61 Fun Facts About Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is the second-largest city in Russia and it is located on the Neva River, at the head of the Gulf of Finland. Saint Petersburg has a population of about 5.4 million residents and it is the fourth most populous city in Europe. Saint Petersburg is known as the cultural capital of Russia because of the cultural events that are held every year. Do you know that the Saint Petersburg metro is one of the deepest subways in the world? Keep reading to uncover more interesting facts about this beautiful Russian city.
1. St Petersburg is characterized by bridges and there are more than 600 bridges that can be found in the city.
2. The hermitage that is located in St Petersburg is the second largest museum in the world and the oldest.
3. In St Petersburg, there are more than 70 theaters and over three hundred museums in the city.
4. A lot of international events happen in St Petersburg every year, more than 20 international art festivals, and more than 80 theatrical and musical events.
5. The dome of Isaac Cathedral in Petersburg is covered with pure gold and took about forty years to construct.
6. The bars, pubs, and nightclubs that can be found in St Petersburg are nearly more than three hundred in number.
7. The first building that was constructed in St Petersburg was the Peter and Paul fortress.
8. The budget deficit of Saint Petersburg amounted to about 1.433 billion US$ in 2009.
9. St Petersburg is known as the coffee capital of Russia and there you will find different varieties of coffees.
10. The Western Military District of the Russian Armed Forces and the headquarters of the Russian Navy are located in Saint Petersburg.
11. The automotive and auto-parts industry is one of the growing industries in Saint Petersburg in the last two decades.
12. The hockey team and football team of Petersburg are known as SKA and Zenit respectively.
13. Among all the cities that are found in Russia, St Petersburg has the most songs written about it.
14. The Vaganova Ballet Academy in St Petersburg is the oldest and one of the best ballet academies in the world.
15. The reason why this city is called St Petersburg is that the city was founded on the day of its patron Saint, St Peter.
16. The National Library of Russia and the Constitutional Court of Russia is found in this city.
17. After Moscow, Saint Petersburg has the Gross Regional Product and it has GDP per capita of US$13,000, ranking 12th.
18. Saint Petersburg metro is one of the deepest subways in the world and some of the stations that are found in the metro can be 70 to 80 meters deep.
19. The construction of Smolny Cathedral which took about 87 years was the longest construction in Saint Petersburg.
20. The world capital of trams is Saint Petersburg and this can even be found in the Guinness World Records.
21. The Budget revenues of Saint Petersburg amounted to about 10.044 billion US$ in 2009.
22. The LIVIZ, a vodka producing company in Saint Petersburg exported to more than 70 countries in 2007.
23. The brewery industry of Saint Petersburg accounts for about 30% of the country’s domestic beer production.
24. The State Russian Museum in Saint Petersburg has over fifteen thousand pictures inside it.
25. The person that founded Saint Petersburg was Tsar Peter the Great on 27 May 1703.
26. Saint Petersburg football club Zenit has been champions of the Soviet and Russian league eight times.
27. Saint Petersburg is the Cultural Capital of Russia and has received more than fifteen million tourists in 2018.
28. Saint Petersburg is where the Heraldic Council of the President of the Russian Federation is located.
29. Saint Petersburg was one of the cities that hosted the FIFA World Cup in 2018 and the UEFA Euro in 2020
30. Toyota opened a Camry plant in Saint Petersburg after investing approximately 200 million dollars in 2007.
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31. The Historic Center of Saint Petersburg is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
32. Kirov Stadium in Saint Petersburg with a capacity of 70 thousand seats hosted matches for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
33. One of the major Russian investment forums is the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum.
34. Europe’s second-largest brewery Baltika and Heineken brewery is found in Saint Petersburg.
35. Saint Petersburg is a major trade gateway and most of the Russian oil and gas and other products are traded with other countries here.
36. Admiralty Shipyard, Baltic Shipyard, LOMO, Kirov Plant, Elektrosila, and others are one of some examples of major local industries in Saint Petersburg.
37. All the public universities in Saint Petersburg are all federal property and are not controlled by the city.
38. The Institute of International Economic Relations, Economics, and Law is the largest non-governmental higher education institution in Saint Petersburg.
39. A major percentage of the world’s power turbines are made in Saint Petersburg, about 10 percent.
40. The Saint Petersburg port has about three cargo terminals which include Bolshoi Port Saint Petersburg, Kronstadt, and Lomonosov terminal.
41. All major Russian newspapers, both government-owned and private are active in Saint Petersburg.
42. The federal subject’s Gross Regional Product of Saint Petersburg as of 2016 was about $70 billion.
43. The Volga-Baltic Waterway in Saint Petersburg is the main link between the Baltic Sea and the rest of Russia.
44. The Saint Petersburg Mint is one of the largest mints in the world and was founded in 1724.
45. The oldest and largest Russian foundry in Russia is located in Saint Petersburg and is known as Monumentskulptura.
46. Large automobile companies such as Hyundai and Nissan have signed deals with the government to build their automotive plants in the city.
47. Saint Petersburg is known as the beer capital of Russia because it has a large brewery and distillery industry.
48. One of the youngest vodka-producing companies in Saint Petersburg is the Russian Standard Vodka and about $60 million was invested in building it in the city.
49. The second-largest construction industry in Russia which includes road construction and commercial housing is Saint Petersburg.
50. The budget of Saint Petersburg in 2006 was about 7 billion US dollars which convert to 180 billion rubles using the 2006 exchange rate.
51. Wholesale and retail trade and repair services contribute about 24.7% of Saint Petersburg’s Gross Regional Product.
52. The BC Spartak Saint Petersburg, the basketball team of the city has won two championships in the USSR Premier League.
53. After Moscow, the Tyumen, and Moscow Region, Saint Petersburg comes first in the economical ranking of federal subjects of the Russian Federation.
54. There were 716 public schools and 80 vocational schools in Saint Petersburg in 2007.
55. Saint Petersburg State University is the largest higher education institution with approximately 32,000 students enrolled.
56. The popular Kirov Stadium was home to FC Zenit Saint Petersburg from 1950 to 1993.
57. The first boat competition in Saint Petersburg was the 1703 rowing event initiated by Peter the Great.
58. The Neva Yacht Club in Saint Petersburg is the oldest yacht club in the world.
59. Saint Petersburg has a new basketball team known as BC Zenit Saint Petersburg while the old one is the BC Spartak Saint Petersburg.
60. The 1994 Goodwill Games were held at Gazprom Arena in Saint Petersburg.
61. In 1951 a crowd of 110,000 in the Kirov Stadium set a single-game attendance record for Soviet football.
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