Saint Petersburg is home to the world’s most beautiful museum Hermitage. Here one may see over 3 million pieces of art, and if we decide to dedicate only a few seconds to each of these masterpieces then we may well spend around 8 years here. Saint Petersburg has over 300 museums, and it really takes months to visit them all. Museums stand in silent testimony to the great opulence of the Romanov Royal dynasty, the creation of this city, from the first fortress and its defensive walls to the private houses of the world class writers and poets. On this page you will find a full list of museums in the city of Saint Petersburg.
What is Hermitage? How are we supposed to introduce it to our visitors? We can get started like this. In the area of 234,000 m2 totalling to four high-rises, as many as three million works of art are on display with 1,013,653 paintings, 1,125,623 numismatics, 784,395 archeological artefacts, 13,982 weapons and armour and 212,775 other works of art among which are the sculputures of the world famous sculptors.
The Museum of Cosmonautics and Rocket Technology is the most interesting museum of the Rabbit fortress. It is devoted to the history of the Russian cosmonautics and rocket technology. In 1930, the first USSR rocket research laboratories were formed here . The exhibited pieces include the rocket items, documents dedicated to cosmonautics and rocket technology, engines, an original vehicle of a legendary spaceship "Soyuz-16", flight suits and equipment, spacesuits and space food.
After the Petropavlovsk fortress was built on the Rabbit Island, it actually did not serve to its original purpose – to defend the city walls in the event of the Swedish invasion. However, the fortress soon became famous and infamous because of the notorious prison where the emperor held political opponents. The first person held in this jail was Tsar’s son Aleksey, who conspired against his father. Aleksey was captured, and tortured and he eventually died in this prison.
Permanent display in the Neva Curtain Wall explores the history of Peter and Paul Fortress. Over 500 items are exhibited here that stand in silent testimony of each stage of the construction of the fortress. This historically significant monument contains archeological finds, models, schemes, photographs and tools used in the construction. These items go to prove the importance of the fortress and how the great Tsar planned to defend his city against the Swedish invasion. The fortress also had a strategic position, as it is isolated on a separate island.
