Squares and Prospects

Saint-Petersburg, one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, has become world-famous as an architectural masterpiece thanks to the many generations of talented engineers, builders and architects, who created the unsurpassed ensemble of Petersburg??™s central areas - the glorious city collection of palatial edifices complemented by precisely arranged utilitarian spaces of central squares and a fan of tree-lined avenues.

Nevsky Prospect Built on an epic scale and running from the Admiralty to the Alexander Nevsky Monastery (4,5 km) and measuring up to 60m wide in places, the Nevsky prospect is the main city thoroughfare, the centre of business and cultural life of the city, a prime place for shopping, entertainment and nightlife, and, of course, the prime symbol of St-Petersburg.

Palace Square The stark expanse of the Palace Square with its towering Alexander Column is inseparable from the Petersburg??™s turbulent history. The square has always attracted political rallies ??“ it was the venue for showy parades as well as mass demonstrations and all the great political struggles, including the famous storming of the Winter Palace in 1917.

St.Isaac's Square Stretching south of the grandiose St.Isaac??™s Cathedral, this vast and elegant square with the Mariinsky Palace on its south edge and the bronze equestrian statue of Nicholas I in the centre, is irreproachably even, but produces the impression of slight concavity to the centre from whatever viewpoint.

Theatre Square The Theatre Square is dominated by the stunning premises of two most renowned institutions in Petersburg: the sea-green fa?ade of the world-famous Mariinsky Theatre, built in 1859, and the Conservatory ??“ the first institution of higher musical education in Russia, founded in 1822 by the pianist and composer Anton Rubinstein.

The Square of Arts Originally named after its dominant feature - the stunning Mikhailovsky Palace, the Square of Arts with the statue of Pushkin erected in its centre in 1957, is entirely surrounded by exquisite buildings designed by Carlo Rossi in the early 19th century, each fa?ade conforming to Rossi??™s overall Neoclassical plan.

Senate Square The Senate Square ??“ an expanse of fir trees and rose beds ??“ is largely defined by the monuments that surround it. Bordering it north is the granite Neva embankment; east, the ascetic Admiralty fa?ade; the Bronze Horseman towers the centre, while the west edge, the first to catch sightseer??™s eye, has the ornate Senate and Synod premises.

Ostrovskogo Square The Ostrovskogo square, which originally was called Alexandrinskaya in honour of Nicholas I??™s wife, was chosen the site for the monument to Catherine the Great. Erected here in 1862 to commemorate the centenary of her ascent to the throne, the monument made for the square??™s new name ??“ ???Catherine Garden???.

Moscovsky Prospect The longest avenue in the city, Moscovsky Prospect is a straight six-lane boulevard running from Sennaya Ploschad in the centre of Petersburg to the Victory Monument on Ploschad Pobedy. The distance boasts casual yet imposing sightseeing and Stalinist-ear apartment buildings ??“ a fascinating legacy of Soviet urban architecture.

Uprising Square Previously called Znamenskaya after the church which was demolished in 1940 and later on replaced by the spired rotunda of Ploschad Vosstania metro station, the Uprising Square witnessed some of the bloodiest exchanges between police and demonstrations during the February Revolution, hence its current name.