St. Petersburg. The city is situated on the estuary of the Neva River in the mouth of the Baltic Sea. The North Palmira, Russian Venice – thats how St. Petersburg is called (in 1924-1991 years – Leningrad), it is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Freely built by Peter I on marsh, new capital became a window into Europe for reformed Russia. Since that the history of the city is indisolublely connected with the history of the country. Creations of architectures D. Trezini, F. Rastrelli, P.-A. Tresini, D. Kvarengi, V. Brenna, A. Voronihina, O. Monferan, K. Rossi, V. Stasov, sculptors E.-M. Falkone, P. Klodt, M. Mikeshin are turning St. Petersburg into the city-museum. World fame got ensembles of Winter Palace and Dvorcovoia Square, Isaakievskaia Square, the Admiralty, Strelki of Vasil'evskii island, Petropavlovskaya fortress, Summer garden. Cruiser "Avrora", Marsovo field and Piskarevskoe graveyard are keeping memory about dramatic events of the revolution of 1917 years and heroic defense during the Great Patriotic War. Here one can find numerous city-museums, the most famous of them are Hermitage and Russian museum, keeping unique treasures of culture and arts. Not less interest offer memorial and literary city-museums: exactly here A. Pushkin, N. Nekrasov, F. Dostoevskii, A. Blok, A. Ahmatova, P. Chaikovskii were creating their masterpieces. "Held down in granite" Neva river, tens canals, drawbridges, missing see ships at the nights throw the town,- all this gives to the city incomparable charm, especially in white nights season. Saint Petersburg – is a birthplace of numerous musical festivals; more then 20 theatres are opened in the city. Suburbs of Petersburg are wonderful: Petergof with cascades of fountains, Pushkin with picturesque ponds, imperials palace and Pavlovsk, Gatchin, Oranienbaum parks, Gulf of Finland coast.       |
