Saint Petersburg
Country: Russia · 5,652,922 inhabitants · Founded: 1703
Attractions
Wikivoyage
For the city in Florida, see Saint Petersburg (Florida)
Saint Petersburg (Russian: Са́нкт-Петербу́рг Sankt-Peterburg), known as Petrograd (Петроград) in 1914-1924 and Leningrad (Ленинград) in 1924-1991, is the second largest city of Russia, with 5.6 million inhabitants (2021), the fourth most populous city in Europe, the world's northernmost city of at least a million residents, and the former capital of the Russian Empire. Founded in 1703, it is not ancient, but its historical cityscape is remarkably well-preserved. The center of Saint Petersburg occupies numerous islands of the Neva River delta, divided by waterways and connected by huge drawbridges. Since 1991, it and some historical suburbs, including Peterhof, have been listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. It is part of the Silver Ring of cultural and historical centers of the Northwest of Russia. It is home to one of the world's largest museums of art, the Hermitage. Many Russians know the city as Piter (Питер), a diminutive of Saint Petersburg.
Wikipedia
Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd (Петроград) and later Leningrad (Ленинград), is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. With an area of
1,439 sq km (556 sq mi), Saint Petersburg is the smallest administrative division of Russia by area. The city had a population of 5,601,911 residents as of 2021, with more than 6.4 million people living in the metropolitan area. Saint Petersburg is the fourth-most populous city in Europe, the most populous city on the Baltic Sea, and the world's northernmost city of more than 1 million residents. As the former capital of the Russian Empire, and a historically strategic port, it is governed as a federal city.
The city was founded by Tsar Peter the Great on 27 May 1703 on the site of a captured Swedish fortress, and was named after the apostle Saint Peter. In Russia, Saint Petersburg is historically and culturally associated with the birth of the Russian Empire and Russia's entry into modern history as a European great power. It served as a capital of the Tsardom of Russia, and the subsequent Russian Empire, from 1712 to 1918 (being replaced by Moscow for a short period between 1728 and 1730). After the October Revolution in 1917, the Bolsheviks moved their government to Moscow. The city was renamed Leningrad after Lenin's death in 1924. It was the site of the siege of Leningrad during World War II, the most lethal siege in history. In June 1991, only a few months before the Belovezha Accords and the dissolution of the Soviet Union, voters in a city-wide referendum supported restoring the city's original name.
As Russia's cultural centre, Saint Petersburg received over 15 million tourists in 2018. It is considered an important economic, scientific, and tourism centre of Russia and Europe. In modern times, the city has been nicknamed "the Northern Capital of Russia" and is home to notable federal government bodies such as the Constitutional Court of Russia and the Heraldic Council of the President of the Russian Federation. It is also home to the National Library of Russia and a planned location for the Supreme Court of Russia, as well as home to the headquarters of the Russian Navy, and the Leningrad Military District of the Russian Armed Forces. The Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments constitute a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Saint Petersburg is home to the Hermitage (one of the largest art museums in the world), and the Lakhta Center (the tallest skyscraper in Europe), and was one of the host cities of the 2018 FIFA World Cup and the UEFA Euro 2020.