22.02.12

Nevsky Prospect is the main street of St.Petersburg, which brings to mind the words of great Russian writer Nikolai Gogol: “There is nothing better than Nevsky Prospect, at least in Petersburg; for the latter it is everything!”. Between its very first name – road to Nevsky monastery – and its last – Nevsky prospect -  it had a great many names. The prospect begins at Vosstaniya Square and ends at Saint Alexander Nevsky Monastery.

Nevsky prospect emerged in the very first years of the city’s existence. The rapidly building and expanding St.Petersburg needed roads. In the 1710s from Admiralty docks across a swampy woodland a clearing was made for the future road that offered access to the aspiring young capital.

From Alexander Nevsky Holy Trinity monastery the brethren laid a road to link it with the one that took its start at the Admiralty. Czar Peter the Great named both Road to Nevsky Monastery. Along the roadside they dug irrigation ditches, flanking these with four rows of birches. The road was cobbled, and bridges were slung across the rivers. The street was given the name of Nevksy perspective, and decades later – Nevsky prospect.

Source: The Voice of Russia