St. Petersburg Region, Russia
The eastern end of the Gulf of Finland belongs entirely to Russia. From Vyborg in the north, close to the Finnish border, past the Russian metropolis of St. Petersburg and its many suburbs, the Russian part of the Gulf of Finland extends to the Estonian border near the Estonian city of Narva, almost directly south of the Russian-Finnish border on the opposite shore. This region was the scene of centuries of conflict between the great powers of the time, Sweden and Russia. Initially, the entire northern coast of the Gulf of Finland was settled from Sweden, which later also brought the southern coast under its control. The founding of St. Petersburg by Russian Tsar Peter I (the Great) in 1703 marked a victory for the Russians over their Swedish rivals.
Sonnenuntergang über der Newa
Photo: © Alexander Archangelski / pixelio.de
While the northern coast of the Gulf of Finland, like the entire northern coast of the Baltic Sea in Sweden and Finland, is characterized by rocky terrain, the city of St. Petersburg marks the transition to the lowlands of the southern shore, which then extend to the western end of the Baltic Sea in Germany and Denmark. In the area around St. Petersburg in particular, military and tourist uses have competed since the 19th century, a struggle that was only decided in favor of tourism after 1990. The island of Kotlin, with the Kronstadt Fortress, is the best example. The island and city have only been freely accessible again since 1996.
The city of St. Petersburg and its surroundings are among the most important tourist centers throughout the Baltic region. The city itself, with its historic buildings and palaces, is complemented by world-famous suburbs established during the tsarist era, many of which are now part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. These include Pushkin (Tsarskoye Selo, or Tsar’s Village), Lomonosov (Oranienbaum), and Petrodvorets (Peterhof). The legendary Amber Room, which has been missing since the Second World War, also came from this region.
The Russian Baltic coast around the city of St. Petersburg is one of the most important holiday destinations along the entire Baltic coast. Another part of the Baltic coast, around the city of Kaliningrad (Königsberg), has been a Russian exclave since the Second World War and lies between Lithuania and Poland.
