Idea # 89 – Visiting Saint Petersburg
Санкт-Петербург was the capital of Russia, from 1712 till 1917. It was founded in 1703 by czar Peter the Great, in a region competed for a long time in the kingdom of Sweden. It is the second city the most populated with Russia, behind Moscow, with more than 5 million inhabitants, and the first one of Russia, in term of surface. By its resolutely modern town planning and its esthetics of foreign origin, the new city had to allow Russia ” to open a window on Europe ” and to contribute, according to the wish of the czar, to raise Russia to the rank of the European major powers. Of its foundation till the beginning of the XXth century, Saint-Petersburg was the main intellectual, scientific and political center of the country. In the XIXth century, the city becomes the main commercial and military harbor of Russia as well as the second industrial area of the country, after Moscow. In 1917, the Russian Revolution bursts there. The city knows afterward certain decline. At the beginning of 1920s, following the transfer of the capital in Moscow and the civil war, the figure of the population collapses; this one finds the level of before 1914 only on the eve of the Second World War. The seat of about three years during this conflict decimates again its population. Fallen unless a million inhabitants at the end of the war, the city repopulates thanks to nationals’ arrival of the other regions. It presents a unique, homogeneous architectural ensemble, in styles baroque Italian and neo-classic, cut by canals, communicating with the Neva and allowing to reach the Baltic Sea. Old naval building sites, including the numerous churches and the cathedrals, through palaces and mansions, you will meet a city always in party. Perfect for an escapade from 3 to 4 days!
Some Pictures
Where is it ?
Saint Petersburg, Russia.
Larger Map
