Skt. Petersburg, which until 1991 was called Leningrad, was founded in 1703 by the enterprising Peter the Great as Russia's window on the West, which would link the old mastodon with modern Europe.

Peter the Great was perhaps Russia's most significant Tsar and his government formed a gap in the country's history. As a person, he is hard to make out, for he has been a strange mixture of brutal tyrant who killed his own son to death, but also jovial, fun-loving and progressive reformer.
The city of St. Petersburg. Petersburg in many ways reflects its composite Founder: both exotic and familiar, modern and old-fashioned, European and Byzantine.

It is our experience here at Student Guide, the students' knowledge of Russian art, history, literature and social conditions may be at a very small place. This makes St. Petersburg to an exciting and exotic study destinations.

When St. Petersburg is the most fascinating - it's historic!

There are unbelievably many castles around St. Petersburg. Petersburg. Therefore you have to be brutal and cutting the most relevant from. We at Student Guide mention here the most relevant, because you can not possibly manage to see them all ...

winter Palace
The Winter Palace, which is part of the impressive Hermitage Museum, located next to the Neva River and is an absolute, absolute, absolute must! The museum contains the world's largest museum collection of artists such as Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci, Rubens, Rembrandt, Picasso and many others. There are over 1,000 rooms with more than 3 million works of art, so it is impossible to do it all in one day. The reason for the art collections was laid by the impressive Catherine the Great, who ruled from 1762 to 1796. She bought art everywhere in Europe, and at one point could not even Winter Palace accommodate more art. For art she built therefore the small Hermitage and later the Great Hermitage.
When you walk around in the Winter Palace is very overwhelmed by all the wealth and pomposity, as the Winter Palace are equipped. Walls, ceilings, floors, windows and furniture are works of art in itself, and the amount of gold and precious stones seems almost dazzling. Watching all unimaginable abundance, one can well understand that the poor Russian peasants wanted to throw their Tsar at the gate ....

Put plenty of time to see the Winter Palace - and be clear that I do, do not have time to see it all, so there should be absolute top priority. Also consider buying tickets home, fearing tourists have discovered St. Petersburg and the queues in front of the museum, therefore, can be a daunting length.

Alexander column
On the square in front of the Winter Palace you must notice the Alexander Column, which was erected to commemorate the victory over Napoleon in 1812. Often forgotten that the little Frenchman has been completely over here. The 47.5-meter-high granite column is carved out of a Finnish mountain in one piece.
Near the Winter Palace is another of emperors giant buildings Isaac's Cathedral, the world's fourth largest domed church, with room for about 10,000 people. It is a veritable cornucopia of decoration and a fine example of Byzantine art. There is no white walls of the church. Everything is decorated with paintings, mosaics, marble figurines and switches. The church has over a hundred murals, many of which are several hundred square meters. It stands in stark contrast to the traditional Danish church style and therefore an interesting point on a study tour.

Students can also get their daily exercise by walking the 562 steps up to the gold dome and søjlekolonnaden with 24 statues. But then they also come up on top of St. Petersburg's most beautiful cathedral, built between 1818 and 1858. From here you have a view over St. Petersburg jumble of roofs, rivers and canals and you will therefore have a glance over St. Petersburg special structure.

Another church that can also be recommended is the Resurrection Church or Blood church, the more dramatic is also called, was built in 1907 in memory of the Russian Tsar Alexander 2, who was mortally wounded March 1, 1881, when members of the terrorist organization "People's Will "threw a bomb. Outside the church is absolutely beautiful with a v & aelig; ld of colors. The memories of appearance very similar to the famous Saint Basil's Cathedral, located on Red Square in Moscow. Inside, the church filled with over 7000 m2 mosaics designed by 30 different famous artists of the time. It is a fascinating mix of Byzantine and modern art.

Peterhof
Below the Winter Palace can take a flyverbåd that can take guests to Peterhof, there is Peter the Great's bid for Versailles. Peter the Great was written as much inspired by the European cultural currents and therefore he should naturally have a slot that could measure up to his great role model in France. ... And the place is also worth a visit - especially if you can not get enough of decadent, striking and sumptuous luxury. In the side wing can enjoy - or be shocked - the Czars boggles the pageantry and the wonderfully large collection of art, furniture and porcelain. Although the park is an example of lavish luxury. You will find no less than three artificial fountains, 54 genuine fountains and 37 gilded statues and some of the fountains are trick-fountains that only jumps when you step on a particular place or put you on a particular bench. Be aware that most inscriptions are in Russian, so perhaps should put a little extra in the budget to buy a guidebook in English.

Peter and Paul Fortress
Czars and their history dominates St. Petersburg, and it is evident in the Peter and Paul Fortress, and should therefore also be on a program on a study tour. The fortress and the associated cathedral is built on a small hexagonal island in the St.. Petersburg, where the Neva River is the widest. The ubiquitous Peter the Great laid the foundation stone in 1703. The sharply pointed tower in the center of the fort, which belongs to the Peter-Paul Cathedral was built to keep watch against the evil Swede, as the Russians at the time was in fiery battles with. Inside the cathedral are the Russian zarers sarcophagi also the last Tsar Nicholas, who with his family was murdered by the Bolsheviks in 1917, is located here. His mother, the Danish Empress, is now also buried here. She fled from the revolution of 1917 to Denmark, where she died in 1924. In 1998, her remains back to Russia, where she was buried beside her husband. On the whole package also contains a lot of interesting stories and tales of the tsars. We can here at Student Guide recommend that you give the pupils the task to give a presentation about the various czars. This gives students also an insight into Russia's dramatic - and sometimes very indviklede- history.

Peter and Paul - the fortress has never been shot at, but in return offers the fortress one of Russia's most notorious prisons. The prison is in Brubetskoj - Bastion with 260 cells where czars confined their political opponents. A number of prominent people have been sitting here, from Dostoevsky to Lenin. Moreover sat Peter the Great's own son, Alexsej, here for 6 months due to suspected plot against the throne before he was tortured to death. After the revolution in 1917 superiors Communists in obtaining political opponents of the road here.

One should remember that St. Petersburg's history is not only associated with all the great Tsars. During the 2nd World War besieged Germans St. Petersburg in 2.5 years. During this period died between 500,000 and 1 million. people from cold, hunger, disease and war. The cemetery Piskarevskij is a terrible and violent memory from that era. At least half a million people are gifted in 186 large mass graves. At the entrance is a small exhibition of photographs, diary leaves o. The like. Here goes the war's cruelty really up for and you understand why Churchill said it was the Red Army which ripped open the belly up on the Nazi tiger. It is an important historical insight for students as Russian role in World War 2 is often underestimated in the domestically-produced media and film.

Company visits and the opportunity to see something unusual

If you would like to have a business visit to our program, we recommend you contact your travel agent so they can tell you what they have to offer. It is quite necessary that the contacts on your virksomhedsbESearch can speak English ... .. ;-) Often, travel agents good contacts that you can benefit from. One possible site visits should be mentioned, namely the brewery Baltika. It is the second largest brewer in the world by Heineken and sells mostly beer in Russia and elsewhere in Eastern Europe. The brewery started in 1990 and today Carlsberg A / S main owner. In can be shown around the production, get a thorough review of the site and have the opportunity to ask questions.

A visit to the Art Centre Pusjkinskaja 10 can also be a special experience for the students. Pusjkinskaja-10 in St. Petersburg. Petersburg is a cultural center founded by the painter, politician and former political prisoner Julij Rybakov. In addition to galleries, exhibitions and art is here a literary cafe that also serves food and drink. It is teeming with young literati, punks and subsurface actors. There is also a small concert hall for experimental niche music, a bookstore with the ultimate in avant-garde art, philosophy, literature. It can be a fine place to introduce students to how Russia can be and it's a big city like many others.

It is also an opportunity to take a trip by boat on the Neva, so you get the opportunity to see the city in a different way and maybe get a much needed break from all that historic. There are also several places where you can go to a Russian people show - a real tourist trap J. Here you can see the traditional Russian costumes and dancing. It is an impressive experience, but do not make you ideas that dancers know much about either costumes or dance. They are talented actor who knows how to make an impressive show, but much authenticity about it, is not there ....

Russkaja Kukhnia - the Russian cuisine
Not only culture, religion and history are very different in St. Petersburg. Petersburg. Also the Russian kitchen, Russkaja Kukhnia, is something of an exotic experience and be experienced when I'm there! It is characterized by an old food culture, where the main ingredients are parsley, chives, dill, sour cream, bay leaves, cucumbers, paprika, lemon and cabbage, fresh curd and beetroot. The Russians do much in making pies, salads, and salt cucumbers is an intense passion for many Russians. It sounds maybe something heavy, massive and boring. But your taste buds experience a feast by eating Russian food for, they can really put it together so that it tastes of something ...

To drink enjoying the Russian special place - probably because they are struggling with a laaaaang and cold winter. Otherwise keep Russians warm with vodka. Vodka served in large glasses and must, according to Russian custom, washed down in one mouthful - see, it's something high school students can understand.

Remember - before you travel ....

Like most hopefully know, Russia is not a member of the EU. Therefore, you must have a visa to visit the country. It must be sought 3 months. In advance. It is a rather arduous process, among other things, require personal attendance at the embassy in Copenhagen. Therefore, ask your travel agent, they can not help it. As a rule, they may be a relatively small amount to take care of the work. Also note the required special insurance when traveling outside the EU.

In conclusion ...

Take students to St. Petersburg. Peter Borg and let them have an experience of a lifetime, where they get the opportunity to see something completely different than the dull European backwater.