About St. Petersburg

St. Petersburg is one of the most beautiful European cities. It was founded in 1703 on the marshy banks of the Neva River estuary. In the summer of 1703 the Peter and Paul fortress was laid by Tsar Peter the Great on Zayachy (Hare) Island. Shortly thereafter the development of Petrogradskaya Storona (one of the administrative districts of St. Petersburg; “Storona” meaning “side”) started: a harbor emerged, residential construction flourished, the original administrative and commercial center sprang up. In the autumn of 1704 almost simultaniously with the foundation of the Peter and Paul fortress the construction of The Admiralty began and residential development process of the neighboring area – Admiralteysky Island – unfolded on the other side of the Neva River. The development of Vasilyevsky (St. Basil’s) Island was given a start at the beginning of the 1709. And in 1712 St. Petersburg was proclaimed the capital of Russia.

Since the time of its foundation the city has been developing as a new capital and a new sea port of the largest European State, becoming one of the key players in the world arena, that predestined its character and future development. From the first decade of its existence St. Petersburg became a ganglion of Russian culture, science and art. Many outstanding people worked here – artists and politicians, scientists and poets, musicians and architects. The streets and buildings of St. Petersburg preserve memories of formation of Russia in the XVIII-XX centuries.

During its 300-year history St. Petersburg was epitheted with various names. It was often referred to as “the Paradise”, “Venice of the North”, “Palmyra of the North” and so on. Till nowadays all of those names appear to be significant and well-taken.

St. Petersburg is a museum under the open skies, a unique reserve of European architectural styles of the last three centuries (Baroque, Classicism, Modern (Art Nouveau), Constructivism, Avangardism and others) protected by UNESCO. The city possesses a wealth of cultural heritage. That is why nowadays it is fairly called the cultural capital of Russia. There are more than 200 museums, including the famous Hermitage (the Winter Palace) and Russian Museum; 2000 libraries including the Russian National Library and the Academy of Science Library, which possess immense book and manuscript holdings; more than 80 theatres, such as world famous Mariinsky Ballet and Opera Theatre, Tovstonogov Bolshoi Drama Theatre, Maly Drama Theatre (Theatre of Europe). St. Petersburg is the home to 100 concert organizations, 45 galleries and numerous exhibition halls, 62 cinema theatres and 80 clubs.

St. Petersburg is an important research and educational center. It houses more than 200 higher education establishments (academies, universities, institutes), among which most well-known and famous for high quality education and preservation of traditions are St. Petersburg State University, Rimsky-Korsakov St. Petersburg State Conservatory, A. Vaganova Russian Ballet Academy, Repin Academy of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, St. Petersburg Theatre Arts Academy, G. V. Plekhanov St. Petersburg State Institute of Mines, St. Petersburg Electrotechnical Institute (LETI), St. Petersburg State Technical University (former Leningrad Polytechnical Institute) and Physico-Technical Institute, Military Medical Academy, Admiral Makarov State Marine Academy and many others.

Being located at the crossroads of marine, river and land thoroughfares, St. Petersburg is considered to be a European gate of Russia, its strategical center, the closest one to the States of European Community. Representative offices of international organizations, consulates of foreign countries and territorial bodies of national departments reside here.

St. Petersburg covers today the area of 1439 square kilometers, and is divided into 18 districts (rajons) of the city. Each district is distinguished by its cultural, historical and social peculiarity. The population of the city makes approximately 5 million people.

Admiralteysky, Centralny, Vasileostrovsky, Petrogradsky and Nevsky Districts constitute the heart of the City of St. Petersburg. These can be considered as a unique architectural ensemble of the XVIII-XX centuries: numerous outstanding architectural and landscape architectural sights, canals and bridges, granite embankments, monuments and sculptures, vast squares to hold great parades. Among the world-famous tourist attractions are the Peter and Paul fortress, the Admiralty, Nikolsky, Smolny, Kazansky and Isaakievsky cathedrals; Lebyazhya kanavka, Mikhailovsky or Inzhenerny Zamok (castle) and Gostiny Dvor shopping center, the Spit (Strelka) of Vasilyevsky Island and the unique Kamennoostrovsky Prospect of Petrogradskaya Storona; Rostral Columns (Rostralnye Kolonny), the Palace Square and the Fields of Mars (Marsovo Pole) and many others.

The city centre offers luxury hotels and private mini-hotels, expensive restaurants and a great many small cozy cafes; huge shopping centers and exclusive boutiques; prestigious and unique public housing of diverse level of integrity, located in fabulous buildings of various epochs and styles: classical, eclectical, modern – all with nonstandard layout design.

The centre of the city is rimmed by Moskovsky, Kirovsky, Kalininsky, Vyborgsky, Frunzensky, Primorsky and Krasnogvardeysky Districts. The history of those goes back to the second half of the XIX century and the beginning of the XX century, which was a period of rapid industrial growth in Russia. Originally this area was occupied by vast and poor workers settlements. In the 1920's and 1930's there took place a reconstruction of the settlements: new streets were laid, upscale housing estates emerged, buried in verdure and notable for the elegance of spatial composition, austerity and utility of design. Sumultaniously with residential development many cultural facilities came into being – the construction of great public buildings of a new type, such as I.I. Gaz Palace of Culture and Technics, A.M. Gorky Palace of Culture, Vyborgsky Palace of Culture and many others. Today these districts of the city continue their growth and development: chains of the economy class shops and hypermarkets of European level multiply, more and more entertainment centers appear and so on. Apart from the standard housing of the 60-90-ies the residential housing of these districts consists of “stalinsky” buildings (Stalin era buildings: solidly built buildings constructed from between the late 1930's and the late 1950's; ceilings are usually around 3 meters high; parquet floors, decent stairwells usually with elevators and solid looking facades), which have retained their worth and are marked by upscale level of comfort. Most of recently erected high class estate projects emerged on the territory of these districts.

St. Petersburg enjoys the splendor of nature. Kolpinsky, Krasnoselsky, Pushkinsky, Petrodvortsovy, Pavlovsky, Lomonosovsky, Kurortny and Kronshtadsky districts offer both health and holiday resort opportunities. Palaces and parks, Houses of Arts and garden suburbs, sport and holiday camps, sanatoriums are surrounded by the stunningly beautiful Northern nature. 

St. Petersburg is a dynamically developing cultural and market zone. The unique atmosphere of the contemporary St. Petersburg stems from the interaction of various, quite different currents of cultural, historical and social life. St. Petersburg is a stronghold of Russian classical ballet and home to Russian rock music. It is the place where great Russian writers Aleksandr Pushkin and Feodor Dostoyevsky lived and created their masterpieces. Air of passed times dwells in old buildings of St. Petersburg preserving their own unique atmosphere. But at the same time the contemporary life occurrences take place in the city of St. Petersburg : such as the annual Punk Poetry Festival and multiple raves. Old Izhora plants and a large net of private manufactures and firms, small and medium business undertakings coexist on the territory of this great city. St. Petersburg possesses an advanced transport network. The Metro of St. Petersburg makes the city a living organism. In other words St. Petersburg is an ideal place to live, work, amuse oneself, study and travel.

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