St. Petersburg is the second largest city in Russia and
one of the most beautiful cities in the world. It was founded in 1703 by Peter
the Great as the “Window on the West”. Thousands of workmen were brought from
all parts of Russia to build a new city on the swampy land at the mouth of the
Neva River. Peter the Great was in a hurry. The work was fast and hard, and
workmen dropped dead by the hundreds. But the work went on.
In 1917 St. Petersburg, a city of great beauty, with
palaces, cathedrals, churches, government buildings became the capital. Under
later rulers the new capital of the Russian Empire grew rapidly in wealth and
beauty. Architects were brought from western Europe to lay out the city in
harmonious squares. Buildings were constructed of grey and rose-colored
granite. The Hermitage Palace and the Winter Palace, the homes of the tsars,
were equal to any in Europe.
When the First World War began in 1914, the
German-sounding name, St. Petersburg, was changed to Petrograd. After the
October Revolution the city was renamed after Lenin.
During the Great Patriotic War the city suffered a
great deal. The German armies laid siege to it in 1941, and for the next year
and a half it was cut off from the rest of the country. No food could be
brought in, and people died of starvation. Daily shelling and air raids
destroyed parts of the city. Thousands of people were killed. Rebuilding took
years.
Now St. Petersburg is an important industrial, cultural
and educational centre. The population of the city is over 5 million.
St. Petersburg is indeed a wonderful city: at every
turn there’s something to catch your eye. The Winter Palace, the Hermitage, the
Russian Museum, St Isaac’s Cathedral, the Peter-and-Paul Fortress, the
Admiralty building attract thousands of tourists from every corner of the
world.
Petersburg’s many museums house some of the world’s
most famous art collection. The Hermitage, for example, contains the richest
collection of pictures in the world.
The city is called the Northern Venice because there
are 65 rivers, arms and canals there with artistically decorated bridges. It’s
also famous for its beautiful white nights.
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