Petropavlovskaya fortress

Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments is the name used by UNESCO when it collectively designated the historic core of the Russian city of St. Petersburg, as well as buildings and ensembles located in the immediate vicinity as a World Heritage Site in 1991.

The site was recognised for its architectural heritage, fusing Baroque, Neoclassical and traditional Russian-Byzantine influences.

Among the buildings and places included in the citation:

Saint Petersburg (Russian: Санкт-Петербург, tr. Sankt-Peterburg; IPA: [ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk] ( listen)) is a city and a federal subject (a federal city) of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. In 1914 the name of the city was changed to Petrograd (Russian: Петроград; IPA: [pʲɪtrɐˈgrat]), in 1924 to Leningrad (Russian: Ленинград; IPA: [lʲɪnʲɪnˈgrat]) and in 1991 back to Saint Petersburg.

In Russian literature and informal documents the "Saint" (Санкт-) is usually omitted, leaving Petersburg ((Петербург, Peterburg). In common parlance Russians may drop "-burg" (-бург) as well, leaving only Peter (Питер, pronounced as "Piter"; IPA: [ˈpʲitʲɪr]).

Saint Petersburg was founded by Tsar Peter the Great on 27 [O.S. 16] May 1703. From 1713 to 1728 and from 1732 to 1918, Saint Petersburg was the Imperial capital of Russia. In 1918 the central government bodies moved from Saint Petersburg (then named Petrograd) to Moscow. It is Russia's second largest city after Moscow with almost 4.9 million inhabitants. Saint Petersburg is a major European cultural center, and an important Russian port on the Baltic Sea.