Sights of St PetersburgThis Central Islands section covers sights on the group islands which are located south of the River Neva and within the boundary formed by the River Fontanka. Most of the best sights here are located around Dvortsovskaya Ploschad and Issakievskaya Ploschad on 2-ya Admiralteysky (2nd Admirality) Island and around Nevsky Prospekt which runs across 2-ya Admiralteysky (2nd Admirality), Kazansky (Kazan) Island and Spassky (Saviour) Island onto the mainland. Another relatively large island included in this grouping is Kolomensky Island which is situated to the west of Kazansky Island. The area is served by the Admiralteyskaya (line 5), Nevsky Prospekt (line 2), Gostiny Dvor (line 3) and Sennaya Ploschad (lines 2, 4 and 5) metro stations. Construction of Teatralanaya (line 4) metro station in the west of Kazansky Island is also underway but not expected to be completed until 2018.
Sights in Central Islands
On 1-y Admiralteysky Island
Emperor Alexander III Monument
- outside 5 Ulitsa Millionnaya
- Nevsky Prospekt
Just outside the Marble Palace is a celebrated monument to Emperor Alexander III. The statue originally bore the inscription "To Emperor Alexander III - the majestic founder of the great Siberian route" and was unveiled in 1909 outside Moskovsky Railway Station. It was commissioned by Alexander III's son, the last tsar Nicholas II, and is the work of Italian sculptor Paolo Troubetzkoy. The statue was not initially universally appreciated, with some family members considering… Read more »
Field of Mars
- Naberezhnaya Peki Moikoi
- Gostiny Dvor
The Field of Mars started its life as a meadow in the centre of St Petersburg. However the open space was also used for military drills and this became more common during the reign of Emperor Paul who had his official residence in the nearby St Michael's Castle. In 1799 an obelisk was erected in the centre of the park in honour of the 18th century Russian general and governor of Ukraine Pyotr Rumyantsev. This was followed by a statue of the great military leader Aleksandr… Read more »
Marble Palace (Russian Museum Branch)
- 5 Ulitsa Millionnaya
- Nevsky Prospekt
- http://www.rusmuseum.ru/
- 10:00 - 18:00 (Thursdays: 13:00 - 21:00). Closed on Tuesdays.
The Marble Palace was built between 1768 and 1785 on the order of Catherine the Great for one of her favourites - Count Grigory Orlov, who played an integral part in the conspiracy against Emperor Peter III which brought Catherine to the throne. The palace gets its name from the fact that it features a variety of marble in its design, both inside and out - 32 different types in total. The architect behind the palace was Antonio Rinaldi and there is a marble relief portrait of… Read more »
Summer Gardens (Summer Palace of Peter the Great)
- Naberezhnaya Peki Moikoi
- Gostiny Dvor
- Summer: 10:00 - 21:00. Winter: 10:00 - 19:30, closed on Tuesdays.
St Petersburg's Summer Gardens are located between the Fontanka Canal and the Lebyazhya moat. It was founded in 1704 by Peter the Great himself. Marble statues and rare plants were especially imported for the gardens and many remain in place today. Over the years even more statues have been added including of the fabulist Ivan Krylov in 1855. Summer Palace of Peter the Great In the north-east corner of the park is a small building with was built between 1710 and 1712 by… Read more »
On 2-y Admiralteysky Island
Admiralty
- 1 Admiralteysky Proezd
- Admiralteyskaya
Standing at meeting point of Nevsky Prospekt, Ulitsa Gorokhovaya and Voznesensky Prospekt is the Admiralty which serves as the headquarters of the Russian Navy. Construction of the original admiralty was first started in 1704 according to plans drawn up by Peter the Great himself. The current version is the building was built between 1806 and 1823 in the empire style. Its most famous feature is the central tower topped by a spire, which has become a symbol of the city. … Read more »
Aleksandr Popov Central Museum of Communications
- 7 Ulitsa Pochtamtskaya
- Admiralteyskaya
- http://www.rustelecom-museum.ru/
- 10:30 - 18:00. Closed on Mondays, Sundays and the last Thursday of the month.
The Aleksandr Popov Central Museum of Communications was opened in 1872 and is one the oldest scientific and technical museums in the world. The museum is housed in an 18th century palace built for statesman Prince Aleksandr Bezborodov. It was named in honour of Aleksandr Popov, one of the scientists credited with the invention of the radio in 1945. The museum has several halls dedicated to the history of the development of the postal service, telegraphy, radio, television and… Read more »
Aleksandrovsky Gardens
- Admiralteysky Prospekt
- Admiralteyskaya
The park next to the Admiralty building between Dvortsovskaya Ploschad and Senatskaya Ploschad is known as Aleksandrovsky Gardens (Alexander Gardens) after Emperor Alexander II. It was officially opened in 1874. Among its trees there are a fountain, copies of the Farnese Hercules and the Farnese Flora, and busts of the writer Nikolai Gogol, the poets Mikhail Lermontov and Vasily Zhukovsky, the composer Mikhail Glinka, the statesman Aleksandr Gorchakov and the explorer Nikolai… Read more »
Alexander Column
- Dvortsovskaya Ploschad
- Admiralteyskaya
Standing in the very centre of Dvortsovaya Ploschad is the Alexander Column which was raised in honour of the Russian victory over Napoleon and Emperor Alexander, after whom the column is now named. Work on the monument began in 1830 according to a design by French architect Auguste de Montferrand. The column itself consists of a single monolith of red granite which was transported from Finland and lifted into an upright position. At just over 25 metres high and almost 600… Read more »
Carpenter-Tsar Monument
- Admiralteyskaya Naberezhnaya
- Admiralteyskaya
St Petersburg has many monuments to its famous founder and the one on Admiralteyskaya Naberezhnaya outside what was once the Palace of Grand Duke Mikhail Mikhailovich is an interesting one as it depicts Peter the Great busy building a ship. It also has a rather interesting backstory. The original was given to St Petersburg in 1909 on the 200th anniversary of the Russian victory at Poltava by the city of Zaandam. It was in Zaandam that Peter the Great lived for a period of time… Read more »
Central Naval Museum
- 69 Bolshaya Morskaya Ulitsa
- Admiralteyskaya
- www.navalmuseum.ru
- 11:00 - 18:00. Closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.
The Central Naval Museum is one of the largest naval history museums in the world and one of the oldest having been founded as a depository for shipbuilding models and plans in 1709 by Peter the Great. In 1805 this depository became the Naval Museum, which in turn became the Central Naval Museum in 1939. Previously the museum was housed in the former Stock Exchange building on Vasilievsky Island, but in 2011 it moved to its present day location in the Kryukovy Naval Barracks. … Read more »
General Staff Building
- 6-10 Dvortsovaya Ploschad
- Admiralteyskaya
- http://www.hermitagemuseum.org/html_En/
The southern side of Dvortsovskaya Ploschad, opposite to the Winter Palace is the General Staff Building. It was designed by architect Carlo Rossi and built between 1819 and 1829 in the empire style. It consists of two wings attached via a triumphal arch topped with a statue of a chariot. The composition is the work of sculptors Stepan Pimenov and Vasili Demut-Malinovsky and features an embodiment of Glory riding a chariot drawn by six horses with two Roman-era soldiers on… Read more »
Manage Central Exhibition Hall
- 2 Konnogvardeysky Bulvar
- Admiralteyskaya
- http://www.manege.spb.ru/
St Petersburg Manege (riding-school) was built between 1804 and 1807 for the Life Guards Cavalry Regiment. The building was designed in the classical style by Italian architect Giacomo Quarenghi. The main entrance of the manage is decorated with copies of the statues of Castor and Pollux which stand outside Rome's Quirinal Palace, but these were moved at the request of priests from St Isaac's Cathedral who objected to statues of naked pagan gods being located so close to an… Read more »
Nicholas I Monument
- Isaakievskaya Ploschad
- Admiralteyskaya
Standing in front of St Isaac's Cathedral, aligned with the Bronze Horseman Statue of Peter the Great, is another statue of an emperor - Peter's great-great-grandson Emperor Nicholas I who reigned from 1825 to 1855. It was unveiled in 1859 and the monument consists of a six metre statue of the emperor on horseback which is the work of Peter Clodt - a favourite sculptor of Nicholas I whose work also includes the horse tamers on Anichkov Bridge. The pedestal features four reliefs… Read more »
Peter the Great Monument (The Bronze Horseman)
- Senatskaya Ploschad
- Admiralteyskaya
The most famous monument in St Petersburg and one of its most recognisable symbols is the equestrian statue of Peter the Great which in English is known as the Bronze Horseman, although in Russian it is called the Copper Horseman, despite being made of bronze. The statue was immortalised in Pushkin's famous poem of the same name, from where the bronze/copper mix up started – Pushkin thought copper had a better ring to it in Russian. The statue was unveiled in 1782 and… Read more »
Rumyantsev Mansion Museum
- 44 Angliyskaya Naberezhnaya
- Admiralteyskaya
- http://www.spbmuseum.ru
- 11:00 - 18:00. Closed on Wednesdays.
The Rumyantsev Manion was built in the 1730s and 1740s for the Rumyantsev noble family. In 1831 the mansion housed the first privately-owned public museum in Russia, which was later transferred to Moscow and served as the basis of the State Library and the Pushkin Museum of Fine Art. Later the family of the Duke Maximilian of Leuchtenberg, who married into the Romanov family, lived at the house. Today the mansion is used as a branch of the History of St Petersburg Museum. The… Read more »
St Issac's Cathedral
- 4 Isaakievskaya Ploschad
- Admiralteyskaya
- http://cathedral.ru/
St Isaac's Cathedral is located close to the end of Nevsky Prospekt opposite Aleksandrovsky Gardens. St Isaac's is the largest cathedral in the city and took over 40 years to build, between 1818 and 1858. It was built in a neo-classical style incorporating 112 red granite columns, twelve statues of angels and a 101.5 metre tall gold-plated dome. It is dedicated to St Isaac of Dalmatia on whose feast day Peter the Great was born, and the current version of the cathedral is the… Read more »
State Hermitage Museum (Winter Palace)
- 2 Dvortsovaya Ploschad
- Admiralteyskaya
- http://www.hermitagemuseum.org/html_En/
- 10:30 - 18:00 (Wednesday: 10:30 - 21:00). Closed on Mondays, 1 January and 9 May.
- Free admission on the first Thursday of the month.
One of the most enduring symbols of Russia's imperial past is that of the Winter Palace which stands on the banks of the River Neva on Dvortsovaya Ploschad (Palace Square). The palace served as the official residence of the Russian emperors and empresses from 1732 to 1917. The surviving version of the palace is its fourth incarnation and was built between 1754 and 1762 on the orders of Empress Elizabeth, although since then it has been added to and reconstructed many times. … Read more »
State Museum of the History of Religion
- 14/5 Ulitsa Pochtamtskaya
- Admiralteyskaya
- http://gmir.ru/index/
- 10:00 - 18:00 (Tuesdays: 13:00 - 21:00). Closed on Wednesdays.
- Free admission on the first Monday of the month.
The State Museum of the History of Religion was opened in 1932 in the Our Lady of Kazan Cathedral. It was renamed the State Museum of the History of Religion and Atheism in 1954, but returned to its original name after the fall of the Soviet Union. It moved to its present day location in 2000 and the Our Lady of Kazan Cathedral was once again reopened for worship. Today the museum has rich collections of religious artefacts of various faiths and details the religions of the… Read more »
Vladimir Nabokov Museum
- 47 Ulitsa Bolshaya Morskaya
- Admiralteyskaya
- http://nabokov.museums.spbu.ru/En/index.htm
- 11:00 - 18:00 (Weekends: 12:00 - 17:00). Closed on Mondays.
In 1999 the apartment where Vladimir Nabokov was born in 1899 was turned into the Vladimir Nabokov Museum. It was opened on the 100th anniversary of the great Russian writer's birth on the first floor of the house. The dining room, the living room and library have been recreated as to how they would have looked when Nabokov lived there. The museum also has exhibits on Nabokov's life and work. Since 2008 the museum has been part of the Philology and Art Department of the St… Read more »
On Kazansky Island
All-Russian Aleksandr Pushkin Museum
- 12 Naberezhnaya peki Moyka
- Nevsky Prospekt
- http://www.museumpushkin.ru/
- 10:30 - 18:00. Closed on Tuesdays and the last Friday of the month.
The All-Russian Aleksandr Pushkin Museum was founded in 1879 and is the oldest museum dedicated to the greatest of Russian poets. Today it consists of six branches, two of which are located in the grand building of the Volkonsky Estate on the bank of the River Moika where Pushkin once lived. Literary and Monograph Exposition The museum's Literary and Monograph Exposition was founded in 1999 on the 200th anniversary of the birth of Pushkin. It is dedicated to the life and work… Read more »
Mariinsky Palace
- 6 Isaakievskaya Ploschad
- Admiralteyskaya, Nevsky Prospekt
On the western side of Kazansky Island on the bank of the River Moika on the southern side of Isaakievskaya Ploschad is another of St Petersburg's imperial palaces. The Mariinsky Palace was built between 1839 and 1844 making it the newest of the imperial places in St Petersburg. It was built on the orders of Emperor Nicholas I for his daughter Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna upon her marriage and was named in her honour. Later the palace was used to house the State Council of… Read more »
Mariinsky Theatre
- 1 Teatralnaya Ploschad
- Admiralteyskaya, Nevsky Prospekt
- http://www.mariinsky.ru/
St Petersburg's answer to Moscow's Bolshoi Theatre is the Mariinsky Theatre, which is located on the western end of Kazansky Island on Teatralnaya Ploschad (Theatre Square). The ballet and opera theatre was opened in 1860 and saw premiers of the work of Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky and Rimsky-Korsakov. It is named in honour of Empress Maria Aleksandrovna, the wife of Emperor Alexander II, and this imperial link led to it being renamed after the Revolution - for much of the Soviet era… Read more »
Nikolai Gogol Monument
- Ulitsa Malaya Konyushennaya
- Nevsky Prospekt
The small boulevard between Ulitsa Bolshaya Konyushennaya and Naberezhnaya kanala Griboedova is known as Ulitsa Malaya Konyushennaya and features several monuments, the most famous of which is the Nikolai Gogol monument. The famous Russian/Ukrainian author is closely associated with St Petersburg as he lived and worked here and wrote a cycle of short stories set in St Petersburg which often focused on the then capital's corruption, class system and bureaucracy. The statue was… Read more »
Our Lady of Kazan Cathedral
- 2 Kazanskaya Ploschad
- Nevsky Prospekt
- http://kazansky-spb.ru/
St Petersburg's Our Lady of Kazan Cathedral is one of the city's most famous landmarks with its instantly recognisable semi-circular colonnade with 96 columns. Construction of the cathedral began in 1801 according to a plan by architect Andrey Voronikhin, which was rather controversial at the time as it was influenced by St Peter's Basilica in Rome - a Catholic cathedral. Previous to this the Nativity of the Virgin Mary Church stood here which was built between 1733 and 1737 and… Read more »
Printing Museum
- 32 Naberezhnaya Peki Moika
- Nevsky Prospekt
- http://www.spbmuseum.ru/
- 11:00 - 18:00 (Tuesdays until 17:00). Closed on Wednesdays.
The Museum of Printing was originally opened in 1984 as a museum dedicated to Lenin and the Pravda newspaper, which was printed in this building. In 1991 its remit was widened to include printing in general. It now has permanent exhibitions on publishers and typography in the beginning of the 20th century and on the history of printing in St Petersburg in the 18th century. It also has exhibits on the tenement house where the museum is located and on the musical salons which were… Read more »
Ss Peter and Paul's Lutheran Church
- 22-24Б Nevsky Prospekt
- Nevsky Prospekt
- http://www.petrikirche.ru/
Ss Peter and Paul's Lutheran Church is also often called the Petrikirche from the German, as the church was built for St Petersburg's German Lutheran community. The first such church was built in 1728 after Peter the Great donated land for such purposes in 1727. This was later replaced in stone in 1747. However the current version was built between 1933 and 1838 according to a plan by Aleksandr Bryullov which featured a large portal and two towers. It was closed during the… Read more »
St Catherine's Lutheran Church
- 1-3Б Ulitsa Malaya Konyushennaya
- Nevsky Prospekt
- http://www.svenskaforeningen.spb.ru/Katarinakyrkan.html/ (in Swedish)
St Catherine's Lutheran Church is the third Lutheran church to be located in this area and this one is used by the Swedish community. Originally St Petersburg's large Swedish Lutheran community shared the use of St Mary's Lutheran Church with the Finnish community. The community split in the mid-19th century and the Swedish part built their own church nearby in 1767. Like many other non-Orthodox Churches in St Petersburg, it was dedicated to St Catherine in honour of Catherine… Read more »
St Mary's Lutheran Church
- 8A Ulitsa Bolshaya Konyushennaya
- Nevsky Prospekt
- http://www.elci.ru/
Behind Ss Peter and Paul's Lutheran Church just up Ulitsa Bolshaya Konyushennaya is another Lutheran church - this time one which was built for St Petersburg’s Finnish Lutheran community. The first Finnish Lutheran church was founded here in 1734 when Empress Anna granted land to the Swedish and Finnish community. In gratitude the church was dedicated to St Anna. Later, when the Swedish and Finnish Lutheran community divided, the church remained with the Finnish community, who… Read more »
St Nicholas' Naval Cathedral
- 1 Nikolskaya Ploschad
- Admiralteyskaya, Nevsky Prospekt
- http://nikolskiysobor.ru/
In the very south-west corner of Kazansky Island stands the impressive St Nicholas' Naval Cathedral - so named as it was built to serve as the main shrine for the Russian navy. It was constructed between 1753 and 1762 in the distinctive Elizabethan baroque style with five domes. During the Soviet period it was never closed and served as an eparchial cathedral from 1941 and 1999. Read more »
State Literary Museum of the 20th Century (Mikhail Zoschenko House-Museum)
- 4/2 Ulitsa Malaya Konyushennaya
- Nevsky Prospekt
- http://www.litmuseum.spb.ru/
- 10:30 - 18:30. Closed on Mondays and the last Wednesday of the month.
The State Literary Museum of the 20th Century was founded as the Mikhail Zoschenko House-Museum in 1988 in the home where the Soviet author lived from 1954 until his death in 1958. Unlike many house-museums the interiors of the two rooms of the Zoschenko House-Museum have been completely preserved. In 2007 the remit of the museum was widened to include 20th century literature in general, especially of the 1920s and 1930s. Read more »
Stroganov Palace (Russian Museum Branch)
- 17 Nevsky Prospekt
- Nevsky Prospekt
- http://www.rusmuseum.ru/
- 10:00 - 18:00 (Thursdays: 13:00 - 21:00). Closed on Tuesdays.
The palace standing on the intersection of the Moika and Nevsky Prospekt is known as the Stroganov Palace as it was built for the rich and successful Stroganov dynasty of merchants who financed Russia's conquest of Siberia. The Stroganovs had owned this piece of land since the 1720s but the current version of the palace was built for Count Sergei Stroganov between 1753 and 1754 according to designs by architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli. The palace remained in the hands of the… Read more »
Yusupov Palace on the Moika
- 94 Naberezhnaya peki Moiki
- Admiralteyskaya, Nevsky Prospekt
- http://www.yusupov-palace.ru/
The Yusupovs were one of imperial Russia's richest and most well known noble families and therefore they had several palaces all over Russia including two in St Petersburg. The Yusupov Palace on the Moika was built in the 1770s and is the most famous of their St Petersburg palaces due to its link with the infamous Rasputin. It was in the basement of the Yusupov Palace on the Moika that Feliks Yusupov, the most famous of the Yusupovs who had married into the Russian imperial… Read more »
On Kolomensky Island
Aleksandr Blok Apartment-Museum
- 57 Ulitsa Dekabristov
- Sennaya Ploschad
- http://www.spbmuseum.ru/
- 11:00 - 18:00 (Tuesdays until 17:00). Closed on Wednesdays.
In 1980 the Aleksandr Blok Apartment-Museum was opened in the apartment where the famous Russian lyrical poet lived from 1912 until his death in 1921. Its opening was part of the 100th anniversary celebrations of Blok's birth. The museum consists of two parts: the memorial part located in Blok's apartment which displays his personal belongings; and the literary exhibition which details the life and work of Blok. Today the apartment-museum is run as a branch of the History of St… Read more »
St Isidor of Yurieva's Church
- 26 Prospekt Rimskogo-Korsakova
- Sennaya Ploschad
On the bank of the Griboedov Canal next to Mogilyov Bridge stands the pretty five-domed St Isidor of Yurieva's Church which was built between 1903 and 1907. It is dedicated to the 15th century saint who was killed in Yurieva by catholics for refusing to convert. Yurieva is now known as Tartu and is located in Estonia and services at the church were also held in Estonian, which explains why the church is also sometimes referred to as the Estonian Church. In 1935 the church was… Read more »
St John's Lutheran Church
- 54 Ulitsa Dekabristov
- Sennaya Ploschad
In 1842 an Estonian Lutheran community was officially formed in St Petersburg and in 1859 work began on building a proper church for this community. The church was completed in 1860 and features a central bell tower over the main portal. However in 1930 the church was closed and the bell tower was demolished and the building was used to hold clubs. It was only returned to the Estonian Lutheran community in 1997 and the church was subsequently restored to its previous appearance… Read more »
St Petersburg Grand Choral Synagogue
- 2 Lermontovsky Prospekt
- Sennaya Ploschad
- http://www.jewishpetersburg.ru/
In 1869 Emperor Alexander II gave permission for St Petersburg's Jewish community to build a grand synagogue in the city. At this period of time the Jewish community only consisted of retired soldiers, academics and top merchants, craftsmen and technicians who were permitted to live outside the Pale of Settlement. The community purchased the land plot in 1879 and construction took place between 1883 and 1893. During the First and Second World Wars the synagogue was used as a… Read more »
On Spassky Island
Aleksandr Pushkin Monument
- Ploschad Iskusstv
- Nevsky Prospekt
St Petersburg main statue of Aleksandr Pushkin stands in the very centre of Ploschad Iskusstv (Arts Square) outside the Russian Museum. The statue of Russia's most beloved poet was unveiled in 1957 on the 150th anniversary of Pushkin's birth. It is the work of sculptor Mikhail Anikushin, who was awarded the Lenin Prize for it. Read more »
Anichkov Bridge and Horse Tamer Statues
- Nevsky Prospekt over the Fontanka
- Gostiny Dvor
Nevsky Prospekt crosses the Fontanka over the Anichkov Bridge which is named in honour of its chief engineer - Mikhail Anichkov. Despite various mentions of it in Russian literature, it would be relatively unremarkable if it was not for the four statues on each corner collectively known as the Horse Tamers. Each bronze statue depicts a wild horse being tamed by a youth and are the work of Peter Clodt von Jürgensburg. The first two bronze statues were unveiled in 1841 on the… Read more »
Anichkov Palace
- 39 Nevsky Prospekt
- Gostiny Dvor
- http://www.anichkov.ru/
The Anichkov Palace is a former imperial palace which is named after the nearby Anichkov Bridge. It was designed by Bartolomeo Rastrelli for Empress Elizabeth and built between 1741 and 1753. Back then the palace's location was considered the outskirts of the city. Elizabeth gave the palace to her favourite Aleksey Razumovsky. Catherine the Great bought it back and then gave it to her own favourite Grigori Potyomkin. In the late 1700s the place was given a classical makeover… Read more »
Chizhi-Pizhi Monument
- by Pervaya Inzhenerny Bridge
- Gostiny Dvor
A few metres away from St Michael's Castle, close to Pervaya Inzhenerny (First Engineer) Bridge, is St Petersburg's smallest monument. It is just 11 centimetres high and stands on a tiny plinth on the embankment of the Fontanka, just a few centimetres above the waterline. It depicts the bird Chizhik-Pyzhik from a Russian nursery rhyme, who is said to have had one too many vodkas on the Fontanka. The bronze statue has been stolen several times since it was first unveiled in 2003… Read more »
Empress Catherine the Great Monument
- Yekaterinsky Skver, Ploschad Ostrovskogo
- Gostiny Dvor
Standing in front of the Aleksandrinsky Theatre is a famous statue of Empress Catherine the Great which was unveiled in 1873. The monument depicts the empress standing on a pedestal and at the base of the pedestal there are statues of important figures during Catherine's reign - Pyotr Rumyantsev-Zadunaisky, Grigory Potyomkin, Aleksandr Suvorov, Aleksandr Bezborodko, Ivan Betskoy, Vasili Chichagov, Aleksey Orlov-Chesmensky, Gavriil Derzhavin and Ekaterina Dashkova. It is the work of… Read more »
Grand Trading Rows
- 35 Nevsky Prospekt
- Gostiny Dvor, Nevsky Prospekt
- http://www.bgd.ru/
St Petersburg's famous Grand Trading Rows were established by Empress Elizabeth but the current building was built between 1761 and 1785 in the classical style according to a plan developed by architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli. During the Second World War the building was damaged in bombing raids, but immediately restored after the end of the war. Today the Grand Trading Rows are still used for their original purpose, as a department store - St Petersburg equivalent of Moscow's GUM… Read more »
Isaak Brodsky Apartment-Museum
- 3 Ploschad Iskusstv
- Gostiny Dvor
- http://www.nimrah.ru/musbrod/
- 12:00 - 19:00. Closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.
The Isaak Brodsky Apartment-Museum is located in an old classical-style building located on Ploschad Iskusstv (Arts Square). The artist and pupil of Ilya Repin lived here for the last 15 years of his life from 1924 to 1939 and it was turned into a museum in 1949. The main attractions are the apartment's interiors which have been recreated to how they looked when Brodsky lived here, but the museum also holds temporary art exhibitions. The museum is run as a branch of the… Read more »
Ivan Turgenev Monument
- 12A Ulitsa Italyanskoi
- Gostiny Dvor
In the gardens known as Staro-Manezhny Gardens in the corner of Manezhnaya Ploschad you will find a statue of one of Russia's most renowned authors - Ivan Turgenev. The monument was unveiled in 1999 and depicts the Father and Sons author sat down in a chair resting his hand on a walking cane. Read more »
Russian Ethnographical Museum
- 4/1 Ulitsa Inzhenernaya
- Gostiny Dvor, Nevsky Prospekt
- http://eng.ethnomuseum.ru/
- 10:00 - 18:00 (Tuesdays: 10:00 - 21:00). Closed on Mondays and the last Friday of the month.
The Russian Ethnographical Museum is situated in the eastern wing of the Mikhailovsky Palace, which was especially built for this purpose between 1902 and 1913. The museum started its history as the Ethnographical Department of the Russian Museum in 1905 to showcase the cultures of the various people of the Russian Empire, however it was only opened to the general public in 1923. In 1934 the museum became independent of the Russian Museum, being renamed in the State Ethnographical… Read more »
Russian Levsha Miniature Museum
- 35 Ulitsa Italyanskoi
- Gostiny Dvor
- http://www.russian-master.com/
- 11:00 - 19:00. Daily
In 2006 the International Guild of Masters opened the Russian Levsha Miniature Museum which gets its name and inspiration from the short story Levsha by Ivan Turgenev - a statue of whom is located nearby. In the story Levsha is a master craftsman who managed to create miniature masterpieces and this museum displays various items on a miniature scale, such as horse-shoes on a flea and carvings of camels inside the head of a needle. Read more »
Russian Museum
- 4 Ulitsa Inzhenernaya
- Gostiny Dvor, Nevsky Prospekt
- http://www.rusmuseum.ru/
- 10:00 - 18:00 (Thursdays: 13:00 - 21:00). Closed on Tuesdays.
Undoubtedly the Hermitage is the best and most famous gallery in St Petersburg, but a lot of its attraction is actually due to the lavish interiors of the Winter Palace and not just because of the artwork displayed there. However if you have a passion for Russian art then the Russian Museum is the gallery for you as the largest depository of Russian art. The museum was originally established in 1895 by Emperor Nicholas II who named it the Russian Museum of Emperor Alexander III… Read more »
Saviour on the Spilled Blood Cathedral
- 2A Naberezhnaya Kanala Griboedova
- Gostiny Dvor, Nevsky Prospekt
- http://cathedral.ru/
- 10:30 - 18:00. Closed on Wednesdays.
One of St Petersburg's most famous sights and a definite must-see is the stunning Saviour on the Spilled Blood Cathedral. Officially the cathedral is known as the Resurrection of Christ Cathedral but it is more commonly referred to as the Saviour on the Spilled Blood as it stands on the spot where Emperor Alexander II was assassinated in 1881. Construction began in 1883 on the orders of Alexander II's son, Emperor Alexander III, and it was completed in 1907. With its brightly… Read more »
St Catherine's Armenian Church
- 40-42 Nevsky Prospekt
- Nevsky Prospekt
- http://armenian-church.org/
The main Armenian Orthodox Church in St Petersburg is St Catherine's Armenian Church on Nevsky Prospekt. The first Armenian Orthodox community in St Petersburg was organised in 1710 and permission to build a church was first granted by Empress Anna in 1740. But this plan was halted upon Anna's death. Finally new permission was granted by Empress Catherine the Great and the current version of the church was built between 1771 and 1776. It was dedicated to St Catherine in honour… Read more »
St Catherine's Catholic Church
- 32-34 Nevsky Prospekt
- Nevsky Prospekt
- www.catherine.spb.ru
The history of the St Petersburg's Roman Catholic community goes back to 1705 when Peter the Great gave permission for the construction of a catholic church which was completed in 1710. Plans to then build a bigger church were approved by Empress Anna in 1738, but this was later abandoned in 1751. It was only under Catherine the Great that construction work began again and the new church was consecrated in 1783. Like other churches of various faiths in the city, it was dedicated… Read more »
St Michael's (Engineer's) Castle
- 2 Sadovaya Ulita
- Gostiny Dvor, Nevsky Prospekt
- http://www.rusmuseum.ru/
- 10:00 - 18:00 (Thursdays: 13:00 - 21:00). Closed on Tuesdays.
St Michael's (Mikhailovsky) Castle was founded by Emperor Paul as a new imperial residence, replacing the wooden summer palace of Empress Elizabeth which once stood nearby. It was named by Paul in honour of Archangel Michael, who was considered the patron saint of the Romanovs. It was constructed between 1797 and 1801 and involved the architects Vincenzo Brenna and Vasili Bazhenov, with each façade having a different appearance and architectural style. Paul decided to build… Read more »
Theatrical and Musical Arts Museum
- 2A Ulitsa Zodchego Rossi (entrance from Ploschad Ostrovskogo)
- Gostiny Dvor
- http://www.theatremuseum.ru/
- 11:00 - 19:00 (Wednesdays: 13:00 - 21:00). Closed on Tuesdays and the last Friday of the month.
The Theatrical and Musical Arts Museum is housed in the Aleksandrovsky Theatre and is dedicated to the history of Russian theatre. Each of its six halls are dedicated to separate themes: 18th Century, 19th Century, Theatrical Dreams, the Silver Age, Avant-garde Theatre of the 1920s and 1930s, and Soviet Theatre. On display are many props and backgrounds and exhibits on the history of the production of some of the most famous Russian plays. The Theatrical and Musical Arts Museum has… Read more »