CityWalls

This website is a gem if you want to explore the city through architecture. Its user community stores and constantly collects data about each building and monument in the city – historical archival photos and illustrations, plans, general info, and interesting facts. Streets, architects, styles, and historical periods – choose any category to organize your search. If you're looking for a lost building, you can find them in a special section, too. 

My favorite way to use the website is when I spot an unusual building during a walk. When I get home (the mobile version may be hard to handle), I then locate it using the map feature. This method often reveals hidden stories of seemingly ordinary locations. For instance, the Concert Hall Oktyabrsky was built on the site of a Greek church, and this building on Karpovka River near ITMO’s Vyazemsky dorm is actually unfinished: it is missing a massive tower.

An intriguing yet slightly nerdy feature is the quiz section, where citizens post challenging pictures of courtyards and architectural details for others to guess their exact location.

How old is this house

For those who want to explore the concept of architectural layers more interactively, here’s a map showing the age of buildings in St. Pete. What makes it catchy is the color marking – with the palette ranging from red for historic constructions to blue for modern blocks, the city turns into a patchwork blanket. By clicking on a building, you’ll also see the name of its architect and the style. By the way, lots of data here is sourced from the very same CityWalls!

The project also covers other major Russian cities like Moscow, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, and many more. 

Want to add a bit of fun? We dare you to find your house on the map without any hint in just one take!

Wikimapia

This is a geographic online encyclopedia that uses Google Maps to mark geographical objects around the whole world, which makes it a great source of information about St. Petersburg. Combined with data from CityWalls, there's also unique info about streets, districts, and what’s more interesting, natural wonders. So, this is where you can also read more about a lake or a mountain you’re planning your hiking route to.

PastVu

Get to know the city by looking at its old pictures! PastVu is a project that collects all evidence of the past, as seen through the lens of an old camera. The website is map-based, allowing you to navigate through different areas and discover historical images from every corner of the world, including St. Petersburg, and even features info about the angle from which the photo was taken.

Moreover, if you have your own pictures of your hometown, you can contribute to the project by uploading them to the website. It's a great opportunity to share your perspective and add to the collective knowledge of urban history.

Follow the tag Unexplored St. Petersburg to plan your next adventure in the city!