Annenkirche – the church with special appeal

It’s very easy to overlook this church (‘kirche’) in the city centre, since its facade belies the kind of treasure hiding in plain sight. 

Annenkirche has had several interesting avatars. This was once the spiritual home of many famous city dwellers, like Carl Fabergé (remember the  Fabergé eggs?). It also functioned as a hospital and a shelter, a cinema, housed a collection of masterpieces from around the world, and was a rock-and-roll club that housed a bar, a casino and a tattoo studio!

The severe fire that broke out in 2002, collapsed the roof, burned down the auditorium and left the dome damaged. In 2010, restoration of the facades was carried out, and even today, the charred smell, damaged and scorched interiors, and its impressive gothic atmosphere will leave you stunned!  

To this day, Annenkirche continues to host a variety of exhibitions, concerts, plays, an atmospheric Christmas market and more. Lutheran church services are held here every Sunday in Russian. During the school year, they offer a weekly service in English too. The church on occasion provides tours (in Russian) to the public.

How to reach: Annenkirche is just a 10 minute walk from Liden and Denz, located on Kirochnaya Ulitsa, 8В.

Rasputin Museum – in memory of the murdered monk

On the night of 16 December, 1916 at Yusupov’s Palace on Moika in St. Petersburg, Grigori Rasputin was murdered by the young Prince Yusupov, heir to the greatest fortune in Russia, in a prologue to the revolutionary events of 1917.

The story goes that neither poison, beatings nor bullets seemed to work on Rasputin (aka Mad Monk), so Yuyupov and his aristocrat conspirators finally dropped him into the icy Neva river to kill him!  Who exactly was this controversial, eccentric, scandalous mystic, from over one 100 years ago – so revered and so reviled?  Find out at the Rasputin Museum – the setting of many outrageous events.

A trip through the museum uncovers the Mad Monk’s relationships with Nicholas II, Prince Yusupov, the orthodox Tsars and his people, his lewd and lascivious connection with Tsarina Alexandra and the tumultuous events leading to World War I.

While the building is a showcase in itself, the basement room where the Mad Monk was murdered, houses wax figures that recreate his final moments. A visit to the room is included in the afternoon tours.

Enjoy gasping at the Moika palace’s opulent State and other rooms (with crystal chandeliers, marble staircases, malachite fireplaces, gilded bronze sculptures, parquet floors made of precious wood) – where the Yusupovs arranged balls, masquerades and official meetings with members of the Royal Family. And see the world-famous exposition dedicated to the Tsar Nicholas II and his most favoured friend Grigori Rasputin. According to legend, Rasputin’s body when recovered was finally cremated and when the flames touched his corpse, Rasputin sat bolt upright!

Unravelog Tip: If you don’t speak Russian, go inside (not the ticket booth outside) and repeat ‘Rasputin’ several times, until someone directs you or gives you a ticket to the “Rasputin rooms” – available on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday at 5 pm.  If you merely buy a ticket, you will NOT get a ticket to the Rasputin exhibit, just the palace.

Podpisnyye Izdaniya – an antiquated bookshop

This family-owned bookstore founded in 1926, is one of a kind – specializing in music art, design, fashion and souvenirs, with curated stuff that goes back nearly 100 years! Here, you may chance upon quirky board games, postcards and stationery created by local artists, and spend hours browsing. It has free wifi and cozy corners to catch up on some reading. Books are stacked from floor to ceiling, displays lead up staircases and an interesting collection of classics, modern fiction, non-fiction, art and design, children’s books, travel guides, magazines and literary journals are arranged by genre. There is an impressive section of English-language books, bestsellers, Russian novels and English poetry.

Unravelog Tip: Look for a cute little coffee shop on the ground floor, behind the ficus trees, that serves delicious cakes and specially-made coffee. 

Bottled whimsy at The Russian Vodka Museum

If you can’t grow grapes, don’t be sour, make vodka!  Explore the fascinating history of 14th-century Chudov monks, who, after trying grape spirits in Constantinople, hoped to recreate them when back home in Russia. They didn’t allow their grape-less backyard deter them. Using their abundant fermented grain, they made ‘bread wine’ instead, earning the nickname “aqua vitae” (Latin for “water of life”). The Russian Vodka Museum, a private enterprise, explores the creation, packaging, ritual, and culture of the country’s favourite drink, in an absorbing, fun way.  Get into the phenomenon of the world’s modern international vodka industry, complete with waxwork models and some very cool bottles. 

It is fascinating to see the rows upon rows of a whimsical collection on display, bottles and stoppers that take the shapes of human figures, machine guns, animals, heads, and strange mythical beasts.

Get more insights with an English-speaking guide, rather than the other option, to take the tour yourself because the tour is definitely not as dry as you may think. Complete your tour with a vodka-tasting – sip on samples of authentic, first-class Russian vodka. If you want to stock up, to regale (or bore!) your pals, pick up some bottles at the museum shop after the tour – to round off presenting your extensive knowledge of vodka’s history.

Unravelog Tip: Skip lunch and enjoy Stolichnaya, Russian Standard and Beluga Vodka served with canapés at the museum. Or if you prefer, there is an excellent restaurant in the building, where you can get a discount on museum entry when you dine there.

Address: 4, Konnogvardeisky Boulevard

Timings: Daily, 11 am to 10 pm.

Website: http://vodkamuseum.su/en

Cost: Tour with vodka tasting (duration 30 min) in English or Russian – RUB 500.00. Tour (duration 30 min) – RUB 350.00. Vodka tasting: RUB 350.00. Individual ticket without tour: RUB 170.00

How to reach: Metro, Admiralteyskaya

Portrait-personalized Sokol Coffee

Talk about mug-shots – this one takes the ‘shtick’!  Sokol coffee is made unique and personalised – with your face on your cup. Your portrait is drawn by artists who will ‘up the cup’ with this fun gimmick! Every customer, after placing an order, can walk over to one of their artists who will draw onto the cup, before they make coffee.

This hidden gem, right next to one of St. Petersburg’s biggest department stores, DLT, is just a short walk from Nevsky Prospekt, tucked into a relatively quiet street, without the teeming hordes in the midst of the bustle of St Petersburg.  It’s a favourite among the young in the city, and definitely one of the most unique coffee shops in Saint Petersburg. Take time out to get here for some quiet time, for a perky-pick up with a personalized coffee that makes it all very memorable.

Unravelog Tip: Can’t make the time in St. Petersburg? Buy a customised thermal cup from Sokol Coffee online for yourself or loved one, at https://sokolcoffee.tilda.ws

Freud’s dream museum – delving into the subconscious

Couch, anyone? Slip into the dream world of Freud, through his explorations of an other-worldly view of psychoanalysis, in a museum that is a bizarre combination of art and science.  It is strange and fascinating, especially for those into the psychology of the mind. Dimly lit, the museum is saturated in incense scents to evoke an atmosphere that coaxes visitors into a surreal exploration of the subconscious through exhibits. Freud’s Dream Museum is, as its name suggests, dedicated to examining dreams through the lens of Sigmund Freud’s particular theories.

Although Freud did not have much of a connection with this city, the Institute of Psychoanalysis chose to focus its creation here, which covers Freud’s 12 stages of development, and the zones of the ‘conscious-preconscious and preconscious-unconscious’. What fills the space are texts, photos, and paintings of Freud’s and his patient’s dreams, including dreamscapes with unsettling images or sounds that will trigger your subconscious, as you immerse yourself in this installation museum! 

Address: 18a, Bolshoy Prospekt (Petrograd Side)

Timings: Tuesdays, Saturdays and Sundays, 12 noon to 5 pm. Closed on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays

Website: http://www.freud.ru/

Cost: Adult: RUB 80.00. Children/students: RUB 50.00

How to reach: Metro, Sportivnaya, Gorkovskaya

Brusnitsyn mansion’s murderous missing mirror

Step into a gothic ghost story. Ravaged by time, with no renovation or restoration to gloss it over, Brusnitsyn Mansion on Vasilievsky Island is a great 19th-century treasure. Although located in an industrial area far from the nearest metro station, it’s well worth a visit for its eerie sensation, evoked by its damaged velvet, worn out oak panels and chipped marble – and the legend of the missing Dracula’s mirror which is fabled to have been the cause of mysterious deaths and so hidden away forever! 

This mansion, built around 1844 and owned by Nikolay Brusnitsyn still shows signs of its former grandeur, despite its uncertain future, after the Bolsheviks nationalized and repurposed it. A factory in the premises, now defunct, operated till the mid-90s. So if you are looking for a story, mystery and setting for a plot, this one will inspire!

Unravelog Tip: Take a Russian-speaking friend along to coax your way inside by speaking to a surly security guard! Most websites say that Brusnitsyn Mansion is abandoned, but it is not so. Give it a go!

Address: 27, Kozhevennaya Liniya

How to reach: Exit Vasileostrovskaya Metro Station, turn left, cross 8-ya/9-ya Liniya and turn left to the first bus stop. From there take the k-359 Marshrutka minibus to the corner of Kosaya Liniya and Kozhevennaya Liniya, right next to the Brusnytsin Mansion.

F.M Dostoyevsky Literary Memorial Museum

Step into the Golden Age of Russian literature on this visit. This museum dedicated to Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky was opened on his 150th birth anniversary. Lovers of literature will know how the Soviets who found his views radical, suppressed his influence for years.   

The F M Dostoyevsky Memorial recalls his life and work, based on the accounts of his contemporaries and the memoirs by Anna, his wife. It includes the writer’s memorial apartment, the literary exhibit, and the White Theater. Several descendants donated books to make up this massive literary collection of over 24000 manuscripts.

The best parts of the museum relate to the time when he was sentenced to death by Tsar Nicolas I, but later exiled to a Siberian prison camp as ‘dangerous’. The indomitable writer took the opportunity to write The House of the Dead, the first book on Russian prisons, based on his first-hand experiences there.

Unravelog Tip: On his birth month November, the museum hosts a ‘Dostoyevsky and World Culture’. If you are keen, there are tours that specifically focus on the author. 

If you are thrilled to learn about these hidden gems of St Petersburg and have more time in your hands to discover the city in greater depth, you can check our detailed itinerary that unravels St. Petersburg in 4 days.