The Sights

The city's oldest building is the fortress of Peter and Paul (1703).Peter and Paul Cathedral (1712-1733) is the main building in the fortress. Its gilded spire, 122.5 meters high, is one the symbols of St. Petersburg. Russian tsars and members of the royal family are buried in the cathedral and in the nearby Grand Dukes Mausoleum.

St. Petersburg is one of Europe's most beautiful cities. As the former capital of imperial Russia and the residence of its tsars, the city has many splendid architectural treasures.

Many of the glorious mansions are now home to museums and none come more impressive than the famous State Hermitage Museum. One of the largest and oldest museums of the world, it was founded in 1764 by Catherine the Great and open to the public since 1852. Its collections, of which only a small part is on permanent display, comprise nearly 3 million items, including the largest collection of paintings in the world. The collections occupy a large complex of six historic buildings along Palace Embankment, including the Winter Palace, a former residence of Russian emperors.

The other museums which attract thousands of tourists from all over the world include the Kunstkammer, the first Russian museum, the Smolny Cathedral, the Russian Museum, St. Isaac's Cathedral and Savior-on-the-Spilt-Blood and the Admiralty.

Nevsky Prospekt, the main street in St. Petersburg, is one of the best-known streets in Russia. Being in the historical center of the city, the prospect runs from the Admiralty to the Moscow Railway Station and then, after a slight turn, to the Alexander Nevsky Monastery. In the very first days of St. Petersburg it was originally called the Great Perspective Road and was simply the beginning of the road to the ancient city of Novgorod, but it quickly became adorned with beautiful buildings, squares and bridges and became the very center of the bustling, rapidly growing city. It is 4.5 kilometers long and 25-60 meters wide. It was planned by the French architect Alexandre Jean Baptiste LeBlond, who at that moment was working for the city's founder Peter the Great.

Sadovaya Street got its name from a lot of gardens once facing the street. Moskovsky Prospect is the longest street in the city and Architect Rossy Street is the shortest one. It was in Saint Petersburg that the tradition to number streets appeared. One still can find 5th Line or 27th Line on Vasilyevsky Island. Line is one side of the street.