The Hermitage Museum / The Winter Palace

The Hermitage Museum/The Winter Palace is Saint Petersburg's prime attraction, a massive palace-museum showing the highlights of a collection of over 3,000,000 pieces spanning the globe.

Church of the Savior on Blood

Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood is a traditional style Russian church built on the spot where Tsar Alexander II was assassinated in 1881. The interior is elaborately decorated with over 7500sqm of mosaics.

Victory Day at Palace Square

Victory Day or 9 May marks the capitulation of Nazi Germany to the Soviet Union in the Second World War.

Saint Isaac's Cathedral

Saint Isaac's Cathedral is the largest Russian Orthodox cathedral in the city. The cathedral took 40 years to construct (1818 to 1858).

The Hermitage Museum / The Winter Palace

The Hermitage is truly one of the world's great museums, with an imposing setting displaying priceless works by Rembrandt, Leonardo, Michelangelo, Rubens and more.

The Hermitage Museum / The Winter Palace

The Winter Palace was from 1732 to 1917 the official residence of the Russian monarchs. The storming of the palace in 1917 as depicted in Soviet paintings and Eisenstein's 1927 film October became an iconic symbol of the Russian Revolution.

The Hermitage Museum / The Winter Palace

The palace was constructed on a monumental scale that was intended to reflect the might and power of Imperial Russia. From the palace, the Tsar ruled over 22,400,000 square kilometres (almost 1/6 of the Earth's landmass) and over 125 million subjects by the end of the 19th century.

The Hermitage Museum / The Winter Palace

It was designed by many architects, most notably Bartolomeo Rastrelli, in what came to be known as the Elizabethan Baroque style. The green-and-white palace has the shape of an elongated rectangle, and its principal façade is 250 m long and 100 ft (30 m) high.

The Hermitage Museum / The Winter Palace

The Winter Palace has been calculated to contain 1,786 doors, 1,945 windows, 1,500 rooms and 117 staircases.

The Hermitage Museum / The Winter Palace

In 1905, the Bloody Sunday massacre occurred when demonstrators marched toward the Winter Palace, but by this time the Imperial Family had chosen to live in the more secure and secluded Alexander Palace.

The Hermitage Museum / The Winter Palace

Following the February Revolution of 1917, the palace was for a short time the seat of the Russian Provisional Government. Later that same year, the palace was stormed by a detachment of Red Army soldiers -a defining moment in the birth of the Soviet state.

The Hermitage Museum / The Winter Palace

On a less glorious note, the month-long looting in 1917 of the palace's wine cellars during this troubled period led to what has been described as "the greatest hangover in history".

The Hermitage Museum / The Winter Palace

Church on Spilt Blood

The Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood is one of the main sights of St. Petersburg. It is also variously called the Church on Spilt Blood.

Church on Spilt Blood

Construction began in 1883 under Alexander III, as a memorial to his father, Alexander II. Work progressed slowly and was finally completed during the reign of Nicholas II in 1907.

Church on Spilt Blood

The Church contains over 7500 square metres of mosaics—according to its restorers, more than any other church in the world.

Church on Spilt Blood

The beautiful interior.

Church on Spilt Blood

Detail of the richly decorated facade and onion domes.

Church on Spilt Blood

Detail of the richly decorated facade and onion domes.

Victory Day at Palace Square

In the former Soviet Union this festival was celebrated to commemorate the Red Army's victory over the Nazi forces.

Victory Day at Palace Square

In the former Soviet Union this festival was celebrated to commemorate the Red Army's victory over the Nazi forces.

Victory Day at Palace Square

Victory Day at Palace Square

Victory Day at Palace Square

Victory Day

Fireworks at Victory Day (9. May).

Palace Square

Palace Square at night. The earliest and most celebrated building on the square is the baroque white-and-azure Winter Palace of Russian tsars (1754–62), which gave the square its name.

Palace Square

Palace Square an early morning. The centre of the square is marked with the Alexander Column. This red granite column (the tallest of its kind in the world) is 47.5 metres high and weighs some 500 tons...

Palace Square

Peter and Paul Fortress

Night view toward Peter and Paul Fortress.

Trinity Bridge

Trinity Bridge (Troitskiy Most) is a bascule bridge across the Neva. It was the third permanent bridge across the Neva, built between 1897 and 1903. It is 582m long.

Trinity Bridge

The bridge takes its name from the Old Trinity Cathedral which used to stand at its northern end. In the 20th century it was known as Equality Bridge, 1918.

Peter and Paul Fortress

The fortress was established by Peter the Great on May 16 1703 at the height of the Northern War in order to protect the projected capital from a feared Swedish counterattack.

Peter and Paul Fortress

Peter and Paul Cathedral

The Peter and Paul Cathedral is a Russian Orthodox cathedral located inside the Peter and Paul Fortress. The cathedral's bell tower is the world's tallest.

Peter and Paul Cathedral

The church was built between 1712 and 1733. Its golden spire reaches a height of 404 feet and features at its top an angel holding a cross. This angel is one of the most important symbols of St. Petersburg.

Peter and Paul Fortress

From around 1720, the fort served as a base for the city garrison and also as a prison for high-ranking or political prisoners.

Peter and Paul Fortress

View from Peter and Paul Fortress toward the Winter Palace.

Kazan Cathedral

Kazan Cathedral also known as the Cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan, is a cathedral of the Russian Orthodox Church and probably the most venerated icon in Russia. The construction was started in 1801 and continued for ten years.

St. Nicholas Naval Cathedral

St. Nicholas Naval Cathedral is a major Baroque Orthodox cathedral. It has always been closely associated with the Russian Navy, serving as its main shrine until the Russian Revolution.

St. Nicholas Naval Cathedral

The beautiful interior.

Singer House

Singer House also widely known as the House of Books is recognized as an historical landmark, and has official status as an object of Russian cultural heritage. The building was designed for the Russian branch of the Singer Sewing Machine Company.

Saint Isaac's Cathedral

Saint Isaac's Cathedral is the largest Russian Orthodox cathedral in the city. The cathedral took 40 years to construct (1818 to 1858). Under the Soviet government, the building was stripped of religious trappings.

Saint Isaac's Cathedral

Interior of the great dome, honouring the Holy Spirit.

Saint Isaac's Cathedral

Internal features such as columns, pilasters, floor, and statue of Montferrand are composed of multicolored granites and marbles gathered from all parts of Russia.

The Mariinsky Theatre

The Mariinsky Theatre is a historic theatre of opera and ballet in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music theatre of late 19th century Russia.

Pushka Inn Hotel

Pushka Inn Hotel – one of the best hotels in Saint Petersburg!

Neva River

The Neva river is flowing from Lake Ladoga through the western part of Leningrad Oblast to the Neva Bay of the Gulf of Finland. Neva is the third largest river in Europe in terms of average discharge (after the Volga and the Danube).

Neva River

An early morning at Neva River.