St. Petersburg (formerly Leningrad) is a unique and extraordinary city on a global scale. It lies at the mouth of the Neva River, at the Gulf of Finland. There are currently about 5 million inhabitants. It is considered the second capital of Russia. It is an important economic center, scientific and cultural center. This city is rich in many attractions. And the main "artery" of St. Petersburg, which emerged during the time of Peter the Great, is Nevsky Prospect.
What is it?
This is a symbol of the city, and it is located in its very center. The length of Nevsky Prospect in St. Petersburg is 4.5 km, it starts from the Admiralty and the Winter Palace, and ends at the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. The street initially served as a route to Novgorod.
Over time, churches, palaces, cafes and theaters arose here. Today it serves as the central city street. This is the place of luxury shops, expensive hotels and restaurants, but also extremely attractive attractions such as the Admiralty, Kazan Cathedral, Gostiny Dvor, the Hermitage, Vorontsov Palace, Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, a monument to Catherine II and many others. The question is, how long is Nevsky Prospect, many people ask. And the thing is that this street is undoubtedly such a part of St. Petersburg that is firmly inscribed in the history and culture of the city, so a walk along it is an obligatory route for tourists who come here.
History
The city was founded by Peter I at the beginning of the 18th century, hence the name that it originally had, that is, Petrograd. Its location on the Baltic Sea coast has greatly facilitated its development. Here were fortified cities, which were a defensive bastion in front of the Swedes. The construction of the entire city lasted only 9 years, and immediately after that it became the capital of Russia.
This title allowed the creation of a center for the development of science and culture, and gave rise to the emergence of new institutions and universities, such as the Maritime Academy, the School of Engineering, the Academy of Sciences or the Mining Institute. The period after World War II was not the best for him. During the siege of Leningrad, about a million inhabitants died here from starvation in 900 days. Since then, the city has been restored, and along the entire length of Nevsky Prospekt in St. Petersburg, life began to boil again.
sights
The whole city is cut through by canals, thanks to which St. Petersburg is famous and considered to be Russian Venice. If you are going to explore its sights, walk along the entire length of Nevsky Prospekt from Uprising Square. The chain of attractions originates from the Admiralty building and stretches for 4.5 km to the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, from which, as it is believed, the avenue took its name. Many magnificent buildings are concentrated on the site to the Gostiny Dvor. And in his area there are most of the best shops.
Kazan Cathedral
Moving along the entire length of Nevsky Prospect, it is impossible to miss this magnificent building. Kazan Cathedral - a building with 96 Corinthian columns that are lined up in four rows. They create a wide arc towards the avenue. This Orthodox church is dedicated to the Kazan icon of the Mother of God. It is built in neoclassical style.
Walking along the entire length of Nevsky Prospekt in St. Petersburg, you should pay attention to the opposite side of the street (the intersection of the avenue and the Griboedov Canal). There is the house of the Singer company. This is the former headquarters of this company, built in 1902-1904. The building features a characteristic glass ball. Currently, it houses the Book House.
Savior on Spilled Blood
Be sure to see the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood, located on the Griboedov Canal. This is a decoration that is always noticed by everyone who moves along the entire length of Nevsky Prospekt in St. Petersburg.
The church arose on the site where Tsar Alexander II was killed on March 1, 1881. The total area of the temple is 1642 m 2 , height - 81 meters. The temple is crowned with 5 domes. The interior is decorated with beautiful mosaics created by 30 outstanding artists of the then Russia. The facades of the church are decorated with 144 mosaic compositions symbolizing individual provinces (former provinces) in Tsarist Russia.
Church of St. Catherine
Church of St. Catherine (Nevsky Prospect, 32-34) was built in 1763-1783. Moving along the entire length of Nevsky Prospekt in St. Petersburg, she is noticed by the characteristic features of the Baroque and Classicism styles. The coffin with the remains of King Stanislav Augustus Poniatowski rested in the crypt of this church. Only in 1989, an urn with the remains of the last Polish king was transferred to Warsaw.
In 1938, the church was closed, and its property was destroyed or looted. Then the church was turned into a warehouse, which burned down in 1947. Reconstruction was started in 1977, but the church burned down again in 1984. Only in 1991 the parish of St. Catherine was again registered.
Gostiny Dvor
Initially, there was a stable, and from the middle of the XVIII century this characteristic building with arcades became the largest market in St. Petersburg. There are more than 300 stores where you can buy everything: clothing, cosmetics, souvenirs, and sweets. The yellow building has the shape of an irregular quadrangle. The total length of the facade of the building is almost 1 km.
At Anichkova bridge on Nevsky Prospekt, the length (in km) is 0.25. It was built in 1826. The bridge is one of the most recognizable bridges in the city thanks to four cast-iron griffins that are located on both sides of it.
Eliseev's shop and other attractions
Eliseev’s store is a stately Art Nouveau building. The house was designed in 1903-1907. The store was founded by brothers, the descendants of the once poor peasant who made a fortune in the wine and chocolate trade. The facade is decorated with bronze sculptures and large windows, it has fabulous figures depicting merchants. The interior with stained-glass windows, marble decoration and crystal chandeliers make a great impression.
This is one of the most remarkable buildings that a person sees throughout the entire length of Nevsky Prospekt in St. Petersburg. Nearby is the Zenith store - football fans know what it is about.
In this area you can see the Russian Museum, which is located in the Mikhailovsky Palace. The museum has one of the largest collections of Russian art in the world. In front of him is a monument to Pushkin in the square of Arts.
In turn, on the Ostrovsky Square is the Alexandria Theater, built in the style of classicism. A large loggia with six Corinthian columns, almost the entire facade is crowned with a bronze sculpture depicting Apollo in a chariot.
In the square in front of the theater is a monument to Catherine the Great. It was opened in 1873. Catherine is depicted surrounded by statesmen and other prominent personalities.
In St. Petersburg, "all roads lead to Nevsky Prospekt." You can choose a walk along the tracks of Raskolnikov, and then it becomes clear that this is the main "artery" of St. Petersburg. Nevsky Prospekt is magnificent buildings with pastel-colored domes, made in accordance with the wishes of Peter I, rich hotels, restaurants.
The most important baroque monument of St. Petersburg is the Winter Palace, located on the banks of the Neva. Palace Square is the central point of St. Petersburg. It’s best to also move along Nevsky Prospect. It is noteworthy that the signs of the times of World War II remained on the houses of this street.
Germany bombarded the central streets, so the buildings still have signs on which side of the street they should have escaped from shelling. It was they who were able to save the lives of residents in those days.
Nevsky Prospect suffered from shelling very much and often, and there were many similar terrifying traces of the past era on the buildings erected on it. It is not difficult to find them, these are the inscriptions "When shelling, this side of the street is the most dangerous." Subsequently, they became another symbol of one of the most beautiful cities of the Russian Federation.
If you are going to take a walk along Nevsky Prospect, you should definitely do it at least once at night.