The English Embankment is one of the most elegant and popular walking areas of St. Petersburg. On one side of the street flows the Bolshaya Neva, in the distance you can see the Peter and Paul Fortress and Vasilievsky Island. And on the other side there are manors, palaces and mansions of the rich nobility.
Nowadays, government offices, museums, restaurants and hotels hide behind luxurious facades. If you are staying at the Express Sadovaya Hotel, be sure to take a walk in sunny weather to the Promenade des Anglais. Moreover, the walk will take only 20 minutes.
The history of the embankment
The gentrified territory near the shores of the Bolshaya Neva appeared in the first half of the 18th century. The first buildings and berths were actively built here, where ships brought building materials and various provisions.
Throughout the history of St. Petersburg, the embankment was renamed several times, and only since the 1800s it began to be called English, since English merchants began to settle near the shores of the Bolshaya Neva.
The house of the Countess Laval
The pink building in the style of Russian classicism was built in the early 19th century, and Ekaterina Ivanovna Trubetskaya (nee Laval), the wife of the Decembrist Sergei Trubetskoy, lived in it.
Ekaterina Ivanovna had quite an interesting life. She helped the Decembrists in every possible way, according to rumors, embroidered a banner for them and after the trial followed her husband into exile. However, her house was known for more than that.
Creative evenings were often held in the Laval salon, where Krylov and Vyazemsky read their works. Karamzin told excerpts of the "History of the Russian State", and Pushkin told the ode "Liberty" and "Boris Godunov".
Governing Senate (Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation)
The very first and one of the most majestic buildings on the embankment is the Senate. It was established by Peter I in 1711 and was the highest authority of all three branches of government in the Russian Empire.
Now the building is occupied by the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation.
Board of Foreign Affairs
The strict classical-style building is not known in St. Petersburg for the fact that the College of Foreign Affairs was located here. In the 19th century, Pushkin, Griboyedov, Tyutchev and Fonvizin worked in this ministry.
Later, the College building was converted into a military academy, where Milyutin, Denikin and Skobelev studied.
Once the English Embankment was a poor people's area and an industrial zone. However, by Peter's decree, it was turned into the most attractive place to buy land. There was not much of this land here, so all the buildings were built close to each other, forming a single facade.
You can walk along the Promenade des Anglais both on a sunny day and at sunset. The street is a good viewing platform for those who want to look at drawbridges.
Book a modern room with all amenities at Express Sadovaya Hotel. The hotel is located in the Admiralteysky district of the city, so you can get to all the main tourist locations on foot.
