Welcome in the world of fairy tales. Once upon a time (on 26th of May 1703 to be exact), a Russian Tsar rode with his horse through the marshes near the delta of the Neva. He pointed at a place and said “Here shall be my town.” And so it happened that a new city was founded: Saint Petersburg. It looks to be a really old city, with old buildings and a long history, but this was all made up. Here the entrance to the square in front of the Hermitage, the winter palace of Peter the Great and later Catherina the Great.