SAINT PETERSBURG INTRODUCTION, Introduction

Hi, my name’s Scott, and I’m your personal guide. Along with MyWoWo, I’d like to welcome you to one of the Wonders of the World: St. Petersburg.

The delightful city of St. Petersburg largely owes its fame and beauty to its founder, Tsar Peter the Great, who made it the capital of the Russian Empire until the communist revolution of 1917.

The city was founded on May 27, 1703, when Peter the Great ordered excavations to commence for the Peter and Paul Fortress on Hare Island, in the middle of the Neva River, at the point where the river flows into the Gulf of Finland.

The original name of the new capital was in Dutch, Sankt Peterburkh, because the tsar - who had lived and studied in the Netherlands - was a great admirer of the architecture in Amsterdam which was the inspiration for the canals of St. Petersburg.

The new capital quickly expanded, with a wealth of palaces and churches, and its main street, the famous Nevsky Prospekt was built....