Sights of St. Petersburg Automatic translate

St. Petersburg is one of the most beautiful and most visited cities by tourists, which is famous not only for its beauty, but also for its huge number of attractions, many of which have historical value. And what you should visit after visiting this amazing city, you will now find out. More details here: Sights of St. Petersburg .

Overview of the sights of St. Petersburg

Tsarskoye Selo is a palace and park complex, which was previously the residence of the kings. It is worth noting that this residence is the best example of Russian Baroque. The complex was built by order of Catherine, the wife of Peter I, on the land, which she received as a gift from him. Initially, at this point she planned to build a small park with a winter garden and a church. However, her plans changed very quickly, and instead of a park with a winter garden, Tsarskoye Selo appeared.

Tsarskoye Selo is located 25 kilometers south of St. Petersburg. Of course, this is one of the most beautiful palaces in the world. Here you can visit the Grand Catherine Palace, inside of which there are several dozen rooms. Many of them were destroyed after the Second World War. But the biggest attraction is the amber room, which took 6 tons of carefully crafted amber to finish. Also for its design was used Italian mosaic. The area of ​​the room is more than 800 square meters. In the hall there are several hundred mirrors, more than 50 chandeliers, gold jewelry and sculptures.

Peterhof is a palace and park complex, built by order of Tsar Peter I. A distinctive feature of the park is its division into several styles: the upper one is a French park and the lower one is an English park.

In the center of Peterhof, the largest and one of the most beautiful fountains is installed - "Samson, fighting with a lion." The hero tears the lion’s mouth with his bare hands, from which the fountain beats. This is the largest and highest fountain in Peterhof. In the central part of the upper garden, the Neptune Fountain is installed. Peterhof is also called the world capital of fountains. Throughout the park, with an area of ​​about 600 hectares, there are 144 fountains that produce about 2,000 jets. And the entire ensemble of fountains emits a total of 34,000 liters of water per second. And the most interesting is that they function without any complex devices. Peterhof looks especially beautiful on the day of the opening and closing of the fountains. Also here you can visit the grand palace, museums and the exhibition hall. But to visit them you must purchase an entrance ticket. Access to the upper and lower gardens is free.

Walking along the alleys and admiring the magnificence of the royal court, it is difficult to imagine that as a result of the German blockade of Leningrad, Peterhof was almost completely destroyed. The reconstruction of the complex began immediately after the lifting of the blockade.

St. Isaac’s Cathedral - is considered the largest church in St. Petersburg, and the second in Russia after the Moscow Cathedral of Christ the Savior. The width of the temple is 97.6 meters, length - 111.5 meters and height - 101.9 meters. And the cathedral is decorated with a dome covered with pure gold. In total, it took 100 kilograms of pure gold. The radius of the dome reaches 11 meters. The cathedral can accommodate up to 14,000 people. The interior of the cathedral is decorated with mosaics, a fresco and a large iconostasis.

Smolny Cathedral . The cathedral is made in the Baroque style, and its numerous turrets with domes adorn it. There is also a 63 meter bell tower, from the top of which you can admire the panorama of the city.

Hermitage - located between Palace Embankment and Palace Square. It consists of five historical buildings, including: the Winter Palace, the Small and the Big Hermitage, the New Hermitage and the Hermitage Theater. In addition, the Hermitage is considered the largest museum in the world. It was here that Empress Catherine II loved to spend a lot of time. Few of her entourage had access to the palace, and the empress herself said that only she and the mice could admire the wealth of the Hermitage.

The times of the Soviet Union were not a heyday for the Hermitage. The government did not allocate a lot of money for its maintenance, and even worse, Stalin ordered the sale of some Hermitage jewelry abroad. Currently, there are 400 rooms in six buildings, with a total area of ​​125.5 thousand square meters, where many unique works of art from around the world are collected. In total, there are about 3 million exhibits. And in order to get to know them, at least 2 days should be allocated for a visit.

The Konstantinovsky Palace was erected by order of Peter the Great. It is located on the shores of the Gulf of Finland. In the halls of the palace you can see an exhibition of art of the XVII-XVIII centuries, as well as memorabilia of the Romanov dynasty. Very interesting is the collection of wines, which is stored in the palace. The collection totals 13 thousand bottles of wine, with a total value of 20 million rubles. Konstantinovsky Palace during the war was seriously damaged. And only in the period from 2000 to 2003 was completely renovated. Now there are meetings of politicians, scientific forums, fashion shows, festive banquets, and in the period from July 15-17, 2006, the G8 summit was held here.

The Admiralty is one of the first buildings that was built in St. Petersburg. Initially, it was a shipyard where ships of the Baltic Fleet were built. The building is considered one of the greatest works of European architecture, the era of classicism. The length of its facade reaches 407 meters, and numerous statues and bas-reliefs adorn it. Since 1925, the Admiralty building houses the Engineering Institute of the Navy. Today, as many centuries ago, the Admiralty is a symbol of St. Petersburg and the power of the Russian fleet.

Church of the Resurrection of Christ (Temple on Blood). It is located on the Griboedov Canal, at the place where Tsar Alexander II was killed. The construction of the temple lasted from 1883 to 1907. Also, a restoration was carried out in the temple, which lasted about 30 years. And in August 1997, the temple was reopened.

Palace Square is one of the central points of the city, which is the venue for many cultural events. On the south side, the square is surrounded by the Winter Palace, which is part of the Hermitage Museum, with a total of 176 sculptures adorning the roof of the building. Also on the south side of the square is the building of the General Staff of the Russian Army from 1819 to 1829. Nowadays, official celebrations dedicated to various holidays are traditionally held here.

The Bronze Horseman is a monument to Peter I, erected on the initiative of Catherine I. But paradoxically, the monument is made not of copper, but of bronze. And this name he got thanks to Pushkin, who dedicated one of his works to the St. Petersburg monument to Peter the Great, and called it the Bronze Horseman.

The hand of Peter the Great points toward the Neva, the building of the Academy of Sciences and the Peter and Paul Fortress, which symbolizes the goals to which he sought: the development of trade, science and the army. The king sits on a horse, which the serpent crushes with its hooves, thus symbolizing its enemies. The pedestal of the monument is made of granite in the form of a sea wave. A stone (boulder) was found on the coast of the Gulf of Finland. Its weight is 1625 tons. On both sides of the boulder there is an inscription in Russian and Latin: "Peter I from Catherine II." On August 7, 1782, several thousand people came to the opening ceremony of the monument, including Catherine II and her entire retinue.

The Peter and Paul Fortress is not only one of the oldest buildings in St. Petersburg, but also the tallest building in the city. The construction of the complex began on May 16, 1703, the construction of which was personally supervised by Peter the Great. The fortress was previously intended to confront Swedish ships. And since 1720, the fortress was used as a city garrison and political prison. One of the first prisoners of this prison was the son of Peter I - Alexei, who was accused of conspiracy. Also, Fyodor Dostoevsky was imprisoned here in 1849, Leo Trotsky and Maxim Gorky after the 1905 revolution. Peter and Paul Fortress has the shape of a hexagon. On its territory there are 6 bastions. And the main attraction on its territory is St. Peter and Paul Cathedral, whose architecture is made in the Western European style. And the cathedral is decorated with a gilded 122-meter spire, on top of which there is an angel figure with huge wings, which holds a cross in its hands.

The cruiser Aurora is one of the symbols of St. Petersburg, as well as a symbol of the October Revolution, which served as the beginning of hostilities in the Baltic Sea with the German fleet. In February 1917, the famous cruiser joined the revolutionaries. In 1922, the cruiser again began to carry out training activities on the Baltic Sea. During the Second World War, the crew of the unit took part in the blockade of Leningrad, and the Aurora artillery was used for air defense of the city. The cruiser itself was already damaged at the beginning of World War II and drowned. And since 1944, the sunken cruiser has been raised and repaired. And since 1948 he was moored to the eternal parking lot. "