The oldest and, perhaps, the most diverse Petrograd side of St. Petersburg is the real center of the city. Although officially the center is considered to be the left bank of the Neva, today life boils more precisely on Petrogradka. There are many attractions, museums, parks, unusual corners and monuments, but the main thing that the area is proud of is one of the best art nouveau buildings in Europe.
The emergence of the settlement
The Petrograd side geographically combines several islands in the Neva Delta. The very first settlement appears on Hare Island, where the Peter and Paul Fortress was laid in 1703. A little later, the first buildings appeared on the Petrograd (then Fomin) island. The first residence of Peter the Great is being built here, around which the center of the future capital is being formed. Senate buildings, customs, a mint, diplomatic missions of foreign countries are being built here, a wooden Trinity Cathedral is being erected.
Gradually, the city on the Petrograd side is expanding, the Academy and the university are being built. Aptekarsky island is also getting accustomed. But the development on both islands is chaotic in nature, reminiscent of medieval cities. In 1721, Peter the Great takes the title of Emperor of Russia on the Petrograd Island. However, already in 1717, Peter transferred the city center to Vasilievsky Island, where he began to build a planned city, with direct streets and squares. Petrogradka is gradually losing its significance, several fires and the pulling of buildings for firewood by the population make the region less and less presentable. In the middle of the 18th century, two main avenues are laid on the site of old buildings, thereby setting a rectangular grid of the new building. However, some of the old, curved streets remained. With the formation of the city center on the left bank, the Petrograd side is desolate, becoming the outskirts of the city.
The heyday of the Petrograd side
At the end of the 19th century, the Petrograd side is experiencing a rebirth. Its lands were looked after by architects building houses for the bourgeoisie, Bohemia and the aristocracy. This area was more environmentally attractive; here it was possible to build new houses with the desired scope. All this led to the fact that Petrogradka quickly became the most fashionable place to live. But it is built up with spectacular houses in a progressive modern style at that time. Numerous apartment buildings, shops, and restaurants are also being built here. The area is becoming respectable, with lots of greenery. Since that time, the Petrograd side has not lost its importance as the most important region of St. Petersburg.
The modern structure of the district
Eighteen administrative districts form St. Petersburg, the Petrograd side is one of the most interesting historical parts of the city. Today, several administrative units are included in the Petrograd district, including the historically formed part, called the St. Petersburg, and then the Petrograd side. It is located on four islands: Petrograd, the largest and most populated, Aptekarsky, Hare and Petrovsky.
Rabbit Island
The Petrograd side is primarily famous for the Peter and Paul Fortress, which was built on Hare Island. It is located in the widest place of the Neva, which is very successful from a strategic point of view. This was the reason for the choice of location for the construction of the fortress. Initially, wooden defensive fortifications were erected here, the mint moved here from Moscow. But the tree quickly began to deteriorate, and Peter decided to build a stone fortress.
Today on the island, in addition to the fortress, you can see a funny monument to the Hare, which once gave the name of this territory. There is also a beautiful park, several interesting museums and a delightful promenade.
Peter-Pavel's Fortress
The Petrograd side is strongly associated with the first fortifications of the city. The Peter and Paul Fortress with its contours almost completely repeats the shape of the island. The French engineer de Guerin created the drawings of the first bastions. In the 30s and 40s of the 18th century, the embankments were dressed in stone according to the design of Trezzini, at the same time a tradition appeared to mark a noon with a cannon shot. In 1713-1733, D. Trezzini erected the Peter and Paul Cathedral on the island, the spire of which is today one of the main symbols of St. Petersburg. The cathedral is made in the new early Baroque style for Russia, it will become a model for the construction of many cathedrals throughout the country. In addition to the cathedral in the fortress, the curfew, the monument to Peter I by M. Shemyakin, the botanical house of Peter are of interest.
Today in the Peter and Paul Fortress you can walk along the walls of the bastion, look at the prison, climb the bell tower and look at the city from a height, go to the Peter and Paul Cathedral to see the imperial tombs.
History of Petrograd Island
The original names of the island: Birch, Fomin, Troitsky, later Petersburg and finally Petrograd. Fomin Island began to be built up in 1703, when Peter the Great settled here to supervise the construction of the Peter and Paul Fortress. To accommodate it, a simple wooden hut was built, which today is called the house of Peter.
The main highways of the island - Bolshoy, Kamennoostrovsky and Maly avenue of the Petrograd side - create a geometric layout of the area, which began to take shape at the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century. The island is rich in attractions: it houses a zoo, a planetarium, the famous cruiser Aurora is moored.
The main development of the island falls on the border of the 19-20th centuries, at which time the main attractions that today make up its fame appear: the Kshesinskaya, Witte mansion , a spectacular cathedral, the summer palace of Peter the Great, Prince Vladimir Cathedral, built by A. Rinaldi and I. Stasov. The Greater Petrograd Side is one of the most striking parts of the city, its foundation is made up of two main avenues.
The first embankment of St. Petersburg, bearing the name of Peter, also contained many interesting buildings, these include the Nakhimov School, built by Dmitriev in 1910 in the style of Peter's Baroque. Nearby, on X-ray street, stands one of the best structures of St. Petersburg in the Art Nouveau style - Chaev's house. When descending to the river, you should also pay attention to the unusual figures of the Chinese lions Shi-Tzu.
Kamennoostrovsky Avenue: history and attractions
Today, the avenue is a busy highway, lined with magnificent buildings. It all began in 1712, when the first miles of this street were laid. Gradually, the avenue is lengthening, expanding and becoming an important transport artery of the city. The starting point of the avenue can be considered Trinity Square, on which once stood one of the first churches of the city. Today there is a new Trinity Chapel. The avenue is surrounded by many gardens and parks, which create such a pleasant atmosphere in this part of the island.
The main road is surrounded by magnificent houses of the early 20th century. The most striking buildings include the so-called "House with towers", built by architect A. Belogrud in the retrospective style. Another pearl is the House of Ida Lidval. It was built at the turn of the 19-20th century by the architect F. Lidval for his mother. The building is a masterpiece in the Art Nouveau style. Historical value is represented by S. Witte's mansion in the style of mature eclecticism. However, almost every house on the avenue has a certain architectural value, they can be considered for hours.
Bolshoy Prospect: buildings and attractions
The large avenue of the Petrograd side is also rich in wonderful buildings. These include Tuchkov Buyan Rinaldi, Alexander Nevsky Chapel, Putilova’s apartment building, or “House with Owls,” a fine example of northern Art Nouveau. Almost every house on the avenue has architectural value. The Big Avenue of the Petrograd Side is a real architectural encyclopedia of the early 20th century, all important trends and many famous architects are presented here.
Apothecary Island
The Petrograd side of Petersburg was inhabited by Peter the Great, he gave a small island to a pharmacy garden (hence the name was born), where medicinal plants were grown. A relatively small island today is mostly given over to the Botanical Garden, where you can see a lot of interesting flora. The island is also interesting because seven bridges connect it to other parts of the city's land. Two large universities, several research institutes are located on the island, here are the St. Petersburg television center, F. Chaliapin's house-museum, the museum of the history of photography, the Church of the Transfiguration, built by the famous architect K. Ton in the Russian-Byzantine style.
Bridges of Petrograd
The Petrograd side of St. Petersburg is connected to other parts of the city by eight bridges: Tuchkov, Birzhev, Yelagin, Ushakovsky, Kantemirovsky, Grenadiersky, Sampsonievsky and Troitsky.
There are also several "internal" bridges: Aptekarsky, Silin, Karpovsky, Baroque, numerous park bridges. Walking on bridges with the study of their architectural and design features can be an exciting pastime.