Petrozavodsk is a large Russian city on Lake Onega, which is the capital of the Republic of Karelia. The town was founded by Aleksander Menshikov in 1703, but there was certainly a settlement on the site before then. Menshikov called the town Petrovskaya Sloboda, and with an iron foundry it ensured the production of anchors and cannons for Peter the Great’s Baltic Fleet during the Great Nordic War. The name Petrovskaya Sloboda thus also came from the Tsar’s name. In 1717, 3,500 people lived in the town, which was the largest in Karelia. After the death of Peter the Great, there were times of decline for the city, and its iron foundry closed in 1734.

In 1773 new growth came to the city and the area, as Catherine the Great established a new iron foundry close to Petrovskaya Sloboda. Four years later, Petrovskaya Sloboda received the status of a city, and was renamed Petrozavodsk. The city was then developed with a neoclassical city center, and it later became the region’s administrative capital.

After the founding of the Soviet Union in the 1900s, Petrozavodsk became the capital of the Karelian Autonomous Soviet Republic from 1923 and the Karelian-Finnish SSR 1940-1956. During World War II, Petrozavodsk was occupied by Finnish troops, who called the town Äänislinna, and who established several concentration camps before the town was liberated in 1944. Since the war, the population has dropped to approx. 280,000.

Today you can go on some lovely walks in Petrozavodsk and experience the city’s sights. You can start in the central square, Ploshad Lenina, which is adorned by a statue of the revolutionary leader Lenin. The 11-meter-high granite statue was unveiled in 1930. Ploshad Lenina has had several names over time, and it is a preserved part of 18th-century Petrozavodsk. Construction around the square started in 1773 as part of the construction of the Aleksander factory. In 1775, the buildings were completed, and they housed the factory office, a school and a pharmacy. Petrozavodsk was established as a city in 1777, and in 1784 the factory buildings around the square passed to the civil administration.

The factory buildings at Ploshad Lenina were rebuilt by the city government, and they were given a typical architectural touch of provincial classicism. After various purposes, the western semi-circular building was fitted out as residences for the region’s governor and deputy governor, while the eastern one housed provincial offices. The old governor’s residence was used as government offices during the Soviet Union, while today it houses the interesting National Museum of Karelia. At the museum you can see fine collections about the history and culture of Karelia, and you can also see a model of the original construction around Ploshad Lenina. The eastern building continues to be used as administrative offices.

From Ploshad Lenina, you can see the Eternal Flame to the southeast, and you can continue along Prospect Karl Marx to Kirov Square, where several of Petrozavodsk’s cultural institutions are located. In the square you can see a monument to Sergey Kirov, dedicated in 1936. To the west you can see the Karelia Modern Puppet Theater and the National Theater, while the Music Theater of the Republic from 1955 stands to the west as the dominant building of Kirov Square. To the north is the Petrozavodsk Art Museum, while to the south is a memorial monument and museum with exhibits from Kizhi.

From Kirov Square, you can walk east to Petrovsky Sad Park, where the city’s first foundry and factory were built in 1703. Today, the area is a lovely park with several attractions, and it also connects central Petrozavodsk with the shores of Lake Onega. Here you can walk along the lake promenades, and you will pass a statue of Peter the Great, after whom Petrozavodsk is named. From the promenade, you can walk back through the city along the main street, Prospect Lenina, which leads to the city’s railway station. Along the way, you can notice the former cinema from 1951, Pobeda, which today is open as a restaurant. At the end of the street is Petrozavodsk’s railway station, built in Stalinist style in 1955.

If you go a little south of the old parts of Petrozavodsk, there are things to see as well. You can, for example, visit the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, also known as the Trinity Cathedral. In the past it was also called the Factory Church, as it was built with donations from craftsmen from the Aleksander factory, which was close to the church to the north. The beautiful church was built from 1808 and consecrated in 1832. During the Soviet era, the church was open as a local history museum, and the Russian Orthodox Church had the building returned in 1991. In the southern part of ​​the city, you can see the impressive main building of the Petrozavodsk Presidential Cadet School, which was built from 2017 in classicist architecture in a style reminiscent of the palaces of Saint Petersburg.