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The city of St. Petersburg is relatively young if judged by Russian or European standards. Founded in 1703, St. Petersburg celebrated its 300th anniversary in 2003. But despite being a young city it has a rich and exciting history.
On May 16, 1703 (May 27 by the modern calendar) the St. Petersburg fortress (St. Peter's and Paul's Fortress) was founded and that day became the official birthday of the city. The area was considered unhealthy for a town, but it had tremendous strategic importance, so Peter the Great continued constructing the city despite all the losses and extra expenditures. For its first few years the St. Petersburg of Peter the Great was a small town around the fortress, but by 1712 it was big enough to become the new Russian capital.
Peter's daughter Elizabeth became the Empress in 1741. Elizabethan St. Petersburg became a lively European capital and its population reached 150 thousand and from this time St. Petersburg finally became a true European capital. After 20 years of Elizabeth's reign, St. Petersburg and its suburbs could rival the most beautiful European cities. The Imperial splendor of St. Petersburg was best reflected in the suburban royal residences. Peter the Great’s estate Peterhof was remodeled by Bartolomeo Rastrelli, the architect of the Winter Palace and the Smolny Cathedral. The Grand Palace and the Grand Cascade of Peterhof were decorated with extreme luxury.
The Ekaterininsky (Catherine's) Palace in Tsarskoye Selo (Pushkin), which once used to belong to Peter the Great’s wife Catherine, was now turned into a magnificent royal residence with a vast and elaborate Baroque garden. Elizabeth has commissioned the lovely Smolny Convent and the Winter Palace, though she died before both buildings were completed.
Catherine the Great assumed power in 1762 after a coup d' etat, which she engineered together with the officers of the Royal Guard. Catherine's court was extremely luxurious. She was the first to move into the newly built Winter Palace. Catherine started a royal art collection which later became the world-famous Hermitage. Under Catherine's patronage science, the arts and trade have flourished.
In 1850 the first permanent bridge across the Neva River was opened. Next year railroad connected St. Petersburg with Moscow was opened. St. Petersburg was becoming more and more majestic. The ensemble of Palace Square was completed with the construction of the General Staff building (1819-29), Alexander's Column (1830-34) and the Royal Guards Staff building (1837-43). St. Isaac's Cathedral, the main temple of the Russian Empire, was finally completed only in 1858, when Nicholas I had already died and his son Alexander II was on the throne.
In August 1914, it was decided to change the name of the Russian capital from St. Petersburg to Petrograd. In 1924 the name of the city was changed to Leningrad, and that was a symbol of its transition to a Socialist city. In 1991, after a city-wide referendum, the city of Leningrad got back its old name, St. Petersburg.
From the early days of Peter the Great’s "Paradise" and "Northern Venice" to the events of last decade of XXth century this city has been full of life.
St. Petersburg has always been a city of myth and mystery: you can hardly find a young city which is wrapped in legends and stories in such a unique way.
Like any other large city, St. Petersburg will unveil most of its history and legend only to a very careful eye. Come to see this place if you ever get a chance. Take a brief look at St. Petersburg's history and come to see the White Nights over the mysterious "Venice of the North"...
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