St. Petersburg — Peter's Cursed Register

Your journey begins at Ioannovsky Bridge, a 24-meter drawbridge built in 1824-1825 by William Hasset, named in honor of Tsarevich John. It is the main entry point to the Peter and Paul Fortress, founded by Peter the Great in 1703 to defend the city from the Swedes. Crossing this bridge, which was fixed until 1887 before being modified for river navigation, you enter the 28-hectare enclosure where the Tsar personally supervised the fortification works, even sleeping on site in a cabin, thus laying the first stones of Saint Petersburg.

Inside the Peter and Paul Fortress, you discover the Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral, erected between 1712 and 1733 by your colleague Domenico Trezzini. This is where Russian tsars have rested since Peter the Great, who died in 1725. Not far, the Summer Garden, created as early as 1704 by the Tsar, offers a contrast of serenity. Peter the Great had European trees planted there, seeking to acclimatize Western flora over 11 hectares, opening this landscaped garden to the public in 1716. This place was restored in 1818 after the 1824 floods that submerged Saint Petersburg, demonstrating the city's resilience.

Leaving the fortress, you head towards Peter the Great's House, a modest 11x5 meter wooden dwelling built in 1714 on the banks of the Neva. The Tsar lived there from 1714 to 1716, supervising the construction of his new capital from this simply furnished residence. Preserved as a museum since 1800 and classified as a historical monument in 1911, this house was visited by Nicholas II in 1897, highlighting its importance in the history of the Romanov dynasty and the heritage of Saint Petersburg.

Your journey then leads you to the Rostral Columns, erected in 1810 on the Exchange embankment of the Neva by Jean-François Thomas de Thomon. Standing 32 meters high, they are adorned with ship prows captured from the Turks and Swedes, symbolizing Russian naval victories, a theme dear to Peter the Great who initiated the construction of the Exchange in 1703. These columns, visible from the Summer Garden and less than 500m from Ioannovsky Bridge, recall the maritime power the Tsar desired for the city of Saint Petersburg.

The Menshikov Palace, built between 1706 and 1714 for Alexander Menshikov, Peter the Great's favorite, represents the Baroque splendor of that era. With its 22 rooms on two floors, this palace on Vasilyevsky Island, 800m walk from Ioannovsky Bridge via the Summer Garden, even temporarily housed Peter the Great in 1711. After Menshikov's exile in 1725, it was confiscated and transformed into a naval cadet corps in 1731. This walking tour in Saint Petersburg offers a concrete immersion into the vision of a tsar who shaped a city, its monuments, and its naval history, from the Admiralty founded in 1704 as a shipyard where Peter the Great launched the first vessel in 1706.