St. Petersburg’s Photo Book

I usually do not use stock photos in my blog posts and on the rare occasions when I use photos from another photographer, I do give due credit.

As the followers of the blog know, I visited St. Petersburg this past summer (yaaay one more destination crossed off my bucket list!).

Whenever I look back at the photos I took, I still continue to be fascinated with the architecture of the buildings, the monuments, the statues etc. However, my photos can hardly compare to some that I’ve seen other visitors to St. Petersburg upload to various groups and sites.

I joined a group by the name of Russia, St. Petersburg , when I began planning my trip to St. Petersburg, to get a feel for what to expect for my visit. Even though the language of the Group is Russian, Facebook allows for English translation.

I have taken the liberty to share some photos from the Group here (I requested permission from the Admin and none of the photos are copyrighted) together with some of my own photos. I have added brief descriptions as well.

1. Guardian of St. Petersburg

This statue sits atop the Alexander Column in Palace Square. The Column is the focal point of Palace Square and was built to commemorate the Russian victory in the Napoleonic War.

2. The General Staff Building

This building houses part of L’Hermitage Museum in its Eastern Wing, whilst its Western Wing is used for government business.

3. The Lakhta Center

The Lakhta Center is an 87 story skyscraper built in the outskirts of Lakhta in St. Petersburg. Standing 462 metres (1,516 feet) tall, the Lakhta Center is the tallest building in Russia, the tallest building in Europe and the 13th tallest building in the world. The Lakhta Center is also the second tallest structure in Russia and in Europe, behind Ostankino Tower in Moscow.

4. The Naval Cathedral of Saint Nicholas

The Naval Cathedral of Saint Nicholas is a Russian orthodox cathedral built in 1903 to 1930 as the main church of the Russian navy and dedicated to all fallen seamen. The cathedral was closed in 1929 and was converted into a cinema, a house of officers in 1959, and a museum of the Navy in 1980.

5. The State Heritage Museum

The State Hermitage Museum is a museum of art and culture in St. Petersburg. The second largest art museum in the world, it was founded in 1764 when Empress Catherine the Great acquired an impressive collection of paintings from the Berlin merchant Johan Ernst Gotzkowsky. The museum celebrates the anniversary of it’s founding each year on 7 December, Saint Catherine’s day. It has been open to the public since 1852.

6. Singer Company Building

The House of Singer designed by Pavel Siuzor was one of the striking examples of St. Petersburg’s art nouveau architecture.

The glass and metal cupola is topped by a globe being held up by two female figures represented the multinational scope of the company whose largest foreign market at the beginning of the 20th century was Russia. This building now houses St. Petersburg’s largest and most famous bookstore, Dom Knigi (“The House of Books”)

7. The Palace Bridge

Palace Bridge, a road- and foot-traffic bascule bridge span the Neva river in St. Petersburg, between Palace Square and Vasilievsky. Like every other Neva bridge (except for Big Obukhovsky Bridge) it is drawn by night, making foot travel between various parts of the city virtually impossible. It was built by French firm Societe de Construction des Batignolles between 1912 and 1916.

8. Monument to Nicholas I

The Monument to Nicholas I is a bronze Equestrian monument of Nicholas I of Russia on Saint Isaac’s cathedral in St. Petersburg. Unveiled on July 7 1859, the 6 metre statue was a technical wonder of its time. It was the first equestrian statue in Europe with only two support points (the rear hooves of the horse) the only precedent being the 1852 Equestrian statue of US President Andrew Jackson.

9. Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood

The Church of the Resurrection, also known as the “Savior on Spilled Blood”, was built in memory of Alexander II who was assassinated in 1881. The church stands in the very place where a bomb was thrown into his carriage by a young man who opposed the Tsar’s reforms.

10. Kazan Cathedral

Kazan Cathedral or Kazanskiy Kafedralniy Sobor also known as the Cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan, is a cathedral of the Russian Orthodox Church on the Nevsky Prospekt. It is dedicated to Our Lady of Kazan , one of the most venerated icons in Russia.

11. The Bronze Horseman

The Bronze Horseman, (“Copper Horseman”) is an equestrian statue of Peter the Great in the Senate Square. Commissioned by Catherine the Great, it was created by the French sculptor Etienne Maurice Falconet. The name comes from an 1833 poem by the same name by Alexander Pushkin, which is widely considered one of the most significant works of Russian literature. The statute is now one of the symbols of St. Petersburg

I hope you enjoyed these photos and the brief history behind each, as much as I did. Feel free to share with me your stories and opinions about Russia in general, past and present.