The Rotunda – The most mystical place

The Rotunda Saint Petersburg

Image by Arseny Veber

The Rotunda – The most mystical place

Arseny Veber photo

Arseny from Saint Petersburg

The more I travel, the more I like St. Pete. Every building in the center has it...

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At the corner of Gorokhovaya Str and the Fontanka embankment, there’s a house built in the end of the 18th century. It is a typical building in St. Petersburg, but…

Here you can find the most mystical spot in the city – the Rotunda.

It is a round building with six free-standing columns. The bends of the walls repeat the lines of the stairs aspiring endlessly upwards.

The Rotunda earned its cult status in the ’70 – ’80s of the last century with the rise of the population of informal Soviet youth movements and subcultures: rockers, hippies, punks.

There are a ton of legends surrounding this place. For example, dreams and wishes written on the walls of the Rotunda may come true. But this is not the only legend. Someone called this place the center of the universe, since the Rotunda is located at intersection of the meridians of the St. Petersburg hexagon.

There is also a legend about a young man who went down into the basement of the house, got into the parallel world and spent there about 15 minutes. When he came back he looked like an old man.

Many believe that at midnight you can meet Satan here. During the times of the Russian Empire the Rotunda was a meeting place for Freemasons. It was also the favorite place of Grigory Rasputin.

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Arseny from Saint Petersburg

Arseny Veber photo

The more I travel, the more I like St. Pete. Every building in the center has it...

Read all articles

Details about this spot

Categories

Address

Gorokhovaya Street 57a, Saint Petersburg

Opening Times

Mon - Fri 18:00 - 22:00, Sat - Sun 11:00 - 22:00

Price

Entrance: RUB 70
Last Changed Date: 2016-05-19 11:45:13 +0200 (Thu, 19 May 2016)