Saint Petersburg

Saint-Petersburg was founded in 1703 by the Russian king, Peter the Great on the mouth of Neva river where it enters the Baltic sea. The building of this well fortified city on the north border of Russia was a very important strategic decision as it made the region very strong. Inside the city Peter constructed a fortress as well as many forts in different parts of the city.

In 1712 the capital of the Russian Empire was moved from Moscow to Saint-Petersburg. This event led to the building of many beautiful palaces: Zimny (Winter) palace, Petergof (Petrodvorets), Tcarskoe Selo and others.

As a result of the Russian revolution of 1917 Bolshevics got all the power in Russia, and they moved the capital back to Moscow, and Saint Petersburg was renamed Leningrad. Bolshevics were not very interested in the cultural inheritance of the city, so in the USSR era they built mainly factories and residental areas.

During the Second World war Leningrad was under blockade by German armies for 900 days. The immense courage of the inhabitants during this period, when many died led to the city being referred to as 'city of heroes'. The relatavily small amount of actual bombardment helped to save many of historical monuments and beautiful places which are still in their original state.

It was in 1991, after the break-up of the USSR that the city once again reverted to its former name. In our times Saint-Petersburg is considered the culture capital of Russia and one of its most beautiful cities.