St. Petersburg is one of the most famous Russian cities, located in its northwest, and was previously called Leningrad. St. Petersburg has many tourist and historical attractions that you might be happy to visit.
Russian Museum
The Russian Museum was established in 1895 and houses many pieces of ancient and modern Russian art. Museum The Russian Museum consists of a number of palaces, and includes about 6 thousand old paintings.
Peterhof Palace
It is a group of gardens and palaces, and it was the main residence of Emperor Nicholas I, and architectural improvement work continued throughout the 18th and 19th centuries.
Hermitage Museum
The Hermitage is one of the world’s largest museums, with over 3 million pieces of art, many of which were collected by Princess Catherine II. The museum houses artworks by Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Picasso, and Van Gogh. The museum consists of 5 huge buildings, and it opens its doors daily to visitors, except for Monday.
Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood
One of the most iconic buildings in the city, it gained great fame because it was built on the site where Emperor Alexander II was mortally wounded in March 1881. The church was built between 1883 and 1907. The church contains more than 7,500 square meters of mosaics. The walls and ceilings inside the church are completely covered in intricately detailed mosaics.
St. Isaac’s Cathedral
The largest Russian Orthodox cathedral in the city, and the fourth largest in the world, it is an architectural marvel. The neoclassical exterior expresses the traditional Russian-Byzantine formula. The exterior is decorated with gray and pink stone, and includes a total of 112 red granite columns. The interior is decorated with dozens of paintings.
The battleship Aurora
A protected Russian ship built in 1900, currently preserved as a museum ship in Saint Petersburg. Aurora was one of three ships built in Saint Petersburg for service in the Pacific. All three ships of this class served during the Russo-Japanese War. Aurora survived the Battle of Tsushima and was interned under US protection in the Philippines, eventually returning to the Baltic Fleet.
Smolny Monastery
Smolny Monastery is one of the most beautiful monastic buildings in the world. This Russian Orthodox monastery was built to house Elizabeth, daughter of Peter the Great, after she was prevented from succession to the throne and chose to become a nun. However, her imperial predecessor, Ivan VI, was overthrown during a coup (carried out by the royal guards in 1741). Elizabeth decided not to enter monastic life and accepted the offer of the Russian throne, and work on the monastery continued under her royal patronage.
Political History Museum
A historical and political museum, it houses the artifacts of key players in the revolution such as the belongings of politicians, statesmen, scientists and military leaders, among them the 19th century liberals Sergey Witte, Nicholas II, Lenin, Gorbachev and Yuri Gagarin.
Peter and Paul Fortress
The original St. Petersburg castle founded by Peter the Great in 1703 and designed by Domenico Trezzini from 1706 to 1740 in the shape of a star. In the early 1920s, the Bolshevik government had used the castle as a prison and execution base. Today it is considered the central and most important part of the history of the St. Petersburg State Museum.
Catherine Palace
It was the summer residence of the Russian Tsars, and is considered one of the largest palaces in the vicinity of Saint Petersburg. The palace was built in 1717 as the summer residence of Empress Catherine E. In 1743, Empress Elizabeth ordered the palace to be expanded and beautified. The palace acquired its present form during the reign of Empress Elizabeth.
