A popular tourist destination in Russia, both for foreigners and for Russians themselves, is St. Petersburg. The city is rightfully called the “cultural capital” and also “the second capital”. Indeed, from the 16th century to the beginning of the 20th century, this city really had the status of a capital city. And I amazed with its European architecture, unlike other cities in Russia.

Petersburg, the main tourist hub. It is full of historical museums, as well as palace complexes and estates that belonged to the imperial house of the Romanovs, as well as families of high-ranking nobles. And, it definitely needs to be visited if you are heading to Russia.

But, let's start the very basics. How and when was this city, unique for Russia, built?

The history of Petersburg begins with the coming to power of the young ruler Pyotr Alekseevich Romanov. Pyotr, who had been studying for a long time in the European nautical country - Holland (now the Netherlands), adopted the European way of thinking and life, technology, culture and fashion. Pyotr's new experience was radically different from the Russian way of life stuck in the early Middle Ages.

Having received the Moscow throne, and the title of Tsar of All Russia, Pyotr decided to carry out a deep reform of the state. Making it full-fledged, competitive, integrated with Europe.

The very first step is the transformation of the political system of Russia into an Empire. And, proclaiming himself the Emperor of the Russian Empire. The word “Rus” was replaced by the Greek reading “Russia”. Since Peter was the first Emperor of Russia, he took a pseudonym under which the whole world knows him - “Pyotr I” (Pyotr the First).

Medieval Moscow did not suit Pyotr  as the capital. and he decided to build a new, capital city, with access to the sea, where the shipyards and his merchant and naval fleet would be located.

The choice fell on an unremarkable marshland, a land conquered from Sweden, called Ingermanlandia, at the mouth of the Neva River. It would seem that the climate is difficult for the capital. However, this site was of strategic importance to the young Reformer Emperor.

Initially, on this territory on May 27, 1703 (according to the Gregorian calendar), they began to build a militarized fortress called St. Petersburg (later became the Peter and Paul Fortress). Later, the city built around it received the same name.

The issue of soil quality and climate was resolved by the global terraforming of the territory. All the swamps in the urban area were completely dried up and filled up. New roads have been laid for the delivery of the material. European architects have been invited. Schools have been opened for Russian builders and architects adopting the experience of European technologies.

The question of supplying the new city with stone, Pyotr decided as follows - for some time he banned stone construction throughout Russia, except for St. Petersburg. What caused the influx of bricklayers to St. Petersburg, because they could not lose their jobs. The second point is the stone tax. Each freight train had to pay for its entry - with a certain amount of building stone.

The construction of the main buildings of the city was carried out along the banks of the Neva River. And if the swamps were drained, then the flooding of the river caused great inconvenience. One of the major floods occurred on November 5, 1705, when the spill destroyed many houses and soaked supplies and building materials.

Until 1717, construction was carried out mainly on a rotational basis. Annually at least 24,000 workers were sent to work in St. Petersburg. The shift lasted 2-3 months, after which the employee could return home.

In 1712, Peter officially moved the capital of the Russian Empire to the new city of St. Petersburg. The very first inhabitants of the new city were soldiers and sailors. After all, Pyotr was building his newest fleet, which was not supposed to be inferior to the countries of Europe in terms of combat power. Also, the city was inhabited by people from nearby Russian and Finnish villages, who switched to an urban lifestyle.

A little later, as the economic power of St. Petersburg grew, the city was flooded with the so-called "translators", people living in peasant yards, attributed to the owners of enterprises. These people were forced to go to work in St. Petersburg, though. they received a good salary there. The population reached about 40,000 by 1725.

This was the very first article about St. Petersburg. In subsequent articles, I will try to outline much more aspects of the development of the city and the construction of its architectural monuments.