Best of St. Petersburg

Peterhof Palace

This luxury palace, which occupies almost 1000 hectares was constructed by order of Peter the Great and it is considered the “Versailles” of Russia; its construction started in 1714 and the work was in hands of the architects Jean Baptiste Leblond (who was also the main architect of Louis XIV in France), Nicolas Michetti, Michail Zemcov and Johan Braunstein. They built beautifully all ideas of Tsar developing an incomparable and harmonious ensemble of water and stone. The palace is decorated by endless gardens, statues, pavilions and mainly fonts (the palace is also known as the “Capital of fonts”); in addition the palace has also fascinating, luxury and elaborated interiors.

One century later its inauguration in 1725, Carlo Bartolomeo Rastrelli (a court architect who also designed the Winter palace and the Catherine palace) redesigned Peterhof, but he conserved the original baroque style of the palace.

It highlights the “Great Cascade” an impressive font that was designed by Peter the Great, which is a tribute in honor to the glorious victory of the Russians over the Swedes in 1709. Unfortunately the “Great Cascade” and many other famous fonts and buildings in Peterhof were seriously damaged by the nazis during the World War II. Nevertheless, thanks to the efforts of many experts now, Peterhof is completely restored.

You can visit Peterhof from Tuesday to Sunday, from 10:30 to 17:30. But if you want to see the fonts operating, you must visit Saint Petersburg between May and October; since the fonts only operate during these months from 11:00 to 17:00.

Hermitage Museum

This is one of the oldest and largest museums in the world. It occupies six magnificent and historical buildings situated along the embankment of the Neva River. The museum was founded in 1764 by “Catherine the Great” who called this museum “My Hermitage”. She started the museum’s collection buying around 225 paintings from Johan Ernst Gotzkowsky in Berlin, after this fact the Russian ambassadors in the main capitals of the world were commissioned to buy art collections in the main art galleries especially from England and France. Little by little the Tsars were increasing the museum’s collection, acquiring pieces from Greek, Scythian and works from the Italian renaissance amongst them some works of “Leonardo da Vinci” and “Raphael”. Now the museum has a collection composed by almost 3 million of pieces which range from the ancient Egypt to early XX century including western European art, numismatics, oriental art, a great porcelain collection and much more. The museum owns also the largest Rembrandt’s collection in the world as well as several works made by Rubens, Renoir, Cezanne, Monet, Manet, Van Gogh, Gaugin , Rodin amongst other.

The museum’s buildings are located at the following addresses: “The Hermitage” (the main building) is located at 2, “Dvortsovaya Ploshchad” (“Dvortsovaya” Square), the “Menshikov Palace” is situated at 15, “Universitetskaya Naberezhnaya” (Embankment), the “General Staff building” is located at 6/8, “Dvortsovaya Ploshchad” (Square), the “Porcelain Museum” is located at 151, “Prospekt Obukhovskoi Oborony”; these four locations open from Tuesday to Saturday from 10:30 to 18:00 and the Sundays from 10:30 to 17:00.

The Winter Palace of Peter the Great is located at 32, “Dvortsovaya Naberezhnaya” (Embankment) and opens from Tuesday to Saturday from 10:30 to 17:00 and Sundays from 10:30 to 16:00. Finally the “Konstantinovsky” Palace is located at 3, “Beriozovaya Alleya”.

The Bronze Horseman

It is one of the main monument in Saint Petersburg. It is dedicated to the most powerful Tsar of Russia and founder of Saint Petersburg “Peter the Great”. The statue is located in Ploschad Dekabristov (December Square) near the Saint Isaac cathedral at Neva shore. It was constructed in the XVIII century by the famous French sculptor Etienne Maurice Falconet. The monument’s construction was ordered by “Catherine the Great” as a tribute to his famous predecessor. The equestrian statue inspired the famous poem “The Bronze Horseman” of the great Russian poet Aleksandr Pushkin . This poem (considered one of the best works of the Russian Literature) is the reason why the people call usually this sculpture the “Bronze Horseman”.

The enormous an impressive pedestal of the statue is known as the Thunder Stone and is a single piece of red granite molded into the form of a cliff. The legend says that while this statue is in its location any enemy can never take the city. This legend recovered value in the Second World War; since the sculpture was not taken down during the 900 days that lasted the Leningrad siege, it survived almost 3 years of bombing and shelling, because it was protected by the citizens at any cost; they used sand bags and wooden shelter to protect the main symbol of their resistance. Therefore, this monument is now a symbol of the Saint Petersburg’s courage.

Saint Isaac cathedral

This impressive church was constructed in the first half of the XIX century (between 1818 and 1858) when Saint Petersburg was the capital of the Russian Empire and it was in that time the most beautiful and largest church in all Russia. The amazing cathedral, which is over 100 meters high was constructed in honor to Saint Isaac from Dalmatia whose anniversary is celebrated on the same day that “Peter the Great” was born. The church was built by the French architect Auguste Montferrand. The construction was ordered by Tsar Alexander I to replace an earlier Rinaldiesque structure. The facades of the cathedral are decorated with beautiful sculptures and many columns of granite. The inside walls and floors are decorated with paintings, mosaic icons and columns made of malachite and lapis lazuli. The main altar is composed by a stained glass window that represent to “Resurrected Jesus”; more than 100 kilos of pure gold was used to gild the dome and the 112 polished granite columns to support it. During the Second World War its amazing dome was painted in gray to avoid the enemy attacks. The “Saint Isaac” cathedral is definitely one of the main landmarks of Saint Petersburg. It is located at 1, “Isaakievskaya Pland” you can visit it from Thursday to Tuesday from 11:00 to 19:00. Admission costs around $11.

Monument to the Heroic Defenders of Leningrad

The Leningrad Siege was one of the most famous war episodes during the Second World War and perhaps the most glorious chapter in the Russian history. Therefore, in 1970 it was constructed a very impressive monument in honor to the heroic residents of the city and the Russian soldiers who repelled the Nazis during the 900 days that lasts the Leningrad siege. The monument is located in “Ploschad Pobedy” (Victory square). The monument is composed by a wide concrete staircase, which is flanked by bronze sculptures that represent the defenders of the city; behind these sculptures is a great red monolith of granite which is 48 meters high. The scene is completed by a lowered circular basin that contains an eternal flame. Inside the monument there is an emotive memorial hall.  

Peter and Paul Fortress

This fortress was the first construction ordered by Peter the Great when he decided change the capital of the Russian Empire to Saint Petersburg. It was founded on May 16, (by the Julian calendar May 27 by the Gregorian calendar) 1703, this day became the birthday of the city. Peter decided built this fort to protect the city against the possible attack from the Swedish army. Nevertheless, the fortress was never needed to their original goal; since the Swedes were defeated, so the fortress became in political jail, several famous Russian personages like Gorky, Trotsky and a Lenin’s brother were residents in this jail. This place was designed by the Italian architect Domenico Trezzini and contains several buildings like Command’s House, artillery armory, the treasury, the mint, etc; it highlights the Peter and Paul cathedral, where all Russian Tsars between Peter I and Alexander III were buried. The cathedral was constructed between 1712 and 1733 and has a style uncommon for an orthodox church; it is almost 124 meters high, the tallest structure in the city. The fortress is located in Zayachii Island which is situated in the Delta of the Neva River.

The Church of our Savior on the Spilled Blood

This church is one of the most beautiful cathedrals in Saint Petersburg and all Russia. It was constructed to commemorate the murder of the Tsar Alexander II, who was assassinated in March 1881 by a terrorist. The church was designed by the architect Alfred Parland , who worked together the hermitage named  Troizhe-Sergiev. The legend says that Sergiev saw in his dreams to the Virgin Mary who said him as the cathedral must be build. The cathedral has the classic architectural Russian style, with many multicolor decorations. This cathedral is quite similar to the Saint Basil Cathedral in Moscow. It is covered by thousand of colorful fine mosaics which cover a total area of 7050 square meters. Inside the church there are many altars and several desks made of marble that remember the main reforms made by Alexander II. It is located at 2b nab. kan. Griboedova. 

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