St. Petersburg is only 300 years old, but among the largest cities of Europe it is one of the oldest. Buildings were built of stone here, and constructions erected before 1917 have been almost entirely preserved. In total, there are about 18,000 buildings of this kind. From Obvodny Canal to the Neva and from the Alexandra-Nevskaya Lavra to the port, the city remains almost unchanged since 1917. No other city in Europe or American can boast this quantity of preserved old buildings. In addition, nowhere else in the world can you find constructions of such varied architectural styles – classicism, eclecticism and Moderne – in such close proximity.
St. Petersburg, the most European city in Russia, was born from the only will of a great man. Peter the Great, who wanted to open Russia to Europe for strategic and commercial reasons, created the city despite its very hard and always changing climate. This city was called both Northern Venice and Russian Amsterdam and Northern Palmyra. Young by European standards - its foundation dates back to 1703 - this city has become so alike and at the same time so different from European capitals as well as from Russian cities, as it was built by Russian and European architects. They designated the main features of the new city, its architecture and life-style.
The complex history of the city is reflected in its palaces and churches, parks, wide avenues, and mazes of narrow streets pressed by tall XVIII and XIX century buildings from both sides. St. Petersburg is the only city where the styles of different epochs are so harmoniously fused. Indeed, you will get the impression that the city was build by one person alone, a master of styles with a sense of proportion. Hundreds of rivers, streams and straits were turned into poetical canals, more than 300 bridges were thrown across them and St. Petersburg became the "Venice of the North", the city of the White Nights.
Despite the fact that the Neva River is just 74 kilometers long, it flows through a territory only slightly smaller than that of Italy. The Neva Delta comprises the Ladozhskoe, Onezhskoe, Saim and Ilmen Lakes, as well as the Svir, Volkhov and Vuoksa rivers. There is only one other water system of this kind in the world – the Great Lakes of North America. The Neva River carries more water than the Don and Dnepr rivers combined.
St. Petersburg is home to the highest cathedral in Russia, a building that is in fact the highest in the historic center of the city – the Peter and Paul Cathedral, which contains the burial vault of the Romanovs. The height of its bell tower with its gilded spire, topped with the figure of a flying angel, is 122.5 meters.
St. Petersburg, the most European city in Russia, was born from the only will of a great man. Peter the Great, who wanted to open Russia to Europe for strategic and commercial reasons, created the city despite its very hard and always changing climate. This city was called both Northern Venice and Russian Amsterdam and Northern Palmyra. Young by European standards - its foundation dates back to 1703 - this city has become so alike and at the same time so different from European capitals as well as from Russian cities, as it was built by Russian and European architects. They designated the main features of the new city, its architecture and life-style. 
The complex history of the city is reflected in its palaces and churches, parks, wide avenues, and mazes of narrow streets pressed by tall XVIII and XIX century buildings from both sides. St. Petersburg is the only city where the styles of different epochs are so harmoniously fused. Indeed, you will get the impression that the city was build by one person alone, a master of styles with a sense of proportion. Hundreds of rivers, streams and straits were turned into poetical canals, more than 300 bridges were thrown across them and St. Petersburg became the "Venice of the North", the city of the White Nights.
Despite the fact that the Neva River is just 74 kilometers long, it flows through a territory only slightly smaller than that of Italy. The Neva Delta comprises the Ladozhskoe, Onezhskoe, Saim and Ilmen Lakes, as well as the Svir, Volkhov and Vuoksa rivers. There is only one other water system of this kind in the world – the Great Lakes of North America. The Neva River carries more water than the Don and Dnepr rivers combined.
St. Petersburg is home to the highest cathedral in Russia, a building that is in fact the highest in the historic center of the city – the Peter and Paul Cathedral, which contains the burial vault of the Romanovs. The height of its bell tower with its gilded spire, topped with the figure of a flying angel, is 122.5 meters.
