The 2017 World Travel Award, known as "The Oscars" for the tourism industry, has named Russia's St. Petersburg the best city destination in Europe for the second time since 2015. A city of palaces and museums, broad avenues and winding canals, it has always stunned and inspired its visitors with its unmatched beauty. However, alongside world-famous sights like the Hermitage Museum, the Mariinsky Theater and St. Isaac's Cathedral, St. Petersburg has scores of lesser known breath-taking places to see. Take a look at the other side of this city wrapped in myth and legend.
St. Petersburg’s Semimostie is a spot which offers a spectacular view of the city’s seven bridges: Kashin, Smezhny, Pikalov, Novo-Nikolsky, Staro-Nikolsky, Mogilev and Krasnogvardeysky. According to one legend, this magical place, located on the embankment of the Griboedov Canal, can fulfill all the dreams and desires of everyone who visits it. The best time to make a wish is believed to be 7:00 pm on July 7. Photo: Pikalov Bridge at the intersection of Kryukov and Griboyedov canals and the bell tower of St. Nicholas Cathedral in St. Petersburg.
The statue of Chizhik-Pyzhik, which was installed on the Fontanka Quay in 1994, is also believed to make wishes come true but you need to throw a coin so that it drops on the tiny pedestal of the monument.
The Bronze Horseman, situated in the Senate Square, is a monument to Peter the Great, the founder of St. Petersburg. In 1824, after a severe flood which claimed thousands of lives, people blamed Russian Emperor Peter I for building the city in such an unsafe place. Since then, many claimed they have seen the Bronze Horseman coming to life at nights and taking revenge on its citizens.
A monument to a hare near Ioanovsky Bridge of the St. Peter and St. Paul Fortress at Zayachy Island (Hare Island) was erected in 2003 during the celebrations of the 300th city anniversary. According to one version of a widely-known legend, a hare fleeing from the flood jumped on the boot of Peter the Great, when he came ashore at this island. After this incident, the Russian Emperor began to call the island Zayachy. Another version says that a frightened hare was escaping a predator and jumped right into Peter's hands.
Four gorgeous statues of lions with gilded wings, also known as griffins of the Bankovsky Bridge, are believed to be the mythical guards of St.Petersburg. There is a legend that if you rub a lion’s paw, you will inevitably make a fortune.
The oldest cemetery in St. Petersburg, Smolensky Cemetery, is associated with several city myths. The main one tells about Xenia, the patroness of the northern capital, who lost her husband at a very young age, gave away all her money and started wandering around the city, making prophesies to the people she met. These predictions seemed insane but they were always correct. After Xenia’s death, citizens built a chapel at her grave and always came to this spot to ask for her help in their prayers. There is a belief that your wish will come true if you walk around the chapel three times.
The most common legend about this place is connected with William Pell, a royal pharmacist who was also believed to be an alchemist. In his free time, the man incubated magic griffins that were invisible and could be only seen reflected in windows at midnight. The numbers on the bricks constitute a magic code and those who able to decrypt the code could solve the mysteries of the universe. Photo: House of pharmacist William Pell (Wilhelm Poehl) on Vasilevsky Island with a boiler pipe, which is called the "Tower of Griffins."
A monument to a manager, situated on Aptekarskaya Street is relatively new, but it has already acquired its own omens and legends. Office employees believe that stroking the manager's head on their way to work will make the day fruitful. Another legend says that if you rub the ring on his hand, you will get married soon.
Egyptian sphinxes appeared in the city more than 180 years ago and were installed on the Universitetskaya Embankment. The statues, which are considered to be about 3.5 thousand years old, were bought in Alexandria by Russian traveler Andrey Muraviev during his holy pilgrimage in 1830. Originally, they guarded the entrance to pharaoh Amenhotep III temple in Thebes. In ancient Egypt people believed that the statues possess magical power and can protect the tomb and the temple from hostile powers. However, in no case should sphinxes be disturbed or removed from their origin. Urban legends say that the sphinxes hate the city they don’t belong to it and can give you a mental disorder. It is believed that the expression of their faces varies throughout the day: they are calm and peaceful in the morning, but turn vengeful and ominous by evening.
