With our article, 5 Unique Places in Saint Petersburg, we will close this series of articles on the Venice of the North.
There is no doubt that there are many more places that deserve special attention in this beautiful city, but we have chosen the 25 most emblematic sites and leave the others for when travellers visit us.
Mariinsky Theater, essential among the unique places of Saint Petersburg
What will become of the Venice of the North without the glamor of the theater? Impossible, Not in vain, St. Petersburg is called the cultural capital of Russia, and largely thanks to its theaters.
One of the most famous is the Mariinsky, named after Empress Maria Alexandrovna. It was built in 1860 according to the design of the Italian-Russian architect Alberto Cavos.
For a long time, all major ballets and performances were held in the building of the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow, but in the mid-80s of the XIX century, after the modernization of the building, they moved to the Mariinsky Theater.
After another 10 years, the building was rebuilt as a conservatory and handed over to the Russian Musical Society.
However, along with this, they continued to stage performances and ballets in the theater.
This situation has not changed until today, you can enjoy watching modern and classic productions, sitting in a room with original decoration from the 19th century, it is a real luxury and pleasure.
Alexandrinsky Theater
The first public theater in Russia to have a permanent place for rehearsals and performances was the Alexandrinsky Theater in 1756.
It was created by Empress Ekaterina Petrovna, and the first director of the company was Fyodor Volkov, who was assigned the title of the founder of the Russian theater.
In many ways, it was on the Alexandrinsky stage that the St. Petersburg school of acting began to take shape, which was very often opposed to the Moscow one.
Spectators were pleased and saddened by performances based on works by Griboyedov, Ostrovsky, Gogol and other leading playwrights.
The theater has been operating practically without interruption since its foundation, performances stopped only during the blockade of Leningrad.
Today you can enjoy some of the performances in which famous Russian actors take part.
Alexander Nevsky Lavra and Necropolis
In 1710, Peter I ordered to build a monastery on the site of the Battle of the Neva in memory of the heroic deed of the Novgorod prince.
However, historians made a mistake with the calculations, since the battle took place a little further up the river. This did not affect the grandeur and historical significance of the next building.
After the consecration of the Lavra, it is believed that Peter I personally brought the relics of Alexander Nevsky, brought from the city of Vladimir to the northeast of Moscow.
On the vast territory of the monastery, there are many jewelry and icon painting workshops. The work of local cabinetmakers and miniaturists is known throughout Russia.
One of the most important places in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra is the necropolis, where sculptors, artists, clerics and other important people are buried.
For a long time the permission for the burial was issued personally by the emperor since the cemetery was considered elite.
Eliseevs merchant house
There is a legend that Pyotr Eliseev gave Count Sheremetyev, for whom he worked as a gardener, a whole basket of strawberries.
He was so delighted with this that he gave Eliseev 100 rubles to open his own business, a lot of money in that epoch.
Eliseev turned out to be not only a good gardener, but also a talented entrepreneur who managed to build a business to satisfy the gastronomic needs of St. Petersburg residents.
At the beginning of the 20th century, his descendants built the house that is now known by his surname.
Inside there was a shop, a restaurant and even a theater.
You can still taste delicious cakes in the Eliseev merchant house, and at the same time admire the interior with more than a hundred years of history.
Singer Company House
The Singer company needed a representative building in the business center of St. Petersburg. In 1902 they entrusted this task to the architect Pavel Syuzor.
He decided not only to magnificently fulfill the order, but also to effectively circumvent the then-existing ban.
The marshy soils of the city were not suitable for the construction of high-rise buildings, so a limit of 11 sazhens (or the equivalent of 23.5 m) was set.
Syuzor built the facade in accordance with all the requirements, but erected the attic, to which the restrictions no longer applied, above 11 sazhens.
Thus, the house of the Singer company in 1904 became the tallest building in St. Petersburg.
In addition to the Singer company, the building at various times housed the United States Embassy, newspaper publishers, and bank offices. Now the house of “Singer” is divided between the bookstore “House of Books” and the main office of the social network “VKontakte”.
Visit the unique Places in Saint Petersburg
The 5 unique places in Saint Petersburg that we have mentioned are part of our excursions and services.
If you have plans to travel to St. Petersburg in particular or Russia in general, do not hesitate to contact us and we will help you plan perfectly each day that you are going to enjoy during your trip.
