St. Petersburg was founded by Peter the Great in 1703 during the Great Northern War against Sweden. It was planned to be both a fortress and a modern European city.
Domenico Trezzini, a friend of Peter and a famous architect, designed the first plan of the city centre. Later famous architects Korobov and Eropkin joined Trezzini in development of the general plan of St. Petersburg. The main ideas of their plan were to create three main avenues meeting at the St. Petersburg Admiralty, direct lines on Basil's Island and panoramic embankments on the Neva River.
The construction in the city was continued after Peter I as well. Famous architects, such as Francesco Rastrelli, Giacomo Quarenghi, Carlo Rossi and Auguste de Montferrand created fascinating ensembles of major city squares and streets. Majestic palaces, granite and marble sculptures added to the beauty of the city.
Historic centre of St. Petersburg: tourist attractions of the
There are dozens, if not hundreds, if not thousands of historic buidlings, churches, monuments, avenues, streets, squares, gardens, embankments, bridges, heritage ships and other places to see and visit in downtown St. Petersburg, Russia. There is no wonder that the Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg was included in the World Heritage List of UNESCO in 1990.
Let us name just a few of them.
Nevsky Avenue
Nevsky Avenue appeared in 1710 when two direct streets were built: one going from the Admiralty and another one starting at Alexander Nevsky Monastery. They met in present Revolution square (Ploschad Vosstaniya) where the road to Novgorod the Great started (present Ligovsky avenue). These two parts of the street were built separately, that is why there is a tiny breaking of the street in the area of Revolution square. The first name of the street was Nevsky Perspective Street, and only in 1776 it received the name of Nevsky Avenue. After the revolution of 1917 the street was renamed, and it became the Avenue of October 25th. But it was still the main street of the city.
The historical name of the street was returned only in 1944. Today this street is very popular among the residents of St. Petersburg and its guests. Along this 4.7 kilometer-long avenue one can observe various architectural ensembles dating back to different historical periods.
Palace Square
The most grandiose square of St. Petersburg is Palace Square. It is surrounded by magnificent buildings of Winter Palace and General Headquarters. The square was planned when the Winter Palace was under construction. When the Palace was finished the territory of the square was filled with tons of construction garbage. The authorities allowed the residents to take it free of charge and the square was cleaned in several hours.
In the middle of the square one can see Alexander's Column - a monument to heroes of the war against Napoleon in 1812, created by A. Monferrand. It is the highest column in the world representing granite monolith, which weighs 600 tons. There is an angel on the top of the column. The angel's face has the features of Alexander I.
The square witnessed many important historical events such as the Bloody Sunday of 1905, February revolution and October revolution of 1917. In 1923 the square was named after M.S. Uritsky, the bolshevik and head of Petrograd Cheka (secret police). The historical name was returned only in 1944.
Spit of St. Basil's Island
The Spit of St. Basil's Island (Vasilyevsky Island) is located over the river from the Winter Palace. It is one of the most magnificent architectural ensembles of the city. First constructions appeared on the island during Peter's times. Peter the Great planned to create a cultural and business centre on the spit. In the first quarter of the 18th century the buildings of the Exchange House, Customs, the Kunstkamera (Cabinet of Curiosities) and of the Academy of Sciences were built on the southern shore of the island. The northern shore remained as a port.
In 1805-1810 French architect Thomas de Thomon used an empty area between two districts for building the Stock and Commodity Exchange, which was needed due to the economic growth of Russia. It was a big building, created using features of the antique style. In front of the Exchange one can see two rostral columns with the sculptures, which symbolize great Russian rivers: the Volga, the Dnieper, the Neva and the Volkhov. Later in 1826-1832 the buildings of storehouses and customs were added to the ensemble.
Field of Mars (Marsovo Pole)
At the beginning of the 18th century the territory of the present Field of Mars was just a small piece of waterlogged land. In 1711-1721 the swamp was drained by means of two man-made canals. The place was named the Big Meadow. At the times of Empress Elizabeth the garden with alleys and trees was laid out on the field, the so called "Promenade". In 1805 the park received a new name - the Field of Mars. It became the main square for military parades. Nowadays there is a tomb to the Unknown Soldier with the Eternal flame in the centre of the field as well as the memorial, devoted to the victims of the revolution of 1917.
