St. Petersburg is undoubtfully considered to be one of the most beautiful cities in the world because of its wonderful sights. Despite of the fact that the city has celebrated only its 300th anniversary, it has a very rich history. There are many palaces, museums, theaters and other monuments of culture in St. Petersburg. The city is a monument itself: ensembles of old buildings in the center, streets and squares together with parks, rivers and canals create the unique atmosphere of harmony and beauty.

The Peter and Paul's Fortress is the oldest monument of culture in St. Petersburg. It was build on the Zayachiy Island in delta of the Neva River to protect the city from the threat of Swedish invasion. St. Petersburg's day of foundation is the 27th of May - the day when the first boulder was put to the concrete of the Fortress in the year of 1703. Later on, the Fortress became a garrison with barracks, and after that, when the Northern War was over in 1721, it was used as a prison. Many of the famous people were kept there, including popular Russian writers, such as Dostoevskiy and political persons, such as Alexey, son of Peter the Great.

The State Hermitage Museum of St. Petersburg has the right to be called one of the most famous sights of the city. It was built in 1754-1762 by a well-known Italian architect F.B. Rastrelli and become a residence of the Russian royalty from that time till the year of 1917, when the Revolution took place. The Hermitage is situated on the bank of the Neva River in several buildings, the main of which is The Winter Palace. There are almost 3 millions of exhibits in the Hermitage covering the development of art from the Stone Age to the 20th century.

The Palace Square is the biggest and the main square of St. Petersburg which is situated almost on the embankment of the Neva River. Four main sights are located on this square: the Hermitage, the Admiralty, the building of the Army General Headquarters with its Triumphal Arc, and the Alexander column. The Palace Square is usually full of people when State holidays take place or on other significant occasions. Fireworks and salutes are best seen from the Palace Square.

The most popular piece of sculpture in St. Petersburg is the monument to its founder, Peter the Great. This sculpture of Peter the Great riding a stallion is made of bronze by a French sculptor E.M. Falconet, and therefore called "The Bronze Horseman". The monument was meant to be a tribute by Catherine the Great to her famous predecessor on the Russian throne. The monument is situated on the Senatskaya Ploshchad' (Square) - right in front of Saint Isaac's Cathedral.

Saint Isaac's Cathedral is the largest cathedral in St. Petersburg, Russia, and the fourth largest cathedral of such a kind in Europe. The height of the cathedral (including the dome and the cross on it) is 101.5 meters, and each of the columns weights about 80 tons. Saint Isaac's cathedral is known for its magnificence and luxury. The cathedral was built for 40 years and it can accommodate up to 14000 worshippers. Now it serves as a museum and an observation tower for the tourists. The services are taken only on special occasions there.

The Kazan Cathedral is another great building in St. Petersburg. It was built since 1801 till 1811 and was supposed to be the main church of Russia. The Kazan Cathedral was planned to consist of 2 parts, of which the architect A. Voronikhin made only the first and so it has never been finished because he suddenly died. In spite of this fact, the Kazan Cathedral became the symbol of Russia's victory in the War of 1812 with Napoleon. Now the cathedral serves as a St. Petersburg museum of Religion.

The Russian Museum is the best place in St. Petersburg to see the Russian art. The paintings from the 12th to mid-20th centuries are exhibited there. Its collection can rival only the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow. The museum was built in 1819-1825 for Grand Duke Mikhail, brother of Alexander I and Nicolay I. In 1898 it was turned into the "Russian Museum of Emperor Alexander III". At the beginning of the 20th century a new wing was built for the growing collections, it was called the Benois Building (The Corpus Benua).

Along with the marvelous pieces of architecture, there are some artificial yet natural sights in St. Petersburg. One of them is the Summer Garden. It was created together with the first of the palaces in the city by Peter the First who had been inspired by foreign parks in different European countries. There are not only trees and plants in the Summer Garden, but different statues as well. There you can even find an oak planted by Peter the Great himself!

These and a great deal other sights are worth seeing if you come to St. Petersburg - one of the most beautiful cities in the world!