The beautiful city of St. Petersburg!

 Saint-Petersburg is often called a northern capital of Russia. And it is  recognized as a city of special importance by The Russian Constitution.  There are only two cities of special importance in Russia –  Saint-Petersburg and of course Moscow. No doubt Saint-Petersburg  deserves such a status. 

 The name of the city changed several times. At first the city was called  Saint-Petersburg but it was renamed to Petrograd in 1914. Then in 1924  just after the death of Lenin the city was given the name Leningrad. In  1991 the old name Saint-Petersburg was given back to the city. 

 The city was founded by Peter I in 1703. Its foundation started with  building of The Fortress of Peter and Pavel which is now called  Petropavlovskaya fortress. But the fortress was never used in military  aims. It is more famous as the main prison of Peter’s times. They guide  some excursions inside the fortress now and you have an opportunity to  see the prison cells of the eighteenth century. The history of the  city's foundation is connected with lots of victims. Thousands of people  gave their lives building Saint-Petersburg. The city was built very  quickly and the building was complicated with local area peculiarities.   In fact Petersburg is situated on water. Some people even compare it  with Venice but such a comparison is not very right. 

 The city consists of forty four islands connected to each other with  beautiful bridges. Multiple channels give Saint-Petersburg its own  charm. If you are walking in Petersburg at night be accurate.  About two  o’clock at night bridges start opening. It’s necessary for big ships to  have the opportunity to cross Saint-Petersburg. So you’d better get  some information about the regime of bridge opening in advance and look  at this exciting show. 

 In the cultural capital Saint-Petersburg you’ll find a lot of museums,  monuments and cathedrals. The most famous museum of world importance is  of course the Hermitage. The works of arts collection of the Hermitage  was started with Ekaterina’s (Cathrine) purchase of 225 pictures made by  masters from Western Europe. Today the museum has about three million  exhibits. Just imagine! You’ll need 15 years   to see all the exhibits  of the Hermitage having a minute looking at each of them and spending 8  hours a day on that. Besides each hall itself is a work of art.  Malachite, George and Peter halls are very popular among tourists. 

 In front of The Winter Palace – the Hermitage building there’s a Palace  square. You can have a nice walk on it. But don’t stay here for long  because there are lots of other places which are worth visiting in  Saint-Petersburg.  But I think that each tourist must leave some time  just for walking on the streets of the cultural capital, feeling the  city atmosphere, diving to its rich history. You can also walk in  beautiful gardens and parks, for example to go to the quiet and  mysterious Summer garden.  

 Furthermore, pay attention to the churches and cathedrals which decorate  Petersburg. The Kazan cathedral, the Isaac cathedral, the Spas-na-krovi  cathedral they are completely different. You can relax on the benches  or even on the grass if you want near The Kazan cathedral. You have an  opportunity to get to the top of the Isaac cathedral and to enjoy the  view from the height of a bird’s flight. By the way the Isaac cathedral  is the biggest temple in Russia. The Spas-na-krovi cathedral excites  with the beauty of its domes. And you must go inside to any of these  cathedrals. Here you can feel the difference between a catholic and an  orthodox temple.  

 The theatres of Saint-Petersburg are also very famous all over the  world. You’d better book the tickets because there are always lots of  people interested in theatre. The Maryynsky theatre is magnificent.   Here you can take in the pleasure of wonderful opera and unforgettable  ballet. Lots of really great people worked and still work in the  Maryynsky theatre. And magnificent furniture will take you back to the  times of Peter I and Ekaterina II. 

 The interesting sightseeing to visit are cruiser Aurora and  the  monument Cooper horseman. Cruiser Aurora is situated near the building  of Nahimov naval school. The volley signing the start of Bolshevist’s  Revolution was given here. Cooper horseman is a monument erected by the  order of Ekaterina II in glory of Peter I.Now you can read on the  monument “To Peter I. Ekaterina II” in Russian from one side of it and  in Latin from the other. Its uniqueness is caused by the fact that the  monument has only two points of support. 

 Of course it’s not all you can see in Saint-Petersburg. You can visit  Kunstkamera, Russian Museum, monuments of Peter the Great, Ekaterina II,  Nikolai I,The Smolny cathedral, numerous palaces etc. It’s worth  visiting the neighbourhood of Saint-Petersburg. These are Petergof,  Tzarskoye Selo, Pavlovsk, Oranienbaum. The history of these towns plays a  very important role for all the country. For example, the family of  Nikolay II had been kept locked up in Tzarskoye Selo before the start of  the Revolution. 

 You can fall in love with Saint-Petersburg. Having come to this city  once you want to come back here again and again. You'll especially like  it if you visit Saint-Petersburg at the end of May or at the start of  June. It’s right the time of white night here. That means it’s not dark  at night. Such a geographical singularity. And besides the weather here  is very warm and sunny in this period of time.  

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