Getting to Know St. Petersburg

18 points7 km1.5 hours

In the city on the Neva, luxurious palaces, world-class museums, old cathedrals, and cozy embankments blend in perfect harmony. This route will highlight the city's main sights, along with some of its secrets and legends.

Route author

Alexander Plyusnin

Things to do

📸 Take photos
📜 Learn the city's history
🏰🕵️‍♂️ Discover a legend

Route points (18)

House at the Red Bridge in Saint Petersburg

Point on route “Getting to Know St. Petersburg”

Point 18

House at the Red Bridge

🏟️ Architectural landmark • 🕵️ Urban legend • 🌉 Bridge

Historical Background

The S. Esders and K. Scheffals Trading House (“Au Pont Rouge,” French for “at the Red Bridge”) stands on the corner of the Moika Embankment and Gorokhovaya Street, by the Red Bridge. In the 18th century the plot belonged to various owners: V. Ya. Novosiltsev, Friedrich von Bremer, and Christian Friedrich Poppe. Even then it housed the workshop of a court tailor, patronized by the capital's elite. In the early 20th century the Belgian entrepreneur Stefan Esders bought the house to build a department store, the sixth for his firm. The building went up in 1906–1907 to a design by the architects Vladimir Lipsky and Konstantin de Rochefort. Its model was the Singer Company building on Nevsky Prospekt. In the years before the revolution the store was popular with wealthy townspeople and even with members of the imperial family. After 1919 the building was nationalized and turned into a garment factory. In the 1930s the dome and spire were removed from the tower. In Soviet times the factory was named after Volodarsky and merged several enterprises. In the early 1990s the factory became a joint-stock company, and later a large-scale restoration of the building began. In the 2010s the historic tower with its spire and sign was rebuilt.

Architectural Features

The building is an example of rationalist Art Nouveau. It rests on a metal frame weighing more than 1,000 metric tons (1,100 short tons), one of the first such experiments in St. Petersburg. This structure made it possible to design large windows and a spacious, light-filled atrium hall. The atrium flooded the building with natural light, making the space feel open and airy. The facade is austere, with pronounced geometry. The three lower floors have rectangular windows; on the fourth floor the window tops become semicircular, on the fifth the openings are paired, and in the mansard they are horseshoe-shaped. The decor takes the form of medallions, garlands, and water lilies. The owners' names are placed on the attic. The cut-off corner gives the building dynamism and emphasizes the entrance. The tower with its dome and spire draws particular attention. For a long time it defined the skyline of the area, standing out among the Art Nouveau turrets of the early 20th century. The tower was demolished in the Soviet period but rebuilt during the restoration. Its outward composition makes the building a prominent architectural landmark, while the metal frame, large windows, and inner atrium reflect what were then modern approaches to designing retail space. The building remains an important part of St. Petersburg's historic center, combining architectural heritage with multifunctional modern use.

Nearby

Gorokhovaya Street One of the three historic central thoroughfares that fan out from the Admiralty. Gorokhovaya Street preserves the spirit of old St. Petersburg, its history, culture, and literature. Many famous people lived here, including characters from works of Russian classical literature.