Saint Petersburg at night, Russia VR 360

Compared to Moscow and other major Russian cities, St. Petersburg is a relatively young city. At a time when Yaroslavl, Vladimir, Moscow and Suzdal were the centers of Russian history, the territory of modern St. Petersburg was home to settlements of hunters, fishermen and peasants. However, the mouth of the Neva River and the shore of the Neva Bay had a strategically convenient location. In VIII-XIII centuries through the Neva passed an important trade route “from the Varangians to the Greeks”, connecting Scandinavia and Byzantium, which made the presence of fortifications in this place very favorable. Therefore, the Swedes, our neighbors, fought protracted wars for control of these lands. May 1, 1703 (May 12, New Style) is considered the day of the foundation of St. Petersburg, when Russian soldiers occupied the fortress of Nyenshants, which at that time belonged to Sweden, and did it forever. The project to build a Russian fortified border played a key role in this process. Having studied a map of the Neva delta, Tsar Peter I chose Zayachy Island, and on May 16 (May 27, New Style) the Peter and Paul Fortress was laid out.