Many tourists both from the CIS and from foreign countries flock to St. Petersburg annually . Excursions in this city will allow you to plunge into the history of both tsarist and modern Russia. One of the most interesting places here is Hare Island, which is the historical heart of St. Petersburg. Here is the Peter and Paul Fortress, which houses the Grand Duke's Tomb, where most of the Russian emperors are buried.
On the whole, Hare Island is more likely to reach an “island” in size, because it is only 750 meters long and 400 meters wide. It is located on the widest section of the Neva River, in the place where it flows into the Gulf of Finland. At one time, the Swedes called this site Fun Island, because they liked to spend festivities and holidays here. After some time, the island began to be called "Devil", since during the flood all the people on it died. The island became hare with the light hand of Peter I. According to legend, the builders who erected St. Petersburg worked very slowly. The king was angry and arrived on the island to severely punish negligent workers. But at the moment when Peter the Great was getting out of the boat, a hare suddenly jumped on his boot. This amused the Tsar very much and led to a good mood, thanks to which he abolished all punishments and named the island Zayachim. By the way, not far from it, on one of the pillars of St. John’s Bridge , a small monument was recently erected for the “bunny who escaped from the flood”, whose height is only 58 cm. Tourists visiting Zayachiy Island throw a coin at the monument to return here again.
Located on the island of Peter and Paul Fortress was founded in 1703. According to legend, it was at this place that Peter I laid down two cut layers of earth cross-wise and proclaimed: “The city is here!” Legend also says that at that moment an eagle descended from heaven, which the king put on his hand and with it entered the city that did not exist then. True, ornithologists very much doubt the truth of this version, claiming that eagles have never lived in this area. But the legend says that the eagle lived in the new city for a long time and even received the honorary status of its commandant.
Thus, the first building of the new city was a fortress, which was designed to protect Russian lands from the Swedes. It is an irregular hexagon with bastions in the corners and was developed personally by Peter the Great. At first the fortress was wooden, but after three years the tree was everywhere replaced by a brick. In 1731, a tower was erected here, on which they raised at dawn, and with the sunset lowered the Russian flag. This tradition continued until the proclamation of Soviet power. Now a flag is also waving over the fortress, but it is no longer lowered. Another interesting old tradition that has come down to our times is a shot from a cannon from the Naryshkinsky bastion, which is fired at exactly noon. Many tourists try not to miss the opportunity to arrive on Hare Island by noon to hear a shot. By the way, the gun shoots very loudly, and from the roar you can lose your hearing for a couple of minutes.
The island will be interesting not only for adults. Here, special tours are organized for children, where they are introduced in a playful way to the history and culture of the city.