Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments

St. Petersburg, dubbed the 'Venice of the North' due to its numerous canals and more than 400 bridges, is the result of a vast urban project begun in 1703 under Peter the Great. Later known as Leningrad (in the former USSR), the city is closely associated with the October Revolution. Its architectural heritage reconciles the very different Baroque and pure neoclassical styles, as can be seen in the Admiralty, the Winter Palace, the Marble Palace and the Hermitage.

Criterion (ⅰ): In the field of urban design, Saint Petersburg represents a unique artistic achievement in the sheer ambition of the program, the coherency of the plan, and the speed of its execution. From 1703 to 1725, Peter the Great raised – from a landscape of marshes, peat bogs and rocks – architectural styles in stone and marble for his capital, Saint Petersburg, which he wished to be the most beautiful city in all of Europe.

Criterion (ⅱ): The ensembles designed in Saint Petersburg and the surrounding area by Rastrelli, Vallin de la Mothe, Cameron, Rinaldi, Zakharov, Voronikhine, Rossi, Montferrand and others exerted great influence on the development of architecture and monumental arts in Russia and Finland in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Criterion (ⅳ): The palaces of Peterhof (Petrodvorets) and Tsarskoye Selo (Pushkin), which were restored following their destruction during the Second World War, figure among the city’s most significant constructions.

Criterion (ⅵ): Saint Petersburg was twice directly and tangibly associated with events of universal significance. The construction of Saint Petersburg, between 1703 and 1725, symbolizes the opening of Russia to the western world and the emergence of the empire of the Tsars on the international scene. The Bolshevik Revolution triumphed in Petrograd in 1917 (the city had been renamed in 1914).

Country: Russian Federation
Location: Saint Petersburg
Coordinates: N 59° 57′ 0″, E 30° 19′ 5.988″
Inscription year: 1990
Inscription criteria: ⅰ, ⅱ, ⅳ, ⅵ