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St.Petersburg
SAINT PETERSBURG was founded on the 16th of May 1703. That day the six-bastion fortress was ceremonially laid on the Zayachy Island in the broadest part of the Neva estuary. The laying of the Fortress became a culmination in the succession of events that lasted several centuries. The Finnish Gulf, the Ladoga Lake, the Onega Lake and the surrounding region became the arena of fight between Novgorod, and later the centralized Russian State and the neighboring states, especially Sweden.
In 1240 Duke Alexander Nevsky who headed the troops of Novgorod defeated the Swede at the place where the Izhora River fell into the Neva River. However, in 1617 during the reign of Michael III when the Times of Troubles had just been over, Russia was forced to conclude a peace treaty with Sweden giving up the Izhora grounds. The vast country was deprived of the natural outlet to the Baltic Sea.
In 1699 during the reign of Peter the Great Russia started its preparation for the war with Sweden. In 1700 the Northern War of Russia with Sweden broke out. It lasted 21 year and resolved finally the controversy of centuries. In the fall of 1702 Russian troops seized Noteburg. Peter the Great called this fortress Schluesselburg (Key Town), which marked that the route to Neva was cleared. In May 1703 Peter and Paul fortress was laid in the Zayachy Island with the church in name of Saints Peter and Paul in the middle. The house of wooden logs known as "the House of Peter the Great" was constructed on the Right Bank of the Neva River not far from the Peter and Paul fortress. May 16 1703 is deemed to be the date of St.Petersburg foundation. In May 1704 the construction of the first sea fortress, Kronstadt, was completed in the Finnish Gulf. The location of these three fortresses outlined the borders of the future Russian Capital and its suburbs.
In 1710 the Capital of Russia was transferred to St. Petersburg from Moscow, while in 1712 the Tsar Family and households together with the major Governmental Bodies moved to St.Petersburg. On the 27th of July 1714 Russia fleet headed by Peter the Great scored the decisive victory at Gangut cape in the Baltic Sea that made Russia an equal partner among the European states and determined the outcome of the Northern War.
Peter the Great conceived the idea of a regularly planned city with well-defined layout developed to clear designs. Domenico Tresini was the first architect who made the General Layout of the city center. His designs were used for construction of the Summer Palace of Peter the Great, the Building of the Twelve Boards, and the laying of the Alexander Nevsky Monastery, that appeared to be of the prime importance for the city development and the ideology. It was Peter the Great's intention to move the Relics of Saint Alexander Nevsky from Vladimir City to this monastery to make a memorial that would always remind of the glory of Russian troops.
Jean Batist Leblon was the architect who developed the General Layout of St.Peters-burg. During that period such buildings as the Menshikov Palace, and the Kunstamera were constructed; the outstanding sculptor and architect B.F. Rastrelli worked in the city. The combined efforts of these architects lead to the specific style of St.Petersburg baroque.
A tragic pause in the city development followed the death of Peter the Great (January 28 1725). The opponents of Peter the Great's reforms brought the Capital back to Moscow and the City of Peter began to decay. In 1730 Empress Ann ascended the throne and the status of Russian Capital came back to St.Petersburg again. The Empress tried to be seen as the follower of Peter's ideas. During her reign the city was carefully divided into five part, the center being moved to the Admiralty Island. Three thoroughfares that stemmed from the Admiralty were completed - Nevsky Prospect, Median Prospect (now Gorokhovaya street), and Voznesensky Prospect.
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