Nevsky Prospekt, St. Petersburg

St. Petersburg is one of the classic planned cities of the Age of Absolutism. Following an early victory in his 21-year long war with Sweden, Peter the Great chose a spot on the swampy ground near where the River Neva empties into the Baltic Sea to declare his intention to end Sweden's control and to open what he called his "Window on the West.". Peter's overriding goal was "Westernization," which for him meant modernization. In urban planning this meant broad straight boulevards, which in the case of St. Petersburg to the form of three long, straight, cobblestoned avenues radiating out from a central hub. In this historic engraving, Nevsky Prospekt is shown. Notice the similarity of the buidings which had to conform to a building codes set down by Peter.