Webcam on Gostiny Dvor in Saint Petersburg
Bolshoi Gostiny Dvor, an 18th-century building that originally served as a wholesale market and later became a department store, is a significant monument of history and architecture. Its design was developed by the architect Jean Baptiste Vallin-Delamot.
This is a cultural heritage of federal significance for Russia, and as part of the historical center of St. Petersburg, it is under the protection of UNESCO. Occupying a block between Nevsky Prospekt, Sadovaya Street, Lomonosova Street and Perinnaya Line, it also has an entrance to the lobby of the Gostiny Dvor metro station.
The shopping area of this gostiny dvor is 13,000 square meters, while the area of the entire department store complex is 78,000 square meters.
Historically, gostiny yards were of great importance for St. Petersburg, providing the vital activity of the capital. The first Gostiny Dvor in St. Petersburg was built under Peter the Great on Troitskaya Square on the St. Petersburg Side in 1705. It consisted of many wooden benches, but was subsequently destroyed in 1710 by fire.
An important predecessor of this Gostiny Dvor was the Mytny Dvor near the Green Bridge, designed by the architect N. F. Gerbel. However, it burned down in a fire in 1738.