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Walking routes in Saint Petersburg

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      Kazan Cathedral, the Griffins and Sennaya

      ⏱ 1 h 10 min🚶 2.2 km🍽 0📍 4 stops
      🐢 A little — under 3 km

      The colonnade of Kazan Cathedral, the gold-winged griffins of Bankovsky Bridge and the bends of Griboedov Canal to Sennaya and Lion Bridge. Dostoevsky's Petersburg by the water.

      🏛 History and architecture⏱ An hour or so
      🗺 Open in Yandex Maps
      1. 1
        🏛 Kazan Cathedral
        Казанская пл., 2
        Voronikhin's huge cathedral of grey Pudost stone, with a semicircle of 96 columns on Nevsky Prospekt.
        The colonnade above the canal
        📖 More about the placeCollapse
        Kazan Cathedral
        © Flamel123 · CC BY-SA 4.0
        • The architect Andrey Voronikhin was a former serf of Count Stroganov, who freed him and sent him to study in Paris and Geneva.
        • In 1813 Field Marshal Mikhail Kutuzov was buried in the cathedral's left side chapel.
        • After 1812 trophies were brought to the cathedral: French banners, keys of captured cities and Marshal Davout's baton.
        • In 1834–1836 the iconostasis was clad in silver that Platov's Cossacks had taken from the French; it was melted down in 1922.
        • The monuments to Kutuzov and Barclay de Tolly by Boris Orlovsky were unveiled in 1837, on the 25th anniversary of the victory over Napoleon.
        • From 1932 it housed the Museum of the History of Religion and Atheism, and the first service after the break was held on 4 November 1990.
        • In 1893 the funeral service for Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was held in the cathedral.
      2. 🚶 on foot
      3. 2
        🏛 Bank Bridge (the griffins)
        A pedestrian bridge over the Griboyedov Canal whose chains are held in the mouths of four cast-iron griffins with golden wings.
        Rub a griffin for luck
        📖 More about the placeCollapse
        Bank Bridge (the griffins)
        © Златогорский Владимир · CC BY-SA 3.0
        Bank Bridge (the griffins)
        © Boris Sakic · CC BY-SA 4.0
        • The bridge was built in 1825–1826 to a design by engineer Tretter and opened on 24 July 1826.
        • It is one of three surviving chain bridges from the 1820s, along with the Lion Bridge and the Pochtamtsky Bridge.
        • The “griffins” are actually winged lions: the 2.85-metre figures were cast in iron from models by Pavel Sokolov.
        • The lions' wings are hammered from sheet copper and covered in gold leaf.
        • The bridge got its name in 1836 from the Assignation Bank, whose building now houses the university of economics.
        • According to a local belief, stroking the griffins brings luck in studies and work.
        • The winged lion of the Bank Bridge is part of the logo of the Krupskaya confectionery factory.
        • In 2017 the first full restoration of the bridge's sculptures in 190 years began.
      4. 🚶 on foot
      5. 3
        🏛 Sennaya Square
        A former market square with a metro station and shopping arcades — the heart of the “Dostoevsky” neighbourhoods.
        Sennaya and Dostoevsky's world
        📖 More about the placeCollapse
        Sennaya Square
        © Monoklon · CC BY-SA 4.0
        • The square appeared in 1738–1739 on a wasteland with hay warehouses; in 1952–1992 it was called Peace Square.
        • In June 1831 the cholera riot broke out on Sennaya: a crowd wrecked the cholera hospital.
        • Until the mid-19th century thieves and swindlers were publicly punished here — Nekrasov described these “market executions”.
        • The guardhouse building of 1818–1820 was built by Vikenty Beretti to a design by Luigi Rusca.
        • The Church of the Saviour on Sennaya was demolished in 1961, and a metro vestibule was built in its place.
        • Today three metro lines intersect under the square.
      6. 🚶 on foot
      7. 4
        🏛 Lion Bridge
        A narrow pedestrian bridge over the Griboyedov Canal whose chains are held by four cast-iron lions.
        Four cast-iron lions
        📖 More about the placeCollapse
        Lion Bridge
        © Sergpavl · CC BY-SA 4.0
        Lion Bridge
        © Екатерина Борисова · CC BY-SA 4.0
        Lion Bridge
        © Ermell · CC BY-SA 4.0
        • The bridge opened on 1 July 1826; it was designed at the same time as the Bank Bridge.
        • It is one of three surviving chain pedestrian bridges in Petersburg, along with the Bank and Pochtamtsky bridges.
        • The lions were modelled by the academician Pavel Sokolov, and the cast-iron figures were first painted matte white “like marble”.
        • Until 1912 the bridge was also called the Mariinsky and the Theatre Pedestrian Bridge.
        • In 1882 the embankment was raised by a row of granite blocks, and the lions were lifted together with their pedestals.

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