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St. Petersburg is recognized as one of the most beautiful cities in the world. This city of a unique fate attracts lots of tourists every year. Founded in 1703 by Peter the Great, St. Petersburg is today the cultural capital of Russia and the second largest metropolis of Russia. The architectural look of the city was created while Petersburg was the capital of the Russian Empire. The greatest architects of their time worked at creating palaces and parks, cathedrals and squares: Domenico Trezzini, Jean-Baptiste Le Blond, Georg Mattarnovi among many others.
First named Saint Petersburg in honor of the Apostle Peter, the city on the Neva changed its name three times in the 20th century. During World War I, the city was renamed Petrograd, and after the death of the leader of the world revolution in 1924, Petrograd became Leningrad. The fi rst mayor, Anatoly Sobchak, returned the city its historical name in 1991.
It has been said that it is impossible to get acquainted with all the beauties of St. Petersburg in3 short days. And this is true, since St. Petersburg has an infi nite number of unique monuments. The route developed by the guides of the City Tourist Information Bureau will help you get your fi rst idea about St. Petersburg and feel the enchantment of it. During the tour you will not only see the grand avenues, architectural ensembles and magnifi cent embankments of the Neva, but also learn a lot about the history of St. Petersburg and the daily life of its citizens.
I love you, Peter’s great creation, I love your view of stern and grace,
The Neva wave’s regal procession, The grayish granite – her bank’s dress,
The airy iron-casting fences, The gentle transparent twilight,
The moonless gleam of your nights restless,
When I so easy read and write Without a lamp in my room lone,
And seen is each huge buildings’ stone Of the left streets, and is so bright
The Admiralty spire’s flight…
A. S. Pushkin, a fragment from the poem
“The Bronze Horseman”
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DAY 1
Let’s start our way from Gostiny Dvor metro station. It got its name for a reason: its entrance hall is located on the ground floor of the city’s oldest department store, called Gostiny Dvor.
The construction of the largest store in Saint Petersburg began in 1758 following the decree “On construction of a stone shopping arcade under the plan of the chief architect Rastrelli”. Gostiny Dvor was fi nished in 1785 upon the project of the architect J-B. Vallin de la Mothe.
Upon getting out of the metro station, we fi nd ourselves on the main street of the city, Nevsky Prospect, which stretches for about 4.5 km from the Admiralty to the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. The facades of 240 buildings look out onto Nevsky Prospect. Among them are palaces, churches and theatres.
On the left you can see the Kazan Cathedral (built by A. N. Voronikhin), a U-shaped building with lots of columns. This is the cathedral church of the city, wherein the unique Icon of Our Lady of Kazan is kept.
The Cathedral was built prior to the war with Napoleon and became an original memorial to that event. Inside the Cathedral, the famous Russian commander in-chief Mikhail Kutuzov was buried. Flags, standards and keys to the conquered cities are kept here.
In 1837, on the 25th anniversary of the victory over Napoleon, the monuments to the Field-Marshals M. I. Kutuzov and M. B. Barсlay de Tolly were erected in front of the Cathedral.
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Having visited the Kazan Cathedral, we are returning to Nevsky Prospect. The art nouveau building on the left corner was built for the Singer Company at the beginning of the 20th century. It was the fi rst building with metal framing in Saint Petersburg. Now, the largest book store of the city, “The House of Books”, is located there.
We are now crossing the Griboedov Canal and heading to the Square of Arts via Inzhenernaya Street.
Here, we can see the ensemble of the square. It consists of the Mikhailovsky Palace (now it is the State Russian Museum), the Mikhailovsky Theatre, the building of the Theatre of Musical Comedy, the Russian Ethnographic Museum and the Big Concert Hall of Saint Petersburg Philharmonia named afterD. D. Shostakovich. The ensemble was created upon the project of the famous architect Carlo Rossi in the early 19th century. In 1957, a monument toA. S. Pushkin, created by the sculptor M. K. Anikushin and the architect V. A. Petrov, was raised in the middle of the square.
The State Russian Museum is a real treasury of the national art. Paintings, graphics, sculptures, a large collection of engravings, drawings, applied art and folk craft objects are exhibited in the museum.
Having visited the Russian Museum, we can return to the Griboedov Canal Embankment via Italianskaya Street. The Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood bursts upon our eyes in all its beauty. It was built upon the project of A. A. Parland and I. V. Malyshev in 1883–1907. The Church stands on the very spot where, on March 1, 1881, the Russian Emperor
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Alexander II, the Tsar-Liberator, was killed by a bomb thrown at him.
After a visit to the Church, we now reach Konyushennaya Square. In 1720–1723, the livery yard was built on the Moyka riverside. The Church of the Holy Image of the Savior Not Made By Hands (Konyushennaya) occupies the center of the square. In this very Church the funeral service for A. S. Pushkin was performed.
We are now walking along the embankment and admiring a wonderful building leftward. It is the building of the Saint Petersburg State Capella. Capella is the oldest professional institution in Russia, which establishment and development is closely connected with the fate of the whole Russian music culture.
On the right, the Pevсhesky Bridge is spread out.A great view of the Alexander Column opens up from this bridge. This monument was devoted to Russia’s victory in the Patriotic War of 1812. It is topped with the statue of an angel, spearing a snake. This Column, 47.5 m in height and 600 tons in weight, stays in place under the load of its own weight and does not fall due to precise calculations.
Having enjoyed the ensemble of the Palace Square, let’s visit the State Hermitage Museum – one of the main sights of the city.
1764 is considered as the date of the foundation of the Hermitage. At that time the Empress Catherine the Great purchased a large collection of foreign artists’ masterpieces. She founded a small museum, where she used to spend many hours in seclusion. She called it Hermitage (the French word “ermitage”
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means “a place of seclusion”). Now it is the most frequently visited museum of the city: every year, over 3 million visitors come here to admire its famous collections.
Historically, the State Hermitage Museum complex includes fi ve buildings: the Winter Palace, the Small Hermitage, the Old Hermitage, the Hermitage Theatre and the New Hermitage. The exhibitions with numerous masterpieces are placed in the halls of those buildings. The total number of the Hermitage’s exhibits, including the Museum Storage, exceeds three million items.
Having visited the Hermitage Museum, we are walking along the Palace Embankment. We are passing the Marble Palace – a building decorated with marble pilasters, originally built for the minion of Catherine the Great, Count Grigory Orlov. 32 types of marble were used for fi nishing the facades and the interiors of the Palace.
We proceed to walk along the Palace Embankment and now, on our right, we can admire the monument to a Russian commander-in-chief A. V. Suvorov. It was unveiled on May 5, 1801, on the fi rst anniversary of Suvorov’s death, on the Field of Mars. The generalissimo is presented as Mars, the Roman god of war.
The Palace Embankment starts from the Summer Garden. From the Embankment’s side, it is decorated with a delicate cast-iron railing (the architects Y. M. Felten and P. E. Egorov). The poet A. A. Akhmatova wrote about that railing:
I want to the garden, where I was not old,To roses and railing – the best in the world…
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The Summer Garden is a park and garden ensemble created at the order of Peter I in 1704 by the architects I. Matveev and M. Zemtsov and the gardenersY. Roozen and I. Surmin.
After walking through the garden, we reach the Moyka River Embankment, where the Mikhailovsky Castle stands proudly.
It was built for the Russian Emperor Paul I in 1801, replacing the old wooden palace, where the Emperor was born. The Mikhailovsky Castle was encircled with moats with lift-bridges and protected by the guards. It was in this castle, where Paul I was cruelly killed in his sleeping room only 40 days after moving into the palace, on March 11, 1801. Later, the Castle was assigned to the Engineering School and got its second name – the Engineer’s Castle.
We suggest that you go on a boat trip along the rivers and canals at the end of your fi rst day in Saint Petersburg. You can start this unforgettable trip from several wharves in the city. The nearest one is located on 23 Fontanka River Embankment, in front of the Anichkov Bridge, which is famous for the horse sculptures created by P. C. Clodt. The statues depicting four stages of horse taming were erected in the middle of the 19th century.
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DAY 2
Let’s start our new day in Saint Petersburg at Gorkovskaya metro station. The St. Petersburg Mosque is located across the street. It is one of the largest mosques in Europe and it can hold over5 thousand people. The building of the Mosque was constructed within 11 years (1909–1920) upon the project of the architect N. V. Vasiliev with participation of the engineer S. S. Krichinsky and the architectA. I. von Gogen.
Near the Mosque, at the crossing of Kuibyshev Street and Kronverksky Avenue, you can see a very beautiful building. It was a mansion of a great ballet dancer Matilda Kshesinskaya. This building, constructed in 1904–1906, is impressive in its magnifi cence. Today, the State Museum of Political History of Russia is located here.
We are crossing the Troitskaya Square, the oldest square of Saint Petersburg and its fi rst administrative center. Long ago, it was the heart of the city. The shopping arcade, the customs, the market, the public and printing houses, the colleges were located around the square. However, it has lost its status of the central square since 1730s.
We are approaching the Petrovskaya Embankment, where we can see the oldest building in Saint Petersburg – the Cabin of Peter I. It used to be the fi rst wooden building in the city, the temporary residence of Peter I from 1703 till 1708.
The Cabin was built within just three days – from May 24 to May 26, 1703. In 1930, a museum was opened in the Cabin: there you can see the artifacts and the household items that belonged to Peter I.
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Having visited the Cabin, we continue walking along the Petrovskaya Embankment to the famous Aurora cruiser. The construction of the cruiser began in May, 1897, and in May, 1900 it was heaved off. The cruiser participated in the Battle of Tsushima and in 1917 the salvo from its gun served as a sign to begin the storming of the Winter Palace.
The nearby blue building with white columns is the Nakhimov Naval School. It was built in 1909–1910. The school was named after the outstanding Russian naval commander, the hero of the Crimean War of 1853–1856.
Having visited the Aurora Cruiser, we can return back to the Petrovskaya Embankment. We can notice some strange stone animals there. These Foo Dogs are made of the monolithic Manchurian granite. The weight of each statue amounts to 2400 kg, and their height is 4.5 meters.
Let’s continue our walk along the Embankment to the unique historical and architectural monument of Saint Petersburg – the Peter and Paul Fortress.
The Fortress was founded on the small Zayachiy Island in 1703 during the Northern War. The Fortress has a shape of an oblong hexagon and consists of6 bastions (the Menshikov Bastion, the Golovkin Bastion, the Zotov Bastion, the Trubetskoy Bastion, the Naryshkin Bastion and the Tsar Bastion), connected with curtain walls, 2 ravelins and a crownwork. Peter I supervised the construction along with his confi dants.
When you stand inside the Fortress, you are amazed with the genius of the architect D. Trezzini who
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designed many buildings here, including the Peter and Paul Cathedral.
The Peter and Paul Cathedral is an architectural dominant of the historical center of the city. The bell tower of the Cathedral is topped with a gold-plated spire with a “flying” angel, which is a symbol of Saint Petersburg. In accordance with the decree of Peter I the Cathedral became a family vault of Russian Emperors. The family vault of grand dukes is located near the Cathedral.
For a long time the Fortress served as a political prison for state prisoners and revolutionaries. In 1924, it became a museum. The exhibitions are placed in the numerous buildings on the territory of the Fortress.
After getting acquainted with the Peter and Paul Fortress you can relax and have a meal in one of the restaurants on its territory. We are leaving the Zayachiy Island along the Kronverkskaya Embankment, and heading for the Birzhevoy Bridge and then further to the Vasilyevsky Island to see the famous ensemble of the Spit of Vasilyevsky Island and the well-known Kunstkamera.
It was Peter I who started to design and build over Vasilyevsky Island. He decided to make it a cultural and administrative center of the city. For those purposes D. Trezzini created a project that included construction of some governmental buildings – the Twelve Colleges buildings, the Stock Exchange, the Shopping Arcade and the Cathedral.
The new Stock Exchange was built upon the project of the architect Thomas de Thomon. It was
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designed in the high classicism style and reminds us of an ancient naos. In front of the building, the architect placed two Rostral Columns with the allegoric figures at the bottom symbolizing the great rivers of Russia: Volga, Dnieper, Neva and Volkhov. The ensemble is finished by the aisles of the Southern and Northern pack-houses, divergent from the Exchange Stock building. Currently, Zoological Museum and the Soil Science Museum are located in those pack-houses.
Rightward at the Neva River embankment, in the historical center of Saint Petersburg, the Kunstkamera building, constructed at the beginning of the 18th century, is located. The Museum was founded under the decree of Peter I to collect and explore rarities created by nature and by people. Its doors opened to welcome the fi rst visitors in 1714. Currently, the museum storage of the Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography under the Russian Academy of Sciences (Kunstkamera) includes more than one million items.
On the other bank of the river, the spire of the fi rst Admiralty building is upcast to the sky. At fi rst it was planned by Peter I just as a dockyard. The Admiralty was required for building the ships for the Baltic Fleet. The ship atop of the spire of the Admiralty building is regarded as one of the symbols of Saint Petersburg. It was the Admiralty which gave birth to the fleet, shipbuilding development and sea power of Russia.
We continue walking along the Universitetskaya Embankment to the Blagoveshchensky Bridge. On our
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right there is a monument to M. V. Lomonosov on a granite pedestal, made in a traditional style.
Rightward of the monument there is the Twelve Colleges building, which currently houses the Saint Petersburg State University.
The construction of the Twelve Colleges building began in 1722 under the decree of the Emperor Peter I, as part of a plan to create an administrative quarter on Vasilyevsky Island. It was supposed to include the buildings of Senate, Synod and 10 colleges. The construction was designed by D. Trezzini, T. Schwertfeger and M. Zemtsov.
We are moving further towards Trezzini Square. To the right, we can see a sand-colored mansion. It is the palace of A. D. Menshikov, the fi rst governor of Saint Petersburg. This building is a perfect example of baroque architecture of Peter’s time.
On the Universitetskaya Embankment there is one more educational institution – the Saint Petersburg State Academic Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture named after I. E. Repin – the oldest and largest art university in Russia, which history goes back to the Imperial Academy of Arts.
The wharf in front of the Academy of Arts is guarded by the Sphinxes. These statues, created by ancient sculptors, were carried from Egypt to Saint Petersburg in 1832. The Sphinxes on the Universitetskaya Embankment serve as unoffi cial symbols of Saint Petersburg.
We turn to the Blagoveshchensky Bridge and once again come to the left bank of the Neva river. The Blagoveshchensky Bridge is the fi rst permanent
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bridge across the Neva River, connecting Vasilyevsky and Admiralteysky Islands.
Upon going down the bridge we turn to the left and walk along the English Embankment. Here, the ensemble of Senate Square, that consists of the complex of Senate and Synod buildings, opens up to us. Initially, they were built by the architect Carlo Rossi to house two governmental bodies of the Russian Empire: the Senate and the Holy Governing Synod.
Since May 2008, one half of the building has housed the main subdivisions of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation. In May 2009, the B. N. Yeltsin Presidential Library moved into the other half.
In the center of Senate Square, there is a monument to the founder of the city, Peter I (by E. M. Falconet). This monument is one of the highest achievements of the European art of the 18th century. The message and the image of the monument were ingeniously reflected in the poetry of A. S. Pushkin. The name of the monument, The Bronze Horseman, took root thanks to the famous poet’s “Petersburg story”.
Behind the Bronze Horseman you can see the Dome of the wonderful St. Isaac’s Cathedral, fascinating in its majesty. We will come closer to it after passing through the Alexander Garden.
The golden dome of the Cathedral can be seen from almost all parts of the city, as it is the second highest historical building of Saint Petersburg after the Peter and Paul Cathedral.
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The Cathedral is named after Saint Isaac of Dalmatia, whose encaenia day, in accordance with the Orthodox Calendar, coincided with the birthday of Peter I.
The height of the building is 101.5 m. The Cathedral is tiled with natural grey marble and its porticos are decorated with red monolithic columns. Putting up 48 columns that are 17 m high and weigh 114 tons was the greatest feat of engineering. The Cathedral is decorated with nearly 400 sculptures, depicting iconographic scenes. In 1858, the Cathedral was consecrated and became the main church of the capital. Currently the Cathedral has a status of a museum, though the church services are also held there for the most important Orthodox holidays.
The Cathedral is located on the Square of the same name. In the center of the Square the monument to Nicholas I, built in 1856–1859, is located. The project of the monument was developed by A. Montferrand and the horse sculpture was created by P. C. Clodt. The base is decorated with allegoric female figures, symbolizing Wisdom, Strength, Faith and Justice, whose faces resemble those of the Emperor’s wife and daughters. The alto-relievos depict the main events of Nicholas I’s rule.
The Mariinsky Palace is located behind the monument. It was built in 1838–1844 by the architect A. I. Stackenschneider for the daughter of Nicholas I, called Mary. In 1907 L. N. Benois constructed an Assembly Hall for the State Council
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in this building. The orders and medals, which were awarded to the Hero-City Leningrad, are depicted on the facade of the Palace. Currently the building is occupied by the Legislative Assembly of Saint Petersburg.
You can fi nish this eventful day by having dinner in one of the restaurants, located near the St. Isaac Square, or walk to Nevsky Prospect and choose a cozy place to have a meal there.
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DAY 3
We are now starting the new day of our acquaintance with Saint Petersburg and its sights. Today we suggest a visit to one of the suburbs of the city, at your discretion: the famous palace and park ensembles of Peterhof, Gatchina, Tsarskoye Selo or Pavlovsk (the last two are located side by side, that is why you can visit them at a time).
If you decided to go to Peterhof, you can travel there from Avtovo metro station by mini buses No. 224, No. 300, No. 424, No. 424A or by buses No. 200 and No. 210. You can also go to Peterhof by water on board of a hydrofoil called “Meteor”. You can take it at the following address: 2 Admiralteyskaya Embankment.
Peterhof is the former summer residence of Russian emperors. Today it is a museum and park complex, which impresses with its luxury and brilliance. It’s better to visit Peterhof in summer so that you could admire its famous fountains.
Peterhof was constructed in accordance with the wish of Peter I to create a country seat which would be as luxurious as the French Palace of Versailles. The complex consists of two parts – the Upper Garden and the Lower Park.
The Upper Garden occupies the area of 15 ha. Its gems are the fountains of fascinating beauty called Mezheumny and Dubovy, as well as the Neptune fountain and a cascade with a statue of Apollo. Several interesting museums are located in the older buildings of the park: the Imperial Bicycle Museum, the Museum of Collections and the Benois Family Museum. The Upper Garden and the Lower Park are divided by the Grand Palace.
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The Grand Palace is the central building of the whole complex. The Grand Palace and the Grand Cascade fountain constitute the compositional center of the Peterhof palace and park ensemble. Personal belongings of Russian emperors, unique porcelain, paintings, furniture and other items are exhibited in the Palace.
The Lower Park with its museums and fountains fascinates visitors with its splendor.
The fountains calmly splash the water,The garden breathes with sleepy chill…
F. I. Tyutchev
The sights of the Lower Park, the area of which exceeds 112 ha, are often placed on the photos and postcards, depicting Peterhof. The main highlight of the Lower Park is its fountains, which brought global fame to Peterhof. The first fountains were launched way back in 1721, during Peter I’s rule. In 1735 the Samson fountain appeared. Later, the great architect C. Rastrelli created his famous statuary. The famous Higher and Lower Grottos are located under the Grand Cascade fountain. The Grottos make up the center of the fountain complex. They were constructed in 1720 in accordance with the idea of Peter I. The Grottos amaze with their domes, decorated with marble and gold-plated sculptures. In the Lower Grotto you can see the exhibition, devoted to the fountain masters of the past.
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There are eight palaces and halls in the Lower Park. The most famous of them are the Monplaisir Palace (the first building in Peterhof and also Peter I’s favourite) the Hermitage Hall, the Imperial Yachts Museum, the Bath Block and the Marly Palace.
If you decided to visit Tsarskoye Selo, you can travel there from Moskovskaya metro station by mini-buses No. 342, No. 545 (the stop is called the State Museum Reserve Tsarskoye Selo) or from Kupchino metro station (bus No. 186).
One of the main sights of Tsarskoye Selo is the Сatherine Palace. Here the best masterpieces of the age of the Empresses Elizaveta Petrovna and Catherine the Great are gathered. You may see a wonderful collection of paintings and sculpture displayed here. In the Palace you would also be able to visit the reconstructed Amber Room, which fascinates with its unique and unparalleled beauty. The exposition devoted to the Romanov dynasty is of particular interest.
On the territory of the Catherine Park there are several museums, such as the Turkish Bath, the Grotto, the Creaky Arbor and the Concert Hall.
Near the Catherine Palace there is the Alexander Lyceum, the exclusive educational institution for the children of the nobility, founded by the Emperor Alexander I in 1811. From 1811 till 1817 A. S. Pushkin was the Lyceum’s student.
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And in days spent far in secret valleysIn spring, where swans have a dying call,Near waters where the quiet lights fall,The Muse began to visit me.
A. S. Pushkin
Here you can see the exposition devoted to the youth of the poet, the nascence of his poetry and also a special exhibition on this advanced educational institution of the 19th and early 20th century.
The museum reconstructs the atmosphere, in which the fi rst Lyceum graduates, who appeared to be the most brilliant ones as well, and were later called “the Pushkin classmates”, lived and studied. The Lyceum Museum was opened in Pushkin Town in 1974.
Pavlovsk is located close to Tsarskoye Selo. It is another pearl in the necklace of Saint Petersburg suburbs. The Pavlovsk Palace and Park make up an ensemble of the late 18th and early 19th century. The Pavlovsk Palace was founded in 1782. The famous architect Ch. Cameron spent 10 years creating the Pavlovsk ensemble. His idea served as the basis not only for the Palace itself, but also for the whole design and composition of the villa with the park, the bridges, the alleys and the pleasances.
The Palace was used as a summer residence of the Emperor Paul I and his family. The interiors of the Pavlovsk Palace are deemed as some of the best achievements of Russian architecture.
The Pavlovsk Park is one of the largest landscape
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parks in Europe and occupies the area of more than 600 ha. This is an outstanding masterpiece of garden and park art of the late 18th and the fi rst quarter of the 19th century.
The Park has a perfect proportion of natural landscape and architectural constructions, which are in harmony with the human world and the surrounding nature.
I still dream of the hills in my Pavlovsk,Round meadows, inanimate water,Very languish and full of the shadows.It can be never ever forgotten.
A. A. Akhmatova
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If you decided to visit Gatchina, you can travel there from Moskovskaya metro station by either route taxies No. 18, No. 18A or by bus No. 431.
The State Museum-Reserve “Gatchina” is one of the most spectacular palace and park ensembles in the suburbs of St. Petersburg. At the heart of it lies the Gatchina Palace, the former beloved residence of Paul I, Russia’s most enigmatic emperor, “the Russian Hamlet”, whose spirit is said to still inhabit the ancient underground tunnel that connects the palace and the park. Not only can you descend into the mysterious underground, but you can also chat there with the “Echo nymph” – a mysterious voice that can tell you about rulers of the past, which plants are susceptible to frost, and so much more.
From the magnificent halls of the grand suite of the 18th century, where luxurious furnishings are combined with the perfection of classical proportions, you can access the recently restored Greek Gallery – a kind of “museum within the museum” dedicated to the epoch of antiquity. Take the Light-filled Passage leading into the Arsenal Wing to see the Marble Staircase, a masterpiece by the Russian 19th century architect Roman Kuzmin who created one of the main Neo-Renaissance ceremonial interiors in the palace.
Stop by the exposition of Alexander III’s private rooms to discover the palace in a different way – as a cozy home where the emperor and his family lived, worked, and relaxed. To conclude the tour of the Gatchina Palace, climb up 191 steps to reach the open
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platform of the Signal Tower offering picturesque views over the park and town.
Located not far from the Gatchina Palace is another palace – the Priory. Built for the Emperor Paul I by the architect Nikolay Lvov in the 18th century, the Priory Palace is the only architectural monument in Russia built in rammed earth technique. To learn what rammed earth technique is, visit the exposition opened in the Priory museum halls.
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In 2020, our country celebrates its most important anniversary – 75 years since the Great Victory over Nazi Germany in the Great Patriotic War. All cities and villages of the Soviet Union were affected by this war in one way or another. The city of Leningrad, however, went not just through war days – it survived a severe siege that lasted almost 900 days. Undoubtedly, the Siege of Leningrad became the most tragic period in the city history. For many residents of St. Petersburg, it remains a key event in the life of their families and the memory of the Siege is their main measure of at-titude to their native city.
We suggest you devote one day to visiting places associated with these diffi cult and tragic days, plac-es that bear testimony to the feat of Leningrad resi-dents and their unparalleled courage.
The walking route starts from Admiralteyskaya metro station. After you exit the station, you need to reach Nevsky Prospect. On the corner of Malaya Morskaya ulitsa and Nevsky prospekt you can see a dark building, resembling an Italian palazzo. This is the Wawelberg Banking House. During the siege it used to house the laboratory of the Vitamin Research Institute. Here, in the fall of 1941, vitamin B1 was syn-thesized and a drug was created to treat the criti-cally wounded. The Institute’s staff also managed to restore the technology for the production of conif-erous potion for scurvy, which was used even under Peter I.
If you cross Nevsky prospekt and turn right, then on the wall of the building of school No 210 you will see the inscription “Citizens! This side of the street is the most dangerous during artillery shelling!” These inscriptions were put on the north and north-east sides of the streets, as the city was bombarded
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from the south and shell fragments fell on the oppo-site side of the street. The original inscriptions were painted over immediately after the war, and recreat-ed in the 1960s and 70s. This particular one, the fi rst of many, was restored in 1962 at the initiative of poet Mikhail Dudin. The school in this building was func-tioning through all 900 days of the Siege. If you walk further along Nevsky prospekt, you will reach the Kazan Cathedral (located on the odd side of the ave-nue). During the siege, its basement housed a kinder-garten and the cathedral itself worked as an expo-sition space displaying exhibitions dedicated to the glory of the Russian army. The monuments to military commanders M. Kutuzov and M. Barclay de Tolly, standing by the cathedral, were not camouflaged, because the defenders of Leningrad took an oath in front of them before going off to war. Throughout the war, not a single shell hit the statues or the cathedral.
Walking further along Nevsky prospekt, stop by Mikhailovskaya ulitsa. On the corner you will see Grand Hotel Europe. It was built back in the 19th cen-tury, and during the years of the siege the evacua-tion hospital No 911 was opened here. More than four thousand injured people were treated in this hospital.
Our path lies further along Nevsky prospekt, and on the corner of Malaya Sadovaya ulitsa you can see an unusual monument on the wall – a memorial to the siege loud-speaker, opened on May 8, 2002. The caption below the monument reads: "Here, by the loud-speakers, during the heroic defense of Lenin-grad of 1941–1944, the inhabitants of the besieged city used to listen to the reports of events from the battle front." A total of 1500 loud-speakers operat-ed in the city during the Siege. They broadcast the metronome signals. The normal pace – 60 beats per
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minute – meant that everything was calm in the city, while faster beats signaled the approach of bombing or shelling. A hair salon, which worked through the whole siege, was located in this house as well.
If you take a turn to Malaya Sadovaya ulitsa, soon you will see the building of the Radio House on your right. The house was built in 1912–1914 for the No-ble Assembly. Since 1932, the central radio station of the Leningrad Radio was located here. During the Siege of Leningrad, the radio did not stop its work for a single day and was the main source of information in the city: it reported news from the front and an-nounced air-raid alarms. O. Berggolz, A. Akhmatova, V. Vishnevsky, N. Tikhonov, M. Petrova performed at the microphone here. The premiere of the Leningrad Symphony No. 7 by D. Shostakovich took place in the Great Hall of the Philharmonic and was radiobroad-cast to every house in Leningrad. For the residents, radio broadcasts and the sound of a metronome be-came a symbol of life in a besieged city.
Let's go back to Nevsky prospekt. On the other side, almost opposite Malaya Sadovaya ulitsa, you fi nd the building of the Russian National Library. It worked through the whole war under its former name, the Public Library. Daily, the library staff, with candles and lanterns in their hands, studied the library funds in search of documents on how to prepare medicines and nutrient mixtures from what was available in the besieged city. They also looked for the materials nec-essary for the construction of the Road of Life.
On the same side of Nevsky as the Russian National Library is Anichkov Palace, formerly the residence of the heir to the Imperial throne, and now the Palace of Youth Creativity. During the Siege, a hospital with 1000 beds worked within its walls. Teenagers, mainly
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girls, helped doctors and nurses: they looked after the wounded, read letters from their relatives, brought them books from the library. In 1942, the hospital was closed and “The Palace of Pioneers” was reopened in the building. Over 500 young Leningrad residents at-tended the study groups here.
The elegant Anichkov bridge, decorated with sculp-tural groups of horses by P. Klodt, spans the Fontan-ka River. The damage from the war remains visible on one of the granite pedestals under the statues. It has a memorial plaque with an inscription: “These are traces of one of the 148 478 shells fi red by the Nazis at Leningrad in 1941–1944.” The sculptures survived the war, because they were buried in the courtyard of the Anichkov Palace.
Let's walk a bit along naberezhnaya reki Fontan-ki (odd side). Opposite the house No 21 (Shuvalovsky Palace), by the boat ramp, there is a memorial sign “The Siege Ice-hole”. The monument reminds us that during the Siege, the Leningraders had to take wa-ter from rivers and canals, because the water supply system had failed due to bombing and severe frosts. People lined up daily at the ice-hole. They carried the full buckets, canisters and pots back home on sleds.
Nevsky prospekt further leads to Ploshchad Vos-staniya, in the center of which there is an obelisk to the Hero City of Leningrad. Leningrad was called the “hero city” in the Order of the Supreme Command-er-in-Chief on May 1, 1945. Offi cially, this title was awarded to the city on May 8, 1965 together with the award of the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal. The obelisk was erected only in 1985, upon the proj-ect of V. Lukyanov and A. Alymov. The lower part of the obelisk is decorated with high reliefs “The Siege”, “From the Home Front to the Battle Front”, “Attack”,
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“Victory”, “Order of Lenin”, and above them – a bronze laurel wreath. The top of the stele is crowned with a fi ve-pointed “Gold Star of the Hero”.
Here you can take the Ploshchad Vosstaniya metro station in order to visit some of the important mon-uments dedicated to the heroism of the people, the defenders of the city and the soldiers of the Soviet army, located in other areas of the city.
During World War II, the future Victory Park and the brick factory located on its territory were not far from the front line. In the spring of 1942, the city faced a terrible challenge. During the cruel winter of 1941–1942, many people died of hunger and frost, and their bodies often lay unburied, while the prepared mass graves at the Piskarevsky cemetery were running out of space. Due to this fact the city administration de-cided to use a brick factory in the Moskovsky district as a crematorium. It worked in this capacity from 1942 to 1944. According to various sources, between 132 000 and 580 000 bodies of residents of the be-sieged Leningrad as well as soldiers who fought on the front line were cremated here (that is the reason why there are no collective graves in the region right up to Gatchina area, despite the fi erce battles there). The ashes of Leningrad residents formed a high hill on the shore of the Admiralteisky Pond. Nowadays, the Pavilion of Remembrance stands on top of this mound.
You can reach the park by taking the blue line of the subway to the station Park Pobedy. If you take the ground transport which goes from the park along Moskovsky prospekt in the direction of the airport, you will reach Ploshchad Pobedy. The central building of the ensemble of Ploshchad Pobedy is a magnifi cent memorial complex dedicated to the defenders of
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Leningrad. Fundraising for this monument was car-ried out throughout the country. The opening of the monument took place on May 9, 1975 on the 30th an-niversary of the victory over the enemy. The compos-ite core of the complex is a granite obelisk 48 meters high. At the foot of the obelisk there is a sculptural composition “The Invincible”. It depicts soldiers and militiamen, workers and women, wives and moth-ers of soldiers – all those who stood up for the city and defended it in a military and labour feat. In the centre of the monument there is an open memorial hall “The Siege”. Two granite stairs lead to the top of the hall, which is closed in a symbolic ring, similar to the stronghold that bound the city in 1941. The total length of the granite ring is 124 meters, and it is torn from the side that faces Pulkovo. On the outside there is an inscription – “To the feat of yours, Leningrad!”
The Piskaryovskoye Memorial Cemetery was found-ed in 1939 and was named after the nearby village of Piskaryovka. In 1941–1944 it became a mass grave site. The victims of the Siege of Leningrad and the soldiers of the Leningrad Front were buried in these common graves. In 1956, the construction of the me-morial complex, designed by architects A. V. Vasiliev and E. A. Levinson, began on the square. The memorial was opened on May 9, 1960, on the fi fteenth anniver-sary of the Victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War. The eternal flame was lit here from the fi re on the Field of Mars. In the centre of the architec-tural and sculptural ensemble is a six-meter bronze sculpture "Mother Motherland" – a mourning stele with high reliefs that recreate the episodes of the life and struggle of the fi ghting Leningrad.
You can get here from the metro station Ploshchad Muzhestva by buses No 123, 138, 80 or from the metro station Akademicheskaya by bus No 178.
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“The Flower of Life” is a famous complex of memo-rial objects erected in memory of children, who suf-fered the extreme living conditions in a besieged city. The memorial includes the monument "The Flower of Life" as well as steles – the pages from Tanya Savi-cheva's diary embodied in stone, all connected by the Alley of Friendship. The memorial complex is a part of the Green Belt of Glory, which stretches along the former defense line of Leningrad.
You can get there by a suburban train from Fin-liandsky railway station (metro station Ploshchad Lenina) take a train to the railway station Rzhevka, then walk 200 meters towards St. Petersburg as far as the crossing on Ryabovsky shosse then walk 2.5 km along Ryabovsky shosse. You can also reach it by public transport tram No 64 or bus No K-156 from the metro station Ladozhskaya or No 30 from the met-ro station Ploshchad Lenina to the railway station Rzhevka.
On September 8, 2019, the State Memorial Museum of Defense and Siege of Leningrad opened after a ma-jor overhaul and restoration carried out for the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist siege (2019) and the 75th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War (2020). This museum was founded during the war. In 1943, in the besieged city, a decision was made to preserve me-morial weapons and military equipment and organize the fi rst exhibition “The Heroic Defense of Leningrad”, which opened in 1944. In 1945, the exhibition was vis-ited by Marshal G. K. Zhukov and General of the Allied troops D. Eisenhower. The opening of the museum took place on January 27, 1946. The museum stopped working in 1953–1989, but it opened again in 1990. The State Museum of Defense and Siege of Leningrad
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Our tour around the city and its suburbs is over. During your stay in Saint Petersburg, you have visited the most famous museums, palaces, churches and parks. We tried to make every one of your days spent in the wonderful City on the Neva eventful and unforgettable!
We hope that you will visit us again and enjoy the magnifi cence and hospitality of Saint Petersburg!
is the only cultural and educational institution which activities are fully devoted to the history of the Leningrad battle during World War II. Its exposition presents documents and personal items dating back to World War II. They show the cour-age and heroism of the city residents who defended Leningrad. The museum ex-hibits the music stand of the conductor who performed Leningrad Symphony No. 7 by D. Shostakovich at the Philharmonic Hall during the Siege, the microphone which helped Olga Berggolts speak to the audience of the Leningrad radio, the stale bread that was rationed to the residents of Leningrad, and many other orig-inal exhibits.
The address of the museum is 9 Solyanoy pereulok; it is convenient to get there on foot, the nearest metro stations are Gostiny Dvor and Chernyshevskaya.
