Why go
The Neva, canals and bridges give the city a coherent setting for understanding imperial culture. Palace Square, the Hermitage and the Mariinsky Theatre connect architecture with art and performance, while the Peter and Paul Fortress adds the fortified origins behind the palatial image.
The full story
Peter the Great founded Saint Petersburg in 1703 on the Neva, near the Gulf of Finland. Its Baltic location and role as an imperial capital distinguish its history from Moscow’s. Classical architecture, rivers and canals shape the city’s identity as much as individual monuments. The names in older books mark successive political periods. Saint Petersburg became Petrograd in 1914, then Leningrad in 1924. The name Saint Petersburg returned in 1991. The central government moved to Moscow in 1918, but imperial institutions and architecture remained fundamental to the city’s cultural profile. The Hermitage, Palace Square and the Mariinsky Theatre belong to that broader cultural story. Saint Isaac’s Cathedral and the Church of the Savior on Blood add different religious silhouettes. Together, these names explain why references to imperial, revolutionary and Soviet history can all concern the same city.