Landmarks of Saint Petersburg

The appearance of St. Petersburg includes long, straight boulevards, vast spaces, gardens and parks, decorative wrought-iron fences, monuments and decorative sculptures. The Neva River itself, together with its many canals and their granite embankments and bridges help to give the city its particular ambience.

St. Petersburg's position below the Arctic Circle, on the same latitude as nearby Helsinki, , Aberdeen and Oslo (60° N), causes twilight to last all night in May, June and July. This phenomenon is known as the "white nights". The white nights are closely linked to another attraction — the eight drawbridges spanning the Neva. The bridges are drawn from May to late October according to a special schedule, between approximately 2 a.m. and 4:30 a.m. to allow shipping to pass up and down the river. Every night during the navigation period from April to November, 22 bridges across Neva and main canals are drawn to let ships pass in and out of the Baltic Sea.

The historical center of St. Petersburg was the first Russian patrimony inscribed on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.

Saint Petersburg is built on what originally were more than 100 islands created by a maze of rivers, creeks, canals, gulfs, lakes and ponds and other bodies of water that flow into the Baltic Sea at the mouth of the Neva river.

Peter the Great designed the city as another Amsterdam and Venice, with canals instead of streets and citizens skilful in sailing. Initially, there were only about ten bridges constructed in the city, mainly across ditches and minor creeks. According to Peter's plans, in the summer months, the citizens were supposed to move around in boats, and in the winter months when the water froze to move in sledges. However, after Peter's death, new bridges were built as it was a much easier way of transportation. Temporary pontoon bridges were built across Neva in the summertime. The largest temporary bridge across the Bolshaya Neva was in operation from 1727 to 1850.

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