The name Passage came from French origin, and it means corridor. The Passage is one of the favorite shopping centers in St. Petersburg. This center especially draws women and tourists’ attention toward itself.
The Passage constructed when Count Essen Fermor decided to establish a shopping center for nobles and upper classes in 1848. When the passage started its construction, there was already a few shopping centers in the area such as the little Gostiny Dvor, Schukin Dvor, and many more, but the passage found its place in the Nevsky Prospect quite soon and got famous.
The Passage name came from a vast gallery with the same name in the Nevsky and Italianskaya Street’s passage. The Passage covered with 180 meters glass roof which is a unique architecture in St. Petersburg. This architecture is along with Paris’s the Passage des Panoramas, London’s Burlington, and the St. Huber Royal Gallery are the first examples in the world. The three-story Passage opened in 1848, though the center was specialized in luxury products like jewelry and lux-clothes, many common people liked to roam around and, acknowledged the up to date fashion taste. However, the Passage was more than a shopping center, with many cafes, restaurants, a small zoo, wax museum, and concert hall in the building, it was more like a social and cultural place.
At the end of the 19th century, the Passage was inherited to the Princess Nadezhda. A great fire happened in 1899 that made the owner to start an immediate reconstruction. The Crédit Lyonnais bank sponsored the restoration in exchange for having some offices in the building. After restoration completed, the concert hall turns into the theater which directed by famous Russian actress of that time Komissarzhevskaya. Also, the largest cinema complex in all Russia established in the Passage in 1909.
After the October Revolution, the Passage was abandoned for several years until 1922 which in that year the building reopened as Passage Supermarket with an only grocery section. Since the building was somehow unique in all Soviet and had amazing architecture, the shopping center once again started to work as Soviet Trade Market in 1934 with over 30000 USSR made products. In those years, the children world which was a theme park for the children in the Passage building got quite famous among the locals. During the Second World War and the Siege of Leningrad shop owners and workers refused to leave the Passage. Unlike the other buildings near the Passage, the building didn’t get much damage during the aerial attack from the German army. After the war ended, the Passage once again opened in 1947, and from 1966 the shopping center more focused on women products such as clothes, bags, accessories, perfumes, and beauty care.
At the beginning of the 21st century, the Passage became private and directed by private shareholders. The Passage made some relation with international shop centers such as the Escanda, and also with modernized interior and equipment, it became one of the best shopping centers in Saint Petersburg.
Today, the Passage continues to work with more focus on women products, but this is not the only thing in the Passage. There are theater halls, cinemas, and recreational centers to draw every gender at any age's attention. One of the most favorite places in the Passage is cafes and restaurants in the upper floor that has a magical panoramic view over the Nevsky Prospect which is a great place for anyone to enjoy their meal and favorite drink with a great view of the Nevsky.
There’s a grocery store in the basement floor which also contains a place to cook and buy cooked fresh foods. The grocery store is another favorite place for the tourists too.
Just like the 20th century, The Children World Theme Park in the Passage is still the favorite place for children of any age.
In overall, since the Nevsky would be definitely on any Russia tour’s destination, we would recommend you to check the Passage shopping center in your travel to Saint Petersburg. The Passage is the most recommend shopping center in the Nevsky Prospect and might be one of the best in all Russia too.
