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Saint Petersburg:
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| 1,5 thousand centuries ago | the territory of today's Saint Petersburg and adjacent lands were inhabited by Finnish tribes: Vod, Izhora, Chud and Karela. |
| 1240 | the Novgorodians headed by the prince Alexander won the battle near the Neva river against the Swedes. |
| 1323 | the Novgorodians build the fortress of Oreshek (later Noteburg) that soon was captured by the Swedes. |
| 1617 | the Swedes constructed the fortress of the Nienschanz at the mouth of the river Okhta. |
| 1689 - 1725 - Peter I the Great | |
| 1700-1721 | the Northen war between Russia and Sweden. Russia won it |
May, 16th (27th by new style) 1703 |
the construction of Peter and Paul Fortress started on Zayachy Ostrov (Hare's Island) |
| 1712 | Saint Petersburg was declared the new capital of Russia. |
| 1725 - 1727 - Catherine I | |
| 1727 - 1730 - Peter II | |
| 1730 - 1740 - Anna Ioanovna | |
| 1740- 1741 - Ivan Antonovich | |
| 1741 - 1761 - Elizabeth Petrovna | |
| the period of the Russian Baroque Style | |
| 1754-1762 | the Winter Palace (Bartolomeo Rastrelli) |
| 1761 - 1762 Peter III | |
| 1762 - 1796 - Catherine II the Great | |
| the period of the Russian classical style | |
| 1768-1785 | the Marble Palace (Antonio Rinaldi) |
| 1783-1785 | the Old Hermitage (Yury Felten) |
| 1796 - 1801 - Paul I | |
| 1797-1800 | the Mikhailovsky Castle (Vincenzo Brenna) |
| 1801-1825 - Alexander I | |
| 1801-1811 | the Kazansky Cathedral (Andrey Voronikhin) |
| the period of the Empire style (the highest point of the Russian Classicism) | |
| 1806-1823 | the main Admiralty building (Andreayan Zakharov) |
| 1819-1825 | The Mikhailovksy Palace (Carlo Rossi) |
| 1834 | the Alexander Column (August Montferrand) |
| December, 14 (25), 1825 | the Decembrists' Uprising |
| 1818-1858 | the St.Isaac's Cathedral (August Montferrand) |
| 1825 - 1855 - Nicholas I | |
| the period of the Eclectic style | |
| 1839-1852 | the New Hermitage (Leo von Klenze) |
| February, 5, 1852 | the opening of the first Art Museum for public |
| 1855 - 1881 - Alexander II | |
| 1881 - 1894 - Alexander III | |
| 1887-1907 | the Church of Christ's Ressurection Alfred (Parlabd) |
| 1894 - 1917 - Nicholas II | |
| the period of the Art-Nouveau style | |
| 1914 | Saint Petersburg was renamed into Petrograd |
| October, 25, 1917 | the October Revolution led by the Bolsheviks headed by Vladimir Lenin |
| 1924 | the city was renamed after Lenin, - Leningrad |
| September, 8, 1941 - January, 27, 1944 | the Siege of Leningrad |
| 1991 | the name of Saint Peter - Saint Petersburg - was returned to the city |
| 1994 | Saint Petersburg became the place of the Good Will Games |
Nowadays
Saint Petersburg is located at latitude 60° north and longitude 30° east. This high degree latitude accounts for many specific features: the early winter twilight, the white nights in summer and the sudden, abrupt changes in the winter. All of these inevitably affect the way the city is percieved.
The city is situated on the East coast of the Gulf of Finland in the delta of the Neva river, on 42 islands.
Water accounts for one-ninth (1/9) of the area of the modern city, which with suburbs covers 1,4 thousand square kilometers.
The main waterway is the Neva river which extends a total of 74 kilometers from its source, Lake Ladoga, to the Gulf, 32 km of them within the city.
For almost 3 centuries of its history, Saint Petersburg has lived under the Damocles sword of flooding. Within this period there have been about 300 floods, some of them truly catastrophic. In 1971 a granit column was set up by St. Isaac's square on the right bank of the Moika River showing the levels to which the water rose during the most serious floods in the city's history.
The city is called the Northern Venice for its numerous rivers (50), canals (31), bridges (more than 300) and embankments (23).
The population of the city is about 5 million people (with suburbs is about 7 million people).
The period of white nights, what the city of Saint Peter is famous for, continues from June, 11 to July, 2 with dark periods for about 30-40 minutes.
Transport in Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg has a variety of transportation systems. They include the subway (metro), trolley-buses, trams, taxis, buses, minibuses (maxi-taxis) and private cars. There are one international (Pulkovo-2) and two domestic airoport terminals (Pulkovo-1; Rzhevka Airoport).
There are 6 railway stations in Saint Petersburg: Finland, Baltic, Vitebsk, Moscow Warsaw and Ladozhsky.
The first public railway in Russia between Saint Petersburg and Pavlovsk was opened on October 30, 1837. First steam-powered traines ran only on Sundays and holidays. On weekdays the coaches were pulled along by horse-teams. In April, 1838 only steam-powered trains were used on the railway.
Subway (Metro) is the most important form of public transport. For years it was argued that Saint Petersburg could not have subway because of its marshy soil. But then in the lower stratum of the ground the solid clay deposited during Cambrian Era (approximately 500 million years ago) was found through which it was easier to lay tunnels. In the south of the city Cambrian clay is much closer to the surface so that's why Avtovo, Leninsky Prospect and Prospect Veteranov stations have no escalators.
The building of Saint Petersburg's subway was started in 1941 but then was interrupted by World War II. The first section was put into service on November 7, 1955. At present the subway has 54 stations. It's length is 91.5 km and there are 4 lines.
Building a subway in Saint Petersburg was a triumph of engeneering: the city's subway system is very deep. The world's deeptes subway station is supposed to be Ploshad Lenina station of 100 meters depth.
The first metro stations were built like "underground palaces". That kind of approach to subway architecture is unique in the world originated in the 1930s. Avtovo station with its glass pillars, glittering columns, ornate chandeliers and intricate mosaic representing Mother Russia is the best representetive of the style.
The first tram appeared in Saint Petersburg in 1880.
The first trolley-bus was introduced into the city in 1902 (designed by the enginner P.A. Freze). The first trolley-bus line was opened in 1936.
The first bus appeared in 1907.
The first taxi appeared in 1906. The state taxis appeared in 1929. But in 1960 the special fixed-route taxis - minibuses (maxi-taxis), which can carry 10 or more people, appeared in Saint Petersburg.
There are 21 (large) hotels in Saint Petersburg but every year mini private hotels appear in the center and closest to the center districts of the city. The largests hotels are the Pribaltiiskaya, the Saint Petersburg, the Pulkovskaya, the Astoria, the Europe, the Grand Hotel and the Nevsky Palace.
The are over 50 museum in Saint Petersburg.
There are over 20 professional theatres in Saint Petersburg.
There are more than 30 movie theatres in Saint Petersburg.
"The Pearl Necklace" of Saint Petersburg is the metaphorical name for the surburbs of Saint Petersburg that previously were the residences of Russian emperors and empresses.
The following cities are usually includede in the Pearl Necklace of Saint Petersburg: Petrodvortes, Pushkin (Tsarskoe Selo), Pavlovsk, Lomonosov (Oranienbaum), Gatchina.
Also among culture treasures of Saint Petersburg can be named: Vyborg, Zelenogorsk, Repino, Sestroretsk.
