St. Petersburg City Information

Saint Petersburg is located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city’s other names were Petrograd, (1914–1924) and Leningrad (1924–1991). It is often called just Petersburg and is informally known as Piter. Founded by Tsar Peter I of Russia on May 27, 1703, it was the capital of the Russian Empire for more than two hundred years (1713–1728, 1732–1918). Saint Petersburg ceased being the capital in 1918 after the Russian Revolution of 1917. It is Russia’s second largest city after Moscow with 4.7 million inhabitants, and the fourth largest in Europe, after Moscow, London, and Paris.

Saint Petersburg is a major European cultural center, and an important Russian port on the Baltic Sea (at one point St. Petersburg was the largest port in Europe). Saint Petersburg is often described as the most Western city of Russia. Among cities of the world with over one million people, Saint Petersburg is the northernmost. The Historic Center of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments constitute a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Saint Petersburg is also home to The Hermitage, the largest art museum in the world. Russia’s political and cultural centre for 200 years, the city is sometimes referred to in Russia as the Northern Capital. Over its history it has also been referenced as “the Venice of the north” and the “Northern Palmyra”. A large number of foreign consulates, international corporations, banks, and other businesses are located in Saint Petersburg.

A relatively young city, St. Petersburg can lay no claims to a history spanning more than a few centuries. You will find neither ancient ruins nor exotic architecture, but we are convinced that your visit to St. Petersburg will become an unforgettable experience. Tourists often find certain aspects of S. Petersburg reminiscent of other famous European cities. Its quiet embankments and steeply sloping roofs remind one of Paris; its canals and arched bridges, of Venice; its shady parks and grand palaces, of Prague: However, these are only first, superficial impressions. For St. Petersburg is truly a unique city. Three Russian revolutions took place in our city – it bravely withstood the 900 day siege laid by the Nazis during the Second World War, and it may truly be called a center of Russian culture. Among those who lived and created many of their immortal works here were Alexander Pushkin, Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Giacomo Quarenghi, Nikolai Gogol, and Dmitry Shostakovich.

Russian National Currency

The national currency is the Ruble (Rbl). Banknotes come in denominations of 10, 50, 100, 500 and 1,000 and 5,000 – there are also 1,2,5 and 10 Ruble coins. There are 100 kopecks to every ruble and kopecks come in denominations of 1, 5, 10 and 50. In places with a lot of foreign customers you still can see the prices written in Cyrillic “y.e” which means “conditional unit” and refers to the exchange rate between the ruble and the dollar or euro (or sometimes whatever the restaurant or shop wants to set it at) even though this practice was banned in January 2005. ATM’s can be found at most metro stations, banks, and large hotels. Credit card use is still in its infancy and not all establishments will accept them, even if they have signs that say they will. Always have cash as back up.

Climate and White Nights

One of the largest cities in the world, St. Petersburg lies near the Arctic Circle on the same latitude as the northern part of Alaska and the southern tip of Greenland. However, despite its northern location St. Petersburg has a fairly mild climate: on the average, the temperature is above the freezing point 222 days a year. This is mainly owing to the warm air masses brought to the city by winds from the Atlantic Ocean. Usually the weather is very changeable, it may rain several days, and then several days can be with beautiful sunshine.

When preparing for the trip to our city it is useful to know the following data on the mean monthly temperature (centigrade) in St. Petersburg:

May +8,7°C (47,7°F), June +14,8°C (58,6°F), July +17,7°C (63,9°F), August +16,1°C (61,0°F), September +10,8°C (51,4°F), October +4,5°C (40,1°F).

Main City Attractions

St. Petersburg is famous for its White Nights. They begin after the 10th of June; by this time the sun sets only 9 degrees below the horizon. By June 21 the length of the day has increased to 18 hours and 53 minutes. During White Nights, when a faint twilight takes the place of night-time darkness (and then not even for more than 30-40 minutes)- the streets, squares, and embankments acquire a unique charm and are described as truly remarkable and romantic. White Nights come to an end around July 2.

Main Sites
The basis of St Petersburg’s attraction for tourists is its historical and architectural wonders, which adds to its cultural importance. The ensembles of St Petersburg embankments, avenues, and squares are among the masterpieces of world architecture. There are more than 150 museums and 100 theatres in the city, including the famous Marinsky Theatre and Ballet.

Just 3 hours flying time from London lays the historic imperial capital of the old Tsarist Russia’s. Once the in place to be, St Petersburg was and is fast becoming the new cultural capital of Europe. After nearly 100 years of communist neglect this wondrous city is now getting the care and attention it desperately requires. 2003 saw the city’s 300th anniversary and the Federal Government spent several billion US dollars upgrading and renovating most of the historic monuments and buildings.

St Petersburg has been nominated as one of the top ten travel destinations of the year and the latest government figures showed a huge increase in tourism to the city – there has never been a better time to visit St Petersburg.

St Petersburg is situated is the westernmost part of Russia and the border of Finland is just 4-5 hours driving time – there is easy access to Helsinki via train, bus and boat. The city of St Petersburg boasts to have more canals and bridges than Venice and has been named the “Venice of North”.

The city was originally constructed by the order of Tsar Peter the Great, destined to be the new capital of Russia. In an attempt to westernize Russia Peter wanted to build a Russian Navy and import western ideas to Russia. So he located his new capital on the Gulf of Finland and began to construct his navy, even working himself on the construction of the ships. Russia is typically perceived as a “forbidden” country since being closed off from the greater part of the past century. Apart from Russia’s political history, outsiders still don’t have a grasp of the every day life in Russia. It is a country surrounded by rumors of rampant crime and prostitution, of relentless drug-trafficking, of long queues for nonexistent food and of a general end-of-the world aura.

But with countless historical and cultural riches having withstood the tribulations of history and economics, Russia remains a MUST-see destination. There is plenty to visit within this vast country from the west straight to the east. The most popular and well known of Russian cities are Moscow and St. Petersburg. Neither town will disappoint the virgin traveller or the most experienced. Besides being the capital of the Russian Federation, Moscow is it’s administrative, cultural and historical centre.

A trip on the Trans-Siberian Railway is almost a mythic experience. It is the longest rail line on earth stretching for over one third of the globe. A great part of such trip is simply sitting back and watching the land go by. The route takes you past Siberia’s Lake Baikal, the deepest, oldest lake in the world and home to the world’s only freshwater seal. And multicultural Irkutsk, a nearby city, is a very appealing city. Ulan-Ude is home to the country’s seat of Buddhism. Once you have gotten into the rhythm of the stops and starts, you will rejoice at the opportunity to stop and see life in provincial Russian towns.

The main water way of the Russian heartland has always been the 3700km long River Volga – Europe’s longest, which slowly flows from Yaroslavl, north of Moscow, all the way down to Volgograd, from where a branch runs off to Caspian Sea. The towns on the way include Kazan, one of he oldest Tatar cities in Russia, which features a limestone Kremlin, and several mosques. Lenin’ s hometown – Ulyanovsk , Volgograd (Stalingrad) is best known for the decisive and protracted battle fought here during second World War. The Kavkazus Mountains provide the backdrop for the resort town Sochi which lies along the Black Sea. With its subtropical climate, warm seas and adjoining trendy resort complex of Dagomys, the resort has long attracted heads of state, foreign tourists and Russians alike.

Heading inland – there are waterfalls, hilltop views, spa towns and alpine vistas to enjoy. Off the beaten track are Vladivostok, Murmansk, and Vyborg. Vladivostok was a thriving multicultural commercial center before Second World War, but from 1958 to 1990 it was entirely closed to foreigners. The town is often compared to San Francisco, because of its picturesque hills and heaps of sea views. The city is surrounded by the far east Maritime Reserve boars, Ussuri tigers, the rear Amur leopard and hundreds of local and migratory birds. Murmansk can be found halfway between Moscow and the North Pole, 200km from the Arctic Circle. It is surrounded by tundra, pitch black for all of December and most of January, home to Russia’s nuclear-powered ice-breakers and surrounded by municipal housing blocks. The town comes alive when visitors from the northern islands flock in during the Festival of the North, held in last week of March and featuring reindeer races and a ski marathon.

Finally, Vyborg, a port on the gulf of Finland, and is the main Helsinki – St. Petersburg route. It’s one of the Europe’s oldest cities and has a striking medieval castle built on a rock in the bay. There are even some early 20th century Art Nouveau beauties. Vyborg is most populated by fishermen, shipbuilders, and timber- haulers.

Besides the traditional historical sights of Russia to visit, there are endless activities to participate in while visiting. Among them are trekking or mountaineering in the Kola Peninsular; hiking or kayaking on Europe’s highest peak, Mt. Elbrus, fishing at Kamchaka, or even a leisurely expedition to the North Pole.

Some common and useful Russian words and phrases:

To book your guided City Tour or VISA free Shore Excursion with TJ Travel in St. Petersburg, Contact Us…

This entry was posted on May 3, 2010 at 9:31 am.

Posted in the All About St Petersburg category