Museums to visit in St. Petersbug

If you're one of those crazy few and history is your passion and you cannot imagine traveling without getting new knowledge, here is the list of places that will help you to organize your own path in St. Petersburg which will satisfy your curiosity!

Despite the fact that St. Petersburg is a relatively young city, it is full of history: the capital of the former Empire of Russia, the main stage of wars, three revolutions and a significant participant of the construction of the greatest utopia during the Soviet era. St. Petersburg carefully keeps the memory of either light or dark periods of its brightest history, absorbs and recycles the traces of the past, creating its unique look. So be prepared to immerse yourself in an ocean of exciting and shocking facts that are waiting for you in St. Petersburg!

Summer Palace of Peter the Great

The first "palace" of Peter the Great is a unique monument of the city. It was built in the first days after the laying of St. Petersburg. Already in the time of Peter the Great, steps were taken to preserve the wooden building. In 1723 the first protective gallery was erected over the House. The existing case was built by an architect in 1844 and in 1930 the House was turned into a memorial museum.

The house has only three rooms - a bedroom, a dining room, and an office. Even the smallest domestic details like furniture, mirrors or dishes are recreated here!

Opening hours:
Every day– 10 a.m.–8 p.m, Day off - Thursday

Address: Санкт-Петербург, Летний сад, литер А (Google maps link)

Website – en.rusmuseum.ru

The Piskaryovskoye Memorial Cemetery

It is quite difficult to imagine that in the last century the city was literally on the verge of utter destruction, was bombed, and survived in hunger and cold. The siege of Leningrad lasted from September 8, 1941, to January 27. In St. Petersburg some places have retained traces of those terrible 872 days. The main monument of the war in St. Petersburg is the Piskarevsky Memorial Cemetery. The first thing you see when you arrive there is The Mother Motherland statue and an eternal flame on its background. This is a very energetic and beautiful place of mass graves of victims of the blockade and soldiers of the Leningrad Front.

Cruiser Aurora

The museum ship, the legendary protected cruiser Aurora, the former defender of Russia in two wars: the Russian-Japanese 1904-1905 and the First World War 1914-1918, in which it participated in the Baltic Fleet cruiser brigade. In February 1917, the sailors of the cruiser rebelled and raised the red flag of the revolution over it. On October 25, 1917, Aurora fired the first shot that signalized the beginning of the storm of the Winter Palace. You should visit this ship to truly touch the history itself!

Opening hours:
Daily – 10 a.m.–6 p.m., Day off - Monday, Friday

Address: Petrogradskaya embankment, St Petersburg (Google maps link)

Website – eng.navalmuseum.ru

Saint Michael's Castle

Saint Michael's Castle is one of the most interesting architectural and historical monuments of the Northern capital. It is the only castle in the city because Paul I, its founder, was the Grand Master of the Order of Malta. He was born at this very place, in the Summer Palace of Elizaveta Petrovna and here, in his bedroom in the Mikhailovsky Castle, he was killed. The city legend says his ghost still wanders within these walls.

Opening hours:
Daily, 10 a.m.–6 p.m., Day off - Thursday

Address: Sadovaya St, 2, St Petersburg (Google maps link)

Website – rusmuseum.ru