Friends, we continue our walks around St. Petersburg. This time, I'd like to tell you about the "Mini-City" exhibition space, where you can find small copies of famous architectural landmarks of the city on the Neva.
How to Get There by Metro
The exhibition space with scaled-down replicas of famous St. Petersburg buildings is located in Alexandrovsky Park. The exit from the "Gorkovskaya" metro station pavilion is also here.
Entry to the small complex is free, but according to the sign on the entrance gates, it is only open from May to October.
A Bit of History
The open-air exhibition complex appeared relatively recently, in June 2011. The full name of the exhibition complex, as seen in the media, is the Architectural and Educational Tourist Center "Mini-City."
The exhibition includes models of well-known St. Petersburg landmarks: the Winter Palace, St. Isaac's and Kazan Cathedrals, the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood, Mikhailovsky Castle, the Admiralty and General Staff buildings, the Senate and Synod, the Alexander Column, the Spit of Vasilyevsky Island, and the Peter and Paul Fortress. Interestingly, all the objects are arranged as they are in reality — for example, the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood is located south of the Peter and Paul Fortress. The darker parts of the exhibition grounds represent the rivers and canals of St. Petersburg.
At a short distance from the miniature buildings, there is a sculpture of the city's heavenly patron, St. Peter. According to the authors' concept, the apostle was holding keys in his hand, but today we can see that this detail is missing. I have encountered information that the theft of exhibit elements began right after the exhibition space opened. For example, parts from the hands of figures on the Alexander Column and the Arch of the General Staff have disappeared.
Continuing with the theme of miniature St. Petersburg, at the end of my story, I would like to leave links to two other landmarks: the "Petrovskaya Aquatoria" model museum and the "Grand Maket Russia." The first exhibition tells the history of the Northern capital in the 18th century, while the second offers a bird's-eye view of notable sites in St. Petersburg and other regions of our country.
Have a nice trip!
