Hello all,
Here we are for the second day in St. Petersburg. Founded by Peter the Great in 1703, this city was first known as Saint Petersburg, later changed to Petrograd (1914-1924) and then to Leningrad from 1927-1991. St. Petersburg, as it is known today, is the second largest city in Russia (after Moscow), and was the capital of the Russian Empire for two centuries, from 1712 until 1918. Today the city is an important seaport, cultural, and industrial center. Because the site of the city is on low marsh land, an area prone to flooding, canals were built to assist in drainage, giving the city the reputation of being the "Venice of the North." St. Petersburg owes much of its economy to manufacturing. Foremost industries include production of armaments, electrical and power machinery and ship building. St. Petersburg is also the largest port in Russia with major import/export traffic in commercial and industrial products. Points of interest in St. Petersburg include: the Peter and Paul Fortress, the Summer Palace, the Winter Palace (Hermitage) and Saint Isaac's Cathedral.
Today we took an all day tour called: Imperial St. Petersburg.
We drove around the city to see some of the beautiful buildings. Then we headed out to see Peter the Great's fabulous Summer Palace at Peterhof. We walked thru the beautiful interior where we were not allowed to take any photos. However, as beautiful as this place is inside, the real beauty in our opinion was in the gardens with all the magnificent fountains that were designed in the 18th century by Peter the Great. We had a beautiful walk thru the gardens and saw lots of different types of fountains.
After our ride back to St. Petersburg in the hydrofoil, and a nice lunch, we drove to the Church of the Resurrection (Church on the Spilled Blood). The mushroom type domes on the top are gorgeous. And the inside is covered with all mosaic icon pictures. It is truly amazing to see!!!
We were tired after our two full days plus the evening of sightseeing in St. Petersburg, but it truly was amazing and well worth seeing!!!
Enjoy.
Jan and Dick
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