Interesting Facts About St. Petersburg, Russia

St. Petersburg is one of the most visited cities in Russia , which attracts tourists for many reasons.

Some come to see the stunning architecture, others come to see the rich history, while others come to experience the rich culture.

Whatever your reason for visiting, here are the most interesting facts about St. Petersburg that will help you better understand the city and its history.

Amazing Facts About St. Petersburg

Saint Petersburg was called Leningrad.

Saint Petersburg was founded by Tsar Peter I.

It is widely believed that the name was chosen for the city to honor the Tsar.

But in fact, the city was named after the patron saint of the Tsar, the Apostle Saint Peter.

After World War I, there was widespread anti-German sentiment among the population, and so the city's name was changed to Petrograd, as this name seemed to the population "less Germanic" than its previous name.

After the socialist revolution, the city was renamed Leningrad again, in honor of the leader of the "Bolshevik Revolution" Vladimir Lenin.

Later, the city was given its current name after the fall of the Soviet Union.

The city's name has changed repeatedly.

St. Petersburg is the birthplace of Vladimir Putin.

Vladimir Putin (current President of Russia) was born in 1952 in Leningrad (now known as Saint Petersburg).

He studied at local schools, then studied law at the former Leningrad State University and graduated from it.

He is listed as an honorary citizen of St. Petersburg, an award given to no more than two people annually.

This city is the birthplace of the current President of Russia.

Saint Petersburg was the capital of Russia.

Only 10 years after the city's founding, it became the new capital of Russia in 1712.

Except for a short four-year period, the city remained the country's capital for the next 200 years.

Only during the 1917 Revolution, when the country began to isolate itself from its imperial history, did Moscow regain its title as the capital of Russia.

The city remained the capital of Russia for 200 years.

St. Petersburg survived a suffocating siege.

During World War II, while St. Petersburg was still known as Leningrad, German forces surrounded the city, closing all entrances and exits to the city.

Despite this suffocating siege, Hitler never succeeded in taking control of the city.

During the siege, people endured food shortages, extremely low temperatures, and no water or electricity for nearly 900 days.

Millions of civilians died as a result, but they were determined to protect their city to the end.

Local radio stations played a timer sound (similar to a pulse oximeter) so that locals knew the heart of their city was still beating.

And to this day (under the monument to the brave defenders of Leningrad) you can still hear the heartbeat of the city.

Defenders Monument

This area was swampy.

One of the main reasons Tsar Peter built St. Petersburg was to connect Russia with the rest of Europe Via shipping methods.

Before the city was built, the area was impassable swamps with harsh weather making it even more difficult.

So, the Tsar ordered the recruitment of 40,000 serfs (peasants under feudalism, which was a state of slavery or servitude) toThey build the city from scratch.

According to some estimates, the construction of the city resulted in an estimated 100,000 deaths among peasants due to the harsh conditions in which they were forced to work.

The city was built from scratch by hundreds of thousands of oppressed peasants.

A number of the city's cats were sacrificed to fight the famine that swept through St. Petersburg during World War II.

But soon after, the city was hit by a public health crisis as a result.

Where rodents have wreaked havoc in the city, sneaking into food stores, eating the city's rations and leaving their droppings behind.

Which led to the spread of some deadly diseases among the local population.

To control the situation, 5,000 cats were recruited to deal with the problem.

To commemorate these heroic services of cats, you will find a bronze monument to two cats on both sides of Malaya Sadovaya Street.

According to local superstitions and legends, you must make a wish and throw money at the cats' feet for that wish to come true.

Malaya Sadovaya Street

White City Nights

From mid-June to early July, St. Petersburg experiences a phenomenon called White Nights.

Where sunlight remains bright throughout the day, cultural events and late night walks are very common.

This time of year is also the time for the White Nights Festival, a series of ballet, opera and orchestral performances at the famous Mariinsky Theatre.

Sunless nights in the city

It could take 25 years to explore the city's most famous museum.

As the cultural capital of the country, St. Petersburg is home to more than 8,000 landmarks.

Most notable among them is the Hermitage Museum, which houses more than 3 million pieces of art and culture.

With about 400 rooms spread over three floors across five interconnected buildings, it could take months, or even years, to get to know every piece of art in the gallery.

According to one estimate, if you were to look at each artwork for one minute for 8 hours a day, it would take you 25 years to properly see everything in the museum.

Artwork in the Hermitage Museum

The city has 342 bridges.

Although St. Petersburg is a city located on islands and closely connected to the water, bridges were not built there immediately.

Tsar Peter I wanted the city to be more like a city. Venice In Italy, where its citizens move around by boat.

But the first bridges appeared in the city shortly after his death, and now there are 342 bridges in St. Petersburg.

The city has a large number of bridges.

The city has the deepest underground metro system in the world.

According to the average depth of all metro stations in the city, St. Petersburg has one of the deepest metro stations in the world.

The main reason is due to the unique geological nature of the city, which has hampered many attempts to build a metro system.

Admiralteyskaya station is the deepest metro station in the city, located 86 metres underground.

One of the city's most distinguished metro stations.