City on islands

It is commonly known that there are 42 islands in Saint-Petersburg. We invite you to visit the largest one – Vasilyevsky that preserves since the times of Peter the Great the palace of the first governor of the city, the first museum in the country – the Chamber of Curiosities. Here you will see the first Russian Academy of Arts, the oldest University of Saint-Petersburg, and fine ensemble of the Spit of Vasilyevsky Island.

You will learn how the island changed throughout three centuries: who were the first inhabitants of this area, why here you find lines instead of the streets and when ancient Egyptian sphinxes appeared on the banks of the Neva River.

We will find out what prevented Peter the Great from creating the second Amsterdam on Vasilyevsky Island and how this area is developing now.