In the world, perhaps, there is no such mysterious and legendary city as St. Petersburg. Despite the fact that it is much younger than many capitals with mystical fame, the city still gives rise to new myths and legends. St. Petersburg has existed on the map for a little over three hundred years, but nevertheless, almost every corner in it has its own history, covered in a halo of mystery. Today, even a special category of tourists has formed, coming to the Northern capital not for the sake of spiritual nourishment and sightseeing of local attractions. These travelers crave thrills and seek to learn all the secrets of the city through its myths and legends. Every year more and more tourists visit St. Petersburg, who are attracted to the other side of life in this amazing city, built by the great Russian Tsar.
Sightseeing bus tours: a little about interesting
If you came to St. Petersburg on your own, but want to see as much as possible during your vacation, then take bus excursions. They offer programs for every taste and budget and usually last about three hours. In this way, you will get the opportunity to get acquainted with the city, see its main attractions, plunge into its history and even try to solve its secrets.
In recent years, bus excursions around St. Petersburg have replenished with a special program. It is designed for lovers of everything mysterious and unusual. On such excursions, tourists will be taken to the legendary places of the city and will tell those myths and legends of St. Petersburg that turned it into the most mystical capital of the world.
Usually the program lasts about three to four hours. The cost of such a bus tour of St. Petersburg starts at five hundred rubles per person. But there are more expensive programs, they cost an average of two and a half thousand rubles.
If you refer to the tourist reviews left after a trip to the city on the Neva, then the excursions are more expensive and more interesting and informative. Therefore, those whose goal is to get acquainted with the myths and legends of St. Petersburg, it is possible to advise such programs.
“Horrors of St. Petersburg” and “Secrets of St. Petersburg”: the best project about a mystical city
Sometimes excursions and stories about the legends of the Northern capital are not enough to fully experience its special spirit. Then a unique project will come to the rescue, created a little over ten years ago by several enthusiasts. Over time, it has become a real asset of the city and often receives the most enthusiastic reviews.
In the tour "Myths and Legends of St. Petersburg" the most advanced and creative guides include a visit to this project. And believe me, it becomes the brightest chord of the entire excursion program.
Once the project was called "The Horrors of St. Petersburg", but in honor of its decade it was renamed the "Secrets of St. Petersburg." However, the essence of the action itself has not changed. Many call it a unique mixture of theater, modern technology, history, mysticism and classical literature. This interactive presentation unfolds on six hundred squares divided into ten rooms. Passing them, visitors seem to see lively historical characters talking to the heroes of the works of Pushkin, Gogol and Dostoevsky. In front of the audience, a different life of the city unfolds, in which there is a place for despair, fear, mysticism and human intrigue. Often visitors themselves become part of the performance, which enhances the effect of the action.
Ten rooms tell ten legends about the city. Tourists will learn about the Queen of Spades, escaped Nose, the last days of the mysterious Rasputin and many other interesting facts.
The show starts every fifteen minutes, the ticket price slightly exceeds one thousand rubles. On the project website you can purchase tickets at a significant discount.
Legends about the foundation of St. Petersburg
The city that emerged among the marshes, swamps and lowlands raises a lot of questions. Even taking into account its important strategic location, it is difficult to imagine that the king ordered to begin construction in such a strange place. However, this happened and now the gaze of tourists enjoys granite embankments and magnificent palaces. But in parallel with the city itself, the number of legends about it multiplied.
Many sources say that the tsar ordered the founding of St. Petersburg. It is believed that at the beginning of the eighteenth century he came to the Hare Island, known at that time under the Finnish name, and suddenly decided to found a city here. To indicate the bookmark of the future capital, he personally cut pieces of turf. At that moment, an eagle appeared over his head, which was perceived as a good sign.
This legend is actively circulated to the masses. However, real historical sources tell of a completely different situation. On the island, the king ordered to lay a fortress that would protect the interests of his empire. Moreover, at the time indicated in many textbooks, he was not at all on the Neva. The idea of creating a city with Peter I appeared much later and the neighboring Birch Island was chosen for its implementation.
It is interesting that so far many people consider the name given to the city a certain symbol of respect for the king who laid it. But in reality, Peter wanted to give his name only to the fortress, which had worn it for several years. Subsequently, it was renamed Petropavlovskaya for unknown reasons, and the name St. Petersburg was transferred to the nearby city. The king himself, having built the Northern capital, dreamed that it had a Greco-Byzantine raid. Therefore, in the papers it was referred to only as St. Petropolis.
Another legend about the foundation of the city on the Neva refers to the very places where it was laid. There is an opinion in society that he began to build literally on a wasteland. That is, there were no settlements and structures nearby, and only thanks to the king's genius life came to these places.
In fact, people have settled near the Neva since time immemorial. In fact, the city was built on ancient settlements and absorbed the memory of them. Scientists managed to find out that once on the site of the historical center of the city there were about fifty settlements. Some of them belonged to the Novgorodians and only then came under the control of the Swedes. For example, on the site of the Summer Garden there was an extensive property with a beautiful well-kept garden. And on Vasilyevsky Island there was a solid hunting lodge.
Mysterious version of the formation of the city
Some historians very much doubt that granite embankments, street design, and some houses were created in Peter's times. This version is also confirmed by ancient engravings, on which on the streets of St. Petersburg, after its construction, ruins of neighborhoods and brand new houses are adjacent. Also, enthusiasts managed to find out that on the site of many of today's monuments there were once granite monoliths resembling pedestals. In connection with these facts, the legend that St. Petersburg arose not by chance gained popularity. The king erected it on the ruins of an older city that belonged to an unknown extinct civilization.
Mystical Sphinxes
Esotericists trace the pattern in the fact that in the most mysterious city in the world there are figures of such mystical creatures as Egyptian sphinxes. They came to the city on the Neva in the thirty-second year of the nineteenth century completely by accident. They were seen by Andrei Muravyov, who asked the tsar to buy these very expensive sculptures found in Thebes at the excavations of the tomb of the pharaoh Amenhotep. Thanks to a combination of circumstances, beings who are considered guides to the world of the dead, stood on their pedestal at the Academy of Arts.
Locals claim that the sphinxes have incredible power. On cloudy days, they attract passers-by and literally drive them crazy. In addition, by the evening their serene facial expression changes to an ominous one, which promises troubles to all those detained by the sculptures.
Egyptologists argue that the curse of the tombs of the pharaohs is several times stronger if the sphinxes fall into overseas lands. In this case, they sow death around them. It is not known whether this is so, but the buyer of the sphinxes died shortly after the deal, and the ship's captain, who brought sculptures to Russia, quickly died, and the entire royal dynasty was ultimately destroyed. Perhaps this is precisely how the curse of the sphinxes works.
Petersburg lions
The city on the Neva River has a huge number of sculptures of lions. But even native Petersburgers will not be able to name them all. Historians consider the most mysterious of them lions on Petrovskaya Embankment. They adorn the descent to the water and are a cross between a lion and a frog.
Similar sculptures were popular in Asia, from where they came to St. Petersburg. But at home they were installed in only three places:
- the palaces of the emperor;
- temple courtyards;
- cemeteries.
Frog-like lions are guides to the world of the dead. And therefore they can fulfill their wishes, but St. Petersburg residents themselves believe that in return they can take the life of someone close to them.
Winter Palace: myths and legends
The legends of the Winter Palace are primarily associated with the ghosts of royal people. Within the walls of today's museum, they wander at night and linger for a long time in their favorite rooms. Museum staff claim that they often meet Nicholas I here. He appears from nowhere in his office and stands at the desk. The ghost has repeatedly tried to photograph, but the quality of the images leaves much to be desired.
The legend about the Egyptian goddess is also popular. Her figurine with the head of a lioness is in one of the halls. Museum workers say that every year at the full moon, almost on the same day, a puddle of red blood-like liquid appears on her lap.
Underground part of the city
Citizens know that a tunnel network has been dug near St. Petersburg. Moreover, many of them have remained since the founding of the capital, while others were created in Soviet times. Most of them are hidden from prying eyes by armored doors, which gives rise to a lot of legends. And there are only rumors about other tunnels, because no one has ever seen them.
For example, one of the most mysterious underground passages of St. Petersburg is the tunnel that was never found, supposedly connecting the current Hermitage and the Mariinsky Theater. It is known that Emperor Nicholas was in love with the ballerina Matilda. It was for the sake of meeting with her that a secret passage was dug, according to rumors, there were even rails in it. However, to this day, historians have not found the entrance to this tunnel, although they do not deny that it can exist.
Legends of the St. Petersburg metro
There are many legends about the metro of St. Petersburg. Many of them are connected with the people who died here. In the middle of the last century, a worker died as a result of a gas explosion in the metro. After some time, from time to time, the stations began to notice the ghost of a man in overalls. And soon mysterious accidents began to occur in the subway. Many of them were fatal, but those who were fortunate enough to save their lives all spoke as one about the ghost pushing them from above.
Cats of the Northern Capital
In the history of St. Petersburg, cats have played an important role for a long time. A special attitude towards them began around the seventeenth century, when Peter I himself brought a cute fluffy kitten from his trip to Amsterdam. A few years later, about a dozen more mustachioed-striped arrived in the Winter Palace. As a result, among the cats even introduced a kind of hierarchy. It was believed that Catherine the Great herself examined the cats, determining which of them was worthy of the royal chambers.
In the revolutionary years, cats in the Northern capital helped to get rid of prolific rats, but the blockade almost reduced their population to zero. After the war ended, cats were brought to the city by truck, as local residents were again threatened by hordes of rodents.
Today in St. Petersburg there are several feline monuments. For example, a cat in a sailor suit is installed on Pravda Street.
Admiralty Spire
Many legends envelop the memorable places of the city. Practical about every monument or sculpture Petersburgers can tell several unusual stories. The Admiralty Needle, towering more than a hundred meters above the city, also did not pass the fate of becoming a part of myths.
According to them, the round ball at the top keeps inside a huge secret - a box filled with gold coins. Moreover, the collection includes all copies ever minted in the city. But, unfortunately, it has not yet been possible to get the box. The fact is that the craftsman made the ball, which provided it with a secret mechanism. Nobody has yet revealed his secret.
Instead of a conclusion
Of course, in the article we did not list a tenth of urban legends. Indeed, among the mysterious and secret cities of St. Petersburg takes almost the first place. Therefore, every tourist has every chance to discover something special, hidden behind the front facades of the city’s houses on the Neva.