Другое : Saint-Petersburg
Saint-Petersburg
Saint-Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is
the second largest city in Russia and one of the most beautiful cities in the
world. It was founded in 1703 by Peter
the Great as the window to Europe. Thousands of workmen were brought from all
parts of Russia to build a new city on the swampy land at the mouth of the Neva
River. Peter the Great was in a hurry. The work was fast and hard, and workmen
dropped dead by hundreds. But the work went on.
In 1712 Saint Petersburg, a city of great beauty, with
palaces, cathedrals, churches, government buildings became the capital. Under
later rulers the new capital of the Russia Empire grew rapidly in wealth and
beauty. Architects were brought from Western Europe to lay out the city in
harmonious squares. Buildings were constructed in gray and rose-colored
granite. The Hermitage and the Winter Palace, the homes of the Russian czars,
were equal to any in Europe.
When the First World War began in 1914, the
German-sounding name Saint Petersburg was changed to Petrograd. After the
October Revolution the city was renamed after Vladimir Lenin.
During the Great Patriotic War the city suffered a
great deal. The German armies laid siege to it in 1941, and for the next year
and a half it was cut off fro the rest of the country Daily shelling and air
raids destroyed parts of the city. Thousands of people were killed. Rebuilding
took years.
Now Saint Petersburg is an important industrial,
cultural, and educational center. It is also a large transport center. The
first railroad line connected Saint Petersburg with Tsarskoye Selo. Then the
famous Nicholas Railroad line from Saint Petersburg to Moscow was constructed.
Now there are five railroad stations, two airports, a seaport, two bus
terminals, a sea passenger terminal, and a river passenger terminal.
The population of the city grew fast. At the beginning
of the 20th century it was about one million, by 1941 - it was about two
million people, in the seventies - it was about four million, and it is near
six million people.
Diversity is one of the main features of Saint
Petersburg. A lot of geographical names in the city are russified Finnish, and
some are just translations from the Finnish language, for example: the Neva
River, the Moika, the Karpovka, Okhta, Ulyanka, Ligovsky Prospect, Kalinkin
Bridge, Zayachy Island and many others. Saint Petersburg now, as in the past,
is the city of many nations and religions. Some of the streets still keep the
names of ethnical communities, which were there, for instance: Italianskaya
Street, Grechesky Prospect, Shvedsky Pereulok, Angliysky Prospect and
Anliyskaya Embankment, and others.
In the city there are a lot of churches and temples
representing different religions groups: Othodox, Roman Catholic, Lutheran
Churches, Moslem Mosques, Synagogues and a Buddhist Temple as well.
Saint Petersburg is a wonderful city: at every turn
there is something to catch your eye. There are spacious squares and circles
and the streets are wide and straight. Palace Square, Senate Square, St.
Isaac`s Square, Trinrty Square and Arts Square - they all are historical
places, shaped with famous buildings and have striking monuments. Alexander
Column, the highest structure of this kind in the world, raises on Palace
Square. Peter the Great Monument, better known as the Bronze Horseman, is on
Senate Square. Nicholas 1 Monument, which is considered a masterpiece of
engineering art, stands on St. Isaac`s Square. Pushkin Monument is in the
center of Arts Square. The Field of Mars, with the area of twelve hectares, is
the biggest square in Saint Petersburg. The main street of the city is Nevsky
Prospect. It runs from the Admiralty to the Alexander Nevsky Monastery and
lines famous buildings, luxurious hotels and fashionable stores. Sadovaya
Street got its name from a lot of gardens once facing the street. Moskovsky
Prospect is the longest street in the city and Architect Rossy Street is the
shortest one. It was in Saint Petersburg that the tradition to number streets
appeared. One still can find 5th Line or 27th Line on Vasilyevsky Island. Line
is one side of the street.
The city is called Northern Venice because there are
65 rivers, arms and canals there with artistically decorated bridges. Eight
bridges across the Neva River open every night in summer giving together with
the unset sun and magnificent buildings a picturesque view. At four ends of
Anichkov Bridge over the Fontanka River along Nevsky Prospect are four
sculptural groups comprising a world-famous composition The Taming of a Horse.
The longest bridge is Alexander Nevsky Bridge across the Neva River. Siny
Bridge over the Moika River is the widest and completes the ensemble of St.
Isaac`s Square.
There are lots of
museums in the city. The Kunstkammer, the first Russian museum, the Peter and
Paul Fortress, the Smolny Cathedral, the Russian Museum, St. Isaac’s Cathedral
and Savior-on-the-Spilt-Blood, the Admiralty and the Winter Palace, and many
others, attract thousands of tourists from all over the world. Saint
Petersburg’s many museums house some of the world’s most famous art
collections. The Hermitage, for example, contains the richest collection of
pictures and pieces of applied art in the world.
There are lots of
theaters to suit all tastes. One can hear an opera or watch a ballet in the
Mariinsky Theater or the Maly Opera House. Theatergoers can enjoy the dramatic
art in the Tovstonogov Bolshoi Drama Theater or in the Alexandrinsky Theater.
Chamber and symphony music can be enjoyed in the Shostakovich Philharmonic
Society. And, finally, those who prefer pop singers and rock stars can visit
their shows at concert halls or sport palaces like the SKK or the Ledovy
Palace. Two circuses are at people’s disposal as well.
Saint Petersburg is
also famous for its legendary white nights. Different festivals take place at
this time. It has also been a tradition
for graduates of all kinds to celebrate their graduation and make marry in the
night city.
People all over the world know that far north in
Russia is the city of Saint Petersburg. Many of those who once visited the city
liked it and want to be there again.
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