Nevsky Prospekt in St. Petersburg: length, sights, history

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:40

St. Petersburg (formerly Leningrad) is a unique and extraordinary city on a global scale. It lies at the mouth of the Neva River, near the Gulf of Finland. It currently has about 5 million inhabitants. It is considered the second capital of Russia. It is an important economic center, scientific and cultural center. This city is rich in numerous attractions. And the main "artery" of St. Petersburg, which arose back in the time of Peter the Great, is Nevsky Prospekt.

What is this?

This is the symbol of the city, and it is located in the very center of it. The length of Nevsky Prospekt in St. Petersburg is 4.5 km, it starts from the Admir alty and the Winter Palace, ends at the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. The street originally served as a route towards Novgorod.

Over time, churches, palaces, cafes and theaters arose here. Today it serves as the central city street. It is a place of luxury shops, expensive hotels and restaurants, but also extremely attractiveattractions such as the Admir alty, Kazan Cathedral, Gostiny Dvor, the Hermitage, the Vorontsov Palace, Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, the monument to Catherine II and many others. The question of how long Nevsky Prospekt is is asked by many people. And the thing is that this street is undoubtedly such a part of St. Petersburg, which is firmly inscribed in the history and culture of the city, so a walk along it is an obligatory route for tourists who come here.

History

The city was founded by Peter I at the beginning of the 18th century, hence the name that it originally bore, that is, Petrograd. The location on the coast of the B altic Sea greatly facilitated its development. Here were the fortress cities, which were a defensive bastion in front of the Swedes. The construction of the entire city lasted only 9 years, and immediately after that it became the capital of Russia.

This title made it possible to create a center for the development of science and culture here, gave way to the emergence of new institutions and universities, such as the Maritime Academy, Engineering School, Academy of Sciences or Mining Institute. The period after the Second World War was not the best for him. During the siege of Leningrad for 900 days, about a million inhabitants died here from starvation. Since then, the city has been restored, and life has begun to boil again along the entire length of Nevsky Prospekt in St. Petersburg.

Attractions

The whole city is cut through by canals, thanks to which St. Petersburg is famous and considered the Russian Venice. If you are going to explore its sights, walk along the entire length of Nevsky Prospekt from Vosstaniya Square. The chain of attractions originates from the Admir alty building and stretches for 4.5 km to the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, from which the avenue is believed to have taken its name. Many magnificent buildings are concentrated on the site up to Gostiny Dvor. And most of the best shops are located in his area.

Kazan Cathedral

Moving along the entire length of Nevsky Prospekt, it is impossible to miss this magnificent building. Kazan Cathedral - a building with 96 Corinthian columns, which lined up in four rows. They create a wide arc towards the avenue. This Orthodox church is dedicated to the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God. It was built in neoclassical style.

Walking along the entire length of Nevsky Prospekt in St. Petersburg, you should pay attention to the opposite side of the street (the intersection of the Prospect and the Griboyedov Canal). There is the house of the Singer company. This is the former headquarters of this company, built in 1902-1904. The building is distinguished by a characteristic glass ball. It currently houses the Book House.

Savior on Blood

Be sure to see the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood, located on the Griboyedov Canal. This decoration is always noticed by everyone who moves along the entire length of Nevsky Prospekt in St. Petersburg.

The church arose on the site where Tsar Alexander II was killed on March 1, 1881. The total area of the temple is 1642 m², the height is 81 meters. The temple is crowned with 5 domes. The interior is decorated with beautiful mosaics created by 30 outstanding artists of the then Russia. The facades of the church are decorated with 144 mosaic compositions, symbolizing individual provinces (former provinces) in Tsarist Russia.

Church of Saint Catherine

The Church of St. Catherine (Nevsky Prospekt, 32-34) was built in 1763-1783. She, moving along the entire length of Nevsky Prospekt in St. Petersburg, is noticed by the characteristic features of the Baroque and Classicism styles. The coffin with the remains of King Stanisław August Poniatowski rested in the crypt of this church. Only in 1989 was the urn with the remains of the last Polish king transferred to Warsaw.

In 1938, the church was closed, and its property was destroyed or looted. Then the church was turned into a warehouse, which burned down in 1947. Reconstruction began in 1977, but the church burned down again in 1984. Only in 1991 was the parish of St. Catherine re-registered.

Gostiny Dvor

Initially, there was a stable here, but from the middle of the 18th century, this characteristic building with arcades became the largest market in St. Petersburg. There are more than 300 shops where you can buy everything: clothes, cosmetics, souvenirs, and sweets. The yellow building has the shape of an irregular quadrangle. The total length of the facade of the building is almost 1 km.

At the Anichkov Bridge on Nevsky Prospekt, the length (in km) is 0.25. It was erected in 1826. The bridge is one of the most recognizable bridges in the city thanks to the four cast-iron griffins that line both sides.

Eliseev's shop and other attractions

Eliseev's shop is a majestic Art Nouveau building. The house was designed in 1903-1907. The store was founded by brothers, descendants of a once poor peasant who made his fortune trading wine and chocolate. The façade is decorated with bronze sculptures and large windows, and there are fabulous figurines depicting merchants. The stained glass interior, marble decoration and crystal chandeliers are impressive.

This is one of the most remarkable buildings that a person sees along the entire length of Nevsky Prospekt in St. Petersburg. There is a Zenit store nearby - football fans know what I'm talking about.

In this area you can see the Russian Museum, which is located in the Mikhailovsky Palace. The museum has one of the largest collections of Russian art in the world. In front of him is a monument to Pushkin on Arts Square.

In turn, on Ostrovsky Square is the Alexandrinsky Theater, built in the style of classicism. A large loggia with six Corinthian columns, almost the entire facade is crowned with a bronze sculpture depicting Apollo in a chariot.

In the square in front of the theater there is a monument to Catherine the Great. It was opened in 1873. Catherine is depicted surrounded by statesmen and other prominent personalities.

In St. Petersburg "all roads lead to Nevsky Prospekt". You can choose to walk in the footsteps of Raskolnikov, and then it will become clear that this is the main "artery"St. Petersburg. Nevsky Prospekt is magnificent buildings with domes in pastel colors, made in accordance with the wishes of Peter I, rich hotels, restaurants.

The most important baroque monument of St. Petersburg is the Winter Palace, located on the banks of the Neva. Palace Square is the central point of St. Petersburg. It is also best to move to it along Nevsky Prospekt. It is noteworthy that signs from the Great Patriotic War remain on the houses of this street.

Germany shelled the central streets, so the buildings still have signs on which side of the street they should flee from shelling. It was they who were able to save the lives of residents in those days.

Nevsky Prospekt suffered from shelling very strongly and often, and on the buildings erected on it, there are many such horrific traces of the past era. It will not be difficult to find them, these are the inscriptions "During shelling, this side of the street is most dangerous." Subsequently, they became another symbol of one of the most beautiful cities in the Russian Federation.