The city tour of St. Petersburg was also enjoyable, as Debbie and I continued our sightseeing of Russia's second largest city (after Moscow). St. Petersburg has undergone several name changes over the years. It was formerly known as "Petrograd" (1914-1924); more familiarly remembered as "Leningrad" during the cold war (1924-1991); and finally as "St. Petersburg" in honor of the city's founder Tsar Peter I of Russia's patron saint, St. Peter the apostle .
In my opinion, the best thing about Russia is the eyecandy delights of its onion shaped Russian orthodox cathedrals. The one above is The Church of the Resurrection, a.k.a. The Church of Our Savior on the Spilled Blood, that was built in honor of Tsar Alexander II who was assassinated at the site in 1881. The church has the most mosaic square tiles than any other church in the world. It was ABSOLUTELY gorgeous! There were several churches in St. Petersburg that we passed (like the one below), but The Church of the Resurrection was my absolute favorite!
St. Petersburg has been dubbed "The Venice of the North." It sits on the delta of the Neva River, which empties into the Baltic Sea, and is comprised of 101 islands that are connected by many bridges; hence, its other nickname "The City of 101 islands."
One Russian church that we stopped at that surprisingly did not have an onion shaped cathedral was the Peter and Paul Cathedral. Its golden spire was 404 ft high that has a golden angel at the top holding a cross. This spire was a noted landmark in the city's skyline.
I loved this statue that stood atop the little museum across from the Peter and Paul Cathedral.
The Hermitage situated in the center of St. Petersburg consisted of the Winter Palace (former state residence of Russian emperors), museum, theater, and the Auxiliary House. Incidentally, the Hermitage Museum contains over 3 million works of arts and artifacts.
This was the statue of Tsar Nicholas I on a rearing horse that faced St. Isaac's Cathedral, which he had built in 1818. The cathedral is the 3rd largest domed church in the world. The equestrian monument of Tsar Nicolas I was built between 1856 - 1859.
I have no idea what this building was, but I thought it was very kewl.
And of course Debbie and I had to buy furry Russian hat souvenirs! LOL.
