St Petersburg will always be a contender for the title of the world’s most beautiful city. It dates back only 300 years when Peter the Great decided to build a window to the west. Its history has been turbulent, built by forced labour in appalling conditions; the focus of the Russian Revolution; 600,000 died of starvation under the Nazi siege while many others suffered under Stalin and the Communists. Since then, it has reverted to its original name after spells as Petrograd and Leningrad.
It’s a northerly city on the Baltic Sea, with near continuous daylight in mid-summer and extreme cold in winter when the River Neva freezes over. It was built on a swamp and is constantly fighting decay. Yet its magnificent architecture simply stuns all visitors but it has serious problems with crime and corruption rife and beggars on the streets.
Peter the Great made St Petersburg his capital and moved government and social life from Moscow. Palaces were built by the nobility, fortifications were constructed such as the Peter and Paul Fortress, the Summer and Winter Palaces and magnificent churches like the Cathedral of St Peter and St Paul where the Tsars were buried and, much later, St Isaac’s Cathedral and the Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood.
The main thoroughfare is Nevsky Prospekt, one of the most beautiful streets anywhere, and now lined with leading shops. The city also features many canals, which, with the magnificent buildings on their banks, add to the glorious cityscapes.
The Hermitage, housed in the vast Winter Palace looking out on to the river, is one of the great museums of the world, with 3million exhibits ranging from Leonardo da Vinci, the Impressionists and modern masters. The city is also a major centre for opera, ballet and classical music.
The palaces of Peter, such as Peterhof, 30km west of the city, and of Catherine the Great, make for wonderful excursions. Despite wartime damage, they have been restored magnificently. A curiosity is the Cabin of Peter, the first house built in the city in 1703.
Travellers by air arrive at Pulkovo Airport, 10 miles out of the city. Many arrive by train from Moscow while cruises on the Baltic and Russia’s inland waterways nearly always call at St Petersburg.
