St Petersburg: A Walk Along Nevsky and the Neva

Saint Petersburg begins here. Peter the Great founded the fortress on 27 May 1703, on small Hare Island on the north bank of the Neva. From about 1720 it also served as a prison for high-ranking or political prisoners. Inside, the Peter and Paul Cathedral rises with a 122.5 m bell-tower topped by a gilded angel. A cannon is still fired at noon, a custom dating from 1873. Start the walk here, then cross toward the city centre.

Visitor guidance: The noon cannon shot can be heard daily.

Built from 1801 on Nevsky Prospect, the cathedral was modelled by architect Andrey Voronikhin on St Peter's Basilica in Rome. It became a memorial to the victory over Napoleon, and Kutuzov was buried inside in 1813. Later, in 1876, the Kazan demonstration, the first political demonstration in Russia, took place in front of the church.

Visitor guidance: On Nevsky Prospect, in the city centre.

On the morning of 26 December 1825 (14 December in the old calendar) about 3,000 soldiers gathered in Senate Square and refused to swear allegiance to the new tsar, Nicholas I. The revolt was hampered when its supposed leader, Prince Trubetskoy, deserted it. Overlooking the square stands the statue of Peter the Great, unveiled in 1782 on the Thunder Stone, the largest stone ever moved by humans. Pushkin's 1833 poem gave it the name Bronze Horseman.

Visitor guidance: A square in the city centre.

On 13 March 1881 (1 March in the old calendar) a grenade exploded beside Alexander II's carriage on the canal embankment. The tsar stepped out unhurt, and a second conspirator threw another bomb, mortally wounding him. His son built a memorial church on the exact spot, narrowing the canal so the road where he fell lies inside its walls. Construction began in 1883 and ended in 1907. Today it is a museum of mosaics.

Visitor guidance: A museum; the cobbles of the old road are visible inside.

On Sunday 22 January 1905 (9 January in the old calendar) demonstrators led by Father Georgy Gapon were fired upon by soldiers. Contrary to the usual picture there was no single clash directly before the Winter Palace; there were separate collisions at the bridges and entry points to the centre. About 2,300 soldiers were held in reserve on Palace Square, and a detachment moved onto Nevsky Prospect. Today the Alexander Column, 47.5 metres high, stands in the middle of the square.

Visitor guidance: A public square in the city centre.

By 25 October 1917 the Provisional Government was failing and barricaded itself in the Winter Palace. At 7 pm it held its last meeting in the Malachite Room and refused to leave to talk with the crowds outside. The Bolsheviks gained entry by His Majesty's own staircase, and by 2 am they controlled the palace. The palace now houses the Hermitage Museum.

Visitor guidance: The Hermitage Museum; now a museum.

On the eve of the October Revolution the cruiser Aurora fired the famous blank shot that, according to Russian lore, was the signal to begin the assault on the Winter Palace. The Peter and Paul Fortress then fired about 30 shells at the palace after the blank salvo at 21:00. The ship opened as a museum ship in Leningrad in 1957 as a monument to the revolution. It lies moored on the Neva.

Visitor guidance: A museum ship moored on the Neva embankment.