In what year was St. Petersburg founded? This question is very interesting because this city is called Northern Palmyra. Its inhabitants are considered intellectuals. The city has long been the capital of the Russian Empire. It is replete with museums, palaces, monuments of architecture and culture.
In what year was St. Petersburg founded
It is known that on May 27, 1703, by order of the Russian Tsar Peter I, the construction of the Peter and Paul Fortress was started on Zayachy Island. She became the first building of the city, later called St. Petersburg. The city itself is of artificial origin.
Where was St. Petersburg founded? Many people think that he, as it were, grew out of nothing in the swamps. However, this is not quite true. About what year St. Petersburg was founded and how it turned out to build it so quickly, we will discuss further. Immediately make a reservation that construction was a difficult and very costly process.
A bit of history
Settlements at the mouth of the Neva River began to be built, starting from the XIV century, by the Swedes (Landkrona fortress, 1300) and Novgorodians (Ust-Okhta, 1500). In 1611, at the confluence of the Okhta River into the Neva, the Swedes built the Nyenschanz fortress, near which the settlement Nyenshtadt (in Swedish “the city on the Neva”) appeared, which in 1632 received the status of a city. By the end of the 17th century, Nienstadt had become a major trading port, surrounded by a large number of settlements. In 1703, he was captured by Russian troops and renamed Schlotburg.
The initial plans of Peter I
Who founded St. Petersburg and what were the prerequisites for this? To protect the new territories conquered in Swedish Ingermanland during the Northern War, Tsar Peter I decided to build a new fortress, which was laid on May 27, 1703 on one of the islands in the widest part of the Neva estuary. And on June 29, on Peter's Day, the fortress was named St. Peter Burkh (in honor of the Apostle Peter). This is another answer to the question of which year St. Petersburg was founded. Initially, in order to speed up the construction, walls were poured from the ground. And the creation of stone structures began three years later. It turns out that the name of the fortress gave a name to the future city, which began to be erected around it on the drained swamps and neighboring islands.
First St. Petersburg Temple, Tavern and Marina
In November 1703, the first city church, Trinity, was opened on Birch Island. It was originally built of wood. However, a few years later it was rebuilt in stone. At first it was the main cult institution of the new capital. It was here that in 1721 Peter adopted the imperial title. The square on which the temple was located received the same name - Troitskaya. She went to the river. Neva. Here they arranged the first marina of the city. Many ships approached for unloading and loading. The first inn and a guest yard were also built on the square. The island on which the fortress was located was renamed from Hare to City.
Construction
To speed up the construction of stone buildings, Peter I banned the construction of stone throughout Russia, and a special tax was levied on everyone who entered St. Petersburg. A person had to bring with him a certain amount of stone or pay its equivalent with money. Buildings were also constructed on the other side of the river. Shipyards were built. Vasilyevsky Island was rebuilt, which Peter wanted to make the city center. The construction process was difficult, but the one who founded St. Petersburg had the determination to finish what he had begun and knew what he was doing.
The construction of the city, which was planned as a "window to Europe", was led by foreign experts, and construction work was carried out by the forces of serfs, and so on. state peasants. The latter were mobilized by labor service. They were brought from all over Russia. Only about 24 thousand people were engaged in logging, draining swamps and laying roads. Since 1717, civilian people were involved in the construction. By this time, about 6% of the 300,000 builders have already died.
The first buildings performed utilitarian and, above all, defense functions. The one who founded St. Petersburg wanted to ensure the presence of Russia in this region for centuries. Soon, the construction became even more widespread and began to be carried out more carefully and systematically. The work was supervised by professional architects. In 1706, the Office of Urban Affairs was established to manage all work and issues. In 1716, the primary city development plan was adopted, developed by the architect Domenico Trezzini, who has been working in the city since its foundation. It was according to this plan that the center was planned to be located on Vasilievsky Island. Such was the king’s whim. The island was washed by two channels of the Neva. They planned to cover it with a geometrically correct grid of streets, and make channels for drainage. However, soon the construction was headed by Jean-Baptiste Leblond.
Capital of the empire
Yes, Peter the Great founded St. Petersburg. Gradually, the city was successfully rebuilt and expanded. The first foreign ship arrived at the harbor in 1703. In 1705, the city survived the flood, and in 1712, St. Petersburg was proclaimed the capital of Russia. All state institutions and the court of the emperor were moved here. Given that the Northern War at that time was not yet completed, this is a unique historical precedent - the capital of one state was on the lands of another. St. Petersburg remained the capital of Russia until 1918, when it was again declared Moscow.
In 1709, the first state school in Russia was opened in St. Petersburg, in 1719 the first museum (Kunstkamera). In 1724, the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences was established. In 1728, the first Russian newspaper began to be published. In 1851, St. Petersburg was connected to Moscow by a 451-kilometer railway.
Throughout its existence, the city was renamed several times (to Petrograd in 1914, Leningrad in 1924). In 1991, the original name was returned to him. It is the third largest among European cities. In 1725, the population of St. Petersburg was about 40 thousand people, most of whom were military, residents of neighboring villages, as well as serfs assigned to the city for construction work. By the end of the century, there were about 200 thousand inhabitants. Now more than 5 million people live in St. Petersburg.
Present
Peter 1 founded St. Petersburg, and this city became the pearl of the country. Currently, it has about 1,200 streets and more than 70 churches. Tourists will be impressed by such attractions as Kronstadt, Gostiny Dvor, Peter and Paul Cathedral and Peter and Paul Fortress, Winter Palace, Hermitage, Kunstkamera and others. Come to the city on the Neva, join the history of your native country!