Off-the-beaten Track Attractions of St Petersburg Suburbs

St Petersburg Russia is often called an open air museum due to numerous old buildings and architectural masterpieces both in the city and its suburbs. In a place like this it is hard to decide what sights to see, especially when you travel to St Petersburg for a short vacation or on a cruise. When it comes to St Petersburg suburbs people usually go to Peterhof to see its world famous fountains or to Pushkin (Tsarskoe Selo)to see the Catherine’s Palace and Amber Room. However, other St Petersburg suburbs have a lot to offer. If you are not a first-time traveler to St Petersburg or wish to see some sights off the beaten path, here are some of the places outside the city where you will probably see more locals than tourists.

Strelna

Originally Peter the Great wanted to build his “Russian Versailles” here, but later he moved it to Peterhof, where the land was better for fountain system construction. After Peter’s death Strelna was neglected for many years. Only at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries ,when it was given to Grand Duke Constantine, Paul I’s son. The Grand Duke left no heirs, so after his death in 1847 Emperor Nicholas I gave Strelna to his son, also named Constantine. At his time the main building of the residence Constantine Palace got its present look. After the revolution of 1917 the Strelna again saw gradual destruction, finally the residence was badly damaged during Nazi occupation. At the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries fortune again smiled on the palace. It was revived in amazingly short time, palace interiors were carefully restored after archive documents, old photographs and watercolours. Nowadays the Constantine Palace is a presidential residence called “The Palace of Congresses”, where high-level meeting take place. When there are no meetings visitors are allowed to the palace. They can see the revived historical interiors as well as some modern interiors of the presidential residence.

Kronstadt

Kronstadt is a city-fortress with more than 300-year history located on the Island of Kotlin in the Gulf of Finland. It was founded by Peter the Great to protect St Petersburg and to be a base of Russian navy. There are 21 forts around Kronstadt built during the 18th and the 19th centuries. Till 1996 Kronstadt was a closed city, as the navy base was located there. The main attraction in Kronstadt is the Naval Cathedral of St. Nicholas. Built in 1913 it reminds St. Sophia’s Cathedral in Constantinople and is one of the largest cathedrals in Russia.

Oranienbaum

The history of this residence goes back to the time of Peter the Great. Prince Alexander Menshikov, Peter’s friend and the first governor of St Petersburg, chose this place on the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland for his residence because it was close to Kronstadt fortress which was being constructed under his supervision. The Grand Menshikov Palace facing the sea was built between 1710 and 1722. After Peter the Great’s death Alexander Menshikov fell into disfavour, lost all his property and was sent to exile where he soon died. Later in the middle of the 18th century Oranienbaum became the residence of Peter III and his wife Catherine (future Catherine the Great). At Catherine’s time the complex of her Private Dacha was built. It consisted of the Chinese Palace, The Sliding Hill Pavilion and the Upper Park.
Oranienbaum was the only suburb of St Petersburg which was not occupied by Nazis, its parks and palaces, though some badly damaged, survived the WWII.

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