Saint Petersburg is exciting city. It is well known all over the world. A large number of tourists visit St. Petersburg every year. They visit museums and theaters, strolling through the streets and the city's waterfront. Attractions St. Petersburg is well known to all lovers of travel.
But there is another attraction, which has perhaps the greatest influence on the city, on its appearance, its life and the economy. It is the Neva River.
You will find information on the Neva River in our guide.
The river has a great influence on the life of the city:
- Neva decorate St. Petersburg. Located near Winter Palace and the Peter and Paul Fortress embankments offer beautiful views of the city. Tourists can see the most beautiful places of St. Petersburg during boat trips. Unfortunately, there almost are not embankments in the city, adapted to free time spending for residents and tourists. During the White Nights, bridges opening turns into a popular tourist attraction.
- Neva connects the Baltic Sea to Lake Ladoga. Cargo and passengers are carried on the river. Boating enthusiasts, owners of yachts and boats can get along the river from the Baltic Sea in the internal waterways of Russia.
- Neva divides the city into two parts. Diluted bridges are an insurmountable obstacle for cars. In the summer, at night, need to get from one bank to another can become a problem. The only bridge that is not opening, where you can cross the Neva at any time, is the Big Okhtinsky Bridge.
The Neva River flows through the territory of Leningrad region and St. Petersburg, connecting Lake Ladoga with the Gulf of Finland. Length of the river is 74 kilometers. There are four cities on the banks of the Neva River: Schlisselburg, Kirovsk, Otradnoe, St. Petersburg, and dozens of smaller settlements.
Neva is the only river flowing from Lake Ladoga. The average width of the Neva River is 400 - 600 meters. In the widest areas (for example in the delta near the Sea commercial port), the width of the river reaches 1250 meters. In the narrowest point width of the river is about 210 meters. Near the Peter and Paul Fortress the river divides into several arms.
At the source of the Neva River, on the Orekhovy Island, opposite the town of Shlisselburg there is located Oreshek Fortress. Fortress was founded in 1323. It is one of the attractions of the Leningrad region now. The distance from the Fortress Oreshek to the Palace Square is about 40 kilometers (distance in a straight line).
Along the Neva River by the ship
Neva is actively used by travel and transport companies. A large number of small and large tourist ships are moving by Neva River. You can take a short trip through St. Petersburg on a boat, or take a longer trip. Tourists can take a trip from St. Petersburg to Moscow, Astrakhan, Rostov-on-Don, Perm, Nizhny Novgorod, Valaam Island, the island of Kizhi.
Neva River is an important transport artery. The river is suitable for passing ships carrying capacity of about 5000 tons. During navigation, a large amount of cargo is carried along the Neva River. Bridges create obstacles to the movement of ships. Bridges are moving at night to pass vehicles. Shipping season on the Neva River runs from about late April to November. Neva is part of the Volga-Baltic Waterway and the White Sea - Baltic Canal Waterway.
Floods on the Neva
South-west and west winds sometimes cause movement of water in the Gulf of Finland and the rise of water level in the lower reaches of the Neva. This is the cause of flooding in St. Petersburg. Typically, the rise of water is insignificant and does not cause major problems, but in the history of the city were disastrous floods. The most severe in the history of the St. Petersburg flood happens on the seventh November 1824. On this day the water rose up to 421 centimeters. Large floods have also occurred on Sept. 23, 1924 (the water level reached 369 cm), 10 September 1777 (321 cm), 15 October 1955 (293 cm), 29 September 1975 (281 cm). In 1978 it was decided to build a dam to protect the city from flooding. Construction of the dam began in the autumn of 1979 and it was built in 2011. On the dam goes road on which you can drive around St. Petersburg on the west side.
The region History Information
People on banks of the Neva started to settle a long time ago. Archeologists find ancient people settlements founded about nine thousand years ago. Finnish tribes moved here later. Russia and Sweden long fought among themselves for this territory.
As a result of the Great Northern War 1700-1721's Valley of the Neva River became part of the Russian Empire. In 1703 at the mouth of the Neva Emperor Peter I founded the city of St. Petersburg, which we recommend to visit for all lovers of travel.