Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
a guided tour that leaves every hour on the hour from 11am to 5pm. Special tours of
the engine room are available at 1pm and 3pm on Saturday and Sunday.
UNIVER
UNIVERSIT
SITY
TWELVE COLLEGES
(
Двенадцать коллегий
; Mendeleev-skaya liniya 2; Vasileostrovskaya)
Completed in
1744 and marked by a statue of scientist-poet Mikhail Lomonosov (1711-65), the
400m-long Twelve Colleges is one of St Petersburg's oldest buildings. It was origin-
ally meant for Peter's government ministries, but it is now part of the university,
which stretches out behind it. Within these walls populist philosopher Nikolai
Chernyshevsky studied, Alexander Popov created some of the world's first radio
waves and a young Vladimir Putin earned a degree in law. This is also where Dmitry
Mendeleev invented the periodic table of elements, and the building now contains the
sion R30; 11am-3.30pm Mon-Fri)
. His cosy study has been lovingly preserved and you
can see his desk (where he always stood rather than sat) and some early drafts of the
periodic table.
MMUSSEUUM
PEOPLE'S WILL D-2 SUBMARINE MUSEUM
(
Подводная лодка Д-2 Народоволец
; Shkipersky protok 10; adult/student R300/150;
11am-6pm Wed-Sun; Vasileostrovskaya)
Open- ed as a fun, unique museum, the
People's Will (Narodovolets)
D-2 Submarine was one of the first six (diesel-fuelled)
submarines built in the Soviet Union. It was in action between 1931 and 1956, and
sank five German ships. Mandatory tours (in Russian) depart on the hour to take you
through the sub to see how the crew of 53 lived and worked.
CHUR
CHURCCH
TEMPLE OF THE ASSUMPTION
OFFLINE MAP
(
Успенское подворье монастыря Оптина пустынь
; cnr nab Leytenanta Shmidta &
14-ya liniya i 15-ya liniya; admission free; daily; Vasileostrovskaya)
This stunning 1895
neo-Byzantine church was built by architect Vasily Kosyakov on the site of a former
monastery. It was closed during the Soviet period, and from 1957 the building became
the city's first - and very popular - year-round skating rink. The 7.7m, 861kg metal
cross on the roof was only replaced in 1998. At the time of writing the exterior and in-
terior were nearing completion after years of restoration, and the church is looking
beautiful both inside and out. Enter through the courtyard.
