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                                     Summer Garden

The Summer Garden is located where the Fontanka River flows out of the Neva River. It was founded in 1704 by order of Peter the Great, who was personally involved in planning it, and is laid out according to strict geometrical principles. The Summer Garden is home to marble statues, rare flowers, plants and fountains, acquired from Europe especially for Russia's new capital.

 In the garden there is a huge fence designed by architect Yury Felten in 1773-1786. The wrought iron separate the Palace Square park. Fence has 36 granite columns decorated with urns, vases and it is impressive by the harmony of proportions, elegance and simplicity.

Impressed by the royal parks that he had seen in Europe, Peter the Great was very keen to create something similar in his newly built "Venice of the North". In Peter's new park everything was created according to the latest fashions; the trees and bushes were trimmed in the most elaborate way and all the alleys were decorated with marble statues and fountains. Peter the Great used to organize regular receptions and balls in the gardens, his " assamblei ", which involved dancing and drinking and impressive firework displays.

Peter Clodt, whose most famous works are probably the magnificent horses on Anichkov Bridge, was also the sculptor of this charming monument to the much loved fabulist, Ivan Krylov. The monument was commissioned in 1844. However, it took nearly a decade to create it.

In 1777 the Summer Garden was severely damaged by flooding: Several statues were destroyed and fountains broken. However, it was soon restored to its original regular plan. Today its avenues are adorned by 79 sculptures by Italian sculptors of the 17th and 18th centuries, including Boratta, Bozzazza, and many others - the oldest collection of garden statues in Russia.

The building of Summer Palace was designed by the Swiss-Italian architect Domenico Trezzini while the sculptural and interior decoration was carried out by the German architect and sculptor Andreas Schluter, including the attractive red bas reliefs that run between the windows all around the building.. The palace had no heating and was intended only for summer time use, hence its name "Summer Palace", as opposed to the "Winter Palace" that Peter had built just down the same embankment of the Neva. The Summer Palace, a small two-storey yellow building, was built between 1710 and 1714, with 7 rooms on each floor. Peter’s quarters were on the first floor of the Summer Palace, and the second floor was for his wife Ekaterina and their children.

After the Second World War the palace was carefully restored, the older interiors were recreated and a collection of early 18th century artifacts, many originally owned by Peter the Great, was put on display.

Today the palace has become a branch of the Russian Museum. It showcases the original interiors, many personal belongings of Peter and Catherine, unique devices of the 18th century, rare paintings, and much more.

In the garden was also built the “coffee house” designed by Carlo Rossi in 1826, and” tea house” built by Ludwig Charlemagne in 1827. Coffee house was built on a grottoes created by Andreas Schlüter and Georg-Johann Mattarnovi in 1820.

The Spit

Once, at this point where the River Neva splits in two - the Bolshaya Neva and Malaya Neva, St. Petersburg's main port was located. During the planning of Birzhevaya Ploshchad in 1810 the decision was taken to install two beacons indicating the two channels. Jean-Francois Thomas de Thomon, the architect of the Old Stock Exchange, decided to build the towers in the style of Roman rostral columns - victory columns on which the prows ("rostra") of captured enemy ships were mounted.

These two columns standing on the Strelka ("spit") of Vasilyevsky Island are as much a symbol of St. Petersburg as the open arches of Palace Bridge, the dome of St. Isaac's Cathedral, or the spires of the Admiralty and the Ss. Peter and Paul Cathedral. For over two centuries, they have formed an integral part of the city's central panorama over the River Neva, and are particularly impressive on major public holidays, when torches are lit on top of them.

The Menshikov Palace

Alexander Menshikov (1673-1729) was a good friend and companion of Peter the Great. He came from a very humble background, but was quickly promoted by Peter to become a duke (1707) and the Governor General of St. Petersburg. Under his supervision the Peter and Paul Fortress and the fort of Kronshlot (now Kronshtadt) in the Gulf of Finland were built. Being the Governor General, he commissioned a large palace on Vasilievsky Island, where he lived until 1727. The palace was the most luxurious house to be built in the city thus far (far superior to the Summer Palace of Peter the Great) and was therefore chosen to host various official functions.

Between 1732 and 1918 the palace was home to a military school, but in 1967 it was given to the Hermitage. Now, with the early 18th century interiors restored, it houses a collection of Russian cultural artifacts from the early 18th century.