Nearly every major city in the world has at least one significant street. These streets might be important to the city and its people on various level of value. They might be a commercial street or have loads of historical places. They even might be the longest street in the city that connects the sides of the city. In any case, we can safely say that these streets are critical to its city. The city of St. Petersburg is not different from the other significant cities in the world and has the Nevsky Prospect inside its heart.
The 4.5 kilometer Nevsky street located at the heart of St. Petersburg, it starts from the Admiralty building which is the headquarter of the Russia Navy and follows to the Vosstaniya Square and ends at the foot of Alexander Nevsky Lavra. The street and many of its structures designed and built by Jean-Baptiste Leblond under the employment of Peter the Great, emperor of Russia at the time. The name of the street changed several times during its existence, the latest one before the current name was The 25th October Street at the beginnings of the Soviet era which wasn't accepted by the locals and remained the Nevsky Prospect for the people. This street owned its name to the 13th-century prince, Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky who was the leader behind many victories over Swedish Empire at its time and buried in a monastery with the same name as the street at the end of it.
As we mentioned, the main street in each city might be critical to its people on so many different levels. The Nevsky Prospect is quite essential to the city in various aspects such as the historical structures inside it, the old and new shopping centers, commercial places, and home of many influential people in St. Petersburg during its course.
The Nevsky Prospect compared to Paris's Champs-Élysées on so many levels as it's crowded with many of St. Petersburg locals and tourists from all around the world all the time. There are several historical and notable structures in this street from its beginning to its end. As for the historical and religious structures in this street, we can point out to the neoclassical Saint Isaac's Cathedral, the late baroque Palace of Stroganov, the Art Nouveau style buildings of Singer and Elisseeff Emporium.
The street is also one of the major commercial hubs of the city with several historical and new shopping centers such as the 18th-century Great Gostiny Dvor mall, the mid-19th-century Passage mall, and many other international famous brands that have a store in the street. Additionally, attach several historical and art monuments to this already quite attractive street. Like any other tourists gathering place in the world, there are numerous cafes and restaurants present in this street as well.
For the artists who lived in this street or utilized the street in their artworks, we can mention Nikolai Gogol, Tchaikovsky, Korsakov, Alexander Pushkin, and many other names. The majority of the Nevsky Prospect was at that point that the Literature Cafe which was the lounge or workplace of many influential authors of Russia located in this street.
It would be pretty significant for tourists to visit this street. Before any other aspect, walking through this live and wonderful place would be the first attraction of this street. This street with all of its historical and attractions places all over it also considered as a crucial tour agencies' destination in St.Petersburg. Since it's one of the major commercial hubs of the city, it's the best place for anyone who wants to go shopping on their trip. For it's also the most important street in the city, there are several banks, state offices, and business buildings in this street. Generally, the Nevsky Prospect is on top of any tour agencies' list of targets in St.Petersburg. So, willingly or not, this street would be in your to-do list of the city, but, how much you'd roam around it or how many memories you'd create in this marvelous place is completely up to yourself.
To find out which other important buildings locates in this famous street, make sure to check out our mini-guide about How to Travel to St Petersburg on our blog at Star Travel Group.
