The Russian Versailles, Russian Amsterdam and its old citadel - Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments 540
What and Why
As blogged in Saint Petersburg (Санкт-Петербург) | City Centre, the city of Saint Petersburg (Russian: Санкт-Петербург, Sankt-Peterburg) is a city built from scratch with a European model in mind, almost fully conceptualised by Peter I (Пётр I, Pyotr I, né Пётр Романов, Pyotr Romanov) in the early 18th century CE. He travelled extensively to Europe and brought in architectural ideas from Europe, in particular Netherlands (Dutch: Nederland) which is the trend during the time. Ironically Peter I did not manage to recruit as many Dutch architects for his massive project as he would like. Instead most of the architects came from France instead and turned the city more French than it was originally planned, much to Peter I's chagrin as he had explicitly shown dislike to the French and Italian Baroque architecture.
Before the city was founded in 1703 CE, the surrounding area, especially the outskirt was simply wilderness, with more wild animals like wolves than human. However the area is of strategic importance as it is the only major outlet to Northern Europe from the sea, and this has led to constant conflicts between Russia (Россия, Rossiya) and Sweden (Swedish: Sverige).
The city's outer districts are now home to some of Russia's most significant historical and architectural landmarks. These districts reflect the city's imperial past, with grand palaces, sprawling gardens, and important fortifications that played a crucial role in Russian history.
See
Peterhof (Петерго́ф)
Peterhof (Петерго́ф, Petergóf) means 'Peter's court' in Dutch and is Peter I's master blue print of his westernisation plan. The complex, covering slightly more than 6 km², is a series of palaces, gardens and fountains to emulate the Palace of Versailles (French: Château de Versailles) of France. Originally designed as just another of his summer retreats outside the city to celebrate his battle victory over Sweden, with the site chosen strategically to be overlooking the Baltic Sea, he immediately sought to expand it to rival Versailles after his visit to France in 1717 CE to demonstrate triumphalism.
The palace was largely designed by the Italian Domenico Trezzini, while the garden and landscape was handled by the French Jean-Baptiste Le Blond. The overall design inspired and initiated the Petrine Baroque (Петровское барокко, Petrovskoe barokko) architectural style throughout the city since. As a result of the history and resemblance, the complex is nicknamed 'Russian Versailles (Русский Версаль, Russky Versal)'.
The beauty of Peterhof really is the elusive combination of buildings, gardens, fountains and waterways, with all these features in perfect harmony with the surrounding landscape. The dominant natural feature of Peterhof is a 16-m-high bluff lying 100 m from the shore, which was used to demarcate the lower and upper gardens, separated by the imposing grand palace.
While the grand palace does look imposing when seen from the gardens, it is in fact quite narrow and not overly large. It is now a museum of various paintings.
The biggest photospot of Peterhof is definitely the main fountains at the Lower Garden, know as the Grand Cascade (Большой Каскад, Bol'shoy Kaskad). The Grand Cascade was modelled after the demolished Château de Marly.
The most prominent fountain right at the centre is Samson (Самсон) plying open a lion's mouth, modelled after Samson (Hebrew: שִׁמְשׁוֹן, Šīmšōn) from the book of Judges (Hebrew: שופטים, Shoftim). Other than its biblical representation, the fountain is also to symbolise Russia conquering Sweden. The fountain set is definitely one of the most impressive in the world, with 64 sets of fountains around the entire complex. One important technological achievements of note about these fountains is that all of the fountains operate without a single pump, even today. Water is supplied from natural springs and is collected in reservoirs in the Upper Gardens. With sophisticated design of pipings and elevation difference, this creates the necessary water pressure that drives all the fountains, as seen in the above photograph.
The waterway is an actual working canal with proper piers. It is supposed to be used by the monarch to access directly to the Baltic Sea. There are ferries called Peterhof Express (Петергоф Экспресс) connecting Peterhof with various parts of Saint Petersburg.
At the eastern far end of the Lower Garden, one will find a small unpretentious pink mansion known as Monplaisir (Монплезир), 'my pleasure' in French. This is where the entire Peterhof started as a small summer retreat.
Neva (Нева́)
The most important river of Saint Petersburg's numerous waterways, Neva (Нева́) probably derives its name from the same Finnic spelling meaning 'poor peat wetland'. However it played a crucial role in the trade between Scandinavia and mainland Europe, and also gave Alexander Nevsky (Александр Невский), monarch of Kievan Rus' (Киевская Русь), his name.
Inspired by the blogged and beloved Amsterdam, Peter I instructed the urban planners to keep the many estuaries and streams of Neva and constructed around them various canals to navigate around the city. Moreover these canals serve also as a drainage for the peat to flow. During winter these canals freeze and people used to travel around Saint Petersburg using sleighs. The result is that Saint Petersburg does mimick Amsterdam, with many canals running within the city. To best explore this one can take the many tourist cruise boats or water taxis, just like us.
The major landmarks to look for around Neva are the bridges. There are more than 300 bridges around the entire city and some of the most beautiful ones are built around the Neva delta. I shall only list those I have visited and seen during my cruise and city walk:
Alexander Nevsky bridge (Мост Алекса́ндра Не́вского, Most Aleksandra Nevskogo), named after Nevsky, the longest bridge around at 0.9 km;
Bolsheokhtinsky bridge (Большеохтинский мост, Bolsheokhtinsky most), the first permanent bridge to be erected around Neva, the middle section is a draw-bridge;
Trinity bridge (Тро́ицкий мост, Troitskiy most), a French-style ironbridge named after the nearby Peter's Trinity cathedral (Троице-Петровский собор, Troitse-Petrovsky sobor);
Annunciation bridge (Благовещенский мост, Blagoveshchensky most), a bridge that had been renamed thrice;
First Engineer bridge (Первый Инженерный мост, Pervy Inzhenerny most), one of the most decorative around;
First engineer bridge (from internet) Pevchesky bridge (Пе́вческий мост; Pevchesky most), meaning the 'singer's bridge', taking its name from the nearby capella academy, the world-class Saint Petersburg State Academic Capella (Государственная академическая капелла Санкт-Петербурга, Gosudarstvennaâ akademičeskaâ kapella Sankt-Peterburga);
Panteleymonovsky bridge (Пантелеймо́новский мост, Panteleymonovsky most), first chain bridge;
Anichkov bridge (Аничков мост, Anichkov most), famous for its four horse sculptures;
Lomonosov bridge (Мост Ломоносова, Most Lomonosova), featuring turrets;
Egyptian bridge (Египетский мост, Egipetskiy most), ornamented with replicated bronze sphinxes and obelisks, not taken from Egypt (مصر, Miṣr);
Egyptian bridge
Peter and Paul Fortress (Петропавловская Крепость)
The star-shaped citadel of Peter and Paul Fortress (Петропавловская Крепость, Petropavlovskaâ Krepostʹ) in 1703 CE is seen as the building founding of the city. Commissioned by Peter I and designed by Trezzini to honour the saints Peter (Aramaic: כֵּיפָא, Kepha, né שמעון בר יונה (Hebrew), Shimon Bar Yonah) and Paul (Latin: Paulus, né שָׁאוּל (Hebrew), Šā'ûl), the building has a gruesome history, many labourers died during the construction and thousands of political prisoners died inside the fortress when it was serving as a prison before the October Revolution (Октябрьская Революция, Oktâbrʹskaâ Revolûciâ). In fact, the fortress was portrayed by then government as a hellish, torturous place, where thousands of prisoners suffered in filthy overcrowded dungeons amid frequent torture and malnutrition.
It had served as a museum since the early 20th century CE, although regular religious services are also being held.
The main tourist sight of the citadel is definitely the cathedral, as in the picture above. The cathedral is famous for the being the resting place of almost all the Russian emperors and empresses.
The iconostasis (Greek: εἰκονοστάσιον, eíkonostásion) is very different from traditional one we observe in other parts of Russia, as blogged in Vladimir (Владимир). This iconostasis is highly ornated and looks more like an arch or a gate, with the icon paintings more European-style than Orthodox.
The other element of note of the cathedral is its tall belfry cum lightning rod, as shown in the picture above. It is the dominant feature of the cathedral that houses a Flemish carillon, a gift from Belgium (Dutch: België).
Since the time of Peter I, there has a been a midday cannon salute from the fortress to honour the military, and this has continued through the years, except for war times and the revolutions. The gunshot can be heard every day at 12 noon.
In the western side of the island, there is a beach which offers a scenic spot for views of the city skyline.
Aurora (Авро́ра)
Currently a maritime museum, the cruiser Aurora (Авро́ра, Avrora) entered active military service in 1903 CE during the Russo-Japanese War (Русско-японская война, Russko-âponskaâ vojna). The cruiser was built entirely in Saint Petersburg.
Tsarskoe Selo (Ца́рское Село́)
Tsarskoe Selo (Ца́рское Село́), literally means 'Tsar (царь)'s Village' was the former lavish residence of the Russian imperial family and visiting nobility, located 24 km south from Saint Petersburg. It was originally commissioned to be constructed for Tsarina Elizabeth (Елизаве́та, Elizaveta, née Елизаве́та Романова, Elizaveta Romanova) in honour of her mother Catherine I (Екатерина I, Ekaterina I, né Ма́рта Скавро́нская, Marta Skavronskaya). Catherine II (Екатерина II, née Sophie von Anhalt-Zerbst) took over the estate and redesign the original Baroque style to her more neo-classical taste.
The building is renowned for its stunning 300 m long facade, adorned with a profusion of atlantes, columns, pilasters and ornamental framings. Extremely impressive even by Saint Petersburg standard. Unfortunately we did not spend too much time around this landmark.
Buy and Do
Take the Neva river cruise. A very good bird-eye view of Saint Petersburg and further afield.
Eat and Drink
Zakuska (Закуска)
Saint Petersburg cuisine is a unique gastronomic phenomenon which appeared as a syncletism of the blend of two culinary cultures: traditional, rich Russian (Русская кухня, Rosskaya kukhnya) and elegant French cuisine (French: cuisine française) with certain additions from other national cuisine traditions. The resulting cuisine is a reflection of opulence, sophistication and diversity of the city. As a result the city has more fine-dining eateries than Moscow (Москва, Moskva), as blogged in Moscow (Москва) | Kremlin and beyond and is now inscribed as one of UNESCO Creative Cities.
To grab a taste of Saint Petersburg and to appreciate its cuisine, one of the must-tries in Saint Petersburg is definitely the zakuska (закуска), or zakuski (закуски) in plural. The word simply means 'snack' in Russian or one can associate that with hors-d'œuvre in fine-dining. However rather than having as a single small dish, zakuska is often a smorgasbord (Swedish: smörgåsbord) spread of a large variety of dishes, often taken alongside vodka (водка) or other beverages. The tradition of zakuska embodies Russian warm hospitality, social bonding, and impressive culinary artistry.
The tradition of zakuski dates back to the Tsarist era, when grand feasts at the imperial court and noble households featured elaborate appetizer spreads. During the 18th and 19th centuries CE, Peter I's reforms introduced European dining customs, making zakuska a central feature of Saint Petersburg's aristocratic banquets with strong European influences.
Saint Petersburg is known for its warm hospitality, and offering a wide selection of zakuski is an integral part of welcoming guests.
Zakuska can range from simple pickled vegetables to sophisticated delicacies, reflecting both local Russian flavours and European culinary influences. Some of the most popular zakuska in Saint Petersburg include:
herring under a fur coat (сельдь под шубой, sel'd' pod shuboy): a layered salad of herring, beets, potatoes and mayonnaise;
Olivier (Оливье, Olivye): Russian potato salad;
beef tongue with horseradish (язык с хреном, yazyk s khrenom);
picked herring (селёдка, selodka): a staple of zakuska;
Clearly as a city famous for its gastronomy, there is no lack of good restaurants around. We had our serving of zakuska in the institution Palkin (Палкинъ). Honestly we were almost full after finishing the zakuska buffet already. Impressive!
Stay
We stayed in a no-frill Petro Sport Hotel (Петро Спорт Отель, Petro Sport Otel) which is a former sports training centre converted into a hotel. Basic and clean with good sporting facilities. No complaints.
Travel Suggestions and Logistics
As mentioned in our blog in Saint Petersburg (Санкт-Петербург) | City Centre, it is worthwhile to spend four days to a week to explore the entire city. One will find this city very different from the rest of Russia. Travelling within Saint Petersburg is very convenient as public transport is easily available.
References
Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments | UNESCO World Heritage Centre (📹)
Comments
Please share your thoughts and comments about the blog. If you need suggestions to build a travel itinerary, please let me know. More than willing to help. I would also like to build a bespoke-in-depth travel community around UNESCO WHS and ICH.
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