Saint Petersburg
учебно-методический материал по английскому языку (8 класс)

Saint-Petersburg is one of the most fascinating cities of the world. It is the second largest Russian city after Moscow. Peter the Great cut a “window to Europe” by founding Saint Petersburg in 1703.

In 1917 St. Petersburg became the capital of Russia and grew rapidly. Architects came from Europe to make Saint-Petersburg one of the most magnificent cities.

When the First World War began, the name Saint-Petersburg was changed to Petrograd. Later it was renamed to Leningrad and in 1991 back to                       Saint-Petersburg.

The city suffered a great deal during the Great Patriotic War. It was in the siege for almost 900 days, many buildings were destroyed. It took many years to rebuild the city after the Victory.

Today Saint-Petersburg is an important cultural, industrial and educational center. The population of the city is over 5 million people.

Saint-Petersburg is definitely worth visiting: The Russian Museum, The Winter Palace, St Isaac's Cathedral, the Hermitage, the Peter-and-Paul Fortress and the Admiralty building attract a lot of tourists from every corner of the world. Petersburg's museums house famous collections, for example, the Hermitage contains one of the richest collections of pictures in the world. It is always packed with tourists.

Saint Petersburg is also called the Northern Venice. There are 65 rivers and canals there. You can enjoy the stunning views of the city having a river walk. The city is also famous for its white nights.

In St. Petersburg the climate is continental, with freezing winters and warm summers. Snowfall is frequent in winter as well as rainfall in summer. The wind often blows. The temperature is generally mild or pleasantly warm, but there can be rainy and cool days, so it's better to bring a sweatshirt, a jacket and an umbrella.