CITIES: SAINT-PETERSBURG

St Petersburg is a relatively young city, by both Russian and European standards, and was only founded in 1703 by Tsar Peter the Great. Despite its short life so far, Petersburg has a rich and exciting history. From the early days of Peter the Greats "Venice of the North" to the modern events of the 1991 coup detat, the city has always bustled with life and intrigue, revolution and mystery.

St. Petersburg is a beautiful and fascinating holiday destination and one of the most intriguing and historically significant cities in Europe. Whether you chose to visit the city in the midst of a romantic and snowy Russian winter or during the dazzling White Nights of the summer months, you will be spellbound by St. Petersburg’s culture and beauty.

St. Petersburg is the northernmost major city of the world. It is located at 59° 57 Latitude North, 30° 19 Longitude East (Pulkovo meridian).

Due to the citys northern positionit enjoys the phenomenon of the «white nights», lasting from May 25-26 till July 16-17. July 22, the Solstice Day is the longest day (18 hours 53 minutes); the shortest day is December 22 (5 hours 52 minutes).

The climate is humid, close to maritime, with a moderately warm summer and a rather long moderately cold winter. The average winter temperature is -8°C, the average summer temperature is +17.8°C. In dry hot) weather the temperature may rise to +25°C - +30°??. The temperature may seriously drop in winter, reaching -25°C - -30°C. Precipitation reaches 550-600 mm per year.

The Neva River is the citys main waterway The name of the river derives from the ancient name of Lake Ladoga, the Neva where it begins. The Neva is 74 kilometers long, flowing 32 kilometers within the city boundaries. The average width of the Neva within the city is 600 meters, depth - up to 24 meters.

In the delta, the Neva splits into three main branches: the Bolshaya Neva, the Malaya Neva and the Bolshaya Nevka.

St. Petersburg is situated in the North-West of Russia in the Neva River delta on the Eastern coast of the Gulf of Finland and occupies, together with the administratively subordinated territories, the terri-tory of 1439 square kilometres. The city is located on 44 islands formed by the Neva River and 90 more rivers and canals.

The abundance of islands has led to the construction of a multitude of bridges. Of these, nowadays there are308 within the city proper, and 5 34 if suburbs are included. 22 of the bridges are drawbridges. The total length of all the bridges is ;about 16 kilometers. The longest bridge across the Neva is the Alexander Nevsky Bridge (909 meters with runways), the widest bridge is the Siniy Bridge on the Moika River (99.5 meters).

The highest elevation equals 42 meters above the sea level (Poklonnaya Gora).

Floods occur frequently in the city. Most often they happen in autumn due to strong westerly winds. In the history of the city the Neva has risen above ordinary level more than 300 times.

A water-meter was built near the Mining Institute in 1877. A flood is registered if the water rises 180 cm above the normal level. The biggest flood was on November 7 1824 when the water rose 4.1 metres above the ordinary level.

Neighbouring countries: Sweden, Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Ger-many, Denmark (The Baltic Sea Region).

The neighbouring Russian regions: Leningrad Oblast, Novgorod Oblast, Vologda Oblast, Pskov Oblast, Kaliningrad Oblast and Republic of Karelia.

Distance to the nearest cities: Helsinki - 383 km, Stockholm - about 700 km.

The city is advantageously located at the sea routes and on land roads (12 radii of railroads and 11 highways). This is the European gateway gate-way of Russia, its a strategic centre which is closest to the European Union countries of Russia, its a strategic centre which is closest to the Euro-pean Union countries.

Water resources - fresh surface waters and underground waters. The surface fresh waters are concentrated in the columbine of the water system "Lake Ladoga - the Neva River - the Neva Inlet -the Gulf of Finland".

On the territory of the city and its environs there are sand and gravel quarries, pebble stones, sands, clays, sandstone, loamy soils, as well as peat (the resources make approximately 17.5 bin m3 of raw peat which is the equivalent of about 2 bin tons of dried peat).

The city of St. Petersburg is one of Russias main entertainment centers. The music scene is diverse and colourful: the majority of most well-known Russian rock bands have originated from here. Movie theatres equipped with advanced sound reproduction systems demonstrate the latest Western films. The city also has a great diversity of high-quality restaurants, bars and night clubs. The prices are very affordable in comparison to those in any other large European city, including Moscow.

The State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia

From the 1760s onwards the Winter Palace was the main residence of the Russian Tsars. Magnificently located on the bank of the Neva River, this Baroque-style palace is perhaps St. Petersburg’s most impressive attraction. Many visitors also know it as the main building of the Hermitage Museum. The green-and-white three-storey palace is a marvel of Baroque architecture and boasts 1,786 doors, 1,945 windows and 1,057 elegantly and lavishly decorated halls and rooms, many of which are open to the public.

The Mariinsky Opera and Ballet Theater

The world-renowned Mariinsky Theater, known during Soviet times as the Kirov Opera and Ballet Theater, reverted to its original name in 1992. The present building, which dates back to 1859, originally housed another theater but was remodeled and taken over by the Mariinsky company. During pre-revolutionary times the theater enjoyed royal patronage and has played host to some of Russia’s most celebrated classical performers; Fiodor Shaliapin sang there, and the dancers Vatslav Nizhinsky, Matilda Kshesinskaya, Anna Pavlova also graced its stage.

The Bronze Horseman

The Bronze Horseman, an impressive monument to the founder of St Petersburg, Peter the Great, stands on Senatskaia Ploschad (Square), facing the Neva River and surrounded by the Admiralty, St Isaacs Cathedral and the buildings of the former Senate and Synod - the civil and religious governing bodies of pre-revolutionary Russia.

According to a 19th century legend, enemy forces will never take St. Petersburg while the "Bronze Horseman" stands in the middle of the city. During the Second World War the statue was not taken down, but was protected with sand bags and a wooden shelter. In that way, the monument survived the 900-day Siege of Leningrad virtually untouched.

St Isaacs Cathedral

The dome of St. Isaac’s Cathedral dominates the skyline of St. Petersburg and its gilded cupola can be seen glistening from all over the city. You can climb up the 300 or so steps to the observation walkway at the base of the cathedral’s dome and enjoy the breathtaking views over the city.

The church itself is an architectural marvel. Built by the French-born architect Auguste Montferrand to be the main church of the Russian Empire, the cathedral was under construction for 40 years (1818-1858), and was decorated in the most elaborate way possible. When you enter the cathedral you pass through one of the porticos - note that the columns are made of single pieces of red granite and weight 80 tons (about 177,770 pounds) each. Inside the church many of the icons were created using moaic techniques and the iconostasis (the icon wall that separates the altar from the rest of the church) is decorated with 8 malachite and 2 lapis lazuli columns. The cathedral, which can accommodate 14,000 worshipers, now serves as a museum and services are held only on significant ecclesiastical holidays.

Peterhof

Peterhof is an immensely luxurious and beautifully preserved Imperial estate, founded in 1710 by Peter the Great on the shore of the Gulf of Finland (Baltic Sea). It combines several ornate palaces, a number of beautifully landscaped parks and a dazzling array of magnificent statues and fountains, lending it the epithet "The Russian Versailles".

The focal point of both the Lower Park and the Upper Garden is the magnificent Grand Palace (Bolshoi Dvorets) with the Grand Cascade (Bolshoi Kaskad ) in front of it. The original palace was built for Peter the Great between 1714 and 1725 and was later remodeled by the Baroque architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli, the architect of the Winter Palace in the center of St. Petersburg. Despite all the damage done to the Grand Palace during WWII, its interiors were meticulously restored to their former glory and are truly breathtaking.

The Cruiser "Aurora"

The historical ship Aurora has been turned into a museum and is docked just a few hundred yards upstream from the Cabin of Peter the Great, opposite the "St Petersburg" Hotel. The cruiser, built in St. Petersburg between 1897 and 1900, took an active part in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05 and participated in the Tsusima battle, in which most of Russias Pacific fleet was destroyed. After the war the ship was used for personnel training and during the October revolution of 1917 gave the signal (by firing a blank shot) to storm of the Winter Palace, which was being used as a residence by the democratic, but largely ineffective Provisional Government.

During World War II and the 900-day Siege of Leningrad the guns of the ship were taken down and used on the front line of the citys defenses. After the war the ship was carefully restored and used as a free museum and training ship for cadets from the nearby Nakhimov Navy School.