Oktyabr’skiy Rayon

The State Hermitage Museum(Russian: Государственный Эрмитаж) is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is the second largest art museum in the world by gallery space. It was founded in 1764 when Empress Catherine the Great acquired an impressive collection of paintings from the Berlin merchant Johann Ernst Gotzkowsky. The museum celebrates the anniversary of its founding each year on 7 December, Saint Catherine's Day. It has been open to the public since 1852. The Art Newspa…

The Peter and Paul Fortress is the original citadel of St. Petersburg, Russia, founded by Peter the Great in 1703 and built to Domenico Trezzini's designs from 1706 to 1740 as a star fortress. Between the first half of the 1700s and early 1920s it served as a prison for political criminals. It has been a museum since 1924. Today it has been adapted as the central and most important part of the State Museum of Saint Petersburg History. The museum has gradually become virtually the sole owner of t…

The Winter Palace (Russian: Зимний дворец) is a palace in Saint Petersburg that served as the official residence of the House of Romanov, previous emperors, from 1732 to 1917. The palace and its precincts now house the Hermitage Museum. Situated between Palace Embankment and Palace Square, adjacent to the site of Peter the Great's original Winter Palace, the present and fourth Winter Palace was built and altered almost continuously between the late 1730s and 1837, when it was severely damaged by…

Palace Square (Russian: Дворцо́вая пло́щадь), connecting Nevsky Prospekt with Palace Bridge leading to Vasilievsky Island, is the central city square of St Petersburg and of the former Russian Empire. Many significant events took place there, including the Bloody Sunday massacre and parts of the October Revolution of 1917. Between 1918 and 1944, it was known as Uritsky Square (Russian: площадь Урицкого), in memory of the assassinated leader of the city's Cheka branch, Moisei Uritsky. The earlies…

Saint Alexander Nevsky Lavra or Saint Alexander Nevsky Monastery was founded by Peter I of Russia in 1710 at the eastern end of the Nevsky Prospekt in Saint Petersburg, in the belief that this was the site of the Neva Battle in 1240 when Alexander Nevsky, a prince, defeated the Swedes. But the battle took place about away from that site. "On April 5, 1713, in St. Petersburg, in the presence of Peter I, the wooden Church of the Annunciation was consecrated. This day is considered the official fo…

The St. Petersburg Open (Russian: Открытый Санкт-Петербург) is a professional men's tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It is part of the ATP Tour 250 series of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Tour. The tournament was held annually at the Petersburg Sports and Concert Complex in St. Petersburg, Russia, since 1995. The tournament takes place in mid to late September, following the conclusion of the US Open. The singles competition features 28 male competitors, while the …

Krestovsky Island (Russian: Крестовский остров) is a 3.4 km2 island in Saint Petersburg, Russia, between several tributaries of the Neva: the Srednyaya Nevka, the Malaya Nevka and the Krestovka. The island is served by the Krestovsky Ostrov station of Saint Petersburg Metro. Until recently, the western part of the island was occupied by the Maritime Victory Park, where the international Goodwill Games of sports and athletics competition took place in 1994, which was the first large scale post-So…

The Alexander Nevsky Bridge (Russian: Мост Алекса́ндра Не́вского, Most Aleksandra Nevskogo) in St Petersburg, Russia is named after the legendary Russian military commander and politician Alexander Nevsky. The bridge connects Alexander Nevsky Square and Zanevsky prospect thus linking the southern and the northern parts of the city. Until 2004, when the Big Obukhovsky Bridge was built, the Alexander Nevsky bridge was the longest bridge across the Neva River in Saint Petersburg. Its length is 905…

Smolny Convent or Smolny Convent of the Resurrection (Voskresensky, Russian: Воскресенский новодевичий Смольный монастырь), located on Ploschad Rastrelli (Rastrelli Square), on the left bank of the River Neva in Saint Petersburg, Russia, consists of a cathedral (sobor) and a complex of buildings surrounding it, originally planned as a convent. History This Russian Orthodox convent was built to house Elizabeth, the daughter of Peter the Great. After she was disallowed succession to the throne, sh…

The Field of Mars (Russian: Ма́рсово по́ле) is a large square in the centre of Saint Petersburg. Over its long history it has been alternately a meadow, park, pleasure garden, military parade ground, revolutionary pantheon and public meeting place. The space now covered by the Field of Mars was initially an open area of swampy land between the developments around the Admiralty, and the imperial residence in the Summer Garden. It was drained by the digging of canals in the first half of the eight…

The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation (Russian: Конституционный суд Российской Федерации) is a high court within the judiciary of Russia which is empowered to rule on whether certain laws or presidential decrees are in fact contrary to the Constitution of Russia. Its objective is only to protect the Constitution (in Russian constitutional law this function is known as "constitutional control" or "constitutional supervision") and deal with a few kinds of disputes where it has origina…

Saint Michael's Castle (Russian: Миха́йловский за́мок, Mikhailovsky zamok), also called the Mikhailovsky Castle or the Engineers' Castle (Russian: Инженерный замок, Inzhenerny zamok), is a former royal residence in the historic centre of Saint Petersburg, Russia. Saint Michael's Castle was built as a residence for Emperor Paul I of Russia by architects Vincenzo Brenna and Vasily Bazhenov in 1797–1801. It was named for St Michael the Archangel, patron saint of the royal family. The castle looks d…

Saint Anna German High School (Russian: Главное немецкое училище Святой Анны), usually known as Annenschule (Russian: Анненшуле), was a school in Saint Petersburg, Russia founded in 1736 for children of the German population of the city. In 1918, Annenschule became Soviet work school №11, and later school №203. Its alumni included well known people - ethnologist Nicholai Miklukho-Maklai, jeweler Peter Fabergé, philologist Faddei Zielinski, teacher and physician Peter Lesgaft, poet and Nobel Pri…

The Petrovsky Stadium (Russian: стадион «Петровский») is part of a sports complex that consists of a number of buildings, with the stadium being used mostly for football and sometimes athletics. The Grand Sport Arena of the Petrovsky Sport Complex was the home of Zenit Saint Petersburg until 2017 and Tosno in 2017–2018. The complex also contains another football stadium, Minor Sport Arena (MSA). MSA of Petrovsky, as of 2022, was used by several teams that compete in lower professional leagues: D…

The Bronze Horseman (Russian: Медный всадник, literally "copper horseman") is an equestrian statue of Peter the Great in the Senate Square in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It was opened to the public on 7 (18) August 1782. Commissioned by Catherine the Great, it was created by the French sculptor Étienne Maurice Falconet. The name influenced a 1833 poem of the same name by Alexander Pushkin, which is widely considered one of the most significant works of Russian literature. The statue is now one of …

The Alexander Column (Russian: Алекса́ндровская коло́нна, Aleksandrovskaya kolonna) also known as Alexandrian Column (Russian: Александри́йская коло́нна, Aleksandriyskaya kolonna), is the focal point of Palace Square in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The monument was raised after the Russian victory in the war with Napoleon's France. The column is named for Emperor Alexander I of Russia, who reigned from 1801 to 1825. Column The Alexander Column was designed by the French-born architect Auguste de Mo…

The SM Kirov Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in St. Petersburg, Russia, and was one of the largest stadiums anywhere in the world. The stadium was named after Sergey Kirov. History The stands of the Kirov stadium were located on the slopes of a circular artificial mound in the western part of Krestovsky Island, on the coast of the Gulf of Finland. Construction started in 1932, initial project was designed by architect Aleksandr Nikolsky and his workshop. During the 1930s and 1940s, construct…

The Mariinsky Theatre (Russian: Мариинский театр, also transcribed as Maryinsky or Mariyinsky) is a historic theatre of opera and ballet in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music theatre of late 19th-century Russia, where many of the stage masterpieces of Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, and Rimsky-Korsakov received their premieres. Through most of the Soviet era, it was known as the Kirov Theatre. Today, the Mariinsky Theatre is home to the Mariinsky Ballet, Mariinsky…

Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, abbreviated as SPbPU (also, formerly "Saint Petersburg State Technical University", abbreviated as SPbSTU), is a Russian technical university located in Saint Petersburg. Other former names included Peter the Great Polytechnic Institute and Kalinin Polytechnic Institute. The university houses one of the country's most advanced research labs in hydro–aerodynamics. The university's alumni include Nobel Prize winners, such as Pyotr Kapitsa and …

Smolensky Cemetery () is the oldest continuously operating cemetery in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It occupies a rectangular parcel in the western part of Vasilievsky Island, on the bank of the small Smolenka River, and is divided into the Orthodox, Lutheran, and Armenian sections. Orthodox cemetery The Orthodox cemetery is known to have existed in 1738, but lacked official recognition until 1758. Not only was it far removed from the city center, but it was also damp, necessitating the constructio…

The Chesme Church (Russian: Чесменская церковь; full name Church of Saint John the Baptist at Chesme Palace, also called the Church of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, Russian: це́рковь Рождества́ Иоа́нна Предте́чи при Че́сменском Дворце́), is a small Russian Orthodox church at 12 Lensoveta Street, in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It was built by the Russian court architect Yury Felten in 1780, at the direction of Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia. A memorial church, it was erected adjacen…

The cabin of Peter the Great (Russian: Domik Petra I or Domik Petra Pervogo or Domik Petra Velikogo) is a small wooden house which was the first St Petersburg "palace" of Tsar Peter the Great. The log cabin was constructed in three days in May 1703, by soldiers of the Semyonovskiy Regiment. At that time, the new St. Petersburg was described as "a heap of villages linked together, like some plantation in the West Indies". The date of its construction is now considered to mark the foundation of t…

The Monument to Nicholas I (Russian: Памятник Николаю I) is a bronze equestrian monument of Nicholas I of Russia on St Isaac's Square (in front of Saint Isaac's Cathedral) in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It was created by French sculptor Auguste de Montferrand and unveiled on , the six-meter statue was considered a technical wonder at the time of its creation. It is one of only a few bronze statues with only two support points (the rear hooves of the horse). Overview The Neo-Baroque monument to the…

Mariinsky Palace (), also known as Marie Palace, was the last neoclassical Imperial residence to be constructed in Saint Petersburg. It was built between 1839 and 1844, designed by the court architect Andrei Stackenschneider. It houses the city's Legislative Assembly. Location The palace stands on the south side of Saint Isaac's Square, just across the Blue Bridge from Saint Isaac's Cathedral. The site had been previously owned by Zakhar Chernyshev, and contained his home designed by Jean-Baptis…