Russian Federation
N59 57 0 E30 19 5.988
Date of Inscription: 1990
Minor boundary modification inscribed year: 2013
Criteria: (i)(ii)(iv)(vi)
Property : 3,934.1 ha
Ref: 540bis
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The ‘Venice of the North’, with 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.
The unique urban landscape of the port and capital city of Saint Petersburg, rising out of the Neva estuary where it meets the Gulf of Finland, was the greatest urban creation of the 18th century.
Saint Petersburg was built at the beginning of the 18th century in an astonishingly short period of time, according to an orderly plan based on many of Peter the Great’s own ideas. The city was constructed under difficult conditions on lowlands unprotected from floodwaters, and in the face of severe shortages of materials and workers.
Within the first decades of its history, Saint Petersburg became a grandiose agglomeration consisting of the historical city core surrounded by ceremonial country residences, an advanced fortification system, estates and dachas, settlements and small towns linked by radial routes. It occupied the shore on both sides of the Gulf of Finland as well as the Kronstadt fortress-town on Kotlin Island, while moving up the Neva towards its source in Sсhlisselburg. This Russian-European city, surrounded by suburban ensembles, became a socio-cultural phenomenon with an incomparable historic urban landscape, characterized by an absolute hierarchy of structures.
A network of canals, streets and quays was built gradually, beginning in the reign of Peter the Great (1682-1725). The Nevski perspective did not become the city’s major east-west axis until 1738. Similarly, under the Empresses Anna Ioannovna (1730-1740), Elisabeth Petrovna (1741-1762) and Catherine II the Great (1762- 1796), the urban landscape of Saint Petersburg took on the monumental splendour that assured the world-renowned of the “Venice of the North”. An array of foreign architects (Rastrelli, Rinaldi, Quarenghi, Cameron and Vallin de la Mothe) rivaled one another with audaciousness and splendour in the capital’s huge palaces and convents and in imperial and princely suburban residences, amongst which one numbers Peterhof (Petrodvorets), Lomonosov, Tsarskoуe Selo (Pushkin), Pavlovsk and Gatchina.
The greatness of Russia’s northern capital, with its horizontal silhouette coupled with vertical landmarks and its ensembles of embankments and squares, lies in the heart of the city’s “imperial” spirit, its genius loci. The main feature and attraction of Saint Petersburg’s historical centre is characterized by a perfect harmony of architecture and waterscapes.
The full-flowing Neva bequeathed the city an exceptional spatial scale and wealth of spectacle. It became its main square and chief thoroughfare.
The Neva water spaces were natural extensions of the system of city squares. The regularly-spaced network of streets superimposed on this natural background endowed the city with an artistic contrast and perceptual richness. With its “view of stern and grace”, Saint Petersburg required a unified construction as an ensemble with Teutonic unity, qualities which emerged simultaneously with its birth.
The city fabric is richly woven through with ensembles. These assemblages, linking one to another, create a complex multi-layered system where not one element exists alone or is isolated from its environment. The overarching value of all of the components in this system stems from their incorporation into a harmonious whole.
It is precisely because of this that Saint Petersburg undoubtedly remains the only grand project in the history of urban planning to preserve its logical integrity despite rapid changes in architectural styles.
In modern times, the city bore witness to and participated in the majestic and tragic events of the 1917 February and October Revolutions and the heroic blockade of 1941-1944, in which some million human lives were lost. Having survived the unprecedented trials of the 20th century, the city continues to be a symbol and base of Russian culture for new times and one of its centres of science, culture and education tied eternally to the personalities and creative works of Outstanding Universal Value.
Criterion (i): In the field of urban design, Saint Petersburg represents a unique artistic achievement in the ambition of the program, the coherency of the plan and the speed of execution. From 1703 to 1725, Peter the Great lifted from a landscape of marshes, peat bogs and rocks, architectural styles in stone and marble for a 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. The normative value of the capital was increased from the beginning by the establishment of the Academy of Sciences, followed by that of the Academy of Fine Arts. The urban model of Saint Petersburg, which was completed under Catherine II, Alexander I and Nicholas I, was used during the reconstruction of Moscow following the fire of 1812, and for new cities, such as Odessa or Sebastopol, in the southern part of the Empire.
Criterion (iv): The nominated cultural property links outstanding examples of baroque imperial residences with the architectural ensemble of Saint Petersburg, which is the baroque and neoclassical capital par excellence. The palaces of Peterhof (Petrodvorets) and Tsarskoye Selo (Pushkin), which were restored following destruction during the Second World War, are some of the most significant constructions.
Criterion (vi): Saint Petersburg was twice directly and tangibly associated with events of universal significance. From 1703 to 1725, the construction of Saint Petersburg (recalled by the equestrian statue of Peter the Great by Falconet, located in Senatskaya Square) 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). The Aurora cruiser and the town house of Mathilde Kchesinskaia, later the museum of the Great Socialist Revolution of October, are, in the heart of Leningrad, symbols of the formation of the U.S.S.R.
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Saint Petersburg, known as Petrograd in 1914-1924 and Leningrad in 1924-1991, is the second largest city of Russia, with 5 million inhabitants, and the former capital of the Russian Empire. Founded in 1703, it is not ancient, but its historical cityscape is remarkably well-preserved. The center of Saint Petersburg occupies numerous islands of the Neva River delta, divided by waterways and connected by huge drawbridges. Since 1991 it and some historical suburbs, including Peterhof, have been listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. It is home to one of the world’s largest museums of art, the Hermitage. Many Russians know the city as Piter, a familiar diminutive of Saint Petersburg. Saint Petersburg is simply put one of the greatest sightseeing cities on earth. No visit can do it justice—you’ll have to move here to really be able to see all the sights. Really, budgeting a month of full-time tourism would not be unrealistic [read more].
Gatchina is located in Leningrad Oblast. It is the biggest city in it and also the center of Gatchinsky District. Its population is 92815 (2010 info). See Gatchina Palace. Major imperial residence, was begun in 1766–1781 by architect Antonio Rinaldi for Count Grigori Grigoryevich Orlov, favourite of Catherine II. She took such a great liking of the Gatchina Palace and park, that at Orlov’s death in 1783, she bought it from his heirs and presented it to her son, the future Emperor Paul I, who went to live there for 18 years. He invested considerable resources and used his experience from his travels around Europe to make Gatchina an exemplary palace and town. During the 1790s, Paul expanded and rebuilt much of the palace, and renovated interiors in Neoclassical style. Paul I graced the park with bridges, gates, pavilions, “The Isle of Love”, “The Private Garden” and “The Labyrinth” among many other additions [read more].
Veliky Novgorod is one of the oldest cities in Russia. It was first mentioned in the manuscripts as early as 859. The city of Novgorod The Great (Novgorod Veliky) is located between Moscow (530km) and Saint Petersburg (108 km). Its population is estimated at 230,000 people. Novgorod is inscribed on the World Heritage List. Novgorod was first mentioned in manuscripts as early as 859. Together with Kiev, Novgorod was a very important cultural, social, and economical centre in Rus, and was the capital of one of the first European democracies, the Novgorod Republic, addressed publicly as “Lord Novgorod the Great”. This independence came to be resented by the Muscovite autocrats; eventually Ivan the Terrible forced it into submission. It has ever since been a backwater kind of place. Several buildings make up the UNESCO World Heritage site Historic Monuments of Novgorod and Surroundings.Novgorod’s Kremlin, or Detinets, is free to visitors and includes many of the main places of interest in the city [read more].
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