tactics used in the Brusilov Offensive of 1916, which was his greatest achievement. The innovative and relatively successful techniques used were later copied by the Germans.
How to go: It is located about 100 meters from Monument FE Dzerzhinsky towards west.
Fountain "Vodokanal of St. Petersburg"
Fountain
How to go: It is located about 60 meters from Monument of General Brusilov towards west.
Monument to the Great Patriotic War Anti-aircraft guns
Monument
How to go: It is located north of Fountain "Vodokanal of St. Petersburg".
Monument to Pavel Palibin
Monument
How to go: It is located about 50 meters from Fountain "Vodokanal of St. Petersburg" towards west.
Monument to Vodovoz
Monument
How to go: It is located about 20 meters north of Monument to Pavel Palibin, and 50 meters west of Monument to the Great Patriotic War Anti-aircraft guns.
Installyatsiya "Globus"
Monuement
How to go: It is located about 10 meters northwest of Monument to Vodovoz.
Vselennaya Vody
Museum
Museum on the history of water supply in St. Petersburg. Museum consists of three parts, each requiring separate tickets.
Visiting Time: Wednesday to Sunday - 10 AM to 6 AM. Monday and Tuesday remains closed.
Entry Fee: 380+280+180 = 840 Rubles for per person.
How to go: It is located west of Installyatsiya "Globus".
Tauride Palace
Palace
Prince Grigory Potemkin of the Tauride built his city residence. Construction began in 1783 and lasted six years. Shortly before his death, on 28 April 1791, Potemkin used the palace to host festivals and lightings. Several months after his death, Catherine II bought his palace and ordered it to be converted into her summer townhouse.
Catherine II built the theater in the east wing and the church in the west wing. In the garden, she built the Admiralty Pavilion, garden house, orangery, glass house, bridge and iron fence. The Venus Taurid sculpture (now in the Hermitage Museum) was housed in the palace from the late eighteenth to the mid-nineteenth century. The decorations in each of the main rooms, including the Chinese Hall and Tapestry Parlor, were destroyed after 1799, when Emperor Paul, son of Catherine II, used the palace as stables and barracks.
The palace was converted into the seat of the first Russian parliament in 1906. After the February Revolution of 1917, the Taurid Palace housed the Russian Provisional Government and the Petrograd Soviet in opposite wings of the palace. In early March the Provisional Government moved into the Marinsky Palace. The inactive Russian Constituent Assembly held its meeting there in 1918. The Bolsheviks used the building for their 7th Congress in May 1918, where they first renamed themselves the Russian Communist Party (Bolshevik).
From 1920 to 1991, the Taurid Palace was used for the High Party School. Since the 1990s, Tauride Palace has been home to the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of the Commonwealth of Independent States (IPA CIS) member states. For this reason, a large glass-covered annex was placed immediately behind the palace, in the Tauride Gardens, and is not open for sightseeing.
Visiting Time: Monday to Thursday - 9 AM to 6 PM. Friday - 9 AM to 4:45 PM. Saturday and Sunday remains closed.
Entry Fee: The Tauride Palace is no longer open to the public, but have free access to the Tavrichesky Garden and admire the building from the outside.
How to go: It is located south of Monument to Pavel Palibin.
Tauride Garden: You will see in the garden. - Monument to Young Heroes of the Defense of the City of Lenin, Fountain "Boy With Duck", Monument to Sergey Yesenin, Monument to Pyotr Chaykovski, Greenhouse Tauride Gardens.
Manezh Kavalergardskogo Polka
Landmark
How to go: It is located west of Greenhouse in Tauride Gardens.
Dom K. A. Shreybera House
Landmark
History says that at the beginning of the 19th century there was a small palace with a garden, which in the late 1840s was replaced by a two-story wooden house by the titular councilor, D Molimonov. In 1859, it was rebuilt into a three-story stone house. The present building was constructed in 1906-1907. 1st City Duma deputies, senators and senior army officers lived here and part of the premises was occupied by the Norwegian Embassy.
How to go: It is located about 50 meters south from Manezh Kavalergardskogo Polka.
Osobnyak Baryatinskikh
Mansion
The first building was built in the second half of the eighteenth century by lieutenant general Fyodor Ivanovich Aprelev (1764 - September 30, 1831). Then the mansion was inherited by his son, but soon he was killed on his wedding day. In 1837 the house was acquired by Maria Feodorovna Baryatinskaya, nee Keller. The house was rebuilt. In 1858 she died, and in 1861 a house church in honor of Mary Magdalene was built in the place of her bedroom. After that, the mansion changed its owners several times.
In 1896, the mansion was acquired by the imperial court as a gift for the wedding of Olga Alexandrovna Romanova with Prince Peter Alexandrovich of Oldenburg. Neither Olga nor Peter were happily married. In 1916, 10 years after receiving permission for divorce from Emperor Nicholas II, she was able to marry Kulikovsky and take his last name.
After the revolution in 1917, much of the interior of the palace was lost. In 1988, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of St. Petersburg moved to this building, which in 1989 began work to restore the interior decoration of the rooms. The right wing now houses the tax office for the Central District of St. Petersburg, and the left wing houses the center for housing compensation.
How to go: It is located about 230 meters from Dom K. A. Shreybera House towards southwest at 46-48, Ulitsa Tchaikovskogo.
Myth
Art gallery
Visiting Time: Tuesday to Sunday - 11 AM to 7 PM.
Entry Fee: 200 Rubles for adult. 100 Rubles for student and retired.
How to go: It is located near Osobnyak Baryatinskikh at 61 Tchaikovsky Street.
Muzey Kavalergardskogo Polka
Army museum
How to go: It is located about 140 meters from Manezh Kavalergardskogo Polka towards west and about 500 meters from Myth Art gallery towards north.
Monument to Anna Akhmatova
Monument
A monument to Anna Akhmatova was erected in December 2006 on the fortieth anniversary of the poet's death across the Neva River opposite the Kresty prison, according to her will in her poem "Requiem".
How to go: It is located north of Muzey Kavalergardskogo Polka.
Muzey Kofe
Coffee Museum
Visiting Time: 11 AM to 8 PM everyday.
How to go: It is located northwest of Monument to Anna Akhmatova at Voskresenskaya Naberezhnaya, 14.
Monument to the victims of political repressions
Solovetsky Stone
The Solovetsky Stone is a monument to the victims of political repression in the Soviet Union and to those who have fought and fight for freedom.
How to go: It is located north of Monument to Anna Akhmatova.
Monument to Poltava ship
Monument
The monument is dedicated to the first Russian 54-gun battleship "Poltava".
In 1702-1703, Russian troops captured the Swedish fortresses of Noteborg and Nyenskans on the Neva River. The fortresses of St. Petersburg (on Zayachy Island), and Kronstadt (on the Kotlin island) were built to protect these territories. Shipbuilding began in August 1708 to January 1709 with four 50-gun ships of the line. The 54-gun battleship "Poltava" was commissioned by Peter I on 5 December 1709. The entire royal family was present at the Poltava launch on 15 June 1712.
Poltava's first military action began in the Battle of Helsinki, which was fought between 8 and 11 May 1713 between the Russian army and the Finnish army defending Sweden. Paltova also witnessed the Battle of Gangut in 2014, between the Swedish Navy and the Russian Navy, near the city of Hanko, Finland. It was the first important victory of the Russian fleet in its history. Poltava was part of many campaigns between 1715-1717.
On 5 May 1721, Poltava participated in the cruise operation in the Baltic Sea. On 9 May, during a heavy storm, her masts were severely damaged and sent to Kronstadt for repairs. In 1722–1723 the ship was used for crew training in the Gulf of Finland and remained in port after 1723. On 13 May 1725, her guns were transferred to Moscow. From 1726 the ship was considered unfit due to age. Poltava was dismantled after 1732.
The monument was opened in March 2015. The demo ship is 8 meters long, 2 meters wide, and weighs 1964 kg. The model is set on a high rectangular pedestal with granite.
How to go: It is located about 150 meters from Monument to the victims of political repressions.
Church of the Icon of the Mother of God Joy of All Who Sorrow
Church
The icon of the Mother of God "Joy of All Who Sorrow" (with coins) was glorified in St. Petersburg in 1888, when a chapel was struck by lightning during a terrible thunderstorm. All but this icon of the Queen of Heaven were burned or singed. It fell to the floor and the poor box broke at the same time. Somehow, twelve small coins (half-kopeck pieces), got attached to the icon. A church was built on the site of the chapel in 1898.
How to go: It is located about 70 meters from Monument to Poltava ship towards south at Shpalernaya Ulitsa, 35.
Egyptian House
Landmark
The construction of the house was started in 1911 by the wife of the State Councillor. Construction was completed in 1913. The house was advanced with a lifting automatic elevator for that time, but most of all it impressed everyone with its appearance. The facade is decorated with tall protruding columns with faces of deities. In 2007, the facade was restored. The house is almost completely preserved in its original form. Now it is an elite residential building, offices, shops and cafes are located on the first floor.
How to go: It is located about 110 meters south from Church of the Icon of the Mother of God Joy of All Who Sorrow at Zakhar'yevskaya Ulitsa, 23.
Time cafe anticafe Mañana
Game Cafe
How to go: It is located about 180 meters from Egyptian House towards west at Zakhar'yevskaya Ulitsa, 11.
Day-16:
Transfiguration Cathedral
Cathedral
The construction of the cathedral was ordered by Empress Elizabeth. The cathedral was built on the site of an old barracks. The foundation stone was laid on June 9, 1743. The cathedral was blessed on August 16, 1754 in the presence of the Empress. During the reign of Emperor Paul I, on November 12, 1796, the cathedral received the honorary title of "All Guards". On August 20, 1825, the cathedral was completely destroyed by fire. Only the outer walls and essential sacred objects remained, which were preserved.
Between 1825 and 1829 it was rebuilt in the Empire style that exists today. A parish charitable society was started at the cathedral in 1871, maintaining an almshouse, a children's asylum, a cafeteria, a school for soldiers' children, and free lodging quarters. The cathedral was open for worship after the October Revolution of 1917. In 1918 it became a parish church. Many valuable icons were removed in the 1920s.
From 1922 to 1926 and from 1935 to the spring of 1944 the cathedral was controlled by the Reformers; And since 1939, after the Church of the Savior in Senna was closed, it has been the main Reformed church in Leningrad. During the Siege of Leningrad a shelter capable of holding 500 people was built in the basement, where first aid was given to the wounded. The facade and interior were restored between 1946 and 1948.
Visiting Time: Everyday 8 AM to 8 PM.
How to go: It is located about 300 meters from Chernyshevskaya metro station towards west at Preobrazhenskaya Square, 1.
"One and a Half Rooms" Joseph Brodsky Museum
Museum
How to go: It is located west of Transfiguration Cathedral.
Sad Druzhby
Friendship Garden
Small gardens with Chinese style gates, lion carvings and painted dragons and spring cherry blossoms.
How to go: It is located about 200 meters from Transfiguration Cathedral towards northwest.
"Olympia" Palace
Landmark
Olympia Palace is a historic building in the city center built in 1843. The palace hosts various cabaret-style events.
How to go: It is located about 30 meters from Sad Druzhby towards northeast.
Live Paper Museum
Museum
It is a wonderful place for adults and children. There are many exhibits in a small space. All of them are made by hand and almost everyone has a name. During the tour you will be told about the technique of making papier-mâché products. There is also an 18+ exhibit for adult audiences.
You can take pictures in intricate hats with exhibits and you can buy any of them. You can order the production of any product according to your sketch or according to a statue similar to a portrait (from a photo). You can attend a master class (600 rubles) for both adults and children or become a student at the Papier-mâché school. The main advantage is that school visits are carried out freely.
Entry Fee: 300 Rubles for adults, 150 Rubles for child.
How to go: It is located about 50 meters from "Olympia" Palace towards east at Furshtatskaya, 8.
St. Anne's Lutheran Church
Lutheran Church
St. Anne's Church is a Lutheran church. It was built in 1775-1779 for the German community in a neoclassical style with Ionic columns. After the church was closed by the Soviet regime in 1935, it was converted into a cinema (called Spartak). A nightclub opened inside the building at the beginning of the 21st century and was damaged by fire. The building was completely restored to its original purpose by its new owner in 2012-2013.
Every Sunday morning, there is a worship service in Russian and a service in English during the school year. Exhibition of modern painters in several rooms of the building.
How to go: It is located about 50 meters east from Live Paper Museum.
Milonga Openair
Dance Pavillion
How to go: It is located about 350 meters from "Olympia" Palace towards north near south end of Liteyniy Bridge.
Mansion of O V Serebryakova
Historic Landmark
The mansion was built in 1860 for the artillery general, A. Fadeev. At the beginning of the 20th century, ownership passed to the wife of the colonel of the cavalry regiment O V Serebryakov. By her command, a house was built in Rastrelli Baroque style. It is a five storied building. Before the revolution, the Swedish embassy was located here and many famous figures of the time lived here.
How to go: It is located about 220 meters from Milonga Openair Dance Pavillion towards west.
Kusheleva-Bezborodko Mansion
Historic Landmark
In the late 18th century, a stone merchant had a house on the site. In 1830, the house was acquired by Count Alexander Kushelev-Bezborodko, and in 1857-1862, his son Count Nikolay Kushelev-Bezborodko was entrusted with the construction of the palace. Inside the palace was a new grand entrance hall and two state rooms, a theatre, library building and a large collection of his paintings. A new garden with fountains was also built around the palace.
In 1873, Nikolay moved into the palace. Notorious for gambling and womanizing, Nicole lived in her new mansion for only a year. He was then exiled from St. Petersburg to Tashkent, Uzbekistan for his relationship with American dancer Fanny Lear. After the assassination of Alexander II in 1881, the palace was handed over to Catherine Dolgorukova, widow of Alexander II. She sold the palace when he moved to Paris in 1912.
The new owner converted the building into rented apartments and built a second apartment building on the palace garden site. After 1917, the small marble palace became first a ballet studio and then, from 1927, an industrial safety research institute. It now houses the European University in St. Petersburg. Unfortunately, the European University management still prohibits organized tours of the palace.
How to go: It is located about 50 meters from Mansion of O.V.Serebryakova tpwards south Sverdlovskaya Naberezhnaya, 40.
Mansion of the State Lady Elizaveta Mikhailovna Buturlina
Historic Landmark
A wooden house stood on the site in the early 18th century and was owned by military engineer Vasily Korchmin, a close confidant of Peter the Great, after whom Vasilevsky Island is named. In 1844, the land was handed over to Lady-in-Waiting Elizaveta Buturlina. He built a palace for her there in 1857-1860. Unfortunately Buturlina died in 1859 before the building was completed.
Much of its exterior remains unchanged to the present day. In the 1860s the house was used as the Austro-Hungarian Embassy. After the outbreak of World War I, the townspeople first threw stones at the building and then set it on fire. Firefighters mainly tried to prevent the fire from spreading to nearby buildings. The magnificent interior of the palace was burnt down. It was partially restored, and after 1917, prisoners of war were housed here.
In 1925, the mansion was taken under state protection as an architectural monument and in 1930 it was repaired and converted into an apartment building, which remains today.
How to go: It is located about 200 meters from Kusheleva-Bezborodko Mansion towards southeast.
Mosaic Courtyard
Open-air Museum
Located on the banks of the Fontanka River, the Mosaic Courtyard is an open-air museum. Its author is the artist Vladimir Lubenko and his students. This place is decorated with various types of sculptures, covered with mosaics. Gallery of Vladimir Lubenko art gallary is near the courtyard.
How to go: It is located about 200 meters from Mansion of the State Lady Elizaveta Mikhailovna Buturlina towards east.
Museum of the Defense and Siege of Leningrad
War Museum
Visiting Time: Thursday to Monday - 10 AM to 5 PM. Wednesday 12:30 PM to 9 PM. Tuesday and last Thursday of each month remains closed.
Entry Fee: 300 Rubles for adult and 100 Rubles for student.
How to go: It is located about 300 meters from Mosaic Courtyard towards south at 9, Solyanoy Pereulok.
Salt Town
Landmark
At the time of Peter the Great, there was a special wooden shipyard on the site of Salt Town on the east side of the Fontanka River. In 1782, the building was built in its place, where wine and salt warehouses were located. Hence the building is known as "Salt Town". After the abolition of the state monopoly on salt, the need for warehouses disappeared, and in 1870 the All-Russian Art Exhibition was opened here. The building was decorated with a sculptural group, symbolizing peace, science, art and commerce.
Today in this quarter, Panteleymonovo church, A.L. The Stieglitz Academy, also known as the Mukhina School, includes the Museum of Decorative and Applied Arts and the Museum of Defense and the Siege of Leningrad. Salt Town turns into a festival zone on 20th May every year.
How to go: It is located south of Museum of the Defense and Siege of Leningrad at Fontanka River Embankment, 10.
Museum of the Central School of Technical Drawing of Baron A. L. Stieglitz
Museum
The history of the Museum of Applied Art began in January 1876 at the expense of A L Stieglitz, the most advanced school of technical drawing in Russia. Museum building, built in 1885-1896. On May 12, 1896, the Baron Stiglitz Museum of Arts and Crafts was opened in the presence of Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna.
Almost all historical eras and styles are reflected in the decoration of the museum's thirty-two halls. After the revolution, the school was closed, and the museum was acquired by the Hermitage, becoming its first branch. After the war, the museum was revived in the rebuilt school, which in 1953 became the V. I. Mukhina lvhpu.
Visiting Time: Museum can be visited by appointment. Excursions are conducted according to the schedule.
How to go: It is located south of Museum of the Defense and Siege of Leningrad at 15 Solyanoy pereulok.
Church of the Holy Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon
Church
The first wooden church was built here during the reign of Peter the Great, to celebrate two major naval victories over the Swedish, the first at Hanko in Finland in 1714 and the second at the Battle of Grengam in 1721. Both fell on the festival day of St. Panteleimon, and they ensured the success of Peter's lifelong ambition to transform Russia into a great maritime nation. The wooden church was replaced by the modern stone church in 1735-39. It remains almost unchanged to this day.
Although there were plans to demolish the church in the 1930s, it never happened, and the building was handed over to an electrical factory. Later, it was restored as a museum of the Battle of Hanko and finally returned to the Orthodox Church in the 1990s. Although the original interior was completely destroyed, the original mosaic icon of Saint Panteleimon somehow survived and the church has been completely restored.
How to go: It is located about 50 meters from Museum of the Central School of Technical Drawing of Baron A. L. Stieglitz towards south at Ulitsa Pestelya, 2A.
Sheremetev Palace (Museum of Music)
Museum
Once the largest aristocratic estate in St. Petersburg, it was awarded to Field-Marshal Boris Sheremetev in 1712. The Sheremetev Palace building dates back to the 1740s. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Sheremetev built his own hospital and theater on the land, where Sheremetev's famous Surf Theater troupe and orchestra performed. The palace is also known as the 'Fountain House' for the fountains that once decorated its gardens.
Iron fences were added in 1838. The southern wing of the garden was added in 1845. The Sheremetev Palace was home to several generations of the family, and each expanded and adapted the buildings. The Fountain House became one of the main cultural centers of St. Petersburg. One of the best theaters was built in the 18th century. The palace was a venue for concerts and literary events.
From 1935 to 1941, it was the Museum of Popular Science, which closed with the German invasion. Anna Akhmatova lived with her second husband, Vladimir Shilejko, in the northern garden wing of the Fountain House in 1918–1920, and later in the southern wing with her partner Nikolai Punin (mid-1920s to February 1952).
The palace's current use is as part of the State Museum of Theater and Musical Art, which has restored the building's facade and houses a collection of historic musical instruments. The southern part of the palace also houses the Anna Akhmatova Memorial Museum, the apartment where the great poet of the 20th century lived from the mid-1920s to 1952.
Visiting Time: Wednesday to Monday - 11 AM to 7 PM. Tuesday and the last Wednesday of each month remains closed.
Entry Fee: 250 Rubles for adult. 100 Rubles for audio-guide.
Photography: 100 Rubles for Photo and 200 Rubles for videlo.
How to go: It is located about 520 meters from Salt Town towards south along the Fontanka River.
Anna Akhmatova Literary and Memorial Museum
Museum
The Anna Akhmatova Literary and Memorial Museum is a literary museum dedicated to the poet Anna Akhmatova (1889–1966). It opened in 1989 on the centennial of Akhmatova's birth. Anna Akhmatova lived in the northern garden wing of the Fountain House in 1918–1920 with her second husband Vladimir Shileyko.
The Anna Akhmatova Literature and Memorial Museum is a literary museum dedicated to the poet Anna Akhmatova (1889–1966). It was opened in 1989 on the centenary of Akhmatova's birth. Anna Akhmatova lived with her second husband, Vladimir Shilejko, in the north garden wing of the Fountain House in 1918–1920, and later in the south wing with her partner Nikolai Punin (mid-1920s to February 1952).
How to go: It is located at the south wings of Sheremetev Palace.
Palace of Zinaida Yusupova
Museum
Zinaida Yusupova Palace in Liteyny Avenue is said to have been built from 1852 to 1858. But it was not built for Zinaida Yusupova. Because she was born in 1861. It may have been made for her grandmother, almost same name Zenaida Ivanovna (18 May 1810 – 26 February 1893). Zenaida Ivanovna's husband, Boris Nikolaievich Yusupov, died in 1949. So he also did not build this house.
Boris's only son, Prince Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov (12 October 1827 – 31 July 1891). Not to be confused with his grandfather for the same name. While in Europe, he bought many things to decorate his Moica palace, including violins and a collection of paintings. Prince Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov married Alexandrovna Yusupova (29 June 1828 – 14 January 1879). So Nikolai can build this house. He died in 1891.
Nikolai's daughter, Princess Zinaida Nikolaevna (2 September 1861 – 24 November 1939), almost the same name as her grandmother Znaida Ivanovna, inherited and became one of the wealthiest women in the country. Princess Zinaida married Count Felix Felixovich (5 October 1856 – 10 June 1928) on 4 April 1882. After his father-in-law died, Felix was given special permission from Tsar Alexander III to bear the titles of Prince Yusupov and Count Sumarokov-Elston.
After the Russian Revolution, she lost his vast fortune. She and her husband briefly moved to Rome. After his death she moved to Paris, where he died in 1939.
By the start of World War 1 the Yusupovs owned over 100,000 acres of land with over 16 palaces. Zinaida and Felix's eldest son was killed at the age of 26. Felix Yusupov, the youngest son of Zinaida and Felix, is famous for his involvement in the assassination of Grigori Rasputin. Felix Yusupov married Princess Irina, niece of the last Russian Tsar Nicholas II. Moika Palace was the scene of Grigory Rasputin's assassination.
Felix Yusupov was exiled to the Crimea after the assassination of Rasputin, but returned to St. Petersburg in 1917 to find the city in great disarray after the February Revolution. He took with him some valuable paintings and jewellery by Rembrandt. In April 1919, he left Russia for Paris, never to return. His daughter, Irina, moved to Greece with their children, and died on 30 August 1983 in Courmayeur, France.
After 1917, the palace was nationalized and various organizations were located within its walls. The Institute of Economic Relations, Economics and Law is currently located.
How to go: It is located about 120 meters north from Anna Akhmatova Literary and Memorial Museum at Liteyniy Avenue, 42.
Museum-apartment of N. A. Nekrasov
Museum
Nekrasov was one of the most important poets of the mid-19th century, loved by the Soviets for his sympathy for the peasantry. This museum displays his personal effects.
Visiting Time: Wednesday to Sunday - 10:30 AM to 6 PM. Monday and Tuesday remains closed.
Entry Fee: 230 Rubles for adult.
Photography: 150 Rubles for photography and 300 Rubles for videography.
How to go: It is located about 70 meters from Palace of Zinaida Yusupova towards north at Liteyniy Avenue, 36.
Catholic Church of the Lourdes Mother of God
Church
The Temple of the Lourdes Mother of God is a Roman Catholic church. The temple was established on December 29, 1903. All construction work was done exclusively with donated funds and money from the lottery. And since this money was constantly insufficient, the construction of the church was suspended, and the project was redesigned to reduce the cost of construction. In 1909, the construction of the church building was completed. The consecration of the church took place on November 22, 1909.
A copy of Raphael's Madonna used as the altarpiece, in 1916, was replaced by a painting depicting the Mother of God with a child in her arms, the archangel Michael and other saints. From 1938 to 1992, the church was the only active Catholic church in Saint Petersburg. Even during the Soviet period, the church was not closed. Only from July 1941 to August 1945, divine services were not held here. During the Great Patriotic War, the temple was spared heavy destruction.
In the late 40s and late 60s, major repairs were made to the church. In 1957, the former church of the Evangelical Hospital housed a German organ, which was repaired and installed in the choir of this church. In the 90s, sound-amplification equipment was installed, a new altar was installed, mosaic stained glass windows were installed. On November 22, 2009, a solemn consecration took place in honor of the temple's 100th anniversary.
How to go: It is located about 420 meters from Museum-apartment of N. A. Nekrasov towards southeast at Kovenskiy Pereulok, 7.
Portrait of Tsoi
Street Portrait
Viktor Robertovich Tsoi (21 June 1962 – 15 August 1990) was a Soviet singer and songwriter who founded one of the most popular musical bands in the history of Russian music, "Kino". He was born and raised in St. Petersburg.
How to go: It is located about 420 meters from Catholic Church of the Lourdes Mother of God towards south at Ulitsa Mayakovskogo, 3A.
Day-17:
St. Petersburg Comedy Theater
Theater
Nikolay Pavlovich Akimov (16 April 1901 – 6 September 1968) was an experimental theater director and scenic designer best known for his work with the Leningrad Comedy Theatre. Akimov was director of the Comedy Theater in 1935–1949 and 1956–1968, and was named a People's Artist of the USSR in 1960. Akimov was director of the New Theater in Leningrad in the early 1950s. The St. Petersburg Comedy Theater is named in his honor.
How to go: It is located about 230 meters from Beloselsky-Belozersky Palace towards northwest after crossing Anichkov Bridge. About 110 meters from Gostiny Dvor Metro station towards east at 56 Nevsky Prospect.
Monument to the Cat and the Cat
Monument
The monument is a composition consisting of two small cats, located separately - on the facades of two buildings located opposite each other. Each sculpture has its own name - Cat Elisha and Cat Vasilisa. Cat Elisha is located on the corner facade of the building at number 8. The cat is depicted sitting peacefully in a characteristic cat pose and is mounted on a small metal support. Cat Vasilisa is located on the cornice of building number 3, opposite Cat Elisha.
In 2000, the cat sculptures appeared on Malaya Sadovaya Street. The sculptures are dedicated to and represent cats brought from Yaroslavl to St. Petersburg during the Great Patriotic War. During the Siege of Leningrad, the city was inundated with rats, which destroyed the citizens' already meager food supply and carried with them the possibility of infection and disease. Imported cats saved cities and people from destroying food supplies.
How to go: It is located about 120 meters from Hygiene Museum towards south at Malaya Sadovaya Street.
Pl. Ostrovskogo
Street
Street surrounded by Ostrovskogo Square.
How to go: It is located opposite of St. Petersburg Comedy Theater and east of National Library of Russia.
National Library of Russia
Library
Russia's first national library and one of three national public libraries. Plans for a Russian public library was submitted to Catherine the Great in 1766 and approved by her on 27 May 1795, eighteen months before her death. Construction began and lasted about fifteen years from 1796 to 1801. In 1810, Emperor Alexander I approved Russia's first library law, requiring that two legal copies of all printed matter in Russia be deposited in libraries.
The Imperial Public Library was inaugurated on 14 January 1814. From 1849, ancient manuscripts were added to the library, such as the St. Petersburg Bede (746), One of the earliest Qur'ans (the Uthman Qur'an from the mid-7th century), Trebizond Gospel (10th century), Codex Zographensis (c. 1000), Leningrad Codex (c. 1008), Ostromir Gospel (1056), Spiridon Psalter (1397), Guyart de Moulin's Bible Historiale (1350s). To accommodate more visitors, a large reading room was constructed in the new building in 1860-62.
The library was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor in 1939 and remained open during the Siege of Leningrad. To date, among other things, there are more than 200,000 works of art, 3 million books and archival material of German origin in Russia, with a length of three shelf kilometers.
Visiting Time: Monday to Saturday - 11 AM to 6 PM. Sunday remains closed.
How to go: It is located west of Ostrovskogo Square.
Anichkov Palace
Palace
Anichkov Palace is a former imperial palace. The plot was owned by Antonio de Vieira (1682-1745). The palace was designed for Empress Elizabeth Petrovna (reign: 1741-1762). Construction continued for thirteen years and was finally completed in 1754. The palace became her private residence. Empress Elizabeth gifted the palace to her lover, Count Aleksey. After his death in 1771, Catherine the Great of Russia (reign: 1762–1796) bequeathed it to her own favorite, Prince Potemkin, in 1776.
In 1778 and 1779 it was extensively renovated and the park established. On Potemkin's death in 1791, the palace was adapted for His Imperial Majesty's Cabinet. The last major structural additions occurred during the reign of Emperor Alexander I (1801–1825). Three years later, Alexander I gave the palace to his sister, Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna of Russia.
After their marriage in 1866, the future Tsar Alexander III and his wife Maria Feodorovna made the Anichkov Palace their residence, where they lived for the next 15 years, and when Alexander III came to the throne in 1881, he decided to stay in Anichkov Palace. Their children, including the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II, spent their childhood in this palace. Maria Feodorovna retained her right to reside in the palace until the February Revolution of 1917.
After the October Revolution of November 1917, the Bolshevik government nationalized the Anichkov Palace and designated it the Saint Petersburg City Museum. After 1934, when it was converted to the Young Pioneer Palace, the palace was home to over a hundred after-school clubs for more than 10,000 children. Although a small museum inside is open to the public at select times, the building is generally not accessible to tourists.
How to go: It is located east of Ostrovskogo Square.
Alexandrinsky Theatre
Theater
The Alexandrinsky Theater or National Drama Theater of Russia was built for the Imperial Troupe in Petersburg (the Imperial Troupe was founded in 1756). The building is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. The building was built in 1828-1832. The theater opened in the building on 31 August 1832. In the 1880s, the theater became full of drama and tragedy. The theater reopened after renovations on 30 August 2006.
How to go: It is located south of Ostrovskogo Square.
Museum of Theatre and Music
Museum
Visiting Time: Thursday to Monday - 11 AM to 6 PM. Wednesday - 1 PM to 7 PM. Tuesday and last Friday of each month remain closed.
Entry Fee: 150 Rubles. Photo - 100 Rubles and video - 200 Rubles.
How to go: It is located south of Ostrovskogo Square in Alexandrinsky Theater.
Vorontsov Palace
Palace
The 50-room Vorontsov Palace was built for Count Mikhail Vorontsov, chancellor and relative of Empress Elizabeth. The palace was built in 1749-1756. Vorontsov was banished from court and sold his main residence. Paul I of Russia gave the palace to the Knights Hospitaller, of which he was Grand Master. In 1798-1800, a Catholic chapel was added.
Since 1810, the Vorontsov Palace has housed many military schools, including the Suvorov Military School, which has been in existence since 1955. The chapel underwent extensive restoration in 2003 and is currently used for organ recitals. In 2013, a monument to the graduates and cadet corps of Suvarov School was erected next to the palace.
How to go: It is located about 200 meters from Alexandrinsky Theater towards west at Sadovaya Street, 26.
The former building of the Ministry of Internal Affairs
Landmark
How to go: It is located about 250 meters from Vorontsov Palace towards south.
Tovstonogov Bolshoi Drama Theater
Theater
The theater was organized in 1918 by order of Maria Andreeva, wife of Maxim Gorky. The original name of the theater was "Osobaya Dramaticskaya Troupa" ("Special Drama Company"). In 1920 the theater moved to the present building.
Georgy Tovstonogov was the artistic director of the theater from 1956 until his death in 1989. In his prime, Tovstonogov was considered one of the best theater directors in Europe, and the theater was one of the best in the Soviet Union.
How to go: It is located about 120 meters from The former building of the Ministry of Internal Affairs towards west along with the Fontanka River at Fontanka River Embankment, 65.
Rotunda
Landmark
It is a simple building built in the late 18th century. But sometimes it is called the most mysterious place in the city. It is a circular building with six free-standing columns. Rotunda gained its cult status in the 70s and 80s of the last century with the growth of the population of informal Soviet youth movements and subcultures: rockers, hippies, punks. During the Russian Empire the Rotunda was a meeting place for Freemasons. It was also Grigory Rasputin's favorite place.
There are many legends surrounding this place. For example, dreams and wishes written on the walls of the Rotunda may come true. Others call this place the center of the universe, since the Rotunda is located at the intersection of the meridians of the St. Petersburg hexagon. Another legend is that a young man went down to the basement of the house, and spent about 15 minutes there. He looked like an old man when he came back. Many believe that at midnight you can meet the devil here.
How to go: It is located about 250 meters from Tovstonogov Bolshoi Drama Theater towards southwest along the river Fontanka. About 300 meters from Sadovaya Metro station towards southeast.
Central Museum of Railway Transport
Rail Museum
The museum exhibits everything from the first Russian steam locomotive built by the father and son Cherepanov team to today's modern rails and engines. The museum also displays a cargo station where rail cars go up and down the hill.
Visiting Time: Sunday to Thursday - 11 AM to 5 PM. Friday, Saturday and Last Thursday of the month remains closed.
Entry Fee: 150 Rubles for adult. 50 Rubles for student or child.
Photograpy: 200 Rubles for photography and video.
How to go: It is located about 650 meters from Rotunda towards northwest. About 300 meters from Sadovaya Metro station southwest.
Yusupov Palace on Fontanka
Landmark
Prince Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov (1751–1831) owned this land on the banks of the Fontanka. The present mansion was built for him in the 1790s on the site of his old wooden house. Nikolai Yusupov served as a private councillor and diplomat for the coronations of three successive Tsars - Catherine the Great, Paul I and Alexander I. In 1793 Nikolai Yusupov married to Princess Tatiana Vasilievna (1 January 1769 – 23 May 1841). The newlyweds live directly in the Fontanka Palace.
Two-storied wing, separated by an arched gate. The palace was not only their home but also their art collection and library. In 1810 the Yusupovs divorced and sold their mansion. From then on, the palace housed the Railway Engineering Institute of Emperor Alexander I, which underwent a rearrangement of some premises as well as interior design changes. Presently the Railway Engineering Institute museum and its branch are housed in this palace.
Nikolai Yusupov had several palaces in St. Petersburg. A more famous palace is the Yusupov Palace on the Moika River. The Yusupov collections were kept there until the 1917 revolution. In-house visits are arranged upon request.
How to go: It is located about 300 meters from Central Museum of Railway Transport towards south on the bank of Fontanka river through Yusupovskiy park.
Marina Gisich Gallery
Art gallery
Visiting Time: Daily, by prior appointment only.
How to go: It is located about 150 meters from Yusupov Palace on Fontanka towards west at Fontanka River Embankment, 121.
Nikolskiye Ryady
Public Space
It opened in 2020 in the courtyard of the former Nikolsky Market building. The 7000 square meter space completely changes its concept twice a year in summer and winter. Throughout the summer you can see jazz concerts and open-air dance parties, workshops, gastronomic and farm markets, street food, an amphitheater with bars. In winter it can be used as a golf course.
How to go: It is located about 360 meters from Marina Gisich Gallery towards west at Sadovaya Street, 62.
Semimost'ye
Tourist attraction
How to go: It is located northwest corner of Nikolskiye Ryady.
Quests Performances with actors 2+2
Escape room
How to go: It is located about 70 meters from the northwest corner of Nikolskiye Ryady towards north after crossing Staro-Nikol'skiy bridge and Pikalov bridge at Griboyedov channel embankment, 131.
St. Nicholas Naval Cathedral
Church
St. Nicholas Cathedral is known locally as the Sailors' Cathedral. The area was settled by sailors during the time of Peter the Great and the first wooden chapel was built here on the banks of the Kryukov Canal in 1743 and named after St. Nicholas the Miracle-Worker. Empress Elizabeth issued a decree to build a stone church. Construction of the new stone church began in 1753, and was consecrated in 1760 in the presence of Empress Elizabeth.
The cathedral actually consists of two churches, an upper church and a lower church. The church officially became a naval cathedral in July 1762 by order of Catherine II. In 1907, two marble plaques were hung on the south wall of the upper church honoring the sailors who died in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-5. At the same time, a memorial to all the sailors of the battleship "Alexander III" who lost their lives in 1905 was built in the square next to the cathedral.
The cathedral houses 10 spectacular icons in gold frames that were a gift from Catherine the Great. The icons depict saints who are celebrated in the celebration of the Russian Navy. One of the most revered places in the cathedral is the image of Nicholas the Miracle-Worker, given to the church by Greek sailors, taken from Russia by the French in 1812 and returned to Nicholas I by the Prussians in 1835.
St. Nicholas Cathedral is one of the few cathedrals in the city that was not closed during Soviet times. In 1941, it became the official residence of the Metropolitan, who served in the cathedral from 1941 to 1944 during the 900-day siege. In 1989, a memorial plaque was placed in the cathedral to honor the 42 sailors who lost their lives off the coast of Norway. The inscription reads "In eternal memory of the sailors of the Russian float who were carried away by the sea on April 7, 1989."
How to go: It is located about 150 meters from Semimost'ye towards north.
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Kapustin house
Landmark
The house was built in 1910-1912 for construction contractor Konstantin Kapustin. After graduating from the Institute of Civil Engineers in 1908, Kapustin began his career in contracting. He inherited Dom No 157 and 159 in Fontanka. The rebuilding of Dome No. 159, he entrusted to his fellow practitioner at the institute, the famous architect Alexey Bubyr. Kapustin lived in apartment No. 9, the rest were rented out before the revolution. Now the building is a residential house.
How to go: It is located about 400 meters from Semimost'ye towards southwest at Fontanka River Embankment, 159.
Fontanka 167, Art Workshop
Art center
How to go: It is located about 70 meters from Kapustin house towards west at Fontanka River Embankment, 167.
Dom-Utyug
Tourist attraction
The former apartment building of Valentina Gustavovna Kudryavtseva. Nice building that attracts a lot of tourist with its shape.
How to go: It is located about 300 meters from Fontanka 167, Art Workshop towards west at Fontanka River Embankment, 199.
Old Kolomna Library-Museum
Museum
How to go: It is located about 200 meters from Dom-Utyug towards northeast at Griboyedov channel embankment, 168.
Museum of St. Petersburg Angels
Museum
How to go: It is located just opposite of Griboyedov Canal from Old Kolomna Library-Museum, about 110 meters north, cross by the bridge.
Monument to Volodya Yermak
Monument
The monument to Hero of the Soviet Union V. I. Yermak is located on Kulibina square. It was opened on May 6, 1997. The monument is a bronze bust of a height of 90 cm, mounted on a granite pedestal with a height of 230 cm. A soldier of the 42nd Army of the Leningrad Front, Private Vladimir Yermak, during a reconnaissance battle in the Sinyavino Heights area, closed the embrasure of the German bunker on July 19, 1943, scouts performance of combat mission. The title of Hero of the Soviet Union V. Ermak was posthumously awarded on February 21, 1944.
How to go: It is located about 120 meters from Museum of St. Petersburg Angels towards north.
Chapel of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker Above the Pryazhka River
Chapel
How to go: It is located on the bank of Pryazhka River. About 350 meters from Monument to Volodya Yermak towards northwest.
Chapel of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker
Chapel
How to go: It is located about 480 meters from Chapel of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker Above the Pryazhka River towards northeast at Naberezhnaya Reki Pryazhki, 1.
But the Muses were not silent
Museum
The three floors of this building contain collections related to art and culture during the siege of Leningrad. One room is dedicated to Shostakovich’s famous Leningrad Symphony with original manuscripts, photos and instruments on display. Other rooms are devoted to ballet and theatre, poetry and fine arts and contain original paintings, posters, photos and costumes. The last room is dedicated to the children who lived through the siege and has a collection of toys, sketches and clothing.
How to go: It is located about 180 meters from Chapel of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker towards northeast at
St. Petersburg House of Music
Museum
How to go: It is located about 200 meters from "But the Muses were not silent" museum towards northeast at embankment River Moyka, 122 A.
Museum-Apartment of A. A. Blok
Museum
This was where poet Alexander Blok lived from 1912 until he died in 1921. Born in 1880, Blok studied at the University of St Petersburg and began publishing his work whilst still an undergraduate. By the time he moved here, he was recognised as a poet, known for combining symbolism and mysticism with grim realism. Although he originally supported the October Revolution, Blok became disillusioned with it after the publication of his revolutionary narrative poem The Twelve (1918). In his apartment, he composed many of his most famous pieces, and on the second floor where his mother lived, where he died. A detailed exhibition which illustrates his development as a poet and his place within the Petrograd literary scene.
How to go: It is located about 380 meters from St. Petersburg House of Music towards southeast at Ulitsa Dekabristov, 57.
Jaani kirik
Lutheran Church
St. John's Church (Jaani Kirik) is a Protestant church founded in 1859 for the Estonian community living in the city at the time. It is considered a symbol of Estonia's independence. Here in 1888 Jacob Hart called for resistance to the Russian policies of the tsarist government, and on March 26, 1917, 40,000 Estonians began their march to Tauride Palace demanding national autonomy.
The Soviet government closed the church in 1930, the belfry and portal were demolished, and the building was used for warehouses and workshops. The renovation of the church began in July 2009 and was reconsecrated on February 22, 2011 by the Archbishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Estonia, and the President of Estonia Toomas Hendrik Ilves was present. As of 2014 St. John's Church belongs to Estonia.
How to go: It is located about 130 meters from Museum-Apartment of A. A. Blok towards east at the 54 ulitsa Dekabristov, close to the Mariinsky Theater.
Roman Catholic church of St. Stanislaus
Catholic Church
St. Stanislaus Church was the second Catholic church built in St. Petersburg after St. Catherine's on Nevsky Prospekt. Bishop Stanislaw (1731-1826), donated his money and land for the church which was his residence. The church was built between 1823 and 1825. It has a capacity of seven hundred. A year after the consecration, the archbishop was buried there.
Bishop Antoni Malecki (1861-1935), served there from 1887 to 1921 and was later exiled to Siberia in 1930. A plaque commemorates him in the church. The church was registered again in 1992.
How to go: It is located about 130 meters from Jaani kirik Lutheran Church towards south at Ulitsa Soyuza Pechatnikov, 22.
Mariinsky II
Theater
The Mariinsky Theater Second Stage is the second part of a theater complex consisting of the 1860 Mariinsky Theater and the 2007 Mariinsky Theater Concert Hall. The second phase construction was completed in May 2013 and a gala concert was held to celebrate the opening on 2 May 2013.
How to go: It is located about 320 meters from St. Stanislaus church towards east at Ulitsa Dekabristov, 34.
Mariinsky Theatre
Theater
The Imperial Drama, Opera and Ballet Troupe in St. Petersburg was founded in 1783 under the direction of Catherine the Great, although an Italian ballet troupe had performed at the Russian court since the early 18th century. In 1783 a permanent theater building was opened for new companies of opera and ballet artists. Known as "Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre". The structure was located on Carousel Square, which was renamed Theater Square in honor of the building.
In 1802-1803, the theater's interior layout, decoration and its exterior were reconstructed. But on the night of January 1, 1811, a massive fire broke out in the Bolshoi Theatre. Within two days, the rich interior was lost and the facade severely damaged by fire. On 3 February 1818 the restored Bolshoi Theater reopened.
In 1836, the cupola ceiling of the auditorium was replaced with a flat one, on top of which an artistic workshop and a hall for decorating sets were placed. The columns were removed from the auditorium because they interfered with the view, the auditorium was given its traditional horseshoe shape and its length and height were increased to seat two thousand people. On 27 November 1836, the reconstructed theater reopened.
On 29 January 1849, the Equestrian Circus opened on Theater Square. The building was designed to double as a theater. When, in 1859, the Circus Theater was destroyed by fire, a new theater was built on the same site. It was named "Marinsky" in honor of Empress Maria Alexandrovna, wife of Alexander II. The first theater in the new building opened on 2 October 1860.
The Mariinsky Theater went through several reconstructions. In 1885, when most productions moved to the Mariinsky Theater before the Bolshoi closed, a three-story wing was added to the left side of the building for theater workshops, rehearsal rooms, an electricity substation, and boiler room. In 1886 the ballet, which until then had continued to be performed at the Bolshoi Theatre, moved to the Mariinsky Theatre.
The St. Petersburg Conservatoire was built in the 1890s on the site of the Bolshoi Theater. In 1894, the wooden rafters were replaced with steel and concrete, the side wings were extended, and the visitor foyers were enlarged. The main facade was also reconstructed.
An official decree of 9 November 1917 made the Mariinsky Theater a state property. In 1920 it began to be called "State Academic Theater of Opera and Ballet" (GATOB) and in 1935 it was named "Kirov State Academic Theater of Opera and Ballet". In 1944, the theater was evacuated during World War II. Between 1968 and 1970 the theater underwent a major remodel, which resulted in the left side of the building being "extended" to its present form.
On 16 January 1992 the historical name of the theater was restored and it again became "State Academic Mariinsky Theatre". The nearby Mariinsky Theater concert hall opened in spring 2007 Construction of the second phase of the Mariinsky Theater was completed in May 2013 Today, the Mariinsky Theater is home to the Mariinsky Ballet, the Mariinsky Opera, and the Mariinsky Orchestra.
How to go: It is located east of Mariinsky II at Theatre Square, 1.
St. Petersburg Artist Museum-Exhibition Center
Art Museum
This private art gallery is housed in part of a historic building. Exhibitions in the gallery change every few months. Also hosts occasional concerts by local jazz and classical musicians.
Visiting Time: Wednesday to Sunday - 11 AM to 8 PM. Monday and Tuesday remains closed.
Entry Fee: 100 Rubles.
Photography: Photo and video - 100 Rubles.
How to go: It is located about 160 meters from Mariinsky Theatre towards north at 100, Moika Embankment.
Saint Petersburg Conservatory
Music School
The conservatory was founded in 1862 by the Russian Music Society and the Russian pianist and composer Anton Rubinstein. After his resignation in 1867. Composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov was appointed professor in 1871. The current building was built in the 1890s on the site of the old Bolshoi Theater in St. Petersburg. As the city changed its name in the 20th century, the conservatory was renamed Petrograd Conservatory and Leningrad Conservatory.
Rimsky-Korsakov taught at the conservatory for nearly forty years. The conservatory has borne the Rimsky-Korsakov name since 1944, the centenary of his birth. His bronze monument stands outside the building on Theater Square.
How to go: It is located about 160 meters from St. Petersburg Artist Museum-Exhibition Center towards southeast.
Yusupov Palace on Moika River
Landmark
Also called Moika Palace. The palace was first built around 1776. The building was rebuilt in the 1830s after the Yusupov family acquired the property. During this period the palace acquired its present appearance.
In 1831, Prince Boris Nikolaievich Yusupov (9 June 1794 – 25 October 1849), Marshal of the Imperial Court, inherited his vast family wealth, including over 675,000 acres of land and over 40,000 serfs living on it. Boris was mainly occupied with business concerns. Boris moved with his second wife Zenaida Ivanovna (18 May 1810 – 26 February 1893) to the Moika Palace in Saint Petersburg (also known as the Yusupov Palace). He died in 1849.
Boris's only son, Prince Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov (12 October 1827 – 31 July 1891). Not to be confused with his grandfather for the same name. He bought a large collection, including a 36 carat (7.2 g) diamond known as the Sultan of Morocco. The prince later spent much of his time in southern Europe, as well as serving the Tsar as a diplomat. While in Europe, he bought many things to decorate his Moika palace, including violins and a collection of paintings.
Prince Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov married Princess Tatiana Alexandrovna Yusupova (29 June 1828 – 14 January 1879). The prince was also a talented musician and composer and was a member of several music societies. In 1866, he published a book about the history of the Yusupov family. He died in 1891.
Nikolai's daughter, Princess Zinaida Nikolaievna (2 September 1861 – 24 November 1939), not to be confused with his grandmother Zenaida Ivanovna, inherited and became one of the richest women in the country. Princess Zinaida married Count Felix Felixovich (5 October 1856 – 10 June 1928) on 4 April 1882. After his father-in-law died, Felix was granted special permission from Tsar Alexander III to carry the title Prince Yusupov and Count Sumarokov-Elston, and to pass it to his and Zinaida's heir.
By the start of World War 1 the Yusupovs owned over 100,000 acres of land with over 16 palaces. Zinaida and Felix's eldest son was killed at the age of 26. Felix Yusupov, the youngest son of Zinaida and Felix, is famous for his involvement in the assassination of Grigori Rasputin. Felix Yusupov married Princess Irina, niece of the last Russian Tsar Nicholas II. Moika Palace was the scene of Grigory Rasputin's assassination.
The exact events surrounding Grigori Rasputin's death are still disputed. What seems clear is that on 17 December 1916, Grigory Rasputin was invited to Moika Palace by Felix Yusupov, along with Vladimir Purishkevich and Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich. He took Rasputin to a small but well-furnished cellar room in the palace. There he served Rasputin red wine. When Rasputin is attacked, Yusupov shoots Rasputin from the side.
Presuming him dead, Yusupov went upstairs where the other conspirators were waiting in a downstairs room. Rasputin succeeded in escaping through a side door into a gated courtyard that opened onto the street outside. Purishkevich then shot Rasputin in the back, at the door. The body is carried inside and a third bullet is fired at close range, entering his forehead. The conspirators wrapped Rasputin in a wide cloth, took him out of the city and dumped the body in the Malaya Neva.
Felix Yusupov was exiled to the Crimea after the assassination of Rasputin, but returned to St. Petersburg in 1917 to find the city in great disarray after the February Revolution. He took with him some valuable paintings and jewellery by Rembrandt. In April 1919, he left Russia for Paris, never to return. His daughter, Irina, moved to Greece with their children, and died on 30 August 1983 in Courmayeur, France.
After the Russian Revolution, the palace was nationalized and its artifacts were transferred to the Hermitage and other museums. In 1925, the mansion was handed over to the city's Education Commission. The Education Commissioner decided to preserve the palace as a public museum. Currently the palace serves as "Palace of Culture for Teachers".
The second floor reception area and the part of the building associated with Rasputin's assassination are maintained as a museum open for public tours. The premises where Rasputin tried to escape from his assassins is now occupied by a kindergarten playground next to the main building.
How to go: It is located about 60 meters from Saint Petersburg Conservatory towarsd northeast at Ulitsa Dekabristov, 21. East side of Garden of the Yusupov Palace on the Moika.
Museum of Art of St. Petersburg of the 20-21 centuries
Museum
The building was built in the second half of the 19th century. Once there was a police station and a fire station. In the late 19th century, the building was rebuilt and the police station became a police archive. In 1917, the building was badly damaged by fire and the police archives were burnt. The building was restored only in 1929 and adapted to the Leningrad Party Archives. The building was then used for the printing house, archives of the City Court.
From December 2015, the Museum of Art of XX-XXI centuries of St. Petersburg (MISP) entered here, which completely changed the external and internal architecture. The museum conducts exhibition activities based on its own collection, setting up various temporary exhibitions at four locations in the main building. The premises is a venue for various cultural events such as concerts, performances, film shows, fashion designs.
Exhibition activities are also held outside the museum, such as in various cities of Russia and abroad in Greece (Athens, Thessaloniki), Italy (Rome, Turin), Germany (Hamburg), Mexico (Mexico City).
Visiting Time: Tuesday, Thursday to Sunday - 12 PM to 8 PM. Wednesday - 2 PM to 9 PM.
How to go: It is located about 120 meters from Yusupov Palace on Moika River towards south at Griboyedov channel embankment, 103.
12 Iyulya
Art Gallery
Visiting Time: Tuesday to Thursday - 3 PM to 8 PM. Friday to Monday remains closed.
How to go: It is located on the south side, crossing the Bridge of Four Lions, about 150 meters from the Museum of Art of Saint Petersburg of the 20th-21st centuries at Griboyedov channel embankment, 100.
The House of Old Lady Pawnbroker
Historical landmark
How to go: It is located about 100 meters from 12 Iyulya towards south at Griboyedov channel embankment, 104.
Catherine's Assembly
Concert Hall
The house was built in the early 20th century for the St. Petersburg First Public Assembly, founded in 1790. In 1906 it got a new name, Catherine Assembly. The house then had a large theater hall for 700 seats. From the beginning there was a plan to set up a theater here. Originally it was the Catherine Theater and in December 1908, the famous theater of political satire "Crooked Mirror" opened here. Now it is a residential house.
How to go: It is located about 100 meters from The House of Old Lady Pawnbroker towards north.
Day-19:
House of Sonechka Marmeladova
Historical landmark
It is the fictional home of Sonya Marmeladova, one of the characters in Dostoevsky's novel "Crime and Punishment".
How to go: It is located about 230 meters from Catherine's Assembly towards east at Griboyedov channel embankment, 73. About 300 meters from Spasskaya Metro station towards northwest.
F. M. Dostoyevsky Literary Memorial Museum
Museum
F.M. The Dostoevsky Literary Memorial Museum opened on November 12, 1971 in the former apartment of Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevsky. Dostoevsky lived in the apartment twice in his life: first for a short time in 1846 at the beginning of his career, and again from October 1878 until his death in January 1881. Here he composed some of his most notable works. The apartment is reconstructed based on the memories of the author's second wife and her friends.
The museum library has about 24,000 volumes and a small collection of manuscripts. Every November, the museum hosts an international scholarly conference, Dostoevsky and World Culture, and a journal of the same name is published with the conference proceedings.
How to go: It is located about 100 meters from House of Sonechka Marmeladova towards east at Kaznacheyskaya Ulitsa, 7.
Raskolnikov's House
Landmark
The house was built in 1831. According to the researchers of art F.M. Dostoevsky, Rodion Raskolnikov, the main character of Dostoevsky's novel "Crime and Punishment", lived here. On the fourth floor, there was an apartment where Raskolnikov rented a room. The house has four floors. On the wall, there are two marble plaques marking the height of the water during the 1824 flood.
How to go: It is located about 100 meters from F. M. Dostoyevsky Literary Memorial Museum towards north. On the corner of Grazhdanskaya Street and Stolyarny Pereulok.
Museum of Records and Facts
Museum
Visiting Time: 10 AM to 9 PM every day.
How to go: It is located about 550 meters from Raskolnikov's House towards northeast at Kazanskaya St, 7.
Kazan Cathedral
Cathedral
Construction of the cathedral began in 1801 and continued for ten years, ending in 1811. After Napoleon invaded Russia in 1812 and Commander-in-Chief Kutuzov appealed to Our Lady of Kazan for help. When the Patriotic War ended, Russians saw the cathedral primarily as a memorial to their victory over Napoleon. Kutuzov was buried in the cathedral in 1813.
In 1815 the victorious Russian army from Europe brought the keys of seventeen cities and eight fortresses and placed them in the sanctuary of the cathedral. In 1837, two bronze statues of Kutuzov and Berkeley de Tolly were erected, which stand in front of the cathedral. Berkeley de Tolly (16 December 1761 – 14 May 1818) was a Russian field marshal who figured prominently in the Napoleonic Wars.
The cathedral was closed in January 1932. It was opened in November 1932 as the "Museum of the History of Religion and Atheism". Services as a cathedral resumed in 1992, and four years later the cathedral was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church. Kazan Cathedral is considered a model for Helsinki Cathedral in Finland. Since 2017 it serves as the mother cathedral of the Metropolis of Saint Petersburg.
The cathedral's massive bronze door is one of four copies of the original door of the Baptistery in Florence, Italy (the other three are Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, USA, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, USA, and the Florence Baptistery itself). There are 6 paintings on the royal gate. The left door has portraits of St. Luke, Archangel Gabriel and St. Matthew. The right door depicts Saint Mark, Virgin Mary and Saint John.
How to go: it is located about 250 meters from Museum of Records and Facts towards northeast at Kazan Square, 2.
Lutheran Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul
Lutheran church
Lutheran Germans lived in St. Petersburg from its founding. Initially, they gathered for their prayer meetings in a house where the New Hermitage is now located. In 1709, a small wooden church was built in the backyard, where people from the German Lutheran and Dutch Reformed communities gathered. The founding date of the community is believed to be 1710. Over time, the need arose to build a separate large church building.
By decree of 26 December 1727, Emperor Peter II allocated land to the German Lutheran community in a secluded area. The site was donated 'for the construction of an evangelical church, a school and a parsonage'. The church building was founded on June 29, 1728. On June 25, 1730, the church was consecrated in the name of the Apostles Peter and Paul. The building was made of brick, had a wooden tower and could hold 1,500 people.
In 1735, two wooden houses were built in front of the church building, where the apartments of the ministers of the church and the school were located. On December 27, 1737, the organ from Mitava, a state town in Latvia, was installed. The temple was completed ten years later in 1738. In 1740, all the wooden buildings facing Nevsky Street were demolished. In their place, between 1747 and 1752, new stone buildings were built.
In 1762, behind the church, a two-story Lutheran school building was built, which subsequently underwent many reconstructions, but has survived to this day. In 1820, an educational home for orphan boys was opened in the church. As early as 1832, when the church building fell into disrepair, a design for a new church was drawn up. In 1830-1832, the community rebuilt both corner houses. Three-storied stone houses were later built in place of the old buildings.
The old church building was demolished in the summer of 1833, and the foundation stone of a new church was laid on August 21. The construction of the temple was basically completed in three years. The finishing works were done in 1836-1838. A solar clock was built for the west (left) tower and a mechanical striking clock for the east (right). The striking clock mechanism was preserved until the middle of the 20th century. In front of the church, marble statues of the apostles Peter and Paul were placed.
On October 31, 1838, the new church was consecrated. In 1840, a large organ was installed in the temple. In 1841, an educational home for orphan girls and in 1843, a society for the care of the poor were created in the church. In 1851, oak doors were installed in the central portal. In 1863, the bell was made and placed in the west tower of the church. In 1864, 2 stained glass windows were installed on either side of the organ. Later, in 1866, at the request of the donors, they were moved down.
The church building fell into disrepair, as the soil was too soft and the differential pressure on it caused the walls to settle and crack. In the summer of 1883, the situation was partially rectified with the help of steel ties (which are still clearly visible inside the building), and the condition of the structure stabilized over time. During this same period, wooden roof rafters were replaced with metal trusses. In 1895-1897, the interior of the church was radically changed.
In 1910-1911, both buildings, which belong to the church and face Nevsky Street, were built on two floors. After the October Revolution, many church parishioners emigrated from the city. In 1932, Paul Reichert became pastor, assisted by his son Bruno Reichert. They were arrested in 1937 and executed by firing squad in 1938. The church was closed in December 1937. In 1938, the former church was used to exhibit the North Pole Panorama.
The building housed warehouses from 1939 and military units were stationed here in 1941-1945. After World War II, was heavily damaged. In 1958, construction of a swimming pool began in the building. This time, the interior was completely redone. The pool was inaugurated in 1963. On October 31, 1992, the first service took place in the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul. The building was officially returned to the believers in June 1993.
The rebuilding process of the building dragged on until 1997, when it was rededicated on September 16. In 1997-1998, a small organ was installed in the church. It was built in 1958 and was originally located at the Church Conservatory in Harford, Germany.
In 2016, the restoration of the church began. The first phase was the restoration of the sculpture of an angel with a cross on the facade of the temple. The work, which started in June 2016 and ended on October 31, 2016. The lost cross in the 1950s has been recreated according to historical records In April 2017, an organ was transported from the German Church, Stockholm, and its installation was completed on 1 June. The first organ concert took place on July 1, 2017.
The next phase was the restoration of the building's facade, which was completed in 2018-2019. The historic fences of the balconies were rebuilt and the central portal doors were restored. In the summer of 2019, statues of the apostles Peter and Paul were put on display in front of the building's central entrance.
On September 14, 2019, a bronze statue of German composer Johann Sebastian was unveiled opposite a statue of German writer Johann Wolfgang. The restoration of the church was completed on December 17, 2019. On October 29, 2021, the sun and mechanical clocks lost during the Soviet era were returned to the towers. The watch was recreated based on archival materials. The clock was consecrated on October 31, 2021 during a service for Reformation Day.
How to go: It is located about 50 meters from the opposite of Kazan Cathedral towards northwest.
Stroganov Palace
Palace
The first house for the Stroganovs family was probably built on the site in the 1720s. It was a single storey building. A second, two-story house was built on the site in the 1740s. The Stroganov family had been prominent merchants since the 15th century, but only rose to the rank of aristocracy during the reign of Peter the Great, when massive financial support was provided to the tsar's army in the Great Northern War.
During the reign of Empress Elizabeth, Baron Sergey Griogoryevich Stroganov and his son Count Alexander Sergeevich Stroganov, who was a leading administrator in Saint Petersburg and ended his life as President of the Academy of Arts and Director of the Imperial Public Library, brought the family to national fame. The Stroganov Palace was built in 1753-1754 for Baron Sergei Stroganov, which remains intact to this day.
In the 1790s and 1800s, the interior underwent renovations. After Alexander Stroganov died in 1811, the palace passed to his son Pavel. Pavel Stroganov had four daughters, but his only son was killed in the Battle of Craonne. He then established the Stroganov entail, i.e., an indivisible estate that would pass to the oldest member of the family. This chain of ownership was preserved until 1919 when the last Count Sergei Stroganov sold his rights.
In 1988 the palace was given to the Russian Museum. Exterior restoration was completed in 2003, and interior work is now slowly being completed. Many of these have now been restored and are open to the public as the State Rooms in the east enfilade of the building, notably, which houses Count Alexander's library and collection of precious stones and minerals, and the picture gallery, which was once home to his impressive art collection.
How to go: It is located about 60 meters from the opposite from Lutheran Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul towards northwest.
Day-20:
Armenian Apostolic Church of St. Catherine
Armenian church
The private stables of Empress Elizabeth of Russia stood on this site in the mid-18th century, until it was granted to the Petersburg Armenians on May 2, 1770 by Empress Catherine the Great. Its construction began in the spring of 1771 and was completed in 1776. The church was consecrated on February 18, 1780 in the presence of Catherine the Great's favorite Prince Grigory Potemkin. It is named after empress Catherine of Alexandria.
The church did not have a bell until 1865. The church was completely renovated in 1906-09. The church was closed by the Soviet authorities in May 1930. During World War II, the building served as the headquarters of anti-aircraft defense and later as a decoration room for the Leningrad Theater of Musical Comedy. The Armenian community regained ownership of the church in August 1992, and the first mass was held in March 1993.
The church was consecrated on July 12, 2000 after thorough restoration. It was renovated again in 2014
How to go: It is located south of Nevsky Prospekt Metro station.
Basilica of St. Catherine of Alexandria
Church
Saint Catherine Church is the oldest Catholic church in the Russian Federation, and the only church with the title of Basilica, granted on 23 July 2013. On December 12, 1705, Peter the Great signed a charter that would allow the construction of Catholic churches in Russia. The church was founded in 1710.
In 1738, Empress Anna gave permission to build structures on this land. Due to constant problems, the church was built late on October 7, 1783. Because the empress at the time was Catherine II of Russia, the church was named after Saint Catherine of Alexandria. In 1798, Stanislaw II Augustus, the last king of Poland, was buried in the church, although in 1938, after 140 years in the crypt, his remains were returned to Poland.
The church was governed by various monastic orders throughout its history. Mainly run by Franciscans (Franciscans are a group of religious orders related to the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by the Italian St. Francis of Assisi).
In 1800 Emperor Paul I returned the church to the Jesuits (The Society of Jesus, also known as the Jesuit Order or Jesuits, is a religious order of regular clergy for men of the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. Founded in 1540 by Ignatius of Loyola and six companions with the approval of Pope Paul III ).
In 1815, the church was run by Dominicans (The Order of Preachers, also known as the Dominican Order, a Catholic mendicant order of pontifical right founded in France by a Castilian priest named Dominique de Guzman), and finally in 1892, the church became an order ceased to be governed by and fell under the patronage of diocesan priests, although a Dominican community remained in the church.
On the eve of the Russian Revolution of 1917, the church had a membership of over thirty thousand parishioners. Under the Soviets, church activities were suppressed. The rector of St. Catherine's Church, Monsignor, was first convicted of anti-Soviet agitation for organizing non-violent resistance to anti-Soviet propaganda. He was shot in Lubyanka prison on Easter Sunday, 1923.
The church remained open until 1938. In 1938 the church was closed and ransacked. Artifacts, icons and books from the church's magnificent library were thrown into the streets. The church was further damaged by a fire in 1947, which destroyed the interior decoration of the church and its organs. For 30 years, the building was used only as a storage for the Kazan Cathedral, where the "Museum of the History of Religion and Atheism" was located. The building was again destroyed by fire in 1984.
In the early 1990s the Catholic Church in Russia began to function once more. In February 1992, the city authorities decided to return the building to the Catholic Church. The same year, the rebuilding of the church began. The first phase of restoration was completed by October 1992, with a temporary altar for worship. A chapel was opened in October 1998. The main altar was completed and blessed in 2000. Most of the churches were opened in 2003.
Visiting Time: 8 AM to 8 PM every day.
How to go: It is located about 120 meters from Kazan Cathedral towards east near Nevsky Prospekt Metro station.
Embankment of the Griboyedov Canal
Tourist attraction
Beautiful view of Griboyedov Canal.
How to go: It is located between Kazan Cathedral and Basilica of St. Catherine of Alexandria.
Museum of Emotions
Museum
The museum consists of a 5 or 6 small rooms dedicated to a different emotions.
Visiting Time: 11 AM to 9 PM every day.
Entry Fee: 600 Rubles for adult. 300 Rubles for discount. 990 Rubles for family. 999 Rubles for combined ticket to visit all objects (the Museum of Emotions, Art-Tir, the art laboratory "Emotional portrait", the art cafe "Snyt" and the photo zone "Sea Camomile").
How to go: It is located about 200 meters from Basilica of St. Catherine of Alexandria towards north through Embankment of the Griboyedov Canal.
Muruzi House
Landmark
Muruzi House was built in 1874-1877 for Count Alexander Dmitrievich Mourouzis (Muruzi) which once belonged to Nikolai Rezanov. From 1890 until the Revolution the house was owned by Lieutenant General Oskar Rein. It is the residence or work place of several Russian-language literary figures.
The Poets' House was opened here in 1920 under the poet Nikolay Gumilyov, and the poet Korney Chukovskiy opened a studio to teach young literary translators under the post-revolutionary publishing project "World Literature". In the early 20th century lived the family of writers Zinaida Gippius and Dmitry Merezhkovskiy. From 1955-1972 the Russian poet and Nobel laureate Joseph Brodsky lived in a apartment of Muruzi house, nowadays his memorial museum is opened in his former apartment.
How to go: It is located north of Museum of Emotions.
Museum-Apartment of I. I. Brodsky
Museum
The memorial museum was built in 2006 on behalf of the Governor of Saint Petersburg in memory of poet and Nobel laureate, Joseph Brodsky (24 May 1940 – 28 January 1996) as he lived in an apartment in Muruzi House from 1955-1972. The poet ran afoul of the Soviet authorities and was expelled from the Soviet Union in 1972 and settled in the United States.
The museum does not officially function, because its founders failed to acquire the entire apartment. Therefore, the museum is still officially a residential unit.
How to go: It is located in Muruzi House.
Mikhailovsky Theatre
Theater
The theater was founded in 1833 by decree of Tsar Nicholas I. Before the revolution of 1917, Mikhailovsky did not have his own residential company. Performances were given either by a French company, or by the Mariinsky Theater and Alexandrinsky Theater companies. The French company was forced to leave Russia when the Bolsheviks took power, and the Mikhailovsky Theater closed in 1917. On 6 March 1918 the theater was reopened as an opera theatre.
From 1918 to 1920 it was renamed "Ex-Mikhailovsky Theater". In 1920 it was named "State Academic Comic Opera Theatre", in 1921 the theater was renamed "Maly (Little) Opera Theatre", in 1926 it received the name "Leningrad State Academic Maly Opera Theatre". The first ballet premiered here on 6 June 1933. From 1989 to 2007, the theater was named "Modest Mussorgsky", later reverting to its original name "Mikhailovsky Theatre".
The ballet company of the Mikhailovsky Theater made its London debut in July 2008 at the London Coliseum. This season helped bring the company international recognition and was nominated for the Best Foreign Dance Company award at the National Dance Awards in 2008, although Mikhailovsky lost to the New York City Ballet.
In 2013, the Mikhailovsky opera debuted at the Savonlinna Opera Festival and, in November 2014, the Mikhailovsky ballet made its US debut at New York's Lincoln Center.
How to go: It is located north of Muruzi House.
Arts Square
Square
Before the square was built, the land was the hunting ground of Empress Anna. The structures surrounding the square are the Mikhailovsky Palace to the north, the Mikhailovsky Theater to the west, the Jacot House to the east, and the St. Petersburg Philharmonic to the south. From 1834 to 1918, the square was known as Mikhailovskaya Square and from 1923 to 1952 as Lasalle Square.
How to go: It is located west of Mikhailovsky Theatre.
Mikhailovsky Palace
Palace Museum
The palace was designed as a residence for Grand Duke Michael Pavlovich, the youngest son of Emperor Paul I. In 1801, Paul was deposed and assassinated. His successor Alexander I ascended the throne. The new emperor decided to follow his father's wishes and gave his approval for the construction of the new palace when Michael was 21 years old. The designs were made in 1817.
First the site of the Vorontsov Palace was proposed, and then the site of the Chernyshev residence, which later became the site of the Mariinsky Palace. Both options were rejected by Alexander I, choosing a new site instead. Construction began on 26 July 1819. The main part of the palace was built between 1819 and 1820, with wings added in 1821, with most of the construction completed by the end of 1822. Interior design and decoration were completed over the next two years.
Grand Duke Michael married Princess Elena Pavlovna in February 1824, and the palace was largely completed by the middle of the following year. The palace was officially completed on 11 September 1825, when the Emperor presented it to Michael. A sumptuous feast was held to mark the occasion, and the next day Alexander set out on his journey south, where he died. Michael and his new wife move from their apartment in the Winter Palace to their new home.
The palace consists of a central block with two wings. The western wing was called the Freylinskiy, or Ladies-in-Waiting Wing, and the eastern wing the Manezhny Wing, or Riding Hall Wing. A separate outbuilding was used by the Manezhny wing for stables, and another outbuilding for laundry. The two lions on the entrance staircase were specially cast for the palace in 1824. At the southeast corner of the mezzanine floor was a house chapel dedicated to Archangel Michael.
Grand Duke Michael died in 1849, leaving the palace to his widow Elena. Elena died in 1873 and the palace passed to her third daughter Catherine Mikhailovna. A new suite of eight rooms for Grand Duchess Catherine Mikhailovna and her daughter Helena was built in the Manezhny Wing in 1865, which became Catherine's main residence until her death on 30 April 1894. The mansion then passed to his children - George Alexander, Charles Michael and Helena.
This created a political conflict over the ownership of the palace. Emperor Alexander III decided to buy the palace at government expense and establish the Keseninsky Institute there, but died in 1894, and on 20 January 1895, the Mikhailovsky Palace passed into the hands of the Romanovs. The departing family was allowed to take some decorations related to family history, which resulted in the removal of many chandeliers, doors and fireplaces.
Finance Minister Sergei Witte suggested that the Mikhailovsky Palace would be suitable for a museum of Russian art in honor of Emperor Alexander III, which Emperor Nicholas agreed to. The Hermitage Museum contains mostly the works of foreign artists, with a single room devoted only to indigenous art. So on 13 April 1895 Nicholas II established the "Russian Museum of Emperor Alexander III" by personal decree and selected the Mikhailovsky Palace complex.
The interior of the palace was remodeled. Doors were raised, some were closed and new paths were made. Smaller rooms were combined to create larger exhibition spaces. Concrete ceilings were also installed, as well as measures to improve ventilation and water supply. Work on the main building was completed by the spring of 1896, after which interior work began. The museum was officially opened on 7 March 1898.
The detached building named Benois Wing was founded on 27 June 1914. Due to World War I, it was completed in 1919. It was handed over to Russian Museum in the early 1930s. In November 1941, during the Siege of Leningrad, the building was hit by two high-explosive bombs. Restoration work was carried out between 1947 and 1963. In 1958, a passage was built connecting it to the Freylinskiy Wing, now known as the Rossi Wing.
The Mikhailovsky Palace houses the main building of the Russian Museum and is used to display a collection of works of art from the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Entrances and exits are on the ground floor, which houses the ticket office, cloakrooms, shops, cafes and other visitor facilities. The Rossi Wing, formerly the Freylinskiy Wing, displays examples of 19th-century art and Russian folk art. Twentieth-century art and temporary exhibitions are displayed in the Benois wing.
Between 1900 and 1911 the former Manezhny branch was demolished to make way for a new building, which now houses the Russian Museum of Ethnography, initially the ethnographic department of the Russian Museum, but established as a separate museum in 1934. Between 2000 and 2002 the original decoration of the palace church was recreated.
Visiting Time: Monday - 10 AM to 8 PM. Wednesday and Friday - 10 AM to 6 PM. Thursday - 1 AM to 9 PM. Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday remains closed.
Entry Fee: 350 Rubles for adult. 170 Rubles for pupil over 16 years old and student, 450 Rubles for foreign adult. 200 Rubles for foreign student. Free for child of preschool and school age, members of unions of artists, architects, designers of Russia, cadets.
How to go: It is located north of Arts Square.
Rossi Pavilion
Pavilion
The pavilion formed part of the general reconstruction of the garden and its surrounding areas, begun in 1817 under the orders of Emperor Alexander I. The centrepiece was to be a new palace complex for his younger brother, Grand Duke Michael Pavlovich. The palace was designed by Rossi, and approved by the emperor in April 1822. The garden plans followed the style and techniques of English landscape gardens, which had become internationally popular in the eighteenth century. The pavilion and its pier was completed in 1825. Rossi himself designed the railings for the pier.
Construction of the Mikhailovsky garden began in 1817. By order of Emperor Alexander I, a new palace complex was built for his younger brother, Grand Duke Michael Pavlovich. The palace was designed by Rossi and approved by the Emperor in April 1822. The garden plans followed the style and techniques of English landscape gardening, which became popular internationally in that time. The pavilion and its pier were completed in 1825.
Restoration work carried out between 2002 and 2004 included the pavilion, which restored the gardens to Rossi's original design. At this time, Rossi's bust was installed in the pavilion.
How to go: It is located on the bank of the Moyka River in the north end of Mikhailovsky Garden.
Russian Ethnographic Museum
Ethnographic Museum
Between 1900 and 1911 the former Manezhny wings of Mikhailovsky Palace was demolished to make way for a new building, which now houses the Russian Museum of Ethnography, initially the ethnographic department of the Russian Museum, but established as a separate museum in 1934.
Visiting Time: Tuesday - 10 AM to 9 PM. Wednesday to Sunday - 10 AM to 6 PM. Monday and the last Friday of each month remains closed.
Entry Fee: 250 Rubles for adult. 100 Rubles for student. 50 Rubles for child.
Photography: 150 Rubles for photo and 350 Rubles for video.
How to go: It is located east of Mikhailovsky Palace.
Saint Petersburg Philharmonia
Music Society
Saint Petersburg Philharmonia, officially the Saint Petersburg Academic Philharmonia Named After D. D. Shostakovich, is a music society, and is the name of the building where it is housed. Also there is another one building of Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Society: Malii Zal (Small Hall). The society now hosts two symphony orchestras: Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra and Saint Petersburg Academic Symphony Orchestra. The venue is named after Dmitri Shostakovich.
St. Petersburg Philharmonia was established in 1802.
The building currently housing the Philharmonia was completed 1839.
The Bolshoi Zal has a capacity of 1500 seats. It is one of the best known music halls in Russia.
How to go: It is located about 110 meters from Museum of Emotions towards southeast, and south of Arts Square at Mikhaylovskaya Street, 2.
Komissarzhevskaya Theatre
Theater
In 1846, Count Essen-Stenbock-Fermor acquired the grounds and built an elite shopping mall. The name comes from a vast gallery that provides the main passage through the mall. The gallery was covered by an arching glass and steel roof, thus claiming to be one of the world's first shopping malls, along with Passage du Caire in Paris (1798) Burlington Arcade in London, Galerie Vivienne in Paris (1823) and Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert in Brussels.
The three-story building at the Passage opened its doors to customers on May 9, 1848. It was one of the first structures in Russia to use gas for lighting. Another innovation was an underground floor, where an electrical station would be installed in 1900. Although the store specialized in jewelry, expensive clothes, and other luxury goods, ordinary people flocked to see the most fashionable store in the Russian Empire. A 50 kopeck fee had to be introduced to limit admission.
Stenbock-Fermor designed the Passage Building not only as a shopping mall, but also as a cultural and social center. The building housed coffee-houses, confectioneries, panorama installations, an anatomical museum, a wax museum, a small zoo and even a concert hall. The concert hall became famous as an environment for literary readings. In 1897 ownership of the passage passed from the Stenbock-Fermer heirs to Princess Nadezhda Boryatinsky.
A major fire in 1898 necessitated a major renovation, financed by Crédit Lyonnais, a bank that leased a large portion of the store as its offices. In 1900, the building was reconstructed by adding another floor and rebuilt in Radom sandstone. The new owner converted the former concert hall into a theater with Vera Komissarzhevskaya (November 1864 – 23 February 1910) appointed as its artistic director. Komissarzhevskaya died in 1910.
The company was chartered as a drama theater in 1943. It is named after V F Komissarzhevskaya in 1959, and awarded academic status in 1994.
How to go: at Italyanskaya Street, 19.
Hygiene Museum
Museum
The museum displays pictures, models and wax works throughout the rooms devoted to themes such as human anatomy, infectious diseases and bad habits.
Visiting Time: Monday to Friday - 10 AM to 6 PM. Saturday - 11 AM to 6 PM.
Entry Fee: 90 Rubles.
Photography: Not allowed.
How to go: It is located about 60 meters from Komissarzhevskaya Theatre towards east at 25, Italianskaya Ulitsa.
Italian Courtyard
Tourist Attraction
In 2013, residents of a few houses on Italian Street invited a talented artist to decorate their yards. Venice, Rome and classical Italian architecture, this is what he painted on the walls of the courtyard. The inner courtyard area is very clean and well maintained. There are comfortable benches and a children's playground. The gates are usually closed, so to get in, residents have to wait for one.
How to go: It is located about 80 meters from Hygiene Museum towards east at Italyanskaya Street, 29.
Russkiy Levsha
Museum
Russian Lefty Museum is a collection of micro-miniatures, some of the exhibits of which are smaller than a millimeter in size. The microminiatures were made by master Vladimir Aniskin.
Visiting Time: 11 AM to 7 PM every day.
Entry Fee: 400 Rubles for adult and 200 Rubles for student.
How to go: It is located about 50 meters from Italian Courtyard towards east at Italyanskaya Street, 35.
Faberge Museum
Museum
The Fabergé Museum is a privately owned museum founded by Viktor Vekselberg (born April 14, 1957). The museum's collection includes more than 4,000 decorative applications and works of fine art, including gold and silver items, paintings, porcelain and bronze. A highlight of the museum's collection is the group of nine Imperial Easter eggs made by Fabergé (a jewelery firm founded in 1842) for the last two Russian tsars.
In February 2004, Vekselberg purchased nine Fabergé Imperial Easter eggs from the Forbes publishing family in New York City. The collection was transferred to Russia and exhibited in the Kremlin and Dubrovnik in 2007. Fabergé Museum in Saint Petersburg, which had its official opening on November 19, 2013.
Visiting Time: Saturday to Thursday - 10 AM to 9 PM every day. Friday remains closed.
Entry Fee: 450 Rubles. 600 Rubles for guided tour.
Photography: Non-flash still photography is permitted. No video.
How to go: It is located about 120 meters from Russkiy Levsha museum towards east at Fontanka River Embankment, 21.
Svinoye Rylo
Art gallery
Pig's Snout Art Gallery exhibits contemporary art, narrative, ironic, art-brut and naive art.
Visiting Time: Wednesday to Friday - 1 PM to 8 PM Saturday and Sunday - 5 PM to 8 PM.
How to go: It is located about 200 meters from Faberge Museum towards north at Fontanka River Embankment, 5.
Bolshoi State Circus
Circus
Also called Ciniselli Circus. The building, which still stands, was opened on 26 December 1877 with a large stage (13 meters) and stables (accommodating 150 horses). Italian circus performer Gaetano Ciniselli (1815-1881) first visited St. Petersburg in 1845 as part of a troupe. He returned to Russia in 1869, this time working with his brother-in-law, Carl-Magnus Hinne, in his circus. Ciniselli settled in Russia and inherited Hinn's circus in 1875.
The Ciniselli family operated the circus until 1919, when they emigrated. They often leased the building to stage high-profile entertainment events, such as the World Wrestling Championships in 1898. The building houses the world's first circus museum, opened in 1928 and as of 2002 boasts over 80,000 exhibits.
How to go: It is located about 60 meters from Svinoye Rylo museum towards north at Fontanka River Embankment, 3.
Multimedia Center of the Russian Museum
Museum
How to go: It is located about 70 meters from Bolshoi State Circus towards west at Inzhenernaya Street, 8.
Saint Michael's Castle
Palace Museum
Emperor Paul 1 disliked the Winter Palace where he never felt safe. Because of his constant fear of assassination, Saint Michael's Castle was built for his residence in place of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna's small wooden palace. Construction began on February 26, 1797. The site was surrounded by the waters of the Moica River, the Fontanka River and two specially dug canals (Church Canal and Sunday Canal), which transformed the castle area into an artificial island reached by drawbridges.
The fort was completed on 8 November 1800, although interior finishing continued until March 1801. The fort looks different from every direction. In 1800, the monument to Peter the Great was placed in front of the castle, which was designed during Peter the Great's lifetime and later cast in 1747. By order of Paul I, the inscription "Great Great Grandson to Great Father" was erected on the pedestal depicting the scene of two Russian victories over Sweden during the Great Northern Wars.
Paul I was assassinated just 40 nights after moving into his newly built castle. He was murdered on 12 March 1801, in his own bedroom, by a group of dismissed officers. He was succeeded by his son, Emperor Alexander I, who was actually in the palace at that time. After Paul's death, the royal family returned to the Winter Palace, leaving St. Michael's Castle abandoned.
In 1823, the fort was given to the Army Engineering School. Since then the building has been known as Engineers Castle. In the early 1990s, St. Michael's Castle became a branch of the Russian Museum and housed the Portrait Gallery, which contains official portraits of Russian emperors and empresses and various dignitaries and celebrities from the late 17th to early 20th centuries. In 1991, the Russian Museum began extensive renovations of the castle. Lasts for over 30 years.
How to go: It is located about 110 meters from Multimedia Center of the Russian Museum towards north.
Chizhik Pyzhik
Statue
A bird statue of 11 cm height and about 5 kg weight was created in 1994. It is one of the smallest statues in St. Petersburg. The statue has been stolen several times. After the last ceremony, in 2002, the staff of the Museum of Urban Sculpture made a copy from the designs kept in the museum.
How to go: The statue is located just opposite the former School of Jurisprudence. The statue perches on a ledge in the embankment, in the proximity of the First Engineer Bridge.
Day-21:
Summer Garden
Historic Park
The Summer Garden is a historic public park and shares its name with the adjacent Summer Palace of Peter the Great. It dates back to the early 18th century when Russia took these lands from Sweden in the Great Northern War (1700–1721). The park was personally designed by Tsar Peter in 1704. Beginning in 1712, the planting of the summer garden was more elaborate. The Summer Garden was originally completed in 1719.
It has benches and side walks where Peter the Great used to spend his summer afternoons. Between 1771 and 1784 a fine cast-iron railing was erected separating the park from the public walk on the palace embankment. The grill design is one of the symbols of St. Petersburg. In 1777, the garden was almost completely destroyed by a flood, but was quickly restored. In 1826, a grotto pavilion was rebuilt into a coffee house. In 1827, a tea house was built.
On the shore of the carp pond, a porphyry vase gifted by Charles XIV of Sweden to the Tsar Nicolas I (1796-1855) was placed in 1839.
In 1854, a famous monument to children's writer Ivan Krylov was opened in the park. It was the first monument to a poet in Eastern Europe. On April 4, 1866, Dmitry Karakozov made the first attempt to assassinate the tsar while leaving the Summer Garden. As the attempt proved futile, the wonderful Summergrill Memorial Chapel in a Russian Revival style was built above the gate. After the October Revolution, the Bolsheviks broke this reunification.
There were one hundred marble sculptures. At the end of the 20th century, in order to protect the 90 surviving statues, to protect them from vandalism, the Russian Museum undertook to copy them to the adjacent St. Michael's Castle, and placed the copies in the open garden. They are covered with wooden cases to protect the sculptures from the winter weather and are opened and cleaned again in the warm season.
Visiting Time: Summer - 10 AM to 9 PM every day. Winter - 10 AM to 7:30 PM .
Lebyazh'ya Kanavka
Swan Canal
The 648-meter long Swan Canal separates two of the most famous green spaces of St. Petersburg - the Field of Mars and the Summer Garden. It is one of the oldest canals in Russia, which was dug in 1711-1719. It was named only later, when swans began to settle there. A pier on the canal was built in 1799. The pier was decorated with iron vases.
Two single-span bridges cross the Swan Canal: Verkhniy Lebyazhy (Upper Swan) Bridge over the Palace Embankment and Nizhniy Lebyazhy (Lower Swan) Bridge at the confluence of the Moika River. The first was built in stone in 1768 and replaced with reinforced concrete in 1927, preserving the original form and granite cladding. The second bridge was built in 1837 and rebuilt in 1925. Today small pleasure boats cruise along the beautiful Swan Canal.
How to go: It is located between Summer Garden and the Field of Mars.
Summer Palace of Peter the Great
Palace
The Summer Palace was planned by Peter the Great, the first Russian emperor, in 1710 on the banks of the Fontanka River. The construction of the summer palace was completed in 1714. It was a two-storied stone building with a four-pitched roof. The two floors had similar floor plans, each with seven rooms. Notable rooms include the reception room; Assembly Hall (Grand Hall); the prison where Peter personally tried, imprisoned, and released prisoners; And Peter's favorite room, his workshop.
From 1714, the summer palace became the residence of Peter the Great and his second wife, Catherine I of Russia, and many of their 12 children; Peter occupied the first floor until Peter's death in 1725, and Catherine occupied the second with the children. Peter and his wife Catherine lived in the palace from May to October during the summer and held parties to entertain guests. He also used this palace on his way to and from Europe.
After the death of Peter the Great, the summer palace was occupied by members of the imperial family and their courtiers for several years. During the reign of Catherine the Great between 1762-1796, the interior of the Summer Palace was modified for use by court officials during the summer months. In 1826, the Italian architect Carlo Rossi turned it into a coffee house, but by the end of the 19th century it was empty.
In 1925, the palace was handed over to the Department of History and Living Environment of the State Russian Museum. In 1934 the summer palace was turned into a museum depicting the daily life of Peter the Great and includes the original oak staircase as well as the upper and lower kitchens and the Green Drawing Room with Catherine's apartment upstairs.
During World War II, both the Summer Palace and the Summer Gardens were severely damaged by German bombing. In the early 1960s, the summer palace was completely restored, including its interior, carved oak panels with images of Minerva in the lower lobby, unique Dutch tiles for its heating system, and fireplaces with stucco decorations. The Summer Palace Museum has been a part of the State Russian Museum since 2004.
Visiting Time: Opening hours from June to October daily start at 10:00 (10 a.m.) and last to 18:00 (6 p.m.).[6]
How to go: It is located northeast corner of Summer Garden.
Field of Mars
Square
With the establishment of the royal residence in the Summer Garden in 1704, the area became a buffer zone separating the royal estate from the rest of the city. Between 1711 and 1721 two canals, the "Swan" and the "Red" were dug in the east and west respectively for the purpose of draining the land. It forms a roughly rectangular plot of land, initially called "pustoi", meaning "empty", and from the 1720s "great meadow". In 1712 an inn was built on the north-west part of the estate, rebuilt as a post office in 1714.
Between 1713 and 1717 the area hosted the royal menagerie, which housed a variety of birds and animals, including an elephant. With the construction of the Red Canal, the menagerie moved to Hamovaya Street (now Mokhovaya Street). With the completion of the Red Canal in 1721, the west end of Big Meadow became a popular place for aristocrats to build large townhouses. On the orders of Peter the Great, the land was leveled, cleared and sown with grass, making lanes for walking.
The Great Meadow became a location for military parades and festivals. The celebration of the Treaty of Nystad in 1721 was held here. The Treaty of Nystad was the last peace treaty of the Great Northern War of 1700–1721. It was concluded between the Russia and Sweden on 10 September 1721. A triumphal arch was built to commemorate the treaty. The area came to be known as the "Recreation Field".
The Gottorp Globe was displayed in the Neuwerk Gardens at Gottorf Castle in Schleswig, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. The globe was completed in 1664. In 1717 the globe was moved to St. Petersburg. It was installed on this field soon after arriving in St. Petersburg. In the summer of 1726, a building was built for it and opened to the public for a time before the Globe moved to the Kunstkamera on Vasilyevsky Island.
During the reign of Empress Anna between 1730 and 1740, the grounds were used to host military exercises and parades for two weeks each autumn. After this parade the officers dined in the summer palace, while the soldiers ate in the meadow. In February 1740 Empress Anna ordered repairs and improvements to the square, including the planting of trees and the removal of some buildings. New paths were laid. Further work was carried out between 1741 and 1762 during the early reign of Empress Elizabeth.
In the second half of the eighteenth century the city continued to expand and large townhouses and palaces were built along the northern border of the meadow along the Neva embankment. The Marble Palace was the first, built between 1765 and 1785. A three-storied Lombard building was built on the western side of the meadow. A flood in 1777 damaged much of the meadow. The Red Canal was filled in in 1780, becoming the street, which was renamed Tsaritsynskaya Street in 1798. Betskoy and Saltykov mansions were built in the 1780s.
In 1799, an obelisk was erected in the middle of the field, and in 1801, the Suvorov Monument was unveiled on the south side of the field. During the reign of Paul I, The Meadow was mainly used for military parades, his son, Alexander I, transferred the land from the city authorities to the army. It was renamed "Field of Mars" in 1805, commemorating Mars, the god of war in Roman mythology.
The obelisk was moved to Vasilyevsky Island while the Suvorov monument was moved to a new square, later named Suvorov Square, north of Mars Field on the Neva Embankment and between the Marble Palace and the Saltykov Mansion. Between 1817 and 1821 a large building was built to the west of the square to house the barracks of the Pavlovsky regiment, the western part of which was completed with the houses between Moyka and the south of the Pavlovsky regiment building.
In 1823, Sadovaya Street was extended to the eastern edge of Mars Square, joining the avenue running parallel to the Swan Canal. From the 1820s Mars Square became the main site of military parades in St. Petersburg. A prayer service was held after the Russo-Turkish War on 23 September 1829, and a parade in 1831 celebrated the end of hostilities with Poland after the November Uprising.
From 1869, folk festivals started once again on the Field of Mars. Along with entertainment, sports competitions are also held. In 1907, festivals on the Field of Mars were banned. Sports events tend to be held in the field. It hosted the World Championship in speed skating in the winter of 1903, and in 1913 the first intercity hockey match was held here. A reinforced concrete skating rink was built that year and demolished shortly after.
In the winter of 1910-1911, deer were brought into the field and offered to citizens for horse riding. On April 17, 1912, a telescope was set up in the grounds for citizens to observe the solar eclipse. After the February Revolution, Petrograd decided to build a cemetery for those killed in the Soviet unrest. Four large graves were excavated centered around Mars Field. On April 5, 1917, 184 people were buried on Mars Fild.
The first private burial took place on 23 June 1918. During this time the Field of Mars continued to be used as a military parade and training ground. A review of the first "Red Officers" was held on 18 September 1918. On its first anniversary, the "Field of Mars" of the October Revolution was renamed "Victims of the Revolution Square". On October 25, 1921, the square was transferred to the city's Parks and Gardens Administration. The last burial in the square was on 8 October 1933.
The square was landscaped with vegetable gardens in the summer of 1942 to feed the city during the Siege of Leningrad. The square's former name, "Field of Mars", was restored on 13 January 1944. It was further reconstructed between 1947 and 1955. An eternal flame was lit in the center of the square on 6 November 1957, commemorating the victims of various wars and revolutions. The flame lit from the open-earth furnace was Russia's first eternal flame.
Between 1998 and 2001 the square was reconstructed once more. Over 3,800 new shrubs and trees were planted and paths and lawns were repaired. The Monument to the Fighters of the Revolution was also restored, again on 14 November 2003 with a flame taken from the furnace of the Kirov factory. The memorial was restored in 2014.
How to go: It is located west of Summer Garden.
Betsky's House
Historical Landmark
In the early 18th century, regimental barracks were located on this site. There was a swimming pool in 1725 and a guardhouse in 1731. And in 1750, the Opera House (a two-story wooden building) was built here, which stood until 1773. Between 1784 and 1787, at this place, by order of Catherine II, a house was built for Ivan Ivanovich Betsky. Betsky is known for his role in establishing the foundations of education in Russia. He was also the author of the reform of school education, and the president of the Academy of Arts.
Betsky moved into a house on the Palace Embankment in 1789. The building included a hanging garden. The building consists of a two-storied building on the Meadow side and a three-storied building on the Never side. The buildings were interconnected by a one-story wing from the Summer Garden side. The owner had a collection of artworks. Famous people like the King of Poland Denis Diderot visited this house. Evenings were held here for the students of educational institutions under Betsky.
Many places in the palace were rented out. Krylov Ivan Andreevich lived in Betsky's house in 1791-96. Here they opened a printing house, where he published magazines. When Betsky died, his daughter Elena became the owner of the house in 1795, and in 1822 the house passed into the possession of Elena's daughters. In 1830 the Treasury bought the Betsky house and handed it over to Prince PG Oldenburgsky.
Oldenburgsky was famous in education. He rebuilt the building. In place of the hanging garden, a floor for a dance-hall was added. Also, a chapel was built here. In the 1850s, another reconstruction of the palace took place, as a result of which its height was equalized on all sides. Regular musical evenings were held at the house and after parades held on the Fild of Mars, the his colleagues and other officers would gather here.
In 1917, Oldenburgsky's son sold the house to the Provisional Government, which handed it over to the Ministry of Education. The artifacts were moved to the Hermitage. After the revolution there were communal apartments here. Currently, the Betsky house belongs to the University of Culture. The building is connected to Saltykovs' house, which also belongs to the university.
How to go: It is northeast corner of Field of Mars.
Saltykov Mansions
Historical Landmark
Catherine the Great initially gave the land to her personal secretary Pyotr Soimonov who soon sold it to the merchant Philipp Grootten (1748–1815). He built a palace for him whose neo-classical facade can still be seen across the Neva. Grootten Palace was sold in 1793, and it changed hands. In 1796, the palace became the property of Count Nikolai Saltykov, interim head of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. Until 1918 the palace was the property of the Saltykov family.
In 1828 the Saltykovs rented out the fully furnished mansion. It was leased by the Austrian government as its embassy in the Russian capital. From September 1831 to 1855 Saltykov Mansion was the residence of the Austrian ambassador. The Saltykov Mansion became the site of two of the most famous salons of the time. Later, the second and third floors were rented by the Danish diplomat Otten Plessen. In 1863, the British government leased the Saltykow Mansion and it became the British Embassy until 1918.
Currently, the Saltykov Mansions belongs to the University of Culture. The building is connected to Betsky's House, which also belongs to the university.
How to go: It is located west of Betsky's House.
Suvorov Square
Square
The land was owned by Alexander Vorontsov. Vorontsov died on 2 December 1805 and it became a garden for the Saltykov mansion. In 1818, the garden was bought by the treasury and redeveloped into a square. The monument to Alexander Suvorov was moved to the center of the new square, and from 1823 it was known as Suvorov Square. In 1824 the Trinity Bridge connected Suvorov Square with Trinity Square across the Neva. From 1895 to 1910, the tramway was laid.
How to go: It is located west of Saltykov Mansions.
Service Building of the Marble Palace
Historic Landmark
The Service Building was built simultaneously with the Marble Palace in 1780-1788. In 1844-1849, the building was thoroughly rebuilt. The building passed to the state in 1915, when one of the previous owners, Grand Duchess Elizaveta Mavrikievna, continued to live here after the Bolsheviks came to power. On the facade of the building you can see the work of sculptor P.K. Klodt - frieze “Service of the horse to man”.
How to go: It is located west of Suvorov Square.
Marble Palace
Palace
The palace was built as a gift from Empress Catherine the Great for Count Grigory Orlov, her favorite and the most powerful Russian nobleman of the 1760s. Construction began in 1768. The palace derives its name from the different types of marble it adorns. In all, 32 different shades of marble were used to decorate the palace. Each of its four facades has a different design.
In 1797–1798 the structure was leased to Stanislaw II Augustus, the last king of Poland. The palace then belonged to Grand Duke Constantine Pavlovich and the heirs of the Konstantinovichi branch of the House of Romanov. In 1843, Grand Duke Constantine Nikolayevich decided to redecorate the building, renaming it the Constantine Palace. Only the original staircase and marble hall survived.
During the Soviet era, the palace was successively home to the Ministry of Labor (1917–19), the Academy of Material Culture (1919–36) and the main local branch of the Moscow-based Central Lenin Museum (1937–91). Currently, the palace houses the permanent exhibitions of the Russian State Museum.
On May 23, 1909, the monument to Alexander III was unveiled in the center of present-day Ploshchad Vosstaniya in front of the Moscow train station. The monument was desecrated in February 1917. In 1937 it was moved from Ploshchad Vosstaniya to an inner court yard of the Russian Museum. In 1994, the monument was moved to the courtyard near the entrance to the Marble Palace where previously stood Lenin's famous political rallying armored car.
Visiting Time: Wednesday to Sunday - 10 AM to 6 PM. Monday - 10 AM to 5 PM. Tuesday remains closed.
How to go: It is located west of Service Building of the Marble Palace.
Gallery Deuce
Art gallery
How to go: It is located about 40 meters from Marble Palace towards southwest at Millionnaya Street, 4/1.
Novo-Mikhailovsky Palace
New Michael Palace
The wedding of Mikhail Nikolayevich took place on 18 August 1857. The residence was built for him from 1857 to 1862. The technologies used in palace construction were new to St. Petersburg at the time. Metal rafters and beams were used in the construction of the palace. However, the technology emerged in the 1820s and 1830s and was mainly used for roofing large premises. Another technological innovation was heating, which was done by introducing heated air into palace rooms.
In 1889, the palace was electrified. After the Russian Revolution, the palace housed a branch of the Communist Academy. Then in 1949 it was occupied by the Institute of Oriental Studies (IOS), later the Leningrad branch of the IOS, and it is currently occupied by its successor, the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts. The building is well preserved and restored in 2005-2009. The former stables were recently reconstructed to house some 1,000,000 Oriental books and manuscripts from the Institute's collection.
How to go: It is located west of Marble Palace at Palace Embankment, 18.
Palace of Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich
Museum
The Vladimir Palace was built between 1867 and 1872 for Vladimir Alexandrovich (22 April 1847 – 17 February 1909), the third son of Emperor Alexander II. Grand Duke Vladimir was an avid collector and patron of the arts. Much of Vladimir's art collection later moved to the Hermitage collection and elsewhere.
The Vladimir Palace was used since January 31, 1920 as the "Maxim Gorky House of Scientists", a social and cultural club for scientific intellectuals. The former palace is a complex of three buildings - the main four-story building facing the Neva, the service wing, called "Hofmeistersky", facing Millionnaya Street, and a stable building in the middle of the courtyard.
How to go: It is located about 100 meters from towards west at Palace Embankment, 26.
Osobnyak G.f Mendena
Tourist Attraction
How to go: It is located about 30 meters west of Vladimir Palace at Palace Embankment, 30.
Prichal "Zimnyaya Kanavka"
Marina
How to go: It is located about 30 meters west of Osobnyak G.f Mendena at Palace Embankment, 32.
Hermitage Theatre
Theater
The Hermitage Theater is one of five Hermitage buildings located next to the Palace Embankment of the Neva River. The Hermitage Theater was the second theater in the Winter Palace. It replaced the Russian Imperial Theatre, which operated from 1764 to 1783. Peter the Great's ruined Third Winter Palace was demolished, and the Hermitage Theater was built on the site between 1783 and 1787 by order of Catherine the Great. Although its older foundations are still visible on the ground floor.
The theater was officially inaugurated on 22 November 1785. Although the auditorium could seat no more than 250 spectators, it was often overcrowded. Although the building was used for entertaining the imperial family until the Russian Revolution, it was seen as a rare monument to Catherine's personal taste and affections. The empress brought out several comedies specially staged in this theatre.
The Bolsheviks closed the theater and used the building for administrative purposes. It was not until 1991 that performances resumed on this stage.
How to go: It is located south of marina Prichal "Zimnyaya Kanavka" at Palace Embankment, 34.
Day-22:
The Pushkin Apartment Museum
Museum
This literary museum is dedicated to Russia's most famous poet, Alexander Pushkin. The museum is housed in Pushkin's memorial apartment where he lived between 1836 and 1837 and died after being mortally wounded in a dramatic duel. In a wave of nationwide mourning for the untimely death of this major Russian literary figure, Pushkin's apartment was carefully preserved and remains a fine example of an 1830s nobleman's residence.
Visiting Time: Wednesday to Monday - 10:30 AM to 6 PM. Tuesday and last Friday of the month reamins closed.
Entry Fee: 200 Rubles for adult. 100 Rubles for child.
Photography: 200 Rubles for photo and 200 Rubles for video.
How to go: It is located 210 meters from Hermitage Theatre towards south crossing Moyka river. Admiralteyskaya metro station is nearest metro station, about 560 meters from Pushkin Apartment Museum towards southwest. Nevsky Prospekt metro station is about 680 meters from the museum towards southeast.
Shadow Museum
Museum
It was opened in May 2018. After entering the museum, the visitor will be offered a tour in Russian or English.
Visiting Time: 11 AM to 10 PM every day.
Entry Fee: 350 Rubles for adult. 250 Rubles for child. Free for child age below 3. 10% discount for groups more than 5 people.
How to go: It is located about 180 meters from The Pushkin Apartment Museum towards southeast at Bolshaya Konyushennaya street, 5A.
Church of the Saviour Not Made by Human Hand
Church
Named after a legendary Byzantine icon, a copy of which was brought to St. Petersburg by order of Empress Anna, this large church on "Stable Square" is an integral part of the architecture that once formed the Imperial Stables. The first wooden church was built on the site in 1737, while the current building was built in 1817-1823. Significantly expanded and modified forty years later, the church retains its neo-classical grandeur.
In the Soviet Union, the church became Police Precinct No. 28. The building was returned to the Orthodox Church in 1991 and has since been completely restored. In the last years of his life, Alexander Pushkin was a regular visitor to the church from his apartment near the Moika Embankment. The poet's body was taken from here to his final resting place at the Svyatagorsky Monastery, and to this day the bells are rung to mark his birthday (6 June) and the day of his death (10 February).
The church is regularly used for concerts by the church's Sunday school students.
Visiting Time: 9 AM to 7 PM every day.
How to go: It is located about 100 meters from Shadow Museum towards northeast at Konyushennaya Ploshchad', 1.
Museum of Soviet Arcade Machines
Museum
Visiting Time: 11 AM to 8 PM every day.
Entry Fee: 450 Rubles for adult. 350 Rubles for Schoolchild, student, pensioner, multi-child family, disabled people. Free for child age below 6. The ticket includes 15 vintage coins to play the arcades, excursion.
How to go: It is located about 100 meters from Church of the Saviour Not Made by Human Hand towards south at Konyushennaya Ploshchad', 2.
Route 66
Museum
Museum Route 66 focuses on American cars made between 1940-1970.
How to go: It is located at the same building of Museum of Soviet Arcade Machines at Konyushennaya Ploshchad', 2
Savior on the Spilled Blood
Museum
On March 13, 1881, as the carriage of Alexander II passed by the Griboedov, a grenade thrown by a conspirator exploded at this location. But the Tsar got out of the car unscathed. A second conspirator killed himself by throwing another bomb and mortally wounded the Tsar. The Tsar, profusely bleeding, was taken back to the Winter Palace, where he died a few hours later.
A temporary shrine has been built at the site of the attack. Two years later, construction of the present church began in 1883 during the reign of Alexander III. The church was consecrated as a memorial to his father. For the exact location of the assassination, it was decided to narrow the canal so that the road through which the Tsar drove could be included within the walls of the church. Construction was completed in 1907 during the reign of Nicholas II.
After the Russian Revolution, the church was looted, badly damaging its interior. The Soviet government closed the church in 1932. During World War II when many people starved to death due to the siege of Leningrad by the Nazi German military, the church was used as a temporary morgue for those who died in battle and from starvation and disease. The church sustained significant damage. After the war, it was used as a vegetable warehouse.
In July 1970, the management of the church passed to St. Isaac's Cathedral and it is used as a museum. Income from the cathedral financed the restoration of the church. It was reopened in August 1997, 27 years after its restoration, but has not been rebuilt and does not function as a full-time place of worship. The Church of the Savior on Blood is a museum of mosaics. The church was dedicated to the memory of the assassinated Tsar.
Visiting Time: Thursday to Tuesday - 10:30 AM to 6 PM. May 1 to September 30 - 6 PM to 10:30 PM. Wednesday remains closed.
Entry Fee: 250 Rubles for adult. 50 Rubles for child. 100 Rubles for audio guide (in Russian, English, German, French, Italian or Spanish). 400 Rubles for evening openings of the Cathedral in the summer only.
Photography: Allowed.
How to go: It is located about 110 meters from Museum of Soviet Arcade Machines towards east.
St. Petersburg Stamp Museum
Museum
Thursday to Monday - 11 AM to 6 PM. Tuesday - 11 PM to 5 PM. Wednesday remains closed.
Entry Fee: 200 Rubles for adult. 150 Rubles for student, retired.
How to go: It is locaetd about 420 meters from Savior on the Spilled Blood museum towards southwest at embankment Riv Moyka, 32.
Winter Palace
Palace Museum
Peter I (9 June 1672 – 8 February 1725), commonly known as Peter the Great, was Tsar of All Russia from 1682 and First Emperor of All Russia from 1721. In 1703, he launched the first Russian newspaper. He founded the city of St. Petersburg on the banks of the Neva in May 1703. The first royal residence on the site was a log cabin then known as Domik Petra I, built in 1704. In 1711 it was moved to Petrogradsky Island, where it still stands.
With the site cleared, the Tsar then began work on building a large house between 1711 and 1712. This house is today called the first winter palace. In 1712, Peter moved the capital from Moscow to St. Petersburg. The first Winter Palace was a two-story building under one roof. Peter built the second Winter Palace in 1721. It was here that Peter the Great died in 1725. Some of these new palaces, such as Kikin Hall and the Menshikov Palace, are still stand.
Peter I was succeeded by his widow, Catherine I, who ruled until her death in 1727. She was succeeded by Peter II, grandson of Peter I, who completely redesigned and expanded the Second Palace, known as the 3rd Winter Palace. In 1728, shortly after the completion of the Third Palace, the Imperial Court moved to Moscow and Moscow once again became the capital city. The Winter Palace lost its status as the main royal residence.
After Peter II's death in 1730, the throne passed to Peter I's niece Anna Ivanovna. The new empress re-established the Imperial Court in the Winter Palace, and in 1732 St. Petersburg again officially became the capital of Russia, where it remained until 1918. The empress stayed at Apraksin, overlooking the Winter Palace. The rebuilding of the Winter Palace was an ongoing project throughout Empress Anna's reign.
In 1740 Anna was succeeded by the infant Tsar Ivan VI. Soon Peter the Great's daughter Empress Elizabeth deposed Ivan. The new Empress Elizabeth, whose main residence was the Summer Palace, held court at the Winter Palace. Empress Elizabeth chose the German princess Sophie as a bride for her nephew Peter III. Sophie came to Russia in 1744 at the age of 15.
On 28 June 1744, the Russian Orthodox Church accepted Sophie as a member. It was then that she took the new name Catherine, later known as Catherine II or Catherine the Great. The following year, on August 21, 1745, the long-planned dynastic wedding between Catherine and Peter III finally took place in St. Petersburg. During the reign of Elizabeth, in 1753, an entirely new scheme was erected, on a grand scale, the fourth and present Winter Palace.
The rapid completion of the palace became a matter of honor to the empress. Building work continued throughout the year, even during the ongoing Seven Years' War (1756-1763). Work was stopped when the project cost exceeded the budget. By 1759, shortly before Elizabeth's death, a Winter Palace was nearing completion. After the death of Empress Elizabeth on 5 January 1762, Peter III ascended the throne and Catherine II became Empress. The royal couple moved to the new Winter Palace in St. Petersburg.
Peter III died on July 17, 1762, six months after ascending the throne. At the time the couple had a seven-year-old son, Paul. Catherine was crowned on 22 September 1762 at the Assumption Cathedral in Moscow. A second suite of state rooms south of the Great Church was built for Catherine II. Between 1787 and 1795, a new east wing was added to this suite containing the throne room, known as St George's Hall. In 1790, five rooms were demolished to create three large halls.
Catherine added a new wing to the Winter Palace. Catherine named it the Hermitage, a name used by Empress Elizabeth to describe her private rooms within the palace. The Hermitage Wing itself was another large palace, connected to the main palace by a walkway. The entire complex, including the Winter Palace, later became known as the Hermitage. The empress's ambassadors in Rome, Paris, Amsterdam and London were instructed to purchase works of art for the palace.
As the palace fills with art, it overflows into the Hermitage. It became necessary to build a second and larger extension to the palace, which eventually became known as the Old Hermitage. Later, Catherine commissioned a third extension, the Hermitage Theatre. This construction required the demolition of Peter the Great's Third Winter Palace. Work continued on the Winter Palace until the empress's death in 1796. Catherine the Great was succeeded by her son Paul I.
For security reasons, Emperor Paul I built St. Michael's Castle and abandoned the Winter Palace. He was assassinated there in 1801, three weeks after taking up residence. Paul I was succeeded by his 24-year-old son Alexander I. The royal family returns to the winter palace. He bought more artwork for the Winter Palace. After his death in 1825, he was succeeded by his brother Nicholas I.
Emperor Nicholas I was responsible for the current appearance and layout of the palace. The second suite, built for Catherine II, was constructed from a few small rooms in the military gallery and inaugurated on October 25, 1826.
Alexander Column in the Palace Square of the Winter Palace was erected after Russia's victory in the war with Napoleon's France. The column is named for Emperor Alexander I of Russia, who reigned from 1801 to 1825. During the reign of Nicholas I, the column was built between 1830 and 1834 and unveiled on 30 August 1834.
The 47.5 meter tall monument is surmounted by an angel holding a cross. The column is a single piece of red granite obtained from Virolahti, Finland and transported by sea to St. Petersburg in 1832. Without the aid of modern cranes and engineering machines, the 600-ton column was erected on 30 August 1832 by 3,000 men in less than 2 hours.
In 1837 the Winter Palace was severely damaged by fire, which burned for several days. Nicholas rebuilt the palace.
The reconstruction of the palace took advantage of the latest construction techniques of the industrial age. The exterior, most of the principal state suites, the Jordanian Staircase and the Grand Church were restored to their original design and decoration. The second largest room in the Winter Palace, the Armorial Hall, became much more ornate. The destroyed Jasper Room was rebuilt as the Malachite Drawing Room.
Alexander III, son of Alexander II and his wife Maria and grandson of Nicholas I, was born on 10 March 1845 at the Winter Palace. Russia's first art museum, the Imperial Hermitage Museum, opened on 5 February 1852 by order of Emperor Nicholas I. But the Winter Palace and other imperial palaces were closed to visitors. Nicholas died in the Winter Palace on 2 March 1855 and was succeeded by his son Alexander II.
Alexander II had further additions to the works of art during his reign, including the Antiquarian and Archaeological Collection in 1861 and Leonardo da Vinci's "Madonna and Child" in 1865. Nicholas Alexandrovich, another son of Alexander II and Maria, said on his deathbed that his fiancée, Princess Dagmar of Denmark, should marry his brother Alexander III. Alexander's parents also encouraged it.
On 2 June 1866, Alexander III visited Dagmar in Copenhagen, and proposed to Dagmar. On 9 November 1866 in the Grand Church of the Winter Palace, Alexander married Dagmar, who converted to Orthodox Christianity and took the name Maria Feodorovna.
On the evening of February 5, 1880, a time bomb exploded under the dining room of the Winter Palace, killing 11 and injuring 30. The late arrival from Berlin of the Emperor's nephew, the Prince of Bulgaria, delayed dinner. So the emperor and his family were late going to the dining room, and the bomb exploded and so they were unharmed. The explosion was so great that it was heard throughout St. Petersburg. The dining room was completely destroyed.
On March 13, 1881, as Alexander II's carriage passed Griboyedov, the conspirators threw the bomb. But the Tsar got out of the car unharmed. When another bomb was thrown, the Tsar was mortally wounded and bled profusely. He was taken to the Winter Palace, where he died a few hours later. His son, Alexander III, King of Congress Poland and Grand Duke of Finland, became Emperor of Russia from 13 March 1881 until his death in 1894.
Alexander III was advised that the Winter Palace was not safe. So, Alexander moved his family to Gatchina Palace. Under heavy guard, he moved to St. Petersburg, staying in the Anichkov Palace opposite the Winter Palace, when the Winter Palace was used for official functions. Despite his hatred of his stepmother, Catherine Dolgorukova, Alexander allowed her to stay at the Winter Palace for a time after his father's murder.
In 1884, Nicholas II's arrival ceremony was held at the Winter Palace, where he pledged allegiance to his father, Alexander III. Empress Maria, wife of Alexander III, created a garden in the center of the main courtyard of the Winter Palace in 1885. After the death of Alexander III in 1894, Nicholas II became the last reigning Emperor of Russia until his abdication on 15 March 1917. He lived in Gatchina Palace.
On November 26, 1894, Nicholas II married Alix (Alexandra) in a lavish ceremony at the Winter Palace. After the ceremony the newlyweds began their married life at Anichkov Palace. In 1895, they began to live in the Alexander Palace in Tsarskoye Selo (Pushkin). From December 1895 they lived in the Winter Palace only for the winter season. In 1896, the wife of Nicholas II created a garden on the former parade ground. It is one of two gardens in the Winter Palace.
The final great Imperial gathering at the Winter Palace was the 1903 Ball at the Winter Palace. The lavish ball was held in two stages during the reign of Emperor Nicholas II, on February 11 and 13, 2003. All visitors were dressed in 17th century style. In 1904, Russia was at war with Japan and their newborn baby Alexei was sick. The Tsar and Empress permanently abandoned the Winter Palace and high society for greater security and privacy at Pushkin's Alexander Palace.
Public ignorance of the tsars' residence resulted in the Bloody Sunday Massacre. It happened on 22 January 1905 during a demonstration march of workers towards the Winter Palace. The carnage broke out when tsarist soldiers opened fire on protesters near St. Isaac's Cathedral at the entrance to the Alexander Garden leading to Palace Square in front of the Winter Palace. Although the number of casualties is disputed, moderate estimates put an average of around 1,000 men, women and children killed or wounded.
In 1913 the Romanov dynasty celebrated its centenary, but there were few crowds, the empress being displeased by her son's illness. The Emperor and Empress declined to hold a celebratory ball at the Winter Palace, instead holding two smaller receptions, both of which the Empress failed to attend.
In 1914, Russia was forced to go to war. The Tsar and Empress returned to the Winter Palace to stand on their balcony to receive salutes and tributes from the departing soldiers. In the early stages of the battle, many of the wounded returned to the Winter Palace. From October 1915, the palace was a fully equipped hospital. After Rasputin was assassinated by the Tsar's nephew-in-law in December 1916, the situation worsened and St. Petersburg fell into the full grip of revolution.
On March 15, 1917, Nicholas II abdicated. A provisional government was appointed and many members of the royal family, including Nicholas II, the empress and their children, were arrested and later executed by the Bolsheviks in Yekaterinburg in 1918. During the February Revolution in 1917, the Malachite Room in the northwest corner of the Winter Palace was the main council chamber of the Provisional Government. Most of the state rooms, however, were occupied by military hospitals.
By 25 October 1917 the defense of the palace was ordered. On 30 October 1917, the palace was declared part of the Hermitage Public Museum. This first exhibition held at the Winter Palace deals with the history of the Revolution. After the revolution, the policy was to remove all imperial symbols from the palace. During the Soviet era, many of the palace's remaining treasures were scattered in and around museums in the Soviet Union.
After the siege of Leningrad 1941-1944, when the palace was damaged and completely restored the palace. The palace has since restored the symbols of the Romanovs. Golden and crowned double-headed eagles again adorn the walls, balconies and gates. Today, as part of one of the world's most famous museums, the palace is visited by 3.5 million visitors annually. The Winter Palace is said to have 1,500 rooms, 1,786 doors and 1,945 windows.
Visiting Time: Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday - 10:30 AM to 6 PM every day. Wednesday and Friday - 10:30 AM to 9 PM. Monday remains closed.
Entry Fee: 600 Rubles for Main Museum Complex and the branches (General Staff Building, Winter Palace of Peter the Great, Menshikov Palace, The Museum of the Imperial Porcelain Factory). 300 Rubles for Harmitage Branches (Winter Palace of Peter the Great, Menshikov Palace, The Museum of the Imperial Porcelain Factory, Staraya Derevnya Restoration and Storage Center). Free for Preschool child, school child, student.
Free entry: First Thursday of each month.
Photography: Photo and Video allowed withouth flash.
How to go: It is located about 200 meters from St. Petersburg Stamp Museum towards northwest.
General Staff Building
Museum
The General Staff Building was built between 1819 and 1829. The curved facade of the building stretches for about 600 meters and is four stories high. The west and east wings are connected by a gate, which brings pedestrians from Nevsky street to Palace Square. Above the gate are sculptures. The sculpture commemorates the Russian victory over Napoleonic France in the Patriotic War of 1812.
Before the revolution it housed not only the office of the General Staff in the eastern wing, but also the tsarist Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Finance in the western wing. The Hermitage took over the eastern part of the building in 1993, and later it was decided to house a collection of 19th and 20th century art. Renovation of the building was completed in 2014. A permanent exhibit on the second floor of the museum, houses an amazing collection of gifts from the Tsars.
Three exhibits can be found on the third floor, "The Art of Empire", which compares decorative arts and costumes of the French and Russian periods, 19th-century French painting and sculpture, 19th-century Western European art. (from Germany, Holland, Belgium) and the 18th century Russian Guard Museum. Also on the third floor is a display that follows the history of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Empire.
The fourth floor of the General Staff Building is devoted to works by Impressionists and Post-Impressionists. This collection, though controversial as to its provenance, is still one of the Hermitage's biggest draws. There is also a collection of pre-revolutionary Russian art.
Visiting Time: Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday - 10:30 AM to 6 PM. Wednesday and Friday - 10:30 AM to 9 PM. Monday remains closed.
Entnry Fee: 300 Rubles for adult. 600 Rubles combined with the main museum complex.
Photography: Photography is permitted. No video.
How to go: It is located about 250 meters from south from Vorontsov Palace at 6/8, Dvortsovaya Ploshchad.
Muzey Russkoy Gvardii
Army museum
Museum of the Russian Guard.
How to go: It is located northeast wings of General Staff Building.
Dom Velikana
Amusement Center
How to go: It is located south of General Staff Building at Bol'shaya Morskaya Ulitsa, 5.
Dom Naoborot
Upside Down Museum
Visiting Time: 10 AM to 11 PM every day.
How to go: It is located east of Dom Velikana at Bol'shaya Morskaya Ulitsa, 10.
Day-23:
Palace bridge
Bridge
Palace Bridge spans the Neva River in between Palace Square and Vasilievsky Island. It was built between 1912 and 1916. The total length of Palace Bridge is 260.1 metres, width is 27.8 metres.
How to go: It is located northwest corner of Winter Palace.
Admiralty
Navy Headquarter
The original Admiralty Yard was built to the plans of Peter the Great in 1706, and the site was chosen within the canon limits of the Peter and Paul Fortress, so the building could be destroyed if captured by the enemy. It was built as a shipyard. The stone Admiralty building was built in 1719, and it marked the first appearance of the Admiralty Spire with its weathervane, which would become one of the most recognizable symbols of St. Petersburg.
The present building, with its 400m facade and its massive wings, took 17 years to build and was built between 1806 and 1823. At the top most of the main building's archway is a 72 meter tower, having a weather-vane in the form of a ship on its top, which has become the city's symbol. Below the tower is a gilded spire and around it 28 statues in human form, such as four seasons of the year, four elements of nature, four main winds, there are Isis (the patroness of shipbuilding) and Urania (the Muse of Astronomy among them as well as the goddess Isis (shipbuilders protector) and Urania (astrological muse).
Golden domes and statues stand atop a colonnade of white pillars. One level below, in the attic corner of the tower, are statues of Alexander the Great, Pyrrhus, Ajax, and Achilles. A 22m alto-relief entitled The Establishment of the Russian Fleet shows Neptune handing over his trident to Peter the Great.
The shipyard officially closed in 1844. In about 140 years it built 262 warships. The building then became the home of the Ministry of Marine, the Central Naval Headquarters, the Naval Museum and the Revolutionary Naval Committee. Since 1925, it has housed the Dzerzhinsky Higher Naval College. The building housed one of the Soviet and Russian naval engineering schools named after Felix Dzerzhinsky since 1927, until its consolidation and relocation to the city of Pushkin in 1998.
How to go: It is located west of Winter Palace.
Alexander Garden
Garden
Alexander Garden is located in the very center of St. Petersburg, next to the Palace Square and behind the Admiralty. Until 1806, the area was covered by the Admiralty Fort, but after it was removed it became Admiralty Square. In 1872-1874, as part of the celebration of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Peter the Great, the garden was officially opened in the presence of Alexander II, after whom the garden was named.
A fountain was installed between 1876 and 1880. It is called a musical or dancing fountain because of the way it reacts to any music played in the garden. At the end of the 19th century, statues of great Russian cultural figures were erected.
Vasily Andreyevich Zhukovsky (9 February 1787 – 24 April 1852) was a leading Russian poet of the 1810s and a leading figure in Russian literature. The monument was unveiled in the Alexandrovsky Garden in 1887 on the 100th anniversary of his birth. The poet was close to the imperial family and was a mentor to Alexander II. It was unveiled in the eastern part of the park.
Nikolay Mikhaylovich Przhevalsky (April 12, 1839 – November 1, 1888) was a Polish-born Russian geographer and noted explorer of Central and East Asia. In 1892, a statue of Przhevalsky was unveiled in the southwest corner of the Alexander Garden.
Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol (1 April 1809 – 4 March 1852) was a Ukrainian-born Russian novelist, short story writer, and playwright. In 1896, a statue of Gogol was unveiled west of the fountain in the Alexander Garden.
Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov (15 October 1814 – 27 July 1841) was a Russian Romantic writer, poet and painter, the most important Russian poet since the death of popular poet Alexander Pushkin in 1837. In 1896, a statue of Lermontov was unveiled in front of the fountain in the Alexander Garden.
Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka (1 June 1804 – 15 February 1857) was the first Russian composer to become widely known in his own country and is often considered the fountainhead of Russian classical music. In 1899, the statue of Glinka was unveiled north of the fountain in the Alexander Garden.
In 1918 - 1989, the garden was renamed the Maxim Gorky Workers' Garden.
Statue of Gerakla Farnezskogo is located in the southwest corner of Admiralty.
During the Siege of Leningrad in World War II (started on 8 September 1941), the garden was severely damaged by air raids and shelling, but was restored and opened to the public as soon as the siege was lifted.
Prince Alexander Mikhailovich Gorchakov (15 July 1798 – 11 March 1883) was a Russian diplomat and statesman. He has an enduring reputation as one of the most influential and respected diplomats of the mid-19th century. In 1997, his monument was unveiled northwest of the fountain in Alexander Gardens.
How to go: It is located south of Admiralty.
Monument to the first line of the Saint Petersburg tram
Tram Monument
Saint Petersburg once had the second largest tram network in the world, consisting of about 340 km of track in the late 1980s. St. Petersburg saw the arrival of street rail transport in the form of horse-drawn rail cars in the 1860s. The first, freight-only street railway track opened in 1854 to serve one of the industrial city suburbs. In 1863, three passenger lines opened in the city center. The horse carriage network eventually expanded to 25 routes covering over 100 km of track.
The first demonstration of an electric tram in Saint Petersburg took place on August 22, 1880. But the proposal was rejected. In the winter of 1894, the electric tramway returned to St. Petersburg. This time, however, they ran on tracks (in winter) over ice covering the Neva River. On September 3, 1902, the Horsecar Company's contract expired. St. Petersburg begins planning for an electric tramway network.
Narrow-gauge horsecar tracks were replaced by heavier rail-grades, the network was electrified, and new depots suitable for electric trams were built. On September 29, 1907, the electric tramway network opened in St. Petersburg. In 1921 the new line was built. The last line was electrified in 1922. From 1936, tram development stopped due to the introduction of the trolleybus.
After the Soviet era, many existing tramway tracks were demolished and this trend continues to this day. As of 2015, 41 tramway routes currently operate in Saint Petersburg.
How to go: The Monument to the first line of the Saint Petersburg tram is located south of Alexander Garden on Admiralty Street.
Home of Fitingof
Landmark
How to go: It is located south of Alexander Garden at Gorokhovaya Street, 2
Dom Vverkh Dnom
Upside-Down House
Visiting Time: Monday to Friday - 11 AM to 10 PM. Saturday and Sunday - 10 AM to 10 PM.
Entry Fee: 350 Rubles.
How to go: It is located east of Fitingof House at Nevsky Avenue, 5.
Petrovskaya Akvatoriya
Museum
Visiting Time: 10 AM to 10 PM every day.
Photography: Free.
How to go: It is located about 130 meters from Dom Vverkh Dnom towards southeast.
State Russian Centre for Museums and Exhibitions of Photography
Museum
The activities of The State Russian Centre for Museums and Exhibitions of Photography "ROSPHOTO", founded in 2002 by Ministry for Culture of the Russian Federation, embrace exhibitions, scientific research and educational programs. Most important projects in ROSPHOTO are the ones that unite exhibition with research.
The State Russian Center of Museums and Exhibitions of Photography, established by the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation in 2002, undertakes the activities, exhibitions, scientific research and educational programs. The most important projects at ROSPHOTO are those that combine exhibition with research.
Such projects, carrying an undoubted scientific value, are usually carried out by Rosfoto in collaboration with the Russian National Library (St.-Petersburg), the Musée d'Orsay (Paris), the European Institute of Restoration and Graphics (Paris), the Musée de l' . Elysee (Lausanne, Switzerland) and other important research and museum centers.
Visiting Time: Thursday, Friday and Tuesday - 12 AM to 9 PM. Saturday to Monday and Wednesday - 11 AM to 7 PM.
How to go: It is located about 300 meters from Petrovskaya Akvatoriya museum towards southwest at Bol'shaya Morskaya Ulitsa, 35.
Saint Isaac's Square
Square
Between 1923 and 1944 St. Isaac's Square was a major city square. The Monument to Nicholas I is a bronze equestrian monument to Nicholas I. It was unveiled on July 7, 1859, the six-meter statue was considered a technological marvel at the time of its construction. It is one of the few bronze statues with only two support points.
To the south of St. Isaac's Square is the Mariinsky Palace, separated by the Blue Bridge. The Russian Institute of Plant Breeding is located southeast of the square. North of Plant Breeding Institute is Astoria. West of Astoria is the German Embassy just past Isaac Square. Angleterre Hotel north of Astoria. Dom Lobanova-Rostovskogo north of Angleterre Hotel. St. Isaac's Cathedral, separated by Senate Square, north of Isaac's Square.
How to go: sprawling between the Mariinsky Palace and Saint Isaac's Cathedral, which separates it from Senate Square.
Blue Bridge
Bridge
The Blue Bridge is a 97.3-meter wide bridge that spans the Moika River. The Blue Bridge is the widest bridge in Saint Petersburg and is sometimes claimed to be the widest bridge in the world, but is not recognized by international reference works such as Guinness World Records. The Blue Bridge is located in front of the Mariinsky Palace on St. Isaac's Square. The first cast iron bridge on the site was designed in 1805, and built in 1818.
In 1842-1844, the bridge was widened on its northern side. Today, most blue bridges serve as parking lots. The bridge's name comes from a 19th-century tradition of color-coding bridges crossing the Moica River. Like other colored bridges, the blue bridge gets its name from the color of its sides facing the river. Currently only four colored bridges survive, the rest being Red Bridge, Green Bridge and Yellow Bridge respectively. Three of them kept their original names, while the Yellow Bridge was renamed the Pevchesky Bridge.
The bridge is usually thought of as an extension of the square, although in reality it forms a separate square, called Mariyinskaya. To the right of the bridge is the so-called Neptune's Scale, with a granite top. It is a stele that marks the water level during major floods.
How to go: It is located south of Saint Isaac's Square.
Mariinsky Palace
Palace
The site was formerly owned by Zakhar Chernyshev, a prominent military commander who played a key role in the Seven Years' War and was Minister of War during the reign of Catherine the Great. His house was built between 1762 and 1768. In 1839 the Chernyshev Palace was demolished and the materials were reused in the construction of the Mariinsky Palace.
The Mariinsky Palace, also known as the Marie Palace, was the last neoclassical imperial residence built in Saint Petersburg. It was built between 1839 and 1844. The palace was conceived by Nicholas I as a wedding gift to his eldest daughter, Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna. In 1884, the Mariinsky Palace was purchased by the Imperial Estate from the heirs of Maria Nikolaevna, where it remained until 1917.
During that period, the palace housed the Council of State, the Imperial Chancellery and the Committee of Ministers, which after 1905 became the Council of Ministers. The Grand Hall was designed for the sessions of the State Council. On April 15, 1902, Stepan Balmashov, a member of the Socialist Revolutionary Party, assassinated the Minister of Internal Affairs, Dmitry Sipyagin, while the minister was meeting in the palace.
The Russian Provisional Government took full possession of the palace in March 1917. After the October Revolution, the palace housed various Soviet ministries and academies. During the war with Germany, the palace was converted into a hospital and suffered intense bombing. After the war, the palace became the residence of the Petrograd Soviet. During the 1991 coup attempt, the Emergency Committee used the palace as a base of operations.
The Mariinskiy palace has been the seat of the Legislative Assembly of Saint Petersburg since 1994. The Palace is not open to the public.
How to go: It is located south of Blue Bridge.
Russian Institute of Plant Breeding
Institute
The Russian Institute of Plant Breeding is named after academician Nikolai Vavilov. The institute has a unique collection of 160,000 cultivated plants, collected by Vavilov during his travels to every continent from 1921 to 1940. After the war ended, a journal published in London reported that Vavilov's collection had been lost during the siege of Leningrad. But the report was false.
How to go: It is located southeast of Saint Isaac's Square.
Hotel Astoria
Hotel
To the east of the cathedral is the six-story Hotel Astoria. It opened in 1912 and was one of the most luxurious hotels in the Russian Empire.
How to go: It is located north of Russian Institute of Plant Breeding.
German Embassy
Historical Landmark
In the 1740s, Nikita Shestakov built a two-story building. Nikita sold the building in 1743 and it changed hands again, and from 1760 to 1812 it was owned by a jeweler at the court of the Russian Empire. From 1815 to 1820, it was redesigned, and in 1832, Pavel Aleksandrov, the illegitimate son of Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich, bought the building and lived there with his wife Anna Alexandrovna.
The couple regularly held balls at the residence, with frequent visitors including Alexander Pushkin. The house was given to their daughter, Princess Alexandra Pavlovna Lvova, and the building's facade was designed between 1870 and 1871. In 1873, the German ambassador announced an intention to acquire the building, and that same year the building was purchased by the German Empire for the German embassy to the Russian Empire.
A 2nd storey was added in 1889 over part of the facade on Bolshaya Morskaya Street. The building was redesigned again in 1911–1913, which is said to have been admired by Adolf Hitler, with the facade of the building made of red granite. The Castor and Pollux sculpture, symbolizing the reunification of the Germanic nation, adorned the tympanum. The embassy building was officially opened on 14 January 1913.
It was rumored at the time that the embassy was connected to the German-owned Hotel Astoria by a tunnel, and on 1–2 August 1914, after Germany declared war on Russia, mobs of anti-German sentiment stormed the building. The building sustained considerable damage. At this point the Dioskouroi sculpture disappears from the roof. After the war, the Germans returned to Petrograd in 1922, and operated a consulate from the building until 1939.
It operated a hospital during the siege of Leningrad and established the Institute of Semiconductor Physics after the Great Patriotic War. Subsequent tenants of the building have been used as bank and the Committee for City Property Management of the St. Petersburg City Administration. Today the building houses the Administrative Board of the Ministry of Justice and the Main Technical Commission of the President of the Russian Federation for the Northwestern Federal District. Restoration of the building began in 2001.
How to go: It is located west of Astoria.
hotel Angleterre
Hotel
The Angleterre Hotel adjacent to Astoria is one of the oldest and most famous 4-star hotels in St. Petersburg. The building on the corner of Malaya Morskaya Street is associated with the novelist Fyodor Dostoyevsky, who lived there in 1848-1849. During this time, he published his first work of fiction, "White Nights". It is the death place of the poet Sergei Yesenin (3 October 1895 – 28 December 1925).
How to go: North of Astoria.
Saint Isaac's Cathedral
Cathedral
The church in St. Isaac's Square was ordered by Tsar Alexander I to replace an earlier structure and was the fourth consecutive church to stand on the site. The construction of the cathedral took 40 years from 1818 to 1858. In 1931, it was converted into the Museum of the History of Religion and Atheism, the dove sculpture was removed and replaced by a Foucault pendulum.
In 1937, the museum was transformed into the Cathedral Museum, and the former collections were transferred to the Kazan Cathedral Museum. With the fall of communism, the museum was removed and regular worship services resumed in the cathedral, but only in the left chapel. The main part of the cathedral is only used for services on feast days. Currently the building is a museum. Today, church services are held here only on religious occasions.
The rotunda is surrounded by a walkway accessible to tourists. 24 statues stand on the roof and another 24 above the rotunda. The columns were manufactured at Pieterlati Quarry in Virolati, Finland. The main dome of the cathedral is 101.5 meters high, with a golden exterior. The dome was gilded by a technique similar to spray painting, the solution used included toxic mercury, the vapor of which caused the death of sixty workers.
The dome is decorated with twelve statues of angels. Facing each other across the interior of the rotunda, dozens of golden statues of angels, each six meters tall, were created using galvanoplastic technology, making them only millimeters thick and very light. The dome rests on a supporting cast iron structure. The third historical examples of this cast iron cupola were the Leaning Tower of Nevyansk (1732) in Nevyansk, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia and the Mainz Cathedral (1826) in Mainz, Germany.
With an interior height of 69 meters (from the floor to the level of the oculus), it ranks among the tallest domes in the world. The building rests on 10,000 tree trunks that were sunk by a large number of workers on the banks of the reservoir on which the cathedral stands.
How to go: It is located north of Saint Isaac's Square.
Dom Lobanova-Rostovskogo
Historic Landmark
The Lobanov-Rostovsky House, also known as the "House with Lions", was built in 1817-1820 as an apartment building for Prince Alexander Yakovlevich Lobanov-Rostovsky. The building is triangular and the main facade is decorated with a portico with eight columns. The portico surmounts the front arcade, flanked by white marble statues of lions. In 1824 Lobanov-Rostovsky surrendered the building to the Ministry of War.
In 1829, the building was remodeled internally for the needs of a state institution. In 1926-1928, an outstanding Russian scientist - biologist and geneticist, educator Nikolai Vavilov lived in this house. In Soviet times, the building was occupied by a school, then a design institute. Today, the fashionable Four Seasons St. Petersburg Hotel is located here.
How to go: It is located east of Saint Isaac's Cathedral.
Saint Petersburg Manege
Exhibition Hall.
The Manege is a former riding hall in front of the Imperial Horse Guards on Saint Isaac's Square in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It was built in 1804-07 to designs by Quarenghi. It replaced a disused canal connecting the Admiralty with the naval warehouses. Horse Guards Boulevard takes its name from the building. Marble statue of the Dioscuri standing beside their horses.
After the Russian Revolution the Riding Academy was rebuilt to house an NKVD garage. A second floor was added to the building in 1931. Since the last reconstruction campaign in the late 1970s, the main exhibition hall of the city of St. Petersburg Manege has been kept.
How to go: It is located northwest corner of Saint Isaac's Cathedral.
Columns of Glory
Monuements
Two 12 meters high granite columns, bronze statue of Nika, goddess of victory on the jar, with laurel wreath in her hands. In 1843, Emperor Nicholas I presented two bronze groups of "Horse Tamers" to King Frederick William IV of Prussia. As a return gift, the king gave two copies of the statue of victory. The first copies of the statues were placed in the park of the Archduke's Palace in Charlottenburg in Berlin in 1839, and in 1843 a couple decorated Bell-Alliance Platz in Berlin.
The two twin statues were cast in November 1844 in the town of Lauchhammer in the Oberspreiwald-Lasitz district of Germany. In January 1845, the sculptures were delivered to St. Petersburg. To immortalize his exploits in the Patriotic War of 1812, statues were placed at the beginning of the new Konnogvardeisky Boulevard on the site of the filled Admiralty Canal on November 17, 1845.
How to go: It is located north of Saint Petersburg Manege.
Day-24:
Dom Arkhitektora
Museum
Baron Stieglitz was the largest Russian financier, banker, philanthropist. He was an educated and wealthy man. But they had no children. One day, returning from a ball with his wife, they found in the dacha garden a six-month-old girl in a basket, in a lace dress, a wooden cross and a note that the girl had been named. Nadezhda Mikhailovna. The girl was taken home, educated, pampered and nurtured.
The girl grew up and married Senator Polovtsov for love. And for her wedding she received this palace as a gift from Stieglitz. The palace is quite modest on the outside and stunning on the inside. The couple often traveled to Europe, brought amazing interior items, furnished the house with expensive types of wood, and even installed heated floors, the first in St. Petersburg. Even before the war, original chandeliers, fireplaces, doors, wooden floors were preserved.
Stiglitz willed everything to his adopted daughter. The building is also known as Polovtsov Palace.
How to go: It is located about 130 meters from Monument to Nicolas the 1st in St. Isaac's square towards west at Bol'shaya Morskaya Ulitsa, 52.
Muzey-Kvartira Vladimira Vladimirovicha Nabokova
Museum
The house was built in the 19th century for the Polovtsev family. Between 1897 and the October Revolution, the house was the property of the liberal statesman and jurist Vladimir Dmitrievich Nabokov, who received it as a dowry for Elena Rukavishnikova. Thus, it became the host of many political meetings. It was in this house that the final session of the National Congress of Zemstvos was held in 1904.
The house is also notable for being the home of Vladimir Vladimirovich, who lived in the house until November 1917. The house is described with great care in his autobiography The Other Shores and Speak, Memory. For Vladimir, the house was the only house in the world. Later, even when he became rich, he never acquired another house and preferred to stay in hotels. The house was demolished by Bolshevik revolutionaries during the October Revolution (1917).
Since April 1998, the first floor of the building has been occupied by the Nabokov Museum and the top two floors by a newspaper office. The museum includes the phone room, dining room, library, committee room (where most meetings of the Constitutional Democratic Party were held) and kitchen.
How to go: It is located opposite of Dom Arkhitektora at Bol'shaya Morskaya Ulitsa, 47.
Palace of Culture of Communication Workers
Landmark
This mildly Constructivist-style building, with an unfinished tower and odd-shaped balconies, is actually a listed building. During the 19th century, there was a German Reformed Church on the site. It was an attractive building with a two-tiered bell-tower. The church was later burnt down. The building that now stands here was built by Pavel Greenberg and Grigory Raiz. They turned the site into a culture palace for communication workers. This monument achieved listed status in 2001.
How to go: It is located about 70 meters west from Kvartira Vladimira Vladimirovicha Nabokova Museum at Bol'shaya Morskaya Ulitsa, 58.
Dom-Usad'ba Lomonosova Mv
Museum
How to go: It is located about 100 meters from Palace of Culture of Communication Workers towards west at Bol'shaya Morskaya Ulitsa, 61.
State Museum of the History of Religion
Museum
The Museum of the History of Religion was created in 1932 by a decision of the Presidium of the Soviet Academy of Sciences as the Museum of the History of Religion and Atheism and was housed in the former Kazan Cathedral until 2000. Its first exposition was based on an anti-religious exhibition opened in 1930 in the Winter Palace. In 1991, the house of Count Sergey Yaguzhinsky, which later belonged to the Russian imperial Post Office, was transferred to the museum of the History of Religion.
Visiting Time: Friday to Tuesday - 10 AM to 6 PM. Thursday - 1 PM to 9 PM. Wednesday remains closed.
Entry Fee: 400 Rubles for adult. 200 Rubles for student. 100 Rubles for student of ISIC. 180 Rubles for audio guide.
Free Entry: First Monday of each month.
Photography: Allowed.
How to go: It is located about 120 meters from Palace of Culture of Communication Workers towards north at 14, Pochtamtskaya Ulitsa.
Architectural monument of the 18th century
Historical landmark
Visiting Time: Tuesday to Saturday - 10:30 AM to 6 PM. Sunday and Monday remains closed.
How to go: It is located about 50 meters from State Museum of the History of Religion towards east at Pochtamtskaya Ulitsa, 7.
Popov Central Museum of Communications
Museum
A.S. Popov Central Museum of Communications is a museum of science and technology. The museum opened on 11 September 1872 as the Telegraph Museum. In 1884, the Post Office branch was added and the museum was converted into the Postal and Telegraph Museum. In 1945, the museum was named after Russian scientist and inventor Alexander Stepanovich Popov.
By the late 1970s, the museum housed more than 4 million stamps, stamped envelopes and postcards. The museum's archives and collections contain more than 8 million items.
Visiting Time: Tuesday to Saturday - 10:30 AM to 6 PM. Sunday Monday and last Thursday of each month remains closed.
Entry Fee: 120 Rubles for adult. 60 Rubles for student of child.
Photography: 100 Rubels for photo and video.
How to go: It is located north of Architectural monument of the 18th century at 4, Pochtamtsky Pereulok.
Museum of Russian Vodka
Museum
Entry Fee: 500 Rubles for Tour + Vodka Testing (30 minutes). 350 Rubles for Tour (30 minutes). 350 Rubles for Vodka testing.
How to go: It is located about 150 meters from Popov Central Museum of Communications towards northeast at 4, Konnogvardeisky Boulevard.
Day-25: English Embankment
English Embankment
Street
The English embankment is a road along the left bank of the Bolshaya Neva River. From east to west, it stretches 1260 meters between Senate Square and the Novo-Admiraltysky Canal. The English Embankment was built between 1763 and 1767. It is named after the former British Embassy and the English church, which was built in 1814-1815. In 1994, shortly before the arrival of the British Queen Elizabeth II in St. Petersburg, the name was returned. Tourist buses run along the embankment.
How to go: It starts from the Senate Square towards west.
House 2:
It was built in 1829-1834, now now occupied by the court headquarters, had been completed by 2008.
How to go: It is located east of Laval Palace and west of Senate Square at English Embankment, 2.
Laval Palace:
Laval House was not only an aristocratic residence, but also a meeting place for many prominent Russian musicians, politicians and poets. The first owner of the site was the first governor of St. Petersburg, Prince Alexander Menshikov. A house was built for him here in the 1710s. After the fall of the powerful Menshikov, the estate was handed over to the Vice-Chancellor Count Osterman. However, Osterman was soon arrested and exiled to Siberia.
The House changed hands several times and then to Commander in Chief Baron Alexander Stroganov. Stroganov's illegitimate brother, Andrey Voronikhin, rebuilt the palace in 1791. Voronikhin expanded the house to 50 rooms and redesigned both the interior and exterior. Stroganov did not live in the house and eventually sold it to Countess Alexandra Laval, daughter of Secretary of State Grigory Kozitsky.
Alexandra married Ivan Laval, a poor French immigrant. Laval Mansion was rebuilt in 1806-1809. Because of them the modern form of the building and some parts of the interior that still survive. It was in this house that Laval kept a vast collection of antiquities, paintings and a library of 5,000 books. The most valuable parts of this collection, the priceless works of ancient Egypt, were acquired by the Hermitage Museum in 1852 which preserves them to this day.
The House of Laval was always crowded with well-known writers. Even Alexander Pushkin read some of his poems here. It was also the site of a quarrel between Mikhail Lermontov and Ernest de Barante, the son of the French ambassador, which eventually led to a confrontation and Lermontov's exile from St. Petersburg. The eldest Laval daughter, Ekaterina, married Prince Sergey Trubetskoy, one of the Decembrist leaders, and exiled with him to Siberia.
The high life of the House of Laval came to a close in 1850 with the death of its mistress. In the 1880s, the palace was sold to Samuel Polyakov and then transformed into the Ministry of Justice. After the revolution, the building housed the state historical archive which is still in operation today. The historic interiors were carefully restored in 1947 and are now accessible to all visitors.
How to go: It is located east of Paskevich House at English Embankment, 4.
Paskevich House:
The mansion of I.F. Paskevich. The mansion was built in the first third of the 18th century and rebuilt in 1856-1857.
How to go: It is located east of Naryshkin House at English Embankment, 8.
Naryshkin House:
An architectural monument. Built in 1736-1738 for A. L. Naryshkin, since 1812 belonged to Count A. I. Osterman-Tolstoy, and since 1867 Vorontsov-Dashkov until 1917.
How to go: It is located east of Markevich House at English Embankment, 10.
Markevich House:
The house of the merchant M. Markevich, built in 1845. At the beginning of the 20th century, the owner of the building was Lazar Polyakov.
How to go: It is located east of Tenishev House at English Embankment, 12.
Tenishev House:
Tenishev House, built in the first third of the 18th century. Former owner was E.P. Cazalet. Prince Vyacheslav Nikolayevich Tenishev (born: 2/14 February 1843 in Warsaw; died: 8 May 1903 in Paris) bought it before his marriage. He was a Russian anthropologist, archaeologist and sociologist. The house was remodeled in 1870-1872. The prince and his wife, Princess Maria Klavdievna Tenishev, settled here in 1891.
During Tenishevs residence, a studio was built here in preparation for entering the Arts Academy under the leadership of Repin. In this House many famous cultural figures visited here. In 1898, the prince founded a college in St. Petersburg that still bears his name. After his death, Maria Tenisheva lived here until the October Revolution. The house received a third floor in 1909 under its last owner M K Chaplitz. He rebuilt the house in 1909.
The monogram on the canopy grill, in which the letters M and CH are intertwined, are the initials of the name and surname of Polish-born home owner M K Chaplitz. The Polish Consulate was located here from 1926-1939. Tenyshev Palace, now Gazprom offices.
How to go: It is located east of PP Durnovo House at English Embankment, 14.
PP Durnovo House:
The building was built in the 18th century. It was rebuilt in 1837, and in 1872.
How to go: It is located east of Lobanov-Rostovsky House at English Embankment, 16.
Lobanov-Rostovsky House:
A. House of A. Lobanov-Rostovsky, and later the house of the merchant of the 1st guild D.I. von Gardera and his successors until 1872. In 1872-1904, it was the home of the Private Commercial Bank of St. Petersburg.
How to go: It is located east of Orlov-Davydov House at English Embankment, 18.
Orlov-Davydov House:
House of Count V.P. Orlov-Davydov. The mansion was presented to Count Alexei Orlov by Empress Catherine II. Built in in 1866-1867.
How to go: It is located east of Gorstkin House House at English Embankment, 20.
Gorstkin House:
house of S. P. Gorstkin (profitable house of N. V. Tolstoy). The mansion of the Duke of Leuchtenberg, 1896.
How to go: It is located about 170 meters from Museum of Russian Vodka towards north at English Embankment, 22.
Yusupov House / Chelyshev House:
The house was built in the first third of the 18th century and rebuilt in 1835. The building is distinguished by a wide balcony at the second floor level, located above the central entrance of the building.
How to go: It is located west of Gorstkin House at English Embankment, 26.
Derviz’s Mansion:
P. G. Derviz’s mansion was built in the 18th century, rebuilt in 1889-1890. In 1904-1917, the palace of Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich. Currently, the house is occupied by the Wedding Palace No. 1.
How to go: It is located west of Yusupov house at English Embankment, 28.
Meyer House:
Mansion of the Bavarian Consul General E. M. Meyer. The building was built in 1720-1740 and rebuilt in 1869-1871.
How to go: It is located west of Derviz’s mansion at English Embankment, 30.
Kurakin House:
The eight-column building was erected in the 1750s for Prince B. A. Kurakin, and was rebuilt in 1782-1783 for the College of Foreign Affairs. In 1802–1832, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was located in the building, in 1832–1855 the Imperial Military Academy was located, and in 1855–1904 the Academy of the General Staff was located.
How to go: It is located west of Meyer House at English Embankment, 32 and 32A.
Von Derviz House:
The mansion of S. P. von Derviz, in 1883 the mansions of A. N. Dolgorukova and G. G. Vineken were combined into one mansion from the side of the embankment and rebuilt. Today, the building houses the State Chamber Music Theater "St. Petersburg Opera", which also conducts tours. Entrance from Galernaya Street, 35.
How to go: It is located west of Kurakin House at English Embankment, 34.
St. Petersburg Opera Theatre:
The St. Petersburg Opera Theater was created in 1987 by director Yuri Alexandrov. The troupe performed in many places in the city: The Yusupov Palace, The Hermitage Theater, the Beloselsky-Belozersky mansion. In 1998, it acquired its own stage in the palace of Baron Von Derviz. Originally the owner of the palace was Artemy Volynsky. In the 1880s, Baron acquired two houses, numbers 33 and 35, on Galernaya Street.
His son Sergei Pavlovich (1863–1918), an outstanding pianist who graduated from the Moscow Conservatory, inherited his father's love of art. In 1885, Sergei rebuilt the building into an impressive modern-day palace. In 1900, the third floor was built from the side of the embankment. In 1903-1905, Baron A. Alftan acquired the house and divided the site again into two properties.
The new owner of the building, Imperial Court Ringmaster N. Shebeko continued Sergey's cultural heritage and opened the Shebeko Theater Hall. In the fall of 1911, the theater troupe toured Moscow with a combined program, which was well received, but not financially successful. Therefore, in December 1911, after returning to St. Petersburg, the theater was closed.
After the revolution of 1917, the palace was looted and used for various purposes in the following years. In 1946, rooms overlooking Galernaya Street were given to the Admiralty Shipyard Workers' Club. The club had a romantic name Mayak meaning lighthouse. For years the building had fallen into disrepair. In 1998, the building was given to the State Chamber Musical Theater St. Petersburg Opera.
Visiting Time: 12 PM to 3 PM, and 4 PM to 7 PM.
Ticket Range: 500 - 3000 Rubles.
How to go: It is located about 120 meters from House of V.p.orlov-Davydov towards west at 33 Galernaya street.
Blagoveshchenskiy Bridge:
From the English embankment across the Neva River is thrown Blagoveshchensky Bridge, which was completed in 1850. It connects the embankment (2nd Admiralty Island) with Vasilievsky Island.
The total length of the Blagoveshchensky Bridge is 349.8 meters, and its width is 38.7 meters. The bridge consists of 8 spans.
Clark House:
House of A.F. Clark. The building was built at the end of the 18th century and rebuilt in 1883 and 1889-1890. Today, the 51 Central Design and Technological Institute of Ship Repair, established in 1954, is housed within the walls of the building.
How to go: It is located at English Embankment, 38.
Rumyantsev Mansion:
After the death of Count Nikolay Rumyantsev in 1826, his brother Count Sergei Rumyantsev inherited his estate. Sergei knew that his brother Nikolay wanted his personal art and book collection to be accessible to society. For this he decided to use the Rumyantsev house, where Nikolay's collections were already stored. The Rumyantsev Museum was founded in 1828. It was opened to the public in 1831.
Since the 1930s the house has been used by the Museum of the History of Leningrad. In the mid-1830s, 12 columns were added to the facade built from the first floor. In 1863 the Rumiansev house was sold to a newspaper editor. Now the State Museum of History of St. Petersburg. The museum exhibits books and manuscripts, art, coins, medals, items from the Russian expedition and circumnavigation, and places such as the Museum of Antiquities in Vilnius.
Visiting Time: Thursday to Tuesday - 11 AM to 6 PM. Wednesday remains closed.
How to go: It is located west of Dom A F Klarka at English Embankment 44.
Dolgorukova House:
Today, an 18th-century manor house, houses the 2-star Park River Hotel.
How to go: It is located west of Rumyantsev Mansion at English Embankment 46.
Ferzen House:
P K Ferzen / A ya Prozorov's Palace. The building was built in the first third of the 18th century and rebuilt in 1838.
How to go: It is located west of Dolgorukova House at English Embankment 48.
Kapnist House:
Kapnist's house / Stenbock-Fermor house. The building was built in the first third of the 18th century and rebuilt in the 1830s.
How to go: It is located west of Ferzen House at English Embankment 50.
Golovin House:
House of A M Golovin / house of O K Briskorn / house of the Strukovs / house of the Potemkins. The building was built in the 1730s and rebuilt in the early 19th century. In March 1832, Pushkin began the poem "Yezersky" in this house. The poem remained unfinished. In 1887-1888, the famous traveler and anthropologist N.N. Miklukho-Maklay lived in this house.
How to go: It is located west of Kapnist House at English Embankment 52.
Palace of Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich:
The small palace that has stood on the site since the 18th century was once the home of Princess Tatiana Yusupova. The palace was later bought by Prince Alexander Sergeevich Menshikov (1787–1869), Adjutant-General and Minister of the Navy. His son Vladimir Alexeevich rebuilt the palace in 1870-1874. The house was later acquired by Mikhail Alexandrovich (1878–1918). Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich, younger brother of the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II.
The building was modernized in 1910. As a result, beautiful buildings are seen today. Mikhail Alexandrovich rarely stayed in his palace. When he was on vacation he liked to relax at his residence in Gatchina Palace. In March 1917, Emperor Nicholas II abdicated. On March 7, 1918, Mikhail and his secretary were arrested and imprisoned by the Bolsheviks at the Bolshevik headquarters at the Smolny Institute.
In 1920 it became the first country theater for the deaf. In 1922, the palace was nationalized and handed over to the deaf community. Today it is the only specialized cultural and educational institution for the hearing impaired in the St. Petersburg region. It is possible to tour the palace, where some of the interior survives, including marble staircases and fireplaces, fine wood paneling and doors, and an ancient elevator.
How to go: It is located about 70 meters from Rumyantsev Mansion towards west at English Embankment, 54.
Pristan
Marina
How to go: It is located opposite of the Palace of Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich at English Embankment, 76.
Anglican Church of Jesus Christ
Church
The church building was rebuilt from the mansion of P.B. Sheremetev in 1814-1815. In 1876, the building was once again rebuilt. From 1723 to 1919, the Church of England community in St. Petersburg was located in the walls of the building. The church was closed in 1919. The temple interior (including the only English romantic organ of the 19th century in Russia) is well preserved. In 2017, the building was transferred to the Music Hall.
The church building was rebuilt from the palace of P.B. Sheremetev in 1814-1815. In 1876, the building was rebuilt again. From 1723 to 1919, the Church of England community in St. Petersburg was housed within the walls of the building. The church was closed in 1919. The interior of the temple (including the only 19th century English Romantic organ in Russia) is well preserved. In 2017, the building was transferred to the Music Hall.
How to go: It is located west of Palace of Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich at English Embankment, 56.
Zanadeorova House:
House of E. Zanadeorova. The building was built in the first third of the 18th century and rebuilt in 1858. Today, within the walls of the historic building, a guest house is located.
How to go: It is located west of Anglican Church of Jesus Christ at English Embankment, 58.
Teplov House:
Palace of NN Teplov. The first building on the site, which belonged to a cousin of Peter I's first wife, was mentioned in plans from the mid-1730s and rebuilt in 1870.
How to go: It is located west of Anglican Church of Jesus Christ at English Embankment, 60.
Chelishcheva House:
Mansion of M.N. Chelishcheva. Later it was bought by I.L. and I.L. Varshavskikh. Then it was the house of Y.S. Polyakova. The house was built in the 18th century. It was rebuilt in 1858 and 1908.
How to go: It is located west of Teplov House at English Embankment, 62.
Betling House:
P. Betling's palace. At the end of the 19th century, the building was owned by Sofya Vasilyevna Lindes. She was rebuilt the house. From 1913 to 1936, the building housed the Swedish Embassy.
How to go: It is located west of Chelishcheva House at English Embankment, 64.
Prince Vyazemsky House:
House of Prince L. D. Vyazemsky. The building was built in the first third of the 18th century and rebuilt in 1875.
How to go: It is located west of Betling House at English Embankment, 66.
Mansion of Baron Stieglitz:
At one time, two residential buildings stood on the site of the palace, one of which was the first stone house of the English Embankment (1716). In 1830, the plot belonged to Barons Stieglitz, a native of the German principality of Waldeck. During the Stieglitz period, in 1859-1862, a large mansion was built on the site of two old houses. The building was built for Alexander Ludvigovich Stieglitz, Russia's largest financier, founder of the Central School of Technical Drawing and the museum in the building.
In 1887, the palace was purchased for the Greek Duke Pavel Alexandrovich, and in 1889 it was converted into a palace on the day of the Grand Duke's wedding to Royal Alexandra of Greece. After his wife's death in 1891, Pavel Alexandrovich moved to Tsarskoye Selo. The palace had a house church of St. Alexandra. The temple was located on the second floor of the transverse courtyard wing and was decorated in the old Russian style.
The palace, which was little used for many years, was sold in 1917 to the Russian Society for the Procurement of Shells and Military Supplies. In 1938–1939, the right courtyard wing was built on one storey and in 1946–1947 a storey was built over the former Moorish Hall of the palace. In 2011, Baron Stieglitz's former mansion on English Embankment was transferred to the disposal of St. Petersburg State University. Subsequently, the building underwent a major renovation.
How to go: It is located west of Vyazemsky House at English Embankment, 68.
Demidov House:
N.A. Demidov's house / Ya.V. Willie's house / A.F. Gaush's house. This two-story house of Demidov was already marked on the city plan by 1737. By 1799, the building was slightly altered and rebuilt in the 1820s. This house closes the English Embankment buildings and is a corner house, also facing the Novo-Admiralty canal embankment.
How to go: It is located west of Mansion of Baron Stieglitz at English Embankment, 74.
Cathedral of Christ the Savior Savior-on-Vody
Church
How to go: It is located west of Demidov House at English Embankment, 76.
Day-26:
Nicholas Palace
Palace
Also called Nikolaevskiy Palace was commissioned by Emperor Nicholas I for his third son Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich and completed in 1861. The palace formed part of a vast complex that included a palatial church, a manor and several outbuildings that were separated from Labor Square by a cast-iron fence.
After the death of the Grand Duke in 1891, in 1894 the building was converted into the Kseniinsky Institute for Noble Young Ladies, a finishing school named after Grand Duchess Ksenia Alexandrovna, daughter of Alexander III. After the October Revolution, the Bolshevik government handed the building over to the trade unions, who made it their local headquarters and renamed it the Labor Palace. It still serves this role today, although parts of the palace are rented out to private enterprises.
The palace is notable for its ornate main staircase. Although the palace is not open to the general public, parts of it are used for regular folk music and dance performances, offering a glimpse of the interior.
How to go: It is located south of St. Petersburg Opera Theatre at 4, Ploshchad Truda.
Peter the Great Central Naval Museum
Maritime Museum
The museum's permanent exhibits include relics such as Peter the Great's Botik, Catherine II's naval throne, trophies captured in sea battles, and personal belongings of prominent Russian and Soviet naval commanders. The collection includes paintings by Ivan Aivazovsky, Alexey Bogolyubov, Lev Lagorio and other marine artists, ship sculptures, navigational instruments, 17th to 20th century naval equipment and machinery, and numerous models of ships.
Visiting Time: Wednesday to Sunday - 11 AM to 6 PM. Monday and Tuesday remains closed.
Entry Fee: 500 Rubles for adult. 300 Rubles for student. Temporary Exhibition - 600 Rubles for adult and 400 Rubles for student.
How to go: It is located about 100 meters south from Nicholas Palace at Bol'shaya Morskaya Ulitsa, 69A.
New Holland Island
Island
The island was created in 1719, when the newly constructed Kryukov Canal (east side) and Admiralty Canal (north side) connected the Moika River (south side) to the Neva River. Peter the Great brought Dutch shipbuilders, giving them a workplace here. The area soon began to resemble a foreign port, known as "Holland Island". In 1721, it was handed over to the Navy. Originally, there was a small shipyard for sailing boats.
In 1732 the Navy built wooden barracks to store wood for shipbuilding. By 1738, there were eight wooden barns on the island. In 1765, there was a project to rebuild the warehouses with bricks. The project began in 1773, although their construction was not completed until 1779.
Archway:
By 1770, when the project was shelved, a high arch was built over the canal connecting the Moika River with the inland basin. Known as the "New Holland Arch", this red-brick entrance to the island is flanked by massive red granite columns. It was completed in 1777.
In 1782, the gateway was already in need of rebuilding and reworking of the embankments, which were completed only in 1784. The Turkish and Swedish wars (1788–1789) intervened. Construction work inside the water tank complex remained unfinished, plans for a second arch over the Kryukov canal were abandoned, and even the walls of the complex did not receive their final coating.
The Naval Prison:
A naval prison building was constructed in 1828-29. The ring-shaped, three-story prison can hold up to 500 prisoners at a time. First, it was not used as a prison. It was used as a temporary hospital, a gymnastics, a tailoring workshop and warehouses. It was only in 1863 that it was finally converted into a prison. The prison's unusual shape earned it the nickname, "Bottle" (Butylka), giving rise to the colloquialism: "Stay out of the bottle".
Now in the courtyard of "Butylka" there is a stage where concerts take place. During the summer season, open terraces of various cafes and restaurants serve around the stage. The building has four floors. On the first floor, there are restaurants. On the second floor they sell books, clothes, cosmetics, furniture, children's products and more. On the third level, barber shops, a beauty salon, boxing and ballet schools, cycling studios, etc. The fourth floor houses a design studio, archives and New Holland headquarters.
Commandant's House:
Quarters for the commandant were built attached to the guard tower. The structure has been restored and, as of 2017, houses the Mayak School of Creative Industries within its walls. Mayak School aims to develop students' creativity. Here they teach computer games, design, photography, music, drama skills and other arts development.
Visiting Time: Monday to Friday - 3 PM to 9 PM. Saturday and Sunday - 11 AM to 9 PM. Training and master classes are paid.
Kuznya:
Kuznya is one of the oldest buildings, it was built in the middle of the 19th century. The reconstruction of the object lasted more than three years. During the reign of Peter I, there was a blacksmith's workshop, today the club and restaurant "Kuznya House" is open in Kuznya.
Visiting Time:: Sunday to Thursday - 12 PM to 11 PM. Friday and Saturday - 12 PM - until the last guest.
The Scientific Laboratory:
From 1890-1891, a mid-19th-century building in the New Holland complex was converted into a laboratory for the Navy. In addition to the laboratory, library and a reception area, there was also a space designated as the "Explosion Room", where they conducted experiments with smokeless gunpowder.
The Water Tank:
In 1882, saw the idea of building a water tank, where ships could be tested for the first time. In 1892, New Holland Island was selected as the site and construction began on a massive concrete canal. The tank was housed in a two-story building that also housed administrative quarters and maintenance facilities. The first such tank in Russia, it was the sixth such test facility in the world. The official date of construction of the water tank is March, 1894.
On January 3, 1900, the tank became the main laboratory for testing new ship prototypes. From 1910 to 1914, the water tank played an active role in the development of submarines, including battleships. By 1930, the water tank was once again operating at full capacity. It even spawned a research institute for military ships. The tank itself was modernized and extended to 27 meters.
Radio station:
In 1915, the island of New Holland became the host of a radio station, whose transmission signals were able to provide continuous communication with ships as far as the Baltic and Black Seas. The three-story building was built next to the Kruków Canal on a site originally designated for the columns of the island's second arch. It was from this radio station that Vladimir Lenin broadcast his famous missive announcing the beginning of the revolution. This century-shattering broadcast was broadcast on November 9, 1917.
During World War II and the Siege of Leningrad, New Holland was severely damaged by artillery fire; The island suffered more than seventy shelling and more than ten bombing raids. Warehouses along the Moika River and the Kryukov Canal were heavily damaged, as were water tanks and radio stations.
In 2004, the island was no longer under the control of the Navy. In January 2011, an architectural competition was held to transform the island into a multi-use complex and a cultural center. Contestants are Russia, UK, Germany, France, Netherlands, USA. The USA Architecture Bureau, WorkAC, was named the winner of the competition. The island was opened to the public in July 2011.
During the opening summer project in 2011-2013, the park attracted more than 700,000 people. In 2016, the restoration of the former blacksmith's building, the commandant's house and the old naval prison was launched. A communal herb garden has also been created. An ice skating rink has been installed. There is an information center for visitors, located in a small pavilion to the left of the entrance. For children and teenagers on the island, there is a playground "Fregat", which has a large frame of a ship.
Visiting Time: Monday to Thursday - 9 AM to 10 PM. Friday to Sunday - 9 AM to 11 PM.
Entry Fee: Free.
How to go: It is located west of Peter the Great Central Naval Museum.
Zifergauz Gallery
Art gallery
Zifergauz Gallery is located in the historic building DOM 12 on New Holland Island. It showcases Russian stars of digital art, film screenings and lectures. Notable art projects from around the world and new talented works in the Russian media industry are displayed here.
Visiting Time: Tuesday to Sunday - 11 AM to 9 PM. Monday reamins closed.
How to go: It is locoated about 70 meters from Peter the Great Central Naval Museum at Naberezhnaya Admiralteyskogo Kanala, 2.
Day-27: Vasilevsky Island
Academician I.P. Pavlov's Museum-Apartment
Museum
Home to the Nobel Prize-winner, Ivan Pavlov (26 September 1849 – 27 February 1936) was a Russian and Soviet experimental neurologist and physiologist known for his discovery of classical conditioning through his experiments with dogs. This apartment was left unchanged by Pavlov's wife for thirty years before becoming a museum.
Visiting Time: Monday to Friday - 11 AM to 5 PM only by group.
Entry Fee: Free.
How to go: It is located about 100 meters from the north end of Blagoveshchenskiy Bridge towards northwest at 7 Liniya Vasil'yevskogo Ostrova, 2.
Museum-Pharmacy of Doctor Pel and Sons
Museum
Alexander Poehl was the son of a German pharmacist who owned his own pharmacy in St. Petersburg. His grandfather, Georg Poehl, came to Russia as a cobbler at the Imperial Court. In 1871, Poehl Pharmacy began supplying the Imperial Court. In 1873, Alexander Poehl graduated from the Imperial Medical Academy and went abroad to continue his studies at the University of Giessen in Giessen, Germany, and then at Yuriev (Tartu) University in Tartu, Estonia.
After returning to St. Petersburg, Poehl went to work in his father's pharmacy and established his own laboratory there. Poehl died in 1908 while attending a conference in Berlin. His two sons, Alfred and Richard Poehl, both graduated from the Imperial Medical Academy and continued the family business after their father's death. The remaining members of the family left St. Petersburg after the Bolshevik Revolution, but the pharmacy continued, and in 1983 a museum was established in the building.
How to go: It is located 200 meters north from Academician I.P. Pavlov's Museum-Apartment at 7 Liniya Vasil'yevskogo Ostrova, 16.
Saint Andrew's Cathedral
Cathedral
St. Andrew's Church is similar in design to St. Paul's Cathedral in London, and exceeds 430 feet in length. The site behind the "Twelve College" building was cleared and a wooden church was built, which was consecrated on 8 October 1732 in the name of St. Andrew. Empress Anna donated furniture for the church and the icon screen was taken from the chapel of the nearby Menshikov Palace.
As the wooden church seemed too small for its growing congregation, a stone church was established on 2 July 1740 adjacent to the wooden cathedral. The church shell was built within five years, but decorative works prevented its consecration until 1760. It was here that Mikhail Lomonosov and Vasily Trediakovsky were sworn in as professors of the Imperial Academy of Sciences on 30 July 1745.
The structure was dedicated to three holy men (also known as the Three Wise Men, the Three Kings, and the Three Magi, distinguished foreigners who brought gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to pay homage to Jesus after his birth). On July 4, 1761, the wooden cathedral burned down in a lightning strike. A new cathedral of stone was founded on 18 July 1764, the church took 22 years to complete. Delayed by the collapse of its cupola on 6 August 1766, the architect was taken into custody.
The five-domed pastel pink cathedral was consecrated on 21 March 1780. A special place in the cathedral was reserved for the tsars until 1813. The pyramidal bell-tower, connected to the church by a refectory, was built in 1784-86 in two tiers, and contained ten bells, the largest of which weighed over four tons. The upper part of the belfry was rebuilt in 1850. Seven years later, the interior of the cathedral was renovated, and the icon screen was enlarged.
After the Russian Revolution of 1917, the Bolsheviks confiscated many valuables from the church. On 24 April 1924 a crowd of several hundred worshipers attempted to protect the icons and clashed with members of the "Confiscation Committee". As a result of the disorders, the cathedral was handed over to the Reformers. On 16 May 1938 the cathedral was closed, its priests arrested and the bells destroyed.
During the Siege of Leningrad, the dome was equipped with cannons that helped protect the area from intensive bombardment. In 1992 St. Andrew's Cathedral and the Church of the Three Holy Men were returned to the Russian Orthodox Church. In 2001, an obelisk was unveiled in front of the church to commemorate the centenary of the restored Order of St. Andrew.
How to go: It is located about 400 meters from Vasileostrovskaya Metro station towards south. About 120 meters from Museum-Pharmacy towards north at Line 6, Vasilyevsky Island 11.
Monument to I.F. Kruzenshtern
Monument
The monument was erected on November 8, 1870, on the sailor's 100th anniversary. The monument is located opposite the Naval Cadet Corps building, from which Kruzenshtern graduated in 1788 and was director from 1827-1842.
How to go: It is located about 450 meters from the north end of Blagoveshchenskiy Bridge towards west at Leytenanta Shmidta embankment, 17/2.
Mosaic school Pomegranate Garden
Art center
How to go: It is located about 150 meters from Monument to I.F. Kruzenshtern towards west at Leytenanta Shmidta embankment, 21A.
Church of the Dormition of the Mother of God
Church
Construction began in 1895. In September 1896, a temporary church was built inside the temple under construction, where services were held continuously. On September 14, 1897, the cross was placed on the dome. The main chapel was built in honor of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and consecrated on 18 December 1897. In the summer of 1898, the domes were gilded. In 1903, the church was completed.
In 1922, a chalice, a cross and an altar gospel were stolen from the church's altar. On August 25, 1934, the temple was closed, although services continued until January 23, 1935. In 1936, it was used as a sports hall. In 1956, a project was developed to build the first indoor ice rink in Leningrad. As a result, several paintings were destroyed. The ice rink was decorated with portraits of Lenin. The rink was inaugurated in 1961.
How to go: It is located about 130 meters from Mosaic school Pomegranate Garden towards southwest at Leytenanta Shmidta embankment, 27/2.
Home Church of the Holy Great Martyr Anastasia
Orthodox church
Anastasia the Pattern Maker is a saint who suffered during Diocletian's persecution of Christians. This house church is dedicated to him. The church house is located on the second floor, and is not always open, and there is nothing special inside. The church has a Sunday school, a library with a reading room, which is also used as a meeting room for parishioners.
How to go: It is located about 220 meters from Church of the Dormition of the Mother of God towards southwest at Leytenanta Shmidta embankment, 39.
State Museum-Institute of the Roerich Family
Museum
The museum is dedicated to the study and appreciation of the life and work of the exceptionally talented Roerich family, whose most famous member was the painter, poet and mystic Nicholas Roerich.
Visiting Time: Wednesday to Sunday - 11 AM to 6 PM. Monday and Tuesday remains closed.
Entry Fee: 60 Rubles for adult. 30 Rubles for child.
How to go: It is located west of Home Church of the Holy Great Martyr Anastasia at 1, 18th Line, Vasilyevsky Island.
Submarine C-189
War museum
The C-189 is a 613-class diesel-electric submarine, built in 1954. Served 35 years in the Soviet fleet, and was decommissioned in 1990. The C-189 eventually sank in Kronstadt harbor, but was salvaged in 2005 by a local businessman, who turned the ship into a museum. The submarine has been fully restored, and guests can walk around the ship and touch whatever they want.
Visiting Time: Wednesday to Sunday - 11 AM to 7 PM. Monday and Tuesday remains closed.
Entry Fee: 400 Rubles for adult. 300 Rubles for student. 200 Rubles for child.
How to go: It is located opposite of State Museum-Institute of the Roerich Family through St Petersburg Port Passenger Terminal.
Mining Museum in St. Petersburg
Museum
The museum has exhibits on gemstones and minerals as well as some fossils.
Visiting Time: Monday to Friday - 9 AM to 5:15 PM. Friday - 9 AM to 4:15 PM. Saturday - only Russian-language tours for individual visitors at 11 AM and 1 PM. Visit by prior appointment only.
Entry Fee: Free.
How to go: It is located about 280 meters from State Museum-Institute of the Roerich Family towards southwest at Leytenanta Shmidta embankment, 45/2.
Icebreaker Krasin
Ship Museum
Despite its age, "Krasin" is still in good working order and a seaworthy vessel, but after extensive restoration work it is now a floating museum. It was built in 1916 in Britain. The museum displays some of the ship's equipment and details its participation in various rescue missions, convoys and research.
Visiting Time: Wednesday to Sunday - 10 AM to 6 PM. Monday and Tuesday and every last Wednesday of the month remains closed.
Entry Fee: 300 Rubles for adult. 150 Rubles for student. 70 Rubles for child.
Photography: Photo and video - 100 Rubles.
How to go: It is located about 150 meters from Mining Museum towards south at Leytenanta Shmidta embankment, 23.
Day-28: Vasilevsky Island
Temple in the name of the icon of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow”
Church
How to go: It is located about 1.15 km from Icebreaker Krasin towards northwest at Bol'shoy Prospekt Vasil'yevskogo Ostrova, 85 in the Intercession Hospital.
Erarta
Modern art museum
Erarta is said to be the largest private museum of contemporary art in Russia.
Visiting Time: Wednesday to Munday - 10 AM to 10 PM. Tuesday remains closed.
Entry Fee: 550 Rubles. Audio guide - 200 Rubles.
How to go: It is located north of Temple in the Intercession Hospital at 29 Liniya Vasil'yevskogo Ostrova, 2.
Derevo Lyubvi
Love Tree
A Tree monument inside the park.
How to go: It is located about 780 meters from Erarta museum towards west.
Hyper Port
Amusement park
Hyperport is a space created to bring the digital industry together. New digital technology, light, sound and 3D-mapping. A two thousand square meter hyperport that can transport you to different worlds, galaxies and a black hole.
How to go: It is located northwest corner of Derevo Lyubvi at Bol'shoy Prospekt Vasil'yevskogo Ostrova, 103.
Monument Torpedo Boats
Historical landmark
How to go: It is located 100 meters west of Hyper Port Amusement park at Bolshoy VO Avenue, 103 building 3.
Fabrika Yelochnykh Igrushek
Museum
Factory of Christmas Toys.
Visiting Time: 11 AM to 7 PM every day.
How to go: It is located about 30 meters northwest of Monument Torpedo Boats at Sredniy Street VO, 103K5.
Prichal
Observation Deck
How to go: It is located 130 meters from Fabrika Yelochnykh Igrushek Museum towards west.
Narodovolets D-2 Submarine
Museum
Commissioned in the Baltic Fleet in 1931, Narodovolets was a diesel-electric, torpedo-carrying submarine that saw active service on four missions during World War II, launching 12 torpedo attacks and sinking four enemy ships. Since 1993, Narodovolets have been placed in the Baltic Fleet as a monument to the heroism of submariners.
Visiting Time: Wednesday to Sunday - 10 AM to 6 PM. Monday and Tuesday remains closed.
Entry Fee: 350 Rubles for adult. 200 Rubles for student.
Photography: Allowed.
How to go: It is located about 400 meters from Prichal Observation Deck towards north at Shkiperskiy Protok, 10.
Water Tower
Historical Landmark
How to go: It is located about 800 meters from Narodovolets D-2 Submarine museum towards northwest at Shkiperskiy Protok, 25.
Monument to the cruiser Kirov
Monument
Kirov was a battleship completed on 26 September 1938. Kirov left for Riga on 22 October 1939, when the Soviet Union began occupying Latvia, continuing to Liepaja the next day. During the Winter War, Kirov, on November 30, 1939, attempted to bomb the Finnish coast defense guns 5 km south of Hanko, Finland. Kirov was stranded in the Gulf of Riga when Germany invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941.
In late June, Kirov provided gunnery support during the defense of Tallinn, Estonia, and in late August 1941 served as commander of the evacuation fleet from Tallinn to Leningrad. Kirov was seriously injured by three bombs by Germany on April 4-5, 1942. After the liberation of Leningrad in early 1944, Kirov remained there and took no further part in the war except to provide gunfire support for the mid-1944 Soviet Vyborg–Petrozavodsk offensive against Finland.
Kirov was hit by a German magnetic mine while leaving Kronstadt on 17 October 1945. She took part in fleet maneuvers in the North Sea in January 1956. She was reclassified as a training cruiser, regularly visiting Poland and East Germany. She was sold for scrap on 22 February 1974. When the Kirov was decommissioned, its two gun turrets were erected as a monument. The monument was unveiled on September 30, 1990.
How to go: It is located about 1.5 km from Water Tower towards northwest near Baltflota Square Bus station.
Morskaya Naberezhnaya
Scenic Spot
How to go: It is located about 330 meters from Monument to the cruiser Kirov towards north near Abordazh Cafe in Morskaya Naberezhnaya, 19.
Day-29: Vasilevsky Island
Petersburg Metropolitan Museum
Museum
Visiting Time: 9 AM to 9 PM every day.
How to go: It is located near Primorskaya metro station at Ulitsa Odoyevskogo, 29.
Church of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God
Church
At the Smolensk cemetery, this church dates back to the mid-18th century. It is said that a beloved 18th-century saint of the town, also known as "Holy Fool", secretly helped the builders of the stone church by carrying bricks to the site under the cover of night. There is a separate stone chapel built in the cemetery near her tomb as well as a chapel within the church dedicated to her. The stone church, which was replaced by a wooden church consecrated in 1760, was completed in 1776.
In 1809, the North Chapel was added, and again in the mid-19th century, the iconostasis was added to the Chapel of John the Baptist. The church was closed between 1940 and 1947. Due to the closure of many churches during this period, the church received many valuable holy relics, including the famous icon of the Merciful Mother of God, a gift from the monks of Mount Athos in the 19th century.
The icon after which the church is named is one of the most celebrated in Russian history. It originally came to Russia in 1046, when Emperor Constantine's daughter Anna married, and it was moved to Moscow in 1812. It disappeared during the Nazi invasion. In 2005, it was placed in a private gallery in London, and negotiations are underway to return the icon to Russia. A copy was brought to St. Petersburg.
How to go: It is located in Smolensk cemetery, about 1.1 km from Petersburg Metropolitan Museum towards southeast at 24, Kamskaya Ulitsa.
Xenia the Blessed of St. Petersburg Museum
Museum
It is said that on the site where the temple was built there was a house where Ksenia lived with her husband Andrei Petrov. Here the saint rests, and from here she departs for the feat of folly. The temple was built on June 6, 2019.
How to go: It is located about 130 meters from Church of the Smolensk towards east at Kamskaya Ulitsa, 22.
St Petersburg Puppet Museum
Museum
Visiting Time: 10 AM to 6 PM everyday.
How to go: It is located about 350 meters from Xenia the Blessed of St. Petersburg Museum towards east at Kamskaya Ulitsa 8/90.
Artmuza
Art Gallery
The mechanical factory was established in 1938 and its first products were fireproof cabinets, beds and counters. Until 1991, the company produced sports equipment. From 1991, the factory was rebuilt to manufacture acoustic guitars. After demand for musical instruments declined, the premises were leased out to various institutions. Since 2013, Artmuza started working as an exhibition hall. The official inauguration took place on January 8, 2014.
Visiting Time: 11 AM to 10 PM every day.
How to go: It is located about 400 meters from St Petersburg Puppet Museum towards southeast at 13-Ya Liniya Vasil'yevskogo Ostrova, 70.
Museum of Urban Electric Transport
Museum
The museum was founded in 1967 and is the oldest museum of electric transport in Russia. It is located in the old Vasiliostrovsky tram depot in St. Petersburg which was built in 1906-1908. To celebrate the 90th anniversary of St. Petersburg trams, examples of trams used in St. Petersburg have been restored. The museum also displays documents and photographs, cards, breadboard models of carriages and trams, examples of tram workers' uniforms and original cash registers.
Visiting Time: Russian-language tours at 10 AM, 11:30 AM, 2 PM and 4 PM.
Entry Fee: 230 Rubles for adult. 65 Rubles for child and student.
How to go: It is located about 450 meters from the southeast corner of Smolensk cemetery. About 1 km from Artmuza towards southwest at Sredniy street VO, 77A.
Church of the Annunciation on Vasilevsky
Orthodos Church
Saint Petersburg once had ten churches named after the Annunciation of the Mother of God. This church on Vasilevskiy Island is one of only two surviving. The first wooden church was built here in the early years of St. Petersburg. In 1750, construction of a stone church began. Its tiered bell-tower was for many years the tallest building on Vasilevskiy Island.
The round church had seven side-chapels, each containing a holy relic or copy of a famous icon. In the mid-19th century, the church became part of a convent, whose ancillary buildings can still be seen around the church. After the revolution, the church was closed, its treasures looted and the building used as a warehouse and workshop. During the siege of Leningrad, the building was repeatedly bombed and fell into ruins until the early 1990s.
The exterior of the church has since been restored, and work continues on the interior with work already completed on the second floor, including restoration of the original frescoes.
How to go: It is located about 620 meters from Artmuza towards east at 7 Liniya Vasil'yevskogo Ostrova, 68. About 350 meters north from Vasileostrovskaya Metro station.
Apartment Benoit Families Museum
Museum
The museum-apartment of the architect Leonty Nikolaevich Benois was built by the descendants of famous architects living in Russia and abroad. The authentic interior contains material from the family archive, including rare photographs and works of art by both Leonti Benoit and representatives of the Benoit family, made in various techniques and materials: painting, sculpture, graphics, ceramics and more.
Visiting Time: The museum is open by organized groups and events only.
How to go: It is located about 840 meters from Church of the Annunciation on Vasilevsky towards southeast, or about 500 meters from Vasileostrovskaya Metro station towards southeast at 3-Ya Liniya VO, 20.
Dvor Dukhov
Tourist Attraction
Court of the Spirits
Vistiing Time: 10 AM to 7 PM every day.
How to go: It is located about 350 meters from Apartment Benoit Families Museum towards southwest at 4-Ya Liniya VO, 5.
House Tanya Savicheva
Historical Landmark
Tanya Savicheva lived in this house from 1936 to 1942. There are memorial plaques on the wall and in the courtyard of her home on Vasilievsky Island.
Tanya was born on 23 January 1930, the youngest child in the family. Her father died when Tanya was six years old, leaving his widow with five children: three daughters - Tanya, Zhenya and Nina, and two sons - Mikhail and Leka. Mikhail had left Leningrad before the start of the war. Mikhail's story was unknown to the rest of his family who assumed he was dead. One day Nina went to work and never came back. The family was unaware of this and assumed he was dead.
Tanya had a diary in which she recorded her daily life, but they had to burn the diary during the siege as there was no fuel left to heat the stove. Later Tanya found a small notebook, which later became her diary. Her elder sister, Zhenya, died of complications from malnutrition. Tanya records her sister's death in her notebook. "Zhenya died on December 28th at 12 noon, 1941".
A month later, her grandmother died, two days after Tanya's twelfth birthday. Tanya recorded her death as "Grandmother died on the 25th of January at 3 o'clock, 1942". Nina went missing on February 28. The family assumed her dead. Tanya makes no mention of Nina in the notebook. Nina eventually found the diary on returning to Leningrad. Tanya's brother Leka died at the shipyard hospital. Tanya recorded this in her diary, "Leka died March 17th, 1942, at 5 o'clock in the morning, 1942".
Tanya's uncle Vasya died at the age of 56. Tanya recorded his obituary, "Uncle Vasya died on April 13th at 2 o'clock in the morning, 1942". Her eldest uncle Lesha died of malnutrition the following month at the age of 71. Tanya recorded his death: "Uncle Lesha May 10th, at 4 o'clock in the afternoon, 1942". After 3 days, finally her mother died. Tanya recorded her death, "Mom on May 13 at 7:30 in the morning, 1942". With that Tanya recorded, "The Savichevs are dead". "Everyone is dead". "Only Tanya is left".
After her mother's death, Tanya stays with a neighbor the next night and then, at her aunt's house. Then transferred to public orphanage number 48 in Smolny area. In August 1942, Tanya was one of 140 children rescued from Leningrad and brought to the village of Krasny Bor. In May 1944, Tanya was sent to a hospital in Satki, where she died a month later, on July 1, of intestinal tuberculosis. Nina and Mikhail returned to Leningrad after World War II and found the diary.
Tanya's original diary is now on display at The State Museum of History of Saint Petersburg in the Peter and Paul Fortress, with a copy also on display at the Piskaryovskoye Memorial Cemetery. Tanya's red marble mausoleum is located at the Krasny Bor Cemetery with a gray marble tombstone depicting her image in bas relief. Nearby is a monument depicting pages carved from her diary.
2127 Tanya, a minor planet discovered in 1971 by Soviet astronomer Lyudmila Chernykh, is named in her honor. There is also a mountain pass named after her in the Dzungarian Alatau mountain range between Kazakhstan and China.
How to go: It is located about 220 meters from Dvor Dukhov at 2-Ya Liniya VO, 13.
Spice Museum
Museum
Visiting Time: 11 AM to 9 PM every day.
Entry Fee: 300 Rubles for adult. 600 Rubles for family. 200 Rubles for child age 7-14 and retired. 250 Rubles for child age above 14. Additional 300 Rubles for foreign language tour.
How to go: It is located north of House of Tanya Savicheva at Bol'shoy Prospekt Vasil'yevskogo Ostrova, 6.
Evangelical Lutheran Church of St. Catherine
Lutheran church
In 1728, a Lutheran community was formed. It occupied a wooden house. A prayer room was consecrated there on 16 June 1729. Later, the house was used as a base for the construction of a separate wooden church, which was consecrated on 29 July 1744 and dedicated to Saint Peter the Apostle. On 22 June 1768, the foundation stone of the present church was laid, and on 26 January 1771 the entire building was consecrated in the name of St. Catherine.
Two copies hung on the altar: one of "The Last Supper", the other "The Resurrection". "The Temptation of Adam" and "The Crucifixion" were original paintings on the walls. The two golden statues represent faith and charity. During the reconstruction of 1852, a new organ was installed in the church. In 1857 and 1868, some changes were made inside. In 1883, a marble statue of the Savior appeared. Choir stalls were built inside during restoration work carried out between 1895 and 1897.
In 1902 and 1903, the building was enlarged by adding space for a staircase. In 1903, the large Walcker organ appeared in the interior. The church maintained a parish and trading school, two orphanages, a non-traditional middle school, a kindergarten, a widow's residence and cheap flats. In the early 1920s, the church passed to the Baptists and became their center. On August 1, 1935, it was closed and taken over by the Student Activities Center.
In 1990, several rooms in the building, which were then used as recording studios, were returned to the Lutheran community. On Christmas Day 1990, divine services were resumed. However, they were held regularly from August 1997, after the entire building was handed over to the believers. At the beginning of 1999, the largest soiree organ in the city was installed in the church.
Visiting Time: Wednesday - 7 PM to 9 PM. Saturday - 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM. Sunday - 12:30 PM to 6 PM. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday remains closed.
How to go: It is located about 150 meters from Spice Museum towards northeast at Bol'shoy street Vasil'yevskogo Ostrova, 1/20.
Day-30: Vasilevsky Island
Scientific-research Museum of the Russian Academy of Arts
Museum
Visiting Time: Wednesday, Friday to Sunday - 11 AM to 7 PM. Thursday - 12 PM to 8 PM. Monday and Tuesday remains closed.
Entry Fee: 200 Rubles for adult. 100 Rubles for student and retired. 500 Rubles for foreign Tourist. Free for child age below 16.
How to go: It is located about 350 meters from House of Tanya towards south at University Embankment, 17.
Grifony
Tourist attraction
A statue.
How to go: It is located opposite of Scientific-research Museum of the Russian Academy of Arts.
Sfinksy
Statue
How to go: It is located opposite of Scientific-research Museum of the Russian Academy of Arts.
Rumyantsev Garden
Park
The Rumyantsev Obelisk is a granite obelisk commemorating Count Pyotr Rumyantsev's victories during the Russo-Turkish War between 1768 and 1774 and his service in the Russo-Turkish War of 1787–1792. The idea of a monument to honor Rumiansev's victory arose in 1795, towards the end of the reign of Empress Catherine the Great. Both the empress and Rumyantsev died in 1796, although Rumyantsev's sons continued to press for the monument to be implemented.
Emperor Paul I granted the request in February 1798. The monument was erected in early 1799 south of the "Field of Mars". Above the obelisk is a golden ball on which an eagle spreads its wings. The obelisk was moved to the north end in 1801 when Mikhail Kozlovsky's Suvorov monument was erected nearby. In 1818, with the approval of Emperor Alexander I, the monument was moved to its present location on Vasilyevsky Island.
In 1710 there was a market here, named Menshikov, because it was located next to the first governor's palace. The square was then used as a parade ground for the Cadet Corps. Between 1866 and 1867 the garden was built on the square at the expense of city merchant SF Solovyov. In the garden, there were lanes, fountains, marble vases, cast iron fences. A music pavilion has been opened in the garden. The square was rebuilt again in 1927.
It was renamed "Shevchenko Square" on 22 February 1939, in memory of the poet Taras Shevchenko. In 1999, busts of painter Ilya Repin (5 August 1844 – 29 September 1930) and realistic history painter Vasily Surikov (24 January 1848 – 19 March 1916) were installed here. It was restored to its original name of "Rumyantsev Square" on 21 May 2001. On the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg in the Rumyantsevsky garden, a complete restoration was carried out, the fountains were restored in 2011.
How to go: It is located east of Scientific-research Museum of the Russian Academy of Arts.
Menshikov Palace
Palace Museum
The Menshikov Palace was founded in 1710 as the residence of Alexander Menshikov, Governor General of Saint Petersburg. It was opened in 1711, but construction continued until 1727, when Menshikov was exiled to Siberia with his family and his property confiscated. In 1731 the first cadet corps was established and occupied the palace and surrounding buildings. At the end of the 19th century, the Menshikov Palace was restored and turned into a corps museum.
In 1924, its collections were transferred to the Hermitage and other museums. From 1956 to 1981 the Menshikov Palace was again restored and finally opened to the public as a branch of the Hermitage Museum with a collection of late 17th-early 18th century Russian art.
Visiting Time: Tuesday, Thursday to Sunday - 10:30 AM to 6 PM. Wednesday - 10:30 AM to 9 PM. Monday remains closed.
Entry Fee: 300 Rubles for adult. Free for student or child.
Free Entry: First Thursday of each month.
How to go: It is located east of Rumyantsev Garden in Vasileostrovskaya island.
Poslaniye Cherez Veka
Monument
It means "Message Through the Ages".
How to go: It is located on the University Embankment on the banks of the Neva River, just opposite Saint Petersburg State University, about 180 meters east of the Menshikov Palace.
Twelve Collegia
State University
The largest surviving structure in Saint Petersburg from the Petrine era, the over 400 meters long building was commissioned by Peter the Great in 1718 to house the new structure of government. The building was built from 1722 to 1744. Originally twelve separate buildings. As the 18th century progressed and the city center was gradually established on the left bank of the river, with no permanent connecting bridge to Vasilevskiy Island, the site became increasingly inconvenient, the higher departments of the government began to search for new premises on the opposite bank.
In 1804, a portion of the twelve colleges were assigned to the Pedagogical Institute. During that time, the building was significantly altered. Of the original interior, only the sculptures, friezes, ceiling murals and fireplaces of the Petrovsky Hall survive. The grand staircase and assembly hall were rebuilt. On 8 February 1819, Alexander I reorganized the main educational institute into the University of Saint Petersburg.
The Pedagogical institution was restored in 1828 as an educational institution independent of Saint Petersburg University and trained teachers until it was finally closed in 1859. In 1830, Tsar Nicholas returned the entire Twelve Collegia building to the university. Saint Petersburg University is considered the second best university in Russia after Moscow State University.
Visitors have access to some of the public halls of the twelve colleges, which regularly host concerts, and the building also houses two museums - the Museum of the History of St. Petersburg University and the Dmitri Mendeleev Apartment Museum.
How to go: It is located east of Menshikov Palace.
Museum of the History of St. Petersburg University
Museum
St Petersburg University History Museum was founded in 1945. Its exhibits the main periods of the life of the University in the 18th to 19th centuries, and about outstanding graduates, including great scientists and politicians.
Visiting time: Thursday to Monday - 11 AM to 7 PM. Tuesday - 11 AM to 6 PM. Wednesday remains closed.
How to go: It is located in Twelve Collegia.
Dmitri Mendeleev Apartment Museum
Museum
Dmitri Mendeleev (8 February, 1834 – 2 February, 1907) was a Russian chemist and inventor. He is famous for establishing the periodic table of chemical elements arranged by their atomic mass, which predicted the properties of elements not yet discovered. The museum is located in the Twelve Collegia building. In 1956, the Museum opened for public.
Visiting Time: 10 AM to 1 PM, and 2 PM to 4:30 PM
Entry Fee: 350 Rubles for adult. 175 Rubles for discount.
Ticket Counter: Ticket office of St Petersburg University at the Faculty of Philology at 3 Philologichesky lane.
How to go: It is located in Twelve Collegia.
Botanical Garden of St. Petersburg State University
Botanical Garden
Visiting Rules: A visit to the Botanical Garden is only possible as part of a scheduled excursion. After purchasing a ticket, a payment receipt will be sent to your email; it must be presented at the entrance. 10 minutes before the start of the excursion, a representative of the Botanical Garden will meet you at the main entrance to the building of the Faculty of Philology (Universitetskaya embankment, 7-9-11B). You must have a passport or other identification document with you.
Entry Fee: 350 Rubles per person.
How to go: It is located in Twelve Collegia.
Monument to Mikhail Lomonosov
Monument
Unveiled in 1986 to mark the 275th anniversary of the great polymath and father of Russian science, Mikhail Lomonosov, this three-meter bronze statue. Lomonosov was a member of the Academy for over 20 years and, from 1758 until his death, rector of the Academic University, the forerunner of the modern university.
How to go: The statue stands on Mendeleevskaya Liniya between the Twelve Colleges (the main building of St. Petersburg State University) and the Academy of Sciences.
Museum of Optical Technologies
Museum
It was opened on December 16, 2003.
Visiting Time: Tuesday to Thursday - 11 AM to 8 PM. Friday to Sunday - 11 AM to 9 PM. Monday remains closed.
Entry Fee: On weekend and holiday - 400 Rubles for adult. 300 Rubles for child age above 1 years, student, retired. Free for child age 0-1 year.
How to go: It is located north of Twelve Collegia at Birzhevaya line, 14.
Literary Museum of the Institute of Russian Literature
Museum
The Literary Museum of the Institute of Russian Literature of the Russian Academy of Sciences is often called simply "Pushkin House". The Institute of Russian Literature began its life in December 1905 as the main center for the study of Alexander Pushkin. Alexander Pushkin (6 June 1799 – 10 February 1837) was a Russian poet, playwright and novelist of the Romantic era. Many consider him the greatest Russian poet, as well as the founder of modern Russian literature.
In 1927 the Pushkin House was moved from the Academy of Sciences building to the Customs House built in 1829-1832. The museum not only has the works of Pushkin, but also works of many other Russian writers such as Leo Tolstoy, Blok, Remizov, and others.
Visiting Time: Monday to Tuesday - 11 AM to 4 PM. Saturday and Sunday remains closed.
Entry Fee: 300 Rubles for adult. 150 Rubles for student. 300 Rubles for audio guide.
How to go: It is located about 450 meters from Museum of Optical Technologies towards east at Makarova Embankment, 4.
V.V. Dokuchaev Central Museum of Soil
Museum
V.V. Dokuchaev Central Museum of Soil was founded in 1902 at Saint Petersburg by Vasilli Vasil'evich Dokuchaev (1846–1903). Commonly regarded as the father of Soil science.
Visiting Time: Monday to Friday - 11 AM to 5 PM. Saturday and Sunday remains closed. individual visitors on Tuesday only. Organized groups and tours by prior arrangement on the other days.
Photography: Allowed.
How to go: It is located about 250 meters from Literary Museum of the Institute of Russian Literature towards south.
Old Stock Exchange
Landmark
The stock exchange was established by an order of Peter the Great, inspired by the stock exchange in Amsterdam, ordering the establishment of a stock exchange for his capital city. In 1767 the City Building Committee decided to develop the vacant lots on Vasilevsky Island. The area was built over six years from 1783 to 1789. Construction of the Stock Exchange building itself began in 1783, but was suspended in 1787.
The project resumed in 1805, with the design inspired by the Greek Temple of Hera at Paestum, but by 1810 work had stalled due to the outbreak of the Napoleonic Wars. The architectural ensemble was completed between 1826 and 1832. Decorations were designed for the stock exchange, while further work, including the installation of a reinforced concrete arch in the main hall of the exchange, was carried out between 1913 and 1914. After the Russian Revolution in 1917, the building ceased to function as a stock exchange.
In 1939 it was assigned to the growing collection of the Central Naval Museum. In 2010 work began on the relocation of the naval museum to the renovated complex "Kryukov (Marine) Barracks". In December 2013 the Governor announced that the exchange would be transferred to the State Hermitage Museum. The director of the Hermitage announced that the building would be used to house the museum's heraldry collection.
How to go: It is located south of V.V. Dokuchaev Central Museum of Soil
Rostral Columns at the Exchange
Monument
Once the main port of St. Petersburg was located at this point, where the Neva River splits into two - Bolshaya Neva and Malaya Neva. During planning in 1810 it was decided to install two beacons indicating the two channels. It was decided to build the towers in the style of rostral columns. A rostral column is a type of victory column that originated in ancient Greece and Rome, where they were erected to commemorate a naval victory.
At the base of the columns are four allegorical figures representing the four major rivers of Russia - the Volga and Dnieper on the north column and the Neva and Volkhov on the south column. The massive 32-meter-high columns are decorated with sculptures of naiads, sea creatures and anchors. Above the column, there is a large bowl for the oil lamp. Later electric lights were installed as beacons. In 1957, the rostral columns were connected to the gas supply and now, on major public holidays, the columns are topped with seven-meter-high flames.
These two columns standing in Strelka on Vasilevsky Island are also symbols of St. Petersburg. Rostral columns in the modern world can also be seen in the Columbus Monument (1892) at Columbus Circle in New York City.
How to go: These columns are located east of Old Stock Exchange.
Spit of Vasilyevsky Island
Historic Area
Spit (in Russian: Strelka) of Vasilievsky island is one of the oldest sights of Saint Petersburg. It was established in the times of Peter the Great as a business, educational and governmental centre of the city. The architectural complex of the Spit is one of the most beautiful in Petersburg. Rostral Columns of 32 meters high and the Stock Exchange building are in the centre of the composition.
How to go: It is located where Rostral Columns, Old Stock Exchange, etc are located.
Zoological Museum
Museum
The Zoological Museum of the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences is a Russian museum dedicated to zoology. It is one of the ten largest natural history museums in the world. The Zoological Institute was founded in 1832 as the Zoological Museum of the Imperial Academy of Sciences on the basis of the zoological collection deposited in the chamber of the Kunstkammer created by Peter I in 1714. In 1931 the museum was renamed the Institute of Zoology.
Visiting Time: Wednesday to Monday - 11 AM to 6 PM. Tuesday remains closed.
Entry Fee: 200 Rubles for adult. 70 Rubles for student or child.
Free Entry : Last Thursday of each month except high school holiday.
How to go: It is located south of Old Stock Exchange.
Kunstkamera
Museum
Officially known as the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography, this was the first museum in Russia, and is one of the oldest in the world. The museum's founder, Peter the Great, had begun collecting - stuffed animals, model ships, tools and astronomical instruments. In 1718, The Tsar gave the order for the establishment of a 'kunstkammer' (a chamber of art), and himself enriched the collection.
The present Kunstkamera building foundation stone was laid in 1719 and it was fully completed in 1727.
Visiting Time: Tuesday to Sunday - 11 AM to 7 PM. Monday and last Tuesday of each month remains closed.
Entry Fee: 250 Rubles for adult. 50 Rubles for student or child.
Free Entry: Third Friday of each month.
Photography: Allowed.
How to go: It is located west of Zoological Museum.
Day-31: Zayachy Island
Peter and Paul Fortress
Fort
The first structure built in St. Petersburg by Peter the Great, and thus the birth of the city. The original six bastions, erected on 16 May 1703, were of earth and wood, connected by walls. Within the castle walls, the first building to appear was the Church of Saints Peter and Paul, a wooden church consecrated on April 1, 1704. A Lutheran church of St. Anne existed next to it until 1710. From 1706 the bastions were replaced by stone.
In place of the two wooden churches, a large stone cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul was built in 1712-1733. Long before it became clear that the Peter and Paul Fortress would never be enough to protect St. Petersburg, it had earned a reputation as one of the prisons of the Russian Empire and the headquarters of the secret chancellery. The first prisoner in the fortress was Peter's son, Tsarevich Alexei, who was accused of leading a conspiracy against his father and died in the fortress in June 1718.
From the 1720s, the fortress was used to incarcerate political prisoners, the Trubetskoy Bastion and the Secret House of Alexeevskiy Ravelin (built in the 1790s). The Saint Petersburg Mint is one of the largest mints in the world. A mint is an industrial facility that produces coins that can be used as currency. It was founded by Peter the Great in 1724, so it is one of the oldest industrial enterprises in St. Petersburg.
Other surviving 18th-century structures are the Commandant's House (1743–1746), the Engineering House (1748–1749), the Guardhouse (1748–1749), the Boathouse (1762–1765), the Main Treasury (1837–1838), the Capital Funds Building (1843-1844), Grand-Ducal Burial Vault (1896-1908). On October 25, 1917, the fortress quickly fell to the Bolsheviks, who bombarded the Winter Palace from this fortress at night. On 28 January 1919, four Grand Dukes of the House of Romanov were shot. Soon after the revolution, most of the castle was converted into a museums.
During the time of Peter the Great, a cannon shot from the Peter and Paul Fortress was heard in honor of military victories, on holidays and to warn residents about rising water levels in the Neva. Since 1873, the cannon has been fired at noon. City dwellers even check their watches by shots. The gun was silenced only during revolutions and wars. But these days gunshots are heard every day at 12 noon.
Visiting Time: The grounds of the fortress at open 6 AM to 10 PM. All exhibitions are open Thursday to Monday - 10 AM to 6 PM, Tuesday - 10 AM to 5 PM, Wednesday remains closed.
Entry Fee: 350 Rubles for Peter & Paul Cathedral and Grand-Ducal Burial Vault.
Photography: Allowed
How to go: Nearest Metro station is Gorkovskaya Metro station. Entry point to the island is Kronverkskiy Bridge on the northwest and Ioannovskiy Bridge on the northeast of the island.
Inside the Premises:
Ioannovskiy Ravelin: Named in honor of Tsar Ivan V, Ioannovskiy Ravelin is the main visitor entrance to the Peter and Paul Fortress, housing ticket offices, a tourist information center, and several exhibition halls, including the Museum of Cosmonautics and Rocket Technology. Built in 1731-1740 and faced with granite tiles in 1778, Ioannovskiy Ravelin has been rebuilt twice, and previously housed a guardhouse and barracks and a gas dynamics laboratory for a brief period in the late 1920s and early 1930s.
Hares During the Flood: If you look to your left past Ioannovskiy Ravelin, you will see this sculpture.
Museum of Cosmonautics and Rocket Technology
Museum
The museum has been open since 1973, tracing the history of the development of rocket technology in the Soviet Union and Russia. Among the exhibits, visitors will find several historic rocket engines, as well as a Soviet-era re-entry capsule, cosmonauts' space suits and a St. Petersburg flag that was flown from the Mir space station 161 days ago. Returning to the city in time for the 300th anniversary celebrations in 2003.
Visiting Time: Thursday to Monday - 11 AM to 7 PM. Tuesday - 11 AM to 6 PM. Wednesday and last Tuesday of each month remain closed.
Entry Fee: 100 Rubles.
How to go: It is located Ioannovskiy Ravelin.
Petrovskiy Curtain Wall and Gate: Petrovskiy Gate is the official entrance to the Peter and Paul Fortress, which dates back to 1708 and was built to commemorate the Russian victory over Sweden in the Great Northern War. This part of the main outer wall of the Peter and Paul Fortress was built in 1717-1719 and originally consisted of 20 two-story casemates that housed barracks for the artillery and engineering companies of the fortress garrison, as well as officers' apartments and warehouses. A part of the premises was used to house prisoners. Now it use as a museum of porcelain and glass, opens on December 18, 2012 at the Peter and Paul Fortress. It features about 5000 items of porcelain and glass of Russian and Western European production.
Menshikov Bastion: Named after Alexander Menshikov, Peter the Great's closest confidant and first governor of Saint Petersburg, the Menshikov Bastion is located at the northern corner of the Petrovsky Curtain Wall. The pentagonal stone structure was completed in 1729 and the exterior remained largely unchanged. In the first half of the 18th century, the tower housed the holding and torture cells of the secret chancellery. Later the premises were used as barracks and workshops.
Artillery Stores: Built at the very beginning of the 19th century, the Artillery Stores is a simple, one-story building located just inside the Petrovsky Gates. They were built to store weapons and military equipment, but were later used as the fort's fire depot, a telephone station and eventually for training the fort garrison. They are now in the exhibition hall and offices of the Museum of History in St. Petersburg.
Wax Museum: West of Petrovskiy Gate is a Wax Museum.
Engineering House: Built in 1748-1749, the Baroque Engineering House is one of the oldest unaltered buildings in the Peter and Paul Fortress. It was originally the workshop and storeroom of the engineers who built and repaired the fortifications of the fort, as well as their living quarters and a conservatory. Now it is part of the exhibition space of the History Museum of St. Petersburg.
Gosudaryev Bastion: Facing the Neva River at the eastern end of the Peter and Paul Fortress, this key defensive structure was first overseen by Peter the Great himself (hence the name, which roughly translates as "Lord's Bastion"). The stone structure was built in 1717-1732 and covered with granite in the 1780s. In the 18th century, the interior of the castle was used to house Peter's dinghy - the "grandfather of the Russian Navy". Visitors can look inside the tower and walk across the roof as part of the Nevsky Panorama.
The Keramarch Architectural Art Ceramics Museum
Museum
Visiting Time: Thursday to Monday - 11 AM to 7 PM. Tuesday - 11 AM to 6 PM. Wednesday and last Tuesday of each month remain closed.
Entry Fee: 200 Rubles for adult. 120 Rubles for child.
How to go: It is located in Gosudaryev Bastion.
Nevsky Panorama: One of the two viewing platforms of the Peter and Paul Fortress, the second one in the bell tower of the Peter and Paul Cathedral. The walking route "Nevsky Panorama" has a length of 300 meters and is placed on a wooden bridge on the roof of the Nevsky Curtain Wall and Gate, from Gosudaryev to Naryshkin Bastion. Ticket offices are located in Gosudaryev and Naryshkin bastions. 350 rubles for adults and 250 rubles for children.
Naryshkin Bastion: Named after Kirill Naryshkin, one of Peter the Great's military commanders. The Naryshking Bastion was rebuilt in stone in 1725-1728, and the Neva River facade was granited in 1779-1780. In the 1730s, the Flagstaff Tower was added to the fort, from which the fort's own flag was flown on holidays and during Imperial visits. This tradition has been repeated since 2000. Another 18th century tradition, since 1957, a cannon has been fired daily from the fort at 12 noon.
Torture instruments of the Middle Ages: It is located near Naryshkin Bastion.
The Sundial "Time of master": 'Time of Master' sundial in St. Petersburg. Within the Peter-and-Paul fortress a large equatorial sundial was installed in 2014 is located north of Naryshkin Bastion.
12 Chairs: Sculpture is located east of The Sundial "Time of master".
Nevsky Curtain Wall and Gate: On the southeast wall of the fortress is an arch of the Nevsky Gate, which leads to the fortress from the commandant's pier. The wall built in 1727-1731, the structure was clad in granite in 1779-1781. The inner courtyard was used as a barracks, warehouse and prison and now houses the Pechatnya graphic workshop.
The Guardhouse: Built in 1748–1749, the palace, with a second floor added in the early 20th century, the guardhouse (or senior officers' guardhouse) was the headquarters of the fort guard and also housed arrested officers. Today, the building, facing the Nevsky Curtain Wall, houses the management offices of the Museum of History of Saint Petersburg.
Monument to Peter the Great: Statue of Peter the Great. It was based on the death-mask and wax figure of Peter kept in the Hermitage. The statue, installed in 1991 on a bench in front of the main guardhouse building, is one of the most popular sights in the fort.
Commandant's House: Now located in the central exhibition of the History Museum, the building was built between 1743 and 1746. The original facade has remained almost entirely unchanged since then, while additional wings were added to form four wings around a central courtyard. This building housed not only the fort commandant and his family, but also a house chapel, laundry and stables. In October 1917, the building briefly became the headquarters of the Petrograd Revolutionary War Committee.
Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral
Church
Peter and Paul Cathedral is Saint Petersburg's first and oldest landmark, built by Peter the Great between 1712 and 1733 on the site of two wooden churches. A wooden Peter and Paul church, consecrated on April 1, 1704, and the other, the Lutheran church of St. Anne, stood next to it until 1710, but was demolished to make way for the present one. The cathedral's bell tower is the tallest Orthodox bell tower in the world.
Its gold-painted spire is 123 meters high and features an angel holding a cross at the top. This angel is one of the most important symbols of Saint Petersburg. The cathedral has a typical Flemish carillon, a gift from the Flemish city of Mechelen, Belgium. Saint Petersburg has another Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul, located in Peterhof.
When Tsar Peter I visited the Netherlands in 1698 he heard perfectly tuned Hemney carillons in Amsterdam and Leiden pealing 24 hours a day, every quarter of an hour automatically. Later in 1717 he visited Flanders in disguise and climbed the tower of the Cathedral of Our Lady in Antwerp, where he must have heard one of the two Hemney carillons in one of the cathedral's towers.
He was fascinated by the sound of a carillon and wanted one for his new cathedral in St. Petersburg. So he ordered it from the Netherlands in 1720. In 1756 the tower burned down after a thunderstorm. All its bells were lost. In 1757, a new carillon was ordered from the Netherlands. But the installer died in 1764 before the tower was completed.
This new carillon was installed in 1776 by a clockmaker from Germany. Audibly, it was not a success. Thus in 2001 a new set of 51 bells was created in the south of the Netherlands. Bells were cast and carillons were installed. The carillon has 51 bells with a total weight of 15,160 kg, the largest bell weighs about 3 tons, the smallest only 10 kg. The carillon has four octaves, so most classical and modern music can be played on this instrument.
The cathedral was closed in 1919 and became a museum in 1924. It is still a museum, although religious services resumed in 2000. The cathedral contains the remains of almost all Russian emperors and empresses from Peter the Great to Nicholas II and his family, except Peter II and Ivan VI. Tsar Alexander III's wife, Maria Feodorovna, died in exile in her native Denmark on 13 October 1928. On September 28, 2006, her remains were reinterred in the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul.
How to go: It is located inside the Peter and Paul Fortress.
The Boathouse: The Boathouse, located northwest of the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul, was built in 1762-1765. The pavilion was built to house Peter the Great's dinghy, a small sailing boat used by the young tsar to learn seamanship on lakes in the Moscow area and thus hailed as the "grandfather of the Russian Navy". Housed in the pavilion from 1767 to 1931, its place is now taken by a scale replica. The boathouse is also used as a ticket office for the fort's exhibitions and museums.
Grand-Ducal Burial Vault: Standing next to Saint Peter and Paul Cathedral, the Grand-Ducal Burial Vault is the final resting place for 13 junior members of the Romanov family. The building was built in 1896-1908. Connected to the cathedral by a covered walkway, the Grand-Ducal Burial Vault is included in tours of the cathedral.
Capital Funds Building: Between Saint Peter and Paul Cathedral and Golovkin Bastion, the Capital Fund Building was built in 1843-1844. It was created to secure the financial funds that backed the Imperial Bill of Credit. In 1882 it was transferred from the Winter Palace to the Ministry of Imperial Estates as a store of valuables. It is now part of the Mint, and closed to the public.
Main Treasury: A large building next to the Kronverskaya Curtain Wall, the Main Treasury was built in 1837–1838 to house the state treasury of the Ministry of Finance. In part, it serves as a storeroom for mint production. It then became the headquarters of the Engineering and Artillery Board of St. Petersburg. From 1868 it was used for housing and offices by the Mint and then from 1900 to 1940 it was occupied by various military departments.
Kronverkskaya Curtain Wall and Gate: Part of the stone fortress built in 1708–1709, the Kronverkovskaya Curtain Wall faces northeast and its gate once led to the wardroom of the Peter and Paul Fortress. The courtyard inside the curtain wall housed the barracks of various companies of the garrison regiment and, in 1826, was used for the pre-trial detention of the leaders of the Decembrist Rebellion, all of whom were subsequently hanged.
Golovkin Bastion: The central northern defensive structure of the Peter and Paul Fortress, Golovkin Bastion was named after Count Gavril Golovkin, the first Chancellor of Russia and a longtime companion of Peter the Great who oversaw the construction of the original fortress. The stone tower was completed in 1730, while a cavalry was added in 1731-1733. The complex of buildings was mainly used as a warehouse, with a few isolated rooms on the north side of the fort.
Nikolskiy Curtain Wall and Gate: The northwestern part of the curtain wall of the Peter and Paul Fortress was named after a church of St. Nicholas that stood next to Petrograd in the 18th century. The stone fort was completed in 1729, and the inner parts of the walls were used as barracks, warehouse space and prison cells. Unlike other curtain walls, the inner courtyard of the Nikolsky curtain wall was not adapted in the early 20th century and retains its original two floors.
The Mint: The Saint Petersburg Mint is one of the largest mints in the world. A mint is an industrial facility that produces coins that can be used as currency. It was founded by Peter the Great in 1724, so it is one of the oldest industrial enterprises in St. Petersburg. The main building of the mint was built in 1800-1805 to replace the minting workshops, which had been producing money and medals since 1724. The original building was supplemented by further workshops and a surrounding stone wall in the 1830s and 1840s. The mint continues to produce coins, state awards and other official medals.
Zotov Bastion: At the northwest corner of the Peter and Paul Fortress, Zotov Bastion was named after Count Nikita Zotov, a teacher and close friend of Peter the Great, who had been virtually the head of the Tsar's administration since 1701. Stone defenses were erected. In 1707-1709 and 1727-1729. The interior of the castle was used for storage and for the dreaded secret chancellery office.
Vasilievskaya Curtain Wall and Gate: The western defensive wall is named after Vasilievsky Island, which faces it. The stone fort and gate were built in 1708-1710. The inner courtyard of the curtain wall to the south of the gate was used as accommodation for the prison wardens at the Trubetskoye Bastion, while the areas to the north were used as barracks and storage space.
Trubetskoy Bastion: At the southwest corner of the castle, Trubetskoy Bastion was named after Count Yuri Trubetskoy, who oversaw the original earthworks in 1703. The pentagonal stone structure was built in 1708-1709. First it was used to hold and torture Tsarevich Alexei, Peter the Great's illegitimate son. In 1870-1872, a prison was built within the fort. The premises are now used for a museum documenting the history of the prison and its inmates.
Alexeevskiy Ravelin: Alexeevskiy Ravelin is an outer fortress at the western end, built in 1733-1740. Alexeevskiy Ravelin was was home to a wooden prison, which was built in 1769, replaced in 1797 by a stone version known as the Secret House. The building was demolished in 1893 and replaced by a building housing the archive of the Ministry of War.
Day-32: Petrogradsky Island
Saint Petersburg Mosque
Mosque
In 1882, Selim-Giray Tevkelev who was appointed mufti of Orenburg in 1865 received permission from the minister to build a mosque in St. Petersburg. The biggest donor was Said Abdoul Ahad, Emir of Bukhara, Uzbekistan. Permission to purchase this site was granted by Emperor Nicholas II on 3 July 1907. The foundation stone of the building was laid on 3 February 1910, attended by government, religious and social figures. The mosque was completed on 1921.
The front is decorated with Quranic verses. The mosque has a dome 39 meters high and two minarets 49 meters high. The mosque has a capacity of 5 thousand worshippers. In 1940, the services closed and turned the building into a medical equipment storehouse. At the request of Indonesia's first president, ten days after his visit to the city, the mosque was returned to the Muslim religious community of St. Petersburg in 1956. The mosque underwent a major restoration in 1980.
How to go: It is located about 300 meters from Gor'kovskaya Metro station towards southeast.
Museum of Political History
Museum
The building which houses the museum was originally built for Mathilde Kschessinska, the prima ballerina at the Mariinskiy before the Revolution, and Nicholas II's mistress before he became Emperor. The building was built in 1904-1906.
In 1917, the building was seized by the Bolsheviks and turned into their headquarters in the city. Lenin made a historic speech from one of the balconies after his arrival in the city. It was later passed through a number of organizations, before eventually becoming the Museum of the Revolution in 1957.
At the beginning of the 1990's, the museum was renamed the Museum of Political History. Among nearly 500,000 exhibits on display here, there is a rich collection of original documents including a signed decree from Napoleon and the correspondence of Mikhail Gorbachev.
The museum also exhibits the video camera used by Mikhail Gorbachev to record his messages to the nation during the August 1991 and a piece of the Berlin Wall.
Visiting Time: Friday to Wednesday - 10 AM to 6 PM. Thursday and the last Monday of each month remains closed.
Entry Fee: 200 Rubles for adult. 100 Rubles for child or student. 100 Rublles for audio guide.
Photography: Photo aloow. Video not allowed.
How to go: It is located about 100 meters from Saint Petersburg Mosque towards south at Kronverkskiy street, 1.
Art-Tir
Art Gallery
Visiting Time: 11 AM to 9 PM every day.
How to go: It is located about 750 meters from Museum of Political History towards east at Petrogradskaya Embankment, 6.
Cruiser Aurora
Museum
The ship Aurora was built between 1897 and 1900 and joined Russia's Baltic fleet in 1903. The length of the ship is 126.8 meters, and 16.8 meters in width. The ship took part in the Battle of Tsusima during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–05. Among the ship's exhibits, visitors can see a portrait of the ship's captain, who was killed during the battle.
In 1917, as the main training ship of the Baltic Fleet, Aurora took an active part in the Bolshevik Revolution. On the night of 25–26 October 1917, it fired a blank shot at the Winter Palace, signaling the city's rebellious workers, soldiers and sailors to storm the palace. That moment marked a dramatic episode in Russian history and marked the beginning of Communist leadership. Aurora is now maintained by cadets from the nearby Nakhimov Naval School.
Visiting Time: Tuesday to Thursday, Saturday and Sunday - 11 AM to 6 PM. Monday and Friday remains closed.
Entry Fee: 600 Rubles for adult. 400 Rubles for student.
Photography: 100 Rubles for photo and 200 Rubles for video.
How to go: It is located about 250 meters from Art-Tir Art Gallery towards south at Petrogradskaya Embankment.
Fountain at the Nakhimov School
Fountain
There is a Monument to the sailors of the fleet and the creators of Russia is located southeast of fountain premises.
How to go: It is located about 80 meters from Cruiser Aurora towards south.
Synagogue "Shaarei Shalom"
Synagogue
Visiting Time: Monday - 10 AM to 6 PM. Tuesday to Friday - 10 AM to 9 PM. Saturday - 10 AM to 3 PM. Sunday - 12 PM to 3 PM.
How to go: It is located west of Fountain near the Nakhimov School at st. Michurinskaya, 1, lit. And pom. 21-N.
Domik Petra I
Palace
Peter the Great's Cabin is a small wooden house that was Tsar Peter the Great's first St. Petersburg palace. The log cabin was built in three days near the Winter Palace in May 1703. The wooden cabin covers only 60 square meters and has three rooms - living room, bedroom and study. Peter lived here between 1703 and 1708, when he oversaw the construction of the new Imperial City and the Peter and Paul Fortress.
In 1711 the cabin was moved to its present location. Peter encased it in a red brick pavilion in 1723 for its protection and ordered that it be preserved for posterity as a memorial to his nobility. Catherine the Great ordered protection for the cabin in 1784, and the defensive brick pavilion was rebuilt by Nicholas I in 1840. It was the first St. Petersburg museum to reopen in September 1944 after the end of the Siege of Leningrad.
Personal and household items owned and used by Peter are still displayed inside, and a bust of Peter stands outside. The cabin is open to the public.
Visiting Time: Friday to Monday, Wednesday - 10 AM to 6 PM. Thursday - 1 PM to 9 PM. Tuesday remains closed.
How to go: It is located about 300 meters from Synagogue "Shaarei Shalom" towards west at Petrovskaya Embankment, 6.
Monument to the Artist Andrey Mylnikov
Monuement
Andrei Andreevich Mylnikov (22 February 1919 – 16 May 2012) was a Russian and Soviet painter and art educator, Stalin Prize winner, and Lenin Prize winner.
How to go: The monument is located east of Domik Petra I.
Monument to Georgy Tovstonogov
Monument
Georgy Aleksandrovich Tovstonogov (28 September 1915 – 23 May 1989) was a Russian-Georgian theater director. He was the leader of "Gorky Bolshoi Drama Theater" which was renamed "Tovstonogov Bolshoi Drama Theater" after him in 1992.
How to go: It is located west of Domik Petra I.
Chinese Guardian Lions Shi Jia
Sculpture
How to go: It is located south of Domik Petra I at Petrovskaya Embankment.
Church-Chapel of the Holy Trinity
Church
Old Trinity Cathedral, also known as Peter's Trinity Cathedral, was the oldest church in Saint Petersburg. The simple wooden church was built in 1709. It was there that Peter the Great celebrated the end of the Great Northern War in 1721 and was proclaimed the first emperor of all Russia. It was one of the city's most cherished monuments until the Soviets ordered its destruction in 1933. The site on the banks of the Neva River is commemorated by a chapel.
The small church was built in 1743-46 by Peter the Great as a copy of the wooden building, with a bell/clock tower from 1713. Despite its small size, the Russian Orthodox Church considered it the main cathedral in the city, second only to St. Isaac's. In 1913, after a fire destroyed the dilapidated structure, plans for a larger church building on the site were blocked by a group of history enthusiasts.
How to go: It is located about 350 meters from Domik Petra I towards southwest at Petrovskaya Embankment, 1.
Solovetsky Stone
Tourist attraction
The Solovetsky Stone is a monument to the victims of political repression in the Soviet Union and to those who fought for independence. The monument is located on Troitskaya (Trinity) Square. The monument is a large stone brought from the Solovetsky Islands in the White Sea, where Solovki prison camp was opened in 1923 as an inaccessible place of detention. Primarily intended for socialist opponents of the new Bolshevik regime in Soviet Russia.
There on 19 December 1923, guards and a special firing squad shot and killed protesting prisoners. The idea of commemorating the victims of Soviet oppression was first proposed in October 1961, but the idea was abandoned. In 1988, the St. Petersburg branch of the Memorial Society was established, the idea became active. On 27 March 1990, a competition was held to propose the best concept, location and design of the monument.
Troitskaya Square was chosen as the preferred location. On 4 September 1990, a square granite base was installed in the square. The memorial society's co-founder, Veniamin Joffe, requested permission to place a stone from Solovki Island. After Joffe's untimely death in 2002, his widow Irina Flige took over the initiative. The Solovetsky Stone was designed by artists Yuly Rybakov and Yevgeny Ukhnalyov. Both were victims of political repression during the Soviet era.
Rybakov, Ukhnalyov and Irina Flige found a huge granite slab of 10,400 kg boulder and transported it to St. Petersburg. It was installed on the pedestal on 4 September 2002. Inscriptions were added around the four corners of the base. Every year on September 5, a ceremony to commemorate and mourn the victims of "political persecution and Red Terror" in Soviet Russia is held near the Solovetsky Stone.
The first Saturday of June is a day of remembrance for the victims of the Petrograd and Leningrad prisons, which takes place near the Solovetsky Stone. On December 17, the anniversary of Stalin's 1933 penal laws against homosexuals, LGBT activists laid wreaths at the monument's foot. Demonstrations usually take place every year on December 20, "Day of Secret Police Workers".
How to go: It is located north of Church-Chapel of the Holy Trinity.
Aleksandrovskiy Park
Park
It is one of the first public parks in St. Petersburg.
Inside the Premises: Girl Draws Sculpture, Sculpture “Girl with a Bird”, Sculpture "Alonushka", Sculptural composition “Architects”, Mini-Gorod, Giant Park Movie Theater.
Monument to the Destroyer "Guarding": Monument to the war with Japan in 1904-1905. Russia lost. It was immediately decided to erect a monument. The monument was inaugurated on 10 (23) May 1911 in the presence of Emperor Nicholas II.
Baltic House Festival Theater: It is a theater on Petrogradsky Island, founded in 1936 as "Lenin's Komsomol Theater" and renamed Baltic House in 1991. From 1939 it was shifted to its present location.
Flower Clock: North of Musical Hall.
Music-Hall: A medium-sized venue for plays and shows.
Memorial Plaque to V.I. Lenin: It is located west of Music-Hall.
Skazkin Dom: Childrens theater is located southwest of Music-Hall.
Young Zoologists Club: Childrens club is located south of Skazkin Dom.
Saint Petersburg Planetarium
Planetarium
Entry Fee: 350 Rubles for adult. 200 Rubles for child and student.
How to go: It is located west of Baltic House Festival Theater in Aleksandrovskiy Park.
Leningradskiy Zoopark
Zoo
Visiting time: 10 AM to 7 PM every day.
Entry Fee: 500 Rubles for adult. 200 Rubles for student. 100 Rubles for child.
How to go: It is lcoated west of Aleksandrovskiy Park.
Day-33: Petrogradsky Island
Military Historical Museum of Artillery, Engineers and Signal Corps
Museum
It is located in the "Kronverk" historical area. The Kronverk area is consist of Aleksandrovskiy Park in Petrogradsky Island and Sts. Peter and Paul Fortress separated by Kronverksky Canal. Now here houses Artillery Museum. On 13 July 1826, five participants of the Decembrists' conspiracy were hanged on the eastern rampart of the Kronverk. in 1975, an obelisk was installed on the supposed site of execution.
The museum exhibits - Cannons made by Andrei Chokhov (1545 – 1629), An official chariot used for transportation of the artillery banner in the middle of the 18th century, The cannons from "the entertainment regiments" of Peter the Great, Personal arms, medals, and gifts received by Russian emperors and military commanders, Trophy arms, The famous Katyusha rocket launcher of World War II, A room dedicated to the Kalashnikov AK-47 and its designer Mikhail Kalashnikov (10 November 1919 – 23 December 2013), Array of Cold War (Between United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, between 1947 and 1991) era artillery pieces, anti-aircraft systems, armored vehicles, and missiles.
Boiler house Kamchatka
Museum
The boiler-house "Kamchatka" is a legendary place, where such famous people worked as stokers. Today the Kamchatka Boiler House is both a museum and a music club.
Visiting Time: 1 PM to 12 AM every day.
How to go: It is located northwest of Aleksandrovskiy Park at Ulitsa Blokhina, 15.
Prince Vladimir Cathedral
Russian Orthodox Church
The first wooden church built on the site in 1708 was dedicated to St. Nicholas. This church was replaced by a masonry church dedicated to the Assumption completed in 1719. In 1740, a stone church was built next to the Assumption Cathedral by order of Empress Anna. The building remained unfinished when Empress Elizabeth came to the throne in 1742. A new project was started in 1763, but after a fire in 1772 it too remained incomplete.
The side altar was dedicated to the Assumption in 1772, but the entire building was only completed in 1789 and dedicated to St. Vladimir. During the Soviet period, the cathedral was closed in 1928. From 1938 to 1941 it served as the city's metropolitan cathedral. From 1941 to 2001, the icon of Our Lady of Kazan was located in the cathedral before being moved to the Kazan Cathedral on Nevsky Street.
How to go: It is located about 300 meters from Boiler house Kamchatka museum towards west at Ulitsa Blokhina, 26.
Hemp Warehouses on Tuchkovy Buyan
Historical Landmark
There were wooden warehouses. In 1761, the wooden warehouses were destroyed by fire and a new stone building was built in their place. Until the revolution, the warehouses were used for purposes owned by the City Port Authority. Now Tuchkov is called the whole area between Dobrolyubov Avenue and Birzhev Bridge. It was the Institute of Applied Chemistry, which was disbanded in 2012. The building now houses the Supreme Court Hospital.
How to go: It is located about 580 meters from Prince Vladimir Cathedral towards south on the bank of Reka Malaya Neva river at Bolshoy Street, 1A.
Freud Museum of dreams
Museum
The museum occupying two rooms, the first hall of the museum is devoted to the twelve stages of personality development according to Freud, each of which is illustrated with text, photography, and paintings based on Freud's dreams. The second hall is an attempt to simulate the subconscious using images, audio material, and snippets of Freud's texts.
Visiting Time: Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday - 12 PM to 5 PM. Monday, Wendnesday, Thursday and Friday remains closed.
Entry Fee: 80 Rubles for adult. 50 Rubles for child and student.
How to go: It is located 420 meters from Prince Vladimir Cathedral towards north at Bolshoy Prospekt, 18A.
Military Space Academy named after A. F. Mozhaisky
Educational institution
The Military Engineering School was founded in Moscow on January 16, 1712 by Peter I. In 1719 the school moved to St. Petersburg. On May 12, 1758, decree of Empress Elizabeth creating a combined Artillery and Engineering gentry (noble) School. On August 22, 1758, the artillery and engineering schools were merged into one military educational institution - the combined "Artillery and Engineering School of the Szlachta".
On October 25, by decree of Catherine II, it was transformed into the "Artillery and Engineering Cadet Corps". In 1775, a Greek Gymnasium was established and closed by Paul I in 1796. On March 10, 1800, decree of Paul I renaming the "Artillery and Engineering Cadet Corps" the "2nd Cadet Corps".
On March 21, 1805, Alexander I approved the decision to have the 1st and 2nd Cadet Corps as military educational institutions for higher military education. On March 14, 1807, the Volunteer Corps was created. In 1808, the Volunteer Corps was renamed the "Regiment of the Nobility" under the 2nd Cadet Corps. In June-December 1812, students of the 2nd Cadet Corps took an active part in the Patriotic War of 1812.
On January 1, 1832, the "Regiment of the Nobility" separated from the "2nd Cadet Corps" to become an independent military educational institution. On January 16, 1912, the "2nd Cadet Corps" was named after Emperor Peter the Great. The Moscow School of Mechanical Technicians of the KVF was moved to Petrograd and renamed "Petrograd School of Mechanical Technicians of the KVF" in May 1921.
In December 1922, the Petrograd School of Mechanical Technicians of the KVF was located in the building of the 2nd Cadet Corps and renamed "Military Technical School of the Red Air Fleet". In June 1924, it was renamed the "Leningrad Military Technical School of the Red Army Air Force". In May 1938, it was transformed into the "1st Leningrad Military Aviation Technical School named after KE Voroshilov".
In November 1939, it was transformed into the "Leningrad Aviation Technical Improvement Courses of the Red Army Air Force". On March 27, 1941, the "Leningrad Air Force Academy of the Red Army" was created. During World War II in 1941-1945, the educational buildings and course buildings housed a military hospital, army property depot and military units. From September 1, 1946, it was renamed to "Leningrad Red Banner Air Force Engineering Academy".
On March 19, 1955, the name of the academy was changed to "Leningrad Red Banner Air Force Engineering Academy named after A. F. Mozhaisky". Mozhaisky was the inventor of the world's first airplane. On March 21, 1958, a monument to the Russian inventor AF Mozhaisky was unveiled on the territory of the Academy. On January 4, 1963, the name of the Academy was changed to "Leningrad Military Engineering Red Banner Academy named after A. F. Mozhaisky".
On October 30, 1967, for the first time in the world, the automatic docking of spacecraft "Kosmos-186" and "Kosmos-188" was carried out with the help of an onboard measuring Rendezvous complex, in the creation of which scientists of the Academy participated. On April 18, 1972, it was renamed to "Military Engineering Red Banner Academy named after A.F. Mozhaisky". On February 25, 1991, it was named "Military Engineering and Space Institute of the Red Banner named after A.F. Mozhaisky".
On April 27, 1993, it was transformed into the "A. F. Mozhaisky Red Banner Military Space Engineering Academy". On August 29, 1998, it was transformed into the "Military Space Engineering Red Banner University named after A. F. Mozhaisky". In November 2002, it was renamed the "Military Space Red Banner Academy named after A. F. Mozhaisky". In December 2008, it was named "Military Space Academy named after A. F. Mozhaisky".
How to go: It is located about 550 meters from Freud Museum of dreams towards northwest at Zhdanovskaya Ulitsa, 13.
Museum of the Military Space Academy named after AF Mozhaisky
Museum
How to go: It is located about 250 meters from Military Space Academy named after A. F. Mozhaisky towards north at Ulitsa Krasnogo Kursanta, 16.
Florentine Mosaic Museum
Museum
How to go: It is located about 1.3 km from Museum of the Military Space Academy named after AF Mozhaisky towards northwest at Zhdanovskaya Ulitsa, 45.
Day-34: Krestovsky Island
Kartinnaya Galereya
Art Gallery
How to go: It is located about 400 meters from St. Petersburg Dolphinarium towards east.
St. Petersburg Dolphinarium
Aquarium
How to go: It is located about 700 meters from Krestovskiy Ostrov Metro station at Konstantinovskiy Prospekt, 19.
Dino Park
Children's Museum
How to go: It is located 180 meters west of Krestovskiy Ostrov Metro station.
Belosselsky-Belozersky Residence
Landmark
The main structure of Krestovsky Island was badly damaged during the nearly 900-day siege of Leningrad, from shelling during World War II. It was repaired and used for various purposes, but was finally demolished around 1956. The present building has been rebuilt on the same site. The renovated "Datcha" is similar to the original structure from the outside, but has all the modern amenities inside. It has recently been put up for sale in the market.
Meanwhile, the only original structure from the Belosselsky-Belozersky era that remains today is the still beautiful landscaped park with some horse stables and a small pond on Belosselsky Lane, and adjacent walking paths on its northwest and west sides area of the house.
How to go: It is located about 500 meters from Krestovskiy Ostrov Metro station towards south at Krestovskiy street, 22.
Japanese Stone Lantern
Structure
How to go: It is located about 500 meters north from Artificial Beach near Cross Pond.
Divo Ostrov
Amusement Park
There is a fountain inside the park.
Entry Fee: Free. Only ride cost. Around 2000 Rubles for all. and 200 to 300 Rubles for individual roller coasters.
How to go: It is located north of Dino Park Children's Museum.
Monument to a collective farmer
Monument
How to go: It is located about 100 meters northwest from the fountain.
Swan Pond
Pond
Gazebo Rotunda on the shore of Swan Pond.
How to go: It is located about 150 meters from Monument to a collective farmer towards west.
Monument to S.M. Kirov
Monument
Sergei Mironovich Kirov (27 March 1886 – 1 December 1934) was a Russian and Soviet politician and early revolutionary in the Russian Empire and member of the Bolshevik faction of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party. On 1 December 1934, Kirov was shot and killed at his offices in the Smolny Institute for unknown reasons.
How to go: It is located about 450 meters west from Swan Pond. About 200 meters East of Gazprom Arena Stadium.
Arch-Belfry With Carillon
Landmark
The belfry arch with carillon containing 41 bells. The arch was opened on May 27, 2002 in preparation for St. Petersburg's 300th anniversary celebration. The 27-meter bell tower has 23 automatic bells, controlled by electronics, and 18 traditional Russian bells. According to the makers, the carillon can reproduce 200 classical and modern tunes.
The bells were cast in Holland, the snow-white concrete for the walls was imported from Denmark. The hanging bell constructions are made of stainless steel and covered with 1.5 kg of natural sheet gold. The carillon is damaged, the electronic equipment was dismantled 10 years ago. Backlight doesn't work either.
How to go: It is located northwest of Gazprom Arena Stadium.
Novokrestovskaya Embankment
Observation Desk
The site also has a flagpole zenith.
How to go: It is located west of Zenit Metro station. About 350 meters west from Gazprom Arena Stadium.
Minizoopark Imeni Cheburashki
Mini Zoo
Visiting Time: 9 AM to 9 PM every day.
How to go: It is located about 400 meters from Swan Pond towards south.
Wooden Embankment
Artificial Beach
How to go: It is located about 650 meters from Minizoopark Imeni Cheburashki.
Day-35: Petrogradsky Island
Levashovsky Bakery
Bakery
How to go: It is located at Baroque Street, 4AA.
Omega Fountain
Fountain
How to go: It is located about 220 meters from Levashovsky Bakery towards north at Pesochnaya Embankment, 40.
Museum-Apartment of the Elizarovs
Museum
The preserved 5-room apartment was the home of Lenin's sister and her husband Elizarov. Lenin and his wife also lived here from April to July 1917. This is the place to get close to the everyday objects that Lenin used, such as his chess set, bed, toothbrush and even his wheelchair (specially brought to the museum from Moscow in 1927) in which he spent his last dying days.
Visiting Time: Monday and Tuesday - 10 AM to 5 PM. Wednesday to Sunday remain closed.
Entry Fee: 50-200 Rubles.
How to go: It is located about 700 meters from Omega Fountain towards west at Ulitsa Lenina, 52, Kv.24.
Nelson's Courtyard
Yard
A yard full of junk, decorated with colorful paint.
How to go: It is located about 650 meters from Museum-Apartment of the Elizarovs towards southeast at Polozova Ulitsa, 6.
Kolobov House
Landmark
Home of the Kolobov brothers. They were timber merchants. The building was built in 1908-1910.
How to go: It is located about 500 meters from Nelson's Courtyard towards southeast at Lenin Street, 8.
Kirov Museum
Museum
Sergei Mironovich Kirov (27 March 1886 – 1 December 1934) was a Russian and Soviet politician and early revolutionary in the Russian Empire and member of the Bolshevik faction of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party. On 1 December 1934, Kirov was shot and killed at his offices in the Smolny Institute for unknown reasons.
In the apartment where Sergei Mironovich Kirov spent the last eight years of his life, the museum is a memorial to Bolshevik revolutionaries and a museum of the history of Leningrad in the 1920s and 1930s. The Sergei Kirov Memorial Apartment Museum is housed in a 1900s apartment building. At the center of the museum's collection are eight rooms in Kirov's apartment, which have been completely preserved or restored using contemporary photographs.
Visiting Time: Thursday to Tuesday - 11 AM to 6 PM. Wednesday remains closed.
Entry Fee: 150 Rubles for adult. 100 Rubles for student and child.
How to go: It is located about 550 meters from Kolobov House towards northeast at Kamennoostrovsky Avenue, 26-28.
Benoit House
Historical Landmark
How to go: It is located northwest of Kirov Museum at Kamennoostrovsky Avenue, 26-28.
Monument to Nizami Ganjavi
Sculpture
The sculpture of the Azerbaijani poet and thinker, Nizami Ganjavi, was erected in Baku, the capital city of Azerbaijan, and then presented to St. Petersburg as a gift to mark the 300th anniversary of the founding of St. Petersburg. It was erected here on June 5, 2011. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Azerbaijan's then-President Heydar Aliyev also attended the inauguration of the monument.
How to go: It is located about 180 meters from Kirov Museum towards north at Kamennoostrovsky Avenue, 27.
Academician Pavlov Memorial Museums
Museum
The Nobel Prize-winner, Ivan Pavlov (26 September 1849 – 27 February 1936) was a Russian and Soviet experimental neurologist and physiologist known for his discovery of classical conditioning through his experiments with dogs.
How to go: It is located about 550 meters from Monument to Nizami Ganjavi towards northeast at Ulitsa L'va Tolstogo, 6-8, building 30.
Dom S Bashnyami
Landmark
The house stands with two strong hexagonal bay-window towers. Today, the first floor is occupied by the St. Petersburg Theater "Russian Enterprise" named after the actor Andrei Mironov. The purchase of a part of this house, shortly before the revolution, was acquired by the grandfather of Andrei Mironov, Simon Menaker.
How to go: It is located about 630 meters from Academician Pavlov Memorial Museums towards southwest at Bolshoy Street, 75. East of Petrogradskaya Metro station.
Palace of Culture Lensoveta
Cultural Center
In 1910, the "Sporting Palace" was built on this land, which housed the city's largest cinematography, a restaurant and a hall for roller-skating - the "Skating Ring." The existing building was constructed in 1931-1938. A 30 meter high tower was built. The House of Culture, one of the largest in the city, includes: a theater hall for 2,200 spectators, a cinema, two lecture halls, exhibition and dance halls, a library, club rooms.
Currently, some parts of the building are occupied by various shops and offices and some are still occupied by the club. Concerts, theater performances, lectures are held in the building.
How to go: It is located about 180 meters from Dom S Bashnyami towards north at Kamennoostrovsky Avenue, 42A.
St. Petersburg Toy Museum
Museum
Visiting Time: Tuesday to Sunday - 11 AM to 7 PM. Monday remains closed.
Entry Fee: 200 Rubles for adult. 100 Rubles for child.
How to go: It is located about 680 meters from Palace of Culture Lensoveta towards northwest at Naberezhnaya Reki Karpovki, 32.
Income House 1912 Arch. Berlin AL
Landmark
How to go: It is located about 60 meters from St. Petersburg Toy Museum towards west at Naberezhnaya Reki Karpovki, 36.
Day-36: Aptekarsky Island
Income House of A. F. Lobek 1905 Arch. P. V. Rezvyi
Landmark
How to go: It is located about 130 meters east of St. Ioanna Kronshtadtskogo at Naberezhnaya Reki Karpovki, 39.
St. Ioanna Kronshtadtskogo
Monastery
John of Kronstadt founded the monastery in 1900 as a branch of the Sura monastery of St. John the Theologian. Main Pentacupular Church of the Twelve Apostles (1902). On the ground floor is the marble tomb of St. John of Kronstadt. The Soviets dismantled the convent in 1923. It reopened in 1991 as a branch of the Pühtitsa convent.
There is a Kaplica Chapel on the northeast corner of the Ioannovsky Convent.
How to go: It is located in Aptekarsky Island. About 120 meters from St. Petersburg Toy Museum towards north, crossing Karpovskiy over the Karpovka River.
Vyazemsky Garden
Garden
Vyazemsky Garden is located on 3.5 hectares of land. In the first half of the 19th century the estate belonged to Princess Vyazemsky. Inside the garden was a memorial workshop of sculptor MK Anikushin (19 September 1917 – 18 May 1997). The building was specially constructed for the sculptor in 1969. Many famous monuments were born here. The workshop is now, a branch of the State Museum of Sculpture in the city. The park was opened to the public in April 2013.
The entrance to the museum is paid, but an interesting art space has been created around the workshop, where you can see unusual sculptures and compositions. They are available to all visitors.
Visiting Time: Wednesday to Sunday - 12 PM to 6 PM.
How to go: It is located about 270 meters from Kaplica Chapel towards north.
Museum of History of Institute of Experimental Medicine
Museum
The IEM History Museum began in 1990 on the eve of IEM's 100th anniversary. The exhibition uses relics, paintings, sculptures and graphics, personal equipment, devices and arrangements, items, copies of documents, letters, photographs of employees, diagrams and diagrams, copies of original articles and monographs, diplomas and awards. The museum exhibits a large number of materials, reflecting the connection between medicine and biology.
Visiting Time: Monday to Friday - 10 AM to 5 PM.
How to go: It is located about 300 meters from the southeast corner of the Vyazemsky Garden towards east at Kamennoostrovsky Avenue, 69/71.
Russian Empire, Arts Center
Museum
Visiting Time: Tuesday to Friday - 5 PM to 4 AM. Saturday to Monday remain closed.
How to go: It is located about 50 meters north of Museum of History of Institute of Experimental Medicine at Kamennoostrovsky Avenue, 73-75.
Dacha Kuptsa V F Gromova
Landmark
Gromov's wooden dacha is located in the Lopukhinsky Garden. At the beginning of the 19th century, the site belonged to Prince PV Lopukhin (1753 - 1827), from whose estate the Lopukhinsky Garden originated. VF Gromov, entrepreneur and patron, who bought the site in 1848. A wooden two-storied dacha was built here, a striking example of early architectural eclecticism. A number of greenhouses were constructed with ponds, canals, bridges and arbors.
VF Gromov arranged an art gallery at the dacha, artists from the Mariinsky Theater performed here, and in the early 1890s a writer, Yasinsky, lived there. Currently, Gromov's dacha and a greenhouse are under restoration. Now there is a Boat tour agency at the northeast of the Lopukhinsky garden.
How to go: It is located about 370 meters from Russian Empire, Arts Center towards northeast at Ulitsa Akademika Pavlova, 13.
Memorial office of academician Ivan Pavlov
Museum
Nobel Prize Winner, Ivan Pavlov (26 September 1849 – 27 February 1936), was a Russian and Soviet experimental neurologist and physiologist known for his discovery of classical conditioning through his experiments with dogs.
In 1886, Pavlov returned to Russia after completing his studies in Germany. His application for physiology at St. Petersburg University was rejected. Pavlov was offered pharmacology at the University of Tomsk in Siberia and the University of Warsaw in Poland. He didn't go. In 1890, he was appointed to the role of Professor of Pharmacology at the Military Medical Academy and held this position for five years.
In 1891, Pavlov was invited to organize and direct the Department of Physiology at the Institute of Experimental Medicine. Over a period of 45 years, under his guidance, the institute became one of the most important centers of physiological research in the world. While in physiology at the Medical Military Academy, Pavlov continued to direct the Institute's Department of Physiology in 1895.
In the courtyard of the Institute, there is sculpture of one of Pavlov's dogs commemorating his experiments.
How to go: It is located about 300 meters from Dacha Kuptsa V F Gromova.
St.Petersburg TV Tower
Television Station
The Saint Petersburg Television Tower is a 326 m Russian steel lattice television tower. Construction of the St. Petersburg TV Tower began in 1962. Upon its completion in the same year, the tower was considered the first dedicated television tower to serve the Soviet Union, and has broadcast FM/TV ever since.
The TV tower has an observation platform at a height of 191 meters. The St. Petersburg TV Tower is ranked as the eleventh lattice tower in the world.
How to go: It is located about 570 meters from Memorial office of academician Ivan Pavlov towards east at Aptekarskaya Naberezhnaya, 16.
Day-37: Aptekarsky Island
Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord
Church
The first church on the site was built in a house near the Botanical Gardens and consecrated on August 6, 1808. Construction of the new stone church began in the spring of 1840 to accommodate the growing population of the island, and on 14 September 1841, the cross was placed on its head. In 1844 the exterior works were completed. Two local icons painted on a gold background in May-July 1845. On September 16, 1845, the church was consecrated in the name of the Transfiguration of the Lord.
On December 27, 1873, the Holy Synod handed over the church to the Life Guards Grenadier Regiment. The church was closed in 1930, it was converted into a laboratory. The domes were demolished, interior paintings were done, facades and interiors were redone. After 76 years, the temple was returned to the believers.
Today, the interior layout of the building has nothing to do with the church. Inside the building of the Church of the Transfiguration was a large hall, now with several floors. In the basement, where 30 officer-grenadiers, heroes of the First World War, are buried, there is a pool for scientific experiments. Since 2015, the temple has gradually started its restoration work.
How to go: It is located about 500 meters from St.Petersburg TV Tower towards southeast at Instrumental'naya Ulitsa, 3, lit. A.
Museum of the History of St. Petersburg State Electrotechnical University "LETI"
Museum
On September 4, 1886, the Technical College of Posts and Telegraphs Department was opened. The building has been allotted elsewhere. On June 11, 1891, the name of the Technical College was changed to Electrotechnical Institute (ETI). On 4 June 1899, ETI attained the status of a higher educational institution. In August 1899, the institute was renamed "Electrotechnical Institute of Emperor Alexander III". The present building was constructed. ETI moved to its present location in 1903.
During World War II and when Leningrad was under siege, many academic and administrative staff members as well as students of the Institute went to the front. A monument to the students and employees of LETI who died in the Great Patriotic War was erected on November 5, 1986. In 1992, the institute got the status of a technical university. In 1998, the Ugra branch of ETU "LETI" was opened.
How to go: It is located west of Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord.
Museum of Porcelain and Chess
Museum
It exhibits a collection of more than 160 Porcelain Chess sets.
Visiting Time: Tuesday to Saturday - 11 AM to 6:30 PM.
Entry Fee: 100 Rubles for adult. 50 Rubles for student. 20 Rubles for school child and retired.
How to go: It is located opposite of Monument to the students and teachers of the Leningrad Electrotechnical Institute who died during the Great Patriotic War at Aptekarskaya Naberezhnaya, 6.
Memorial Apartment Museum Popov
Museum
The museum was named after Russian scientist and inventor Alexander Stepanovich Popov. Popov Memorial Museum of A.S was opened on June 27, 1948 at SPb ETU "LETI". It includes the professor's memorial museum-laboratory and his memorial flat.
How to go: It is located in the premises of ETI at Ulitsa Professora Popova, 5 lit. Shch corp. D, 33.
Botanical Garden of Peter the Great
Botanical Garden
The Botanical Garden of Peter the Great is the oldest botanical garden in Russia. It is situated on 18.9 hectares of land. It was founded in 1714 by Peter I as a herb garden for growing medicinal plants and re-established as a botanical institution in 1823 as the "Imperial Botanical Garden". In 1930, the garden came under the auspices of the Academy of Sciences. Soviet Union and, in 1931, merged with the Botanical Museum at the Botanical Institute.
The park has five main areas: a garden of tropical plants, a garden of subtropical plants, an arboretum, a palm tree greenhouse, an aquatic plant greenhouse. The garden consists of 25 greenhouses built in 1823-1824. They are numbered from 1 to 28 (No. 5 and No. 25 do not exist, No. 10 and No. 11 are shared into one).
It includes azaleas and other Ericaceae (No. 6), ferns (No. 15), cacti and other succulents (No. 16), various tropical plants (No. 18), 23.5 m high Big Palm Greenhouse with an important collection of orchids (No. 26) and a greenhouse with a pond containing Victoria amazonica (No. 28). The night blooming cactus Selenicereus grandiflorus, cultivated there since 1857, is open to the public in the 16th greenhouse in June-July.
The outer gardens include a small rock garden in front of the Big Palm greenhouse (built in the late 19th century) and a 0.16 km² arboretum, organized partly as an English garden and partly as a formal garden. The park opposite the greenhouse is closed to visitors from October 1 to May 8. The herbarium building built in 1913 stands in front of the main entrance. The Sakura Festival is held in the garden every year from May 14 to 15.
Visiting Time Arboretum Park: Tuesday to Sunday - 10 AM to 5 PM.
Entry Fee Arboretum Park: 150 Rubles for adult. 50 Rubles for child.
Visiting Time Greenhouse complex: Saturday and Sunday - 11 AM to 4 PM.
Entry Fee Greenhouse complex: 400 Rubles for adult. 250 Rubles for child.
How to go: It is located south of St. Petersburg State Electrotechnical University.
Museum of the History of Photography
Museum
The Museum of the History of Photography was founded in 2003 to showcase an overview of photography as a technology and art form. The two large halls that make up the permanent exhibition trace the development of photography from the early daguerreotype to the late 20th century. Exhibits include a wide range of antique cameras and developing equipment, as well as historic photographs illustrating each stage of innovation.
Visiting Time: Tuesday to Saturday - 1 PM to 5 PM. Sunday and Monday remain closed. July and August months remain closed.
Entry Fee: Free.
How to go: It is located 550 meters from Botanical Garden of Peter the Great towards west at Ulitsa Professora Popova, 23.
Museum of St. Petersburg avant-garde
Museum
Dedicated to the Russian avant-garde in literature, music and visual art of the 1910s, 1920s and 1930s, this small museum is housed in a wooden house once occupied by the painter and musician Mikhail Matyushin. Over the years the house has housed many of Futurism's greatest figures.
Visiting Time: Thursday to Tuesday - 11 AM to 6 PM. Wednesday remains closed.
Entry Fee: 100 Rubles for adult. 60 Rubles for child or student. 100 Rubles for audio guide.
How to go: it is located south of Museum of the History of Photography at Ulitsa Professora Popova, 10.
Mansion of M. G. Savina
Historic Landmark
The former mansion of A.E. Molchanova - M.G. Savina. Erected in 1905-1906. It was built by order of the entrepreneur and passionate theatergoer A.E. Molchanov for his wife, actress M.G. Savina, who was called the Russian Sarah Bernhardt.
The former palace of A E Molchanova and M G Savina. Built in 1905-1906. It is the entrepreneur and avid theatergoer A E Molchanov ordered his wife, actress M G Savina, who was called the Russian Sarah Bernhardt.
How to go: It is located 420 meters from Museum of St. Petersburg avant-garde towards south at Ulitsa Literatorov, 17.
Day-38:
Today starting point is Ploschad Lenina Metro station near Finland Train Station.
Vladimir Lenin Atop an Armored Car
Statue
The statue of Vladimir Lenin was erected in 1926. It shows Vladimir Lenin speaking from the top of an armored car, shortly after Vladimir Lenin arrived in Russia by train from exile in Switzerland on 3 April 1917. It was damaged in a 2009 bombing but has since been repaired.
How to go: It is located about 420 meters from Museum of Bread, south of Finland Station.
Museum of Bread
Museum
The museum showcases the history of bread making in St. Petersburg and the world. Exhibits include a variety of historic baking tools, baked goods packaging, and a reconstruction of a small 19th-century St. Petersburg bakery. Also on display are several examples of traditional Russian bread, buns, and biscuits, including a section devoted to World War II baking, including an example of a 125 gram per capita daily ration distributed during the Siege of Leningrad.
Visiting Time: Tuesday to Saturday - 10 AM to 6 PM. Sunday and Monday remain closed.
Entry Fee: 100 Rubles for adult. 60 Rubles for child.
How to go: It is located about 280 meters from Kresty Prison towards west at Ulitsa Mikhaylova, 2.
Kresty Prison
Historical Landmark
The history of the prison dates back to the 1730s. During the reign of Anna Ionovna, there was a wine warehouse complex where all the wine of the city of St. Petersburg was kept. After the Emancipation Reforms of 1861 the need for prison space increased greatly. In 1867 the wine warehouse was converted into a 700-bed prison, separated into women and men.
In 20 years the jail became too small for the city. The project for the new city prison was created by Antony Tomishko, a citizen of Austria-Hungary. Tomishko studied prison organization in Germany and was fascinated by the Moabit prison. He admired the Philadelphia system. Tomishko designed a prison consisting of two five-storey buildings. There was a prison hospital, an infectious disease ward, a morgue, an ice house and a blacksmith shop.
He also built a prison church of St. Alexander Nevsky inside the prison. A religious significance, encouraging penance among the prisoners. The crosses were joined by a red brick Russian Revival church with a massive five onion dome atop an administrative building.
Construction began in 1884 and continued until the 1890s. Inmates were moved to the new building, the old building was demolished and construction continued. It was considered the most advanced prison in the world when it was built. It was the largest prison in Europe. On the evening of March 12, 1917, during the February Revolution, rebels stormed the prison, freed the prisoners, and burned all prison papers on the premises.
In 1920 the prison was renamed "Second Special Camp for Involuntary Labor". The prison operated a research and development facility called OKB-172, which used inmates as weapons engineers and researchers. The facility produced torpedo boats that were used extensively by the Soviet Navy during World War II. In the mid-1990s the prison housed more than 12,500 inmates, more than ten times its design capacity (1,150 inmates). In 1983 the prison was deemed unsuitable for women and minors.
In 1993 a museum was opened inside the prison dedicated to the history of the prison, famous inmates and unusual objects found on the inmates. In December 2006 a monument to the poet Anna Akhmatova was erected on the bank of the Neva River opposite the Kresty Prison in accordance with her wishes in her poem Requiem. A replica of the monument was erected in a prison corridor that same month.
In the summer of 2006 Vladimir Putin (President of Russia) announced that the prison would be relocated. The Cresty building will be auctioned off to be converted into a hotel-entertainment complex after the move is complete. The new prison, Kresti 2, was completed in 2017 in Kolpino, 20 miles outside St. Petersburg.
Museum Visiting Time: Saturday and Sunday at 12 PM, 1:30 PM, and 3 PM.
How to go: It is located about 2.27 km from Lenrezerv Museum towards west along the Neva river at Arsenal'naya Naberezhnaya, 7.
S P Botkin
Statue
Sergei Petrovich Botkin (5 September 1832 – 12 December 1889) was a famous Russian physician, therapist and activist, one of the founders of modern Russian medical science and education. He introduced triage, pathological anatomy and postmortem diagnostics into Russian medical practice.
How to go: The statue is located about 500 meters from Ploschad Lenina Metro station towards west, north of Vmeda Vpkh Hospital at Botkinskaya Ulitsa, 20.
Ludvig Nobel's mansion
Historical landmark
Ludvig Immanuel Nobel (27 July 1831 – 12 April 1888) was a Swedish-Russian engineer, a noted businessman. His elder brother was Alfred Nobel (founder of the Nobel Prize). His brother, Robert, ran an oil company called Branobel in Baku, Azerbaijan, which at one time produced 50% of the world's oil. Ludvig Nobel is credited with creating the Russian oil industry. Ludvig Nobel was one of the richest men in the world. After the Bolshevik Revolution, the Communists confiscated the Nobel family's vast fortunes in Russia.
How to go: It is located about 1.14 km from S P Botkin Statue towards north at Pirogovskaya Embankment, 19.
Saint Sampson's Cathedral
Church
Saint Sampson's Cathedral is the oldest surviving church in Saint Petersburg. Rumor has it that Catherine II secretly married Grigory Potemkin in 1774 at St. Sampson's Church. The original wooden church was built in 1710 to honor Sampson the Hospitable. On that saint's feast day, Peter the Great defeated Charles XII of Sweden at the Battle of Poltava. The existing church was built under Empress Anna. It was consecrated in 1740.
The bell tower was built later. The original church had only one dome, four auxiliary domes were added in 1761. In the 1930s the Soviets dismantled the parish and the building was converted into a warehouse. It was restored in the late 1970s and reopened in 2000 as a museum attached to St. Isaac's Cathedral. The statue of Peter the Great in front of the cathedral was removed by the Soviets and restored in 2003.
How to go: It is located about 540 meters from Ludvig Nobel's mansion towards northeast at Bol'shoy Sampsoniyevskiy Prospekt, 41.
Monument to first builders of St. Petersburg
Monument
How to go: It is located about 180 meters east of Saint Sampson's Cathedral. Vyborgskaya metro station is located about 150 meters from the Monument towards north.
Day-39: Kamenny Island
Today our starting point is Chyornaya Rechka Metro station. It is locateed about 400 meters from the island. You have to cross Ushakov Bridge.
Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist
Church
This small church was once the private chapel of the Kamenustrovsky Palace. When Kamenny Island was bought by Catherine II in 1765 as a gift for her son Pavel (Emperor Paul 1). In 1766, Pavel established a home for wounded sailors and veterans of the Battle of Chesme on the island, who built the church for their use. A decade later, when Felten's palace was completed for the future emperor, the church became its chapel.
Here two children of the poet Alexander Pushkin's (6 June 1799 – 10 February 1837) were baptised. The church was only opened to the public after the revolution and closed soon after. It became a sculptor's studio and then a sports hall. The interior almost completely destroyed. Returned to the Orthodox Church in 1990. The Church was reconstructed in 2016, and is once again a fully functional church. There is a Orthodox chapel north of the church.
How to go: It is located east of the southern end of the Ushakov Bridge.
Kamennoostrovsky Palace
Palace
The former royal palace on the northeast side of Kamenny Island. It was built in the 1770s by Catherine II of Russia for her son Paul I. Emperor Paul gifted the palace to the former Polish king, Stanislaw August Poniatowski. Emperor Alexander 1, son of Paul 1, also lived in the palace. After the death of Alexander I the property was inherited by his brother Michael, then by Michael's widow Helen and their daughter Catherine.
The palace has been neglected since the early 20th century. It was used as a convalescent home for soldiers during the Soviet era. Kamennoostrovsky Palace is part of the World Heritage Site. It is currently closed for major repairs to accommodate city guests.
Closed to the general public, the Kamennoostrovsky Palace is rarely seen from the street and is best seen from the Lopukhinskiy Garden on the opposite bank of the Malaya Nevka River.
How to go: It is located northeast side of Kamenny Island.
Sunday School of the Church of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist
Church
How to go: It is located at the northwest corner of the Kamennoostrovsky Bridge, which connects Kamenny Island with Aptekarsky Island to its south at Naberezhnaya Reki Maloy Nevki, 7.
Villa Oldenburg
Landmark
A wooden structure built in 1831-1833. The palace was built on the lands of Prince V V Dolgorukov and after construction was sold to Prince Peter Georgievich of Oldenburg (21 November 1868 – 11 March 1924). In 1928, the house was converted into a residential building with communal apartments and later a dormitory. In 1978, a fire occurred and damaged it, it remained in disrepair until 1982, after which it was demolished and rebuilt in the late 1980s. Currently the villa is vacant.
How to go: It is located about 100 meters from Sunday School of the Church of the Nativity of St John the Baptist towards west at Naberezhnaya Reki Maloy Nevki, 11.
Sfinksy
Sculpture
How to go: It is located south of Villa Oldenburg on the bank of Malaya Nevka River.
House of V. M. Bekhterev
Landmark
A doctor, scientist Vladimir Mikhailovich Bekhterev (1857-1927) lived and owned this house. The house was built in 1914. In 1956, the half-timbered building was rebuilt in stone and plaster. Now there are residential apartments here. A memorial plaque was placed on the facade: "The greatest Russian scientist and doctor, academician Vladimir Mikhailovich Bekhterev, lived in this house from 1914 to 1927"
How to go: It is located about 370 meters from Villa Oldenburg towards west at Naberezhnaya Reki Maloy Nevki, 25.
House of E. P. Leonova
Landmark
How to go: It is located abuot 80 meters from House of V. M. Bekhterev towards west at Naberezhnaya Reki Maloy Nevki, 4.
House of Gausval'd
Landmark
Gauswald Cottage, built in 1898. It is one of the rarest examples of Art Nouveau in wooden architecture. The house was named after its first owners, built for the wife of the bakery master Eugenia Karlovna Gauswald. In 1918, the 3rd Children's Colony named after A V Lunacharsky existed here until 1923. The building then occupied the sanatorium of the Leningrad Metal Plant for many years. At the beginning of the 21st century, the cottage fell into disrepair, it was restored in 2017-2019.
How to go: It is located about 700 meters from House of E. P. Leonova towards northwest at Srednyaya Alleya.
Dom Follenveydera
Landmark
How to go: It is located about 200 meters from House of Gausval'd towards north. Just after crossing the bridge, the house is on the right.
Beautiful House
Landmark
How to go: It is located about 450 meters from Dom Follenveydera towards northwest.
Kamennoostrovsky Theater
Theater
The theater was built in 1826 in just 40 days. The building was intended to last seven years, but it lasted much longer. The reconstruction of the theater mainly changed the facade of the building. In 1964-1967, the auditorium of the theater was completely rebuilt, and the theater became the property of the St. Petersburg Television Company. Later in 2005, it became the second stage of the Bolshoi Drama Theatre.
How to go: It is located about 350 meters from the Beautiful House towards southwest at Ploshchad' Starogo Teatra, 13.
Mansion of Countess Kleinmichel
Landmark
In 1834, a mansion was built for the French actor Zhenes. In 1874, the house burned down. The new owner of the plot, the wife of the master of silver affairs N. A. Verkhovtseva, built a wooden two-story villa. In 1893, the villa was rented by Countess Maria Eduardovna Kleinmichel, a famous Grande dame of the late 19th and early 20th century. Famous dress balls and salons were held in her palace, where all high-society Petersburg gathered.
The house was rebuilt several times. Many people compare it to a fairytale castle, for its structure. The interior of the palace has not been preserved. During World War I, the countess ran a hospital here, and after the revolution, she left the country. Currently, the palace is privately owned, and you can only see it from the outside.
How to go: It is located south of Kamennoostrovsky Theater.
Day-40: Yelagin Island
Nearest Metro station from Yelagin Island is Krestovskiy ostrov metro station in Krestovsky Island. About 500 meters north from the metro station towards north with crossing the 2-Y Yelagin bridge. From Staraya Derevnya Metro station, the island is located about 650 meteters south with crossing 3-Y Yelagin bridge.
Monument to Kirov
Monuemnt
Sergei Mironovich Kirov (27 March 1886 – 1 December 1934) was a Russian and Soviet politician and early revolutionary in the Russian Empire and member of the Bolshevik faction of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party. On 1 December 1934, Kirov was shot and killed at his offices in the Smolny Institute for unknown reasons.
How to go: It is located north of of 2-Y Yelagin bridge.
Statue of Hercules Farnese
Sculpture
Sculpture "Farnese Hercules" (one third of the 19th century) on the banks of the 4th Southern pond.
How to go: It is located about 520 meters from Monument to Kirov towards west.
Mini-Zoopark
Zoo
How to go: It is located about 510 meters from Statue of Hercules Farnese toards northwest.
Cape With Lions on Elagin
Sculpture
How to go: It is located on the western most site of Yelagin Island. About 450 meters west from Mini Zoo.
Maid of Honor
Museum
How to go: It is located about 1 km from Mini-Zoopark towards east at 10 Elagin Island Street.
Museum of Glass Art
Museum
In the Orangery of Yelagin Palace, this museum showcases the work of the Leningrad Glass Art Factory, which operated from 1940 until its closure in 1997. The factory produces crystal and glassware for household use as well as mirrors, architectural details and experimental glass sculptures. The museum's three small halls display not only 8000 examples of the factory's products, but also video displays showing examples of the manufacturing process and the tools used to cut and cut glass molds.
Visiting Time: Tuesday to Sunday - 10 AM to 6 PM. Monday and the Last Tuesday of each month remains closed.
Entry Fee: 100 Rubles.
Photography: Allowed.
How to go: It is located east of Maid of Honor Museum.
Creative Dacha Tspkio named after S M kirov
Landmark
How to go: It is located north of Museum of Glass Art.
Stable housing Showrooms
Museum
How to go: It is located southeast of Museum of Glass Art.
Kitchen Building
Museum
How to go: It is located east of Stable housing Showrooms after crossing Butter Meadow.
Yelagin Palace
Palace
The island was owned by Ivan Yelagin (1725-94). There was a villa on the island for him. Alexander I, son of Empress Maria, bought the estate from Yelgin's heirs and he rebuilt the palace in 1822 on the site of the former villa. It served as a royal summer palace of Alexander I. After Maria's death, the palace was deserted for a long time. Nicholas II (reigned: 1 November 1894 – 15 March 1917) leased it to his prime ministers.
In June 1908 Stolypin (third prime minister and the interior minister of the Russian Empire from 1906 to 1911) lived in a wing of Yelagin Palace, in July 1914, the Council of Ministers was also held there under Ivan Goremykin (prime minister of the Russian Empire in 1906 and from 1914 to 1916). It was damaged by a shell and burned during the siege of Leningrad. The house was rebuilt in the 1950s to serve as a resort for workers. It houses the glass museum since 1987. The entrance features two lion sculptures, inspired by the Medici lions in Florence.
Visiting Time: Tuesday to Sunday - 10 AM to 6 PM. Monday and the Last Tuesday of each month remains closed.
Entry Fee: 100 Rubles. 260 Rubles for joint ticket with Yelagin Palace and exhibitions. Small admission fee to the park is charged on weekends and national holidays.
How to go: It is located easter side of the Yelagin Island.
Pavilion under the flag
Museum
How to go: It is located northeast corner of Yelagin Island.
Saint Petersburg Russia
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