Saint-Petersburg is often called a northern capital of Russia. And it is recognized as a city of special importance by The Russian Constitution. There are only two cities of special importance in Russia – Saint-Petersburg and of course Moscow. No doubt Saint-Petersburg deserves such a status.The name of the city changed several times. At first the city was called Saint-Petersburg but it was renamed to Petrograd in 1914. Then in 1924 just after the death of Lenin the city was given the name Leningrad. In 1991 the old name Saint-Petersburg was given back to the city.The city was founded by Peter I in 1703. Its foundation started with building of The Fortress of Peter and Pavel which is now called Petropavlovskaya fortress. But the fortress was never used in military aims. It is more famous as the main prison of Peter’s times. They guide some excursions inside the fortress now and you have an opportunity to see the prison cells of the eighteenth century. The history of the city's foundation is connected with lots of victims. Thousands of people gave their lives building Saint-Petersburg. The city was built very quickly and the building was complicated with local area peculiarities. In fact Petersburg is situated on water. Some people even compare it with Venice but such a comparison is not very right.
