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Saint Petersburg history and heritage places

For three centuries Saint-Petersburg has been impressing visitors from all over the world. The city is not only an open-air museum, but also an embodiment of last three hundred years of the Russian history. It was founded in 1703 by Peter the Great, the ambitious ruler-reformer who set up the new city at the mouth of the Neva River. Saint-Petersburg was constructed by brilliant Russian, Italian, and French architects. It was a grand experiment to try to build a European capital on bare marshes.

It is also worthy of notice a set of beautiful suburban residences for the tsars that were built in picturesque locations on the outskirts of town. These were named Peterhoff, Strelna, Tsarskoe Selo, and Pavlovsk. Peterhoff was the first to be built, and this occurred on the shore of the Gulf of Finland. It features very many fountains, including the world known Samson. Tsarskoe Selo occupied the place that used to be a Finnish village. Only 50 years after its foundation it was already a unique complex of palaces and gardens with its magnificent 300 meter long Catherine Palace, cascade of ponds and promenade galleries. Currently the Great Catherine Place houses the Amber Room, which was completely destroyed during WWII and was fully reconstructed before the 300th anniversary of Saint-Petersburg.