The Presidential Library marks the day of Foundation of St. Petersburg

The Presidential Library invites readers to learn about the history of the founding of the city, as well as the maps and construction plans of St. Petersburg which are presented on the Library's portal,

On May 27 (old style – May 16), 1703, on the day of the Holy Trinity, Peter I founded a fortress at the mouth of the Neva River on Zayachy Island. This day is considered the day of the foundation of St. Petersburg, which has been the capital of the Russian Empire for more than 200 years. The plan of the future fortress was drawn by Peter himself. The fortress received its name — "St. Petersburg" - on Peter's Day, when the church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul was founded here. The city that arose around the island also received the name. According to Christian legend, the Apostle Peter was the keeper of the keys to Paradise, which also seemed symbolic to the Russian tsar, since the city bearing the name of his heavenly patron was supposed to become the "key to the Baltic Sea." More information about this is available on the portal of the Presidential Library in the section On this day.

The foundation of the city is described in the collection St. Petersburg. Cartographic materials are of particular interest here. The collection gives access to drawings, maps, and plans of the city drawn up during its construction and development in different years. The Plan of the Imperial capital City of St. Petersburg, composed in 1737, marks built-up neighborhoods and streets, individual buildings, churches, canals, bridges, gardens, vegetable gardens, glades, forests and other objects. The unusual configuration of the Peter and Paul Fortress, the Kronverk, the Admiralty, the regular construction of Vasilyevsky Island, etc. attracts attention. The description of the city is kept on the General Plan of the central part of St. Petersburg, drawn up by the architect Rastrelli in the late 1740s. The Summer Palace, the garden of the Anichkov Palace on a Large Perspective, neighborhoods of ordinary houses, but most importantly – the outlines of the Admiralty Shipyard and the so–called Nevsky Trident are all depicted there. In 1736-1737 this project was carried out by the head of the Construction Commission, the Russian architect Pyotr Eropkin (1698-1740), who developed a new layout and construction of the central districts after frequent fires. He also outlined ways for further development of the city, securing three main highways: Nevsky Prospekt, Gorokhovaya Street and Voznesensky Prospekt. The plan shows the first buildings of the Alexander Nevsky Monastery, which is reached by the Nevsky Road, and also marks the vast "Boloty" on the Moscow side beyond the Fontaine River.

The publication Plan of the capital city of St. Petersburg with the image of its most notable avenues (1753) includes maps depicting islands, rivers, canals, monasteries, houses of "Her Imperial Majesty", meadows, squares, streets and bridges, as well as ancient lithographs. A detailed image of the Summer Palace, created for Elizabeth Petrovna by architect F. Rastrelli in the 1740s is depicted on them (today the Mikhailovsky Castle is in its place); a pontoon bridge across the Neva River next to the old St. Isaac's Cathedral; the main facade of the Admiralty with part of the Nevsky Prospect Road; the view of Nevsky Prospekt from the Moika River with the image of the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin (now the Kazan Cathedral), the building of the Twelve Colleges and others are also captured there.

In addition to the general city plans, the plans of individual urban facilities are presented. For example, the Plan of the Tauride Garden with surroundings (1842), Plans of theaters of St. Petersburg of the XIX century are available in the collection. In particular, the plan of the Theater Square with the building of the Mariinsky Theater and the New Opera House, as well as the terrain plan between the Moika River, the Swan Canal and Tsaritsyn Meadow with the project of the building of the New Opera House, signed by Benoit in 1884; the general plan of the Mikhailovsky and Bolshoi theaters are available.

Vladimir Burnashev praises St. Petersburg in his book A walk with children in St. Petersburg and its environs (1838). The description of the main sightseeing places of the city is given in the Guide to St. Petersburg (1886). It says about the Tauride Garden: "It was planted by Potemkin in English way and was the most magnificent garden in St. Petersburg." A separate chapter is devoted to St. Petersburg theaters: "The Bolshoi Theater is located on the Theater Square. It was originally built according to the plan and under the supervision of architect Tibstein. In 1817, after a fire, it was rebuilt by the architect Monji, and in 1835 it was rebuilt again, elevated, renewed and decorated inside by the architect Kavos." The Mariinsky Theatre was located opposite the Bolshoi. It was rebuilt after a fire by architect Kavos in 1860 and named after the wife of Emperor Alexander II. "It has five tiers of boxes, 476 chairs and about the same number of other seats," written in the guidebook.

The list of streets, alleys, squares of the city was included in the Leningrad City Plan (by districts), compiled according to the latest official sources (1926), published after the revolution. The administrative division of the city is shown here, detailed plans of all districts are given: Central, Vasileostrovsky, Petrogradsky, Moskovsko-Narvsky, Volodarsky and Vyborgsky; routes and final stops of trams, state institutions, architectural monuments, sights, factories and mills are marked.

In the St. Petersburg collection the official documents, research, reference books, archival and visual materials reflecting the socio-economic, socio-political, territorial and cultural development of the city from its foundation to the present day are available.