Smolny & Vosstaniya - St Petersburg - page 166

Neighbourhood Top Five
Explore the beating heart of Orthodox St Petersburg in the complex of churches at
the Alexander Nevsky Monastery ( CLICK HERE ) and see the last resting place
of many of Russia's greatest artists in the atmospheric cemeteries.
Climb the extraordinary baroque spires of the Smolny Cathedral ( CLICK HERE
) for great views of the city.
Savour the superb collection of gorgeous objects at the Museum of Decorative
& Applied Arts ( CLICK HERE ).
Visit Cathedral of the Transfiguration Of Our Saviour ( CLICK HERE ) and
Vladimirsky Cathedral ( CLICK HERE ), the least known but most beautiful
churches.
See the room where Fyodor Dostoevsky wrote The Brothers Karamazov at the
fascinating Dostoevsky Museum ( CLICK HERE ).
Explore: Smolny & Vosstaniya
This area, bisected by the second half of Nevsky pr, breaks down into four districts:
Smolny, Liteyny, Vosstaniya and Vladimirskaya. An extremely varied place, it con-
tains the closest thing St Petersburg has to a creative hub, as well as its political and
diplomatic heart.
The Liteyny and Smolny districts sit side-by-side east of the Historic Heart, tucked
inside a swooping curve of the Neva River on its left bank. These neighbourhoods
take their names from the industries that once dominated this area: liteyny means
'foundry' and smol means 'tar', although these evocative names hardly capture the at-
mosphere of these quaint but quiet neighbourhoods today.
On the south side of Nevsky the historic neighbourhood of Vladimirskaya is dom-
inated by the grand, gold-domed cathedral of the same name. This is a busy, commer-
cial area full of shops and several quirky museums.