Welcome to my hometown: Saint Petersburg

I believe St Petersburg is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Right after you arrive there, you can see stunning monuments and magnificent museums - neither an art lover, nor a simple tourist will stay indifferent. So let us have a virtual tour of this wonderful city of Peter the Great.

PETER AND PAUL FORTRESS
One of the most beautiful landmarks in St Petersburg is Peter and Paul Fortress. The building of the fortress corresponds with the shape of the island it is built on. The Peter and Paul Cathedral is the grave of the members of the Russian Royal family. It is definitely worth seeing during your trip to St Petersburg.

SPIT OF THE BASIL ISLAND
Now let us cross Birzhevoy Bridge and get to the Spit of the Basil Island. Situated opposite the building of the Stock exchange, it was once the business and cultural centre of the city.

ROSTRAL COLUMNS
The Spit divides the Neva River into two parts. In the XIX century it was the main city port and on top of the two rostral columns, beautifully decorated with the front parts of the ships, captains could see the fire and knew where to go. The magnificent sculptures at the bottom of the columns symbolize the four greatest Russian rivers: Volga, Dnepr, Neva an Volkhov.

THE CHAMBER OF CURIOSITIES
Walking along the embankment we will reach the most mysterious museum of the city - the Chamber of Curiosities. This place keeps lots of secrets and mysteries.

MYSTERIOUS CLOCK
One legend is about the Mysterious Clock situated in one of the halls. This clock, made of red wood, was once brought to St Petersburg by an unknown officer. The clock was really beautiful but there was only one problem - its mechanism didn’t work. Even though it couldn’t tell the time, it was kept in the Chamber of Curiosities. Since then the museum workers noticed some strange things: from time to time the clock starts ticking, but its hands go backwards and stop at 9.45. Rumour has it - this is a very bad sign: if it happens, one of the employees is about to die.

FLUTE MADE OF HUMAN FEMUR
Another unique exhibit of the Chamber of Curiosities is the Flute made of human femur. It is said to have been made by a Mongolian shaman. According to the legend, it could only be used for calling spirits.

PALACE SQUARE
Having seen some wicked exhibits in the Chamber of Curiosities, let us cross the Palace Bridge and have a look at the Palace Square which is the beginning of the main street of the city - Nevsky prospect. The prospect is said to be the warmest part of the city. In winter the difference in temperature between the northern districts of the city and the prospect may be as much as 10-12 degrees Celsius. And this warmth also reaches the square. So if you are cold - this is a nice place to warm up a bit.

THE HERMITAGE
Another thing to see here is one of the biggest and most famous museums in the world - the Hermitage. It has 350 rooms and to have a look at all of them it will take you as much as 11 years but only if you spend there 8 hours daily.

ST ISAAC’S CATHEDRAL
From the Palace Square let us move to the most beautiful cathedral of the city - St Isaac’s Cathedral. Inside you can see over 400 kg of pure gold and its splendid mosaic covers over 6500 square metres of the interior. Outside the cathedral is decorated with granite columns, weighing 64 tons each. This is the fourth biggest cathedral in the world.

MYSTERIOUS LEGEND
And of course there is a legend about this building. It says that once architect Montferrand went to a fortune teller. She told him that he would only live until he finished the cathedral. And strangely enough, Montferrand died 1 month after the construction was over.