One of the distinctive features of St.Petersburg skyline, the imposing 32 meters high Rostral Columns were designed in 1810 by an architect Tomas de Tomon as lighthouses to emphasize the limpid Classicism of the Stock Exchange building erected behind the green square bordered from the Neva River by granite fence and a long row of trimmed trees. Built as the symbol of the naval supremacy of the Russian Empire and in honor of the Russian fleet victories, the russet-coloured impressive columns are decorated according to the Roman tradition with protruding ships’ prows, images of anchors and five-meter high allegoric statues installed on the rostrum of each column representing Volga, Dnieper, Neva and Volhov - the main Russian northern rivers. In the 19th century the oil lamps in these gigantic lighthouses were replaced by gas torches and still lit on ceremonic occasions, for instance for Navy days and other water festivals.

The grandeur and expressiveness of the Spit is formed largely due to the Neo-Classical former Stock Exchange building erected 120 meters ahead from the natural coastline to the design of architects Toma de Tomon and Adrian Zakharov in 1805-1810. Modelled on one of the famous Greek temples at Paestrum in Italy, the building was set on a high plinth, surrounded by 44 snow-white Doric columns and adorned with an allegorical sculpture featuring the seagod Neptune in a chariot drawn by sea horses. Initially used for bargaining, the exchange became redundant after the Revolution and in 1940 it was turned into the Naval Military museum, featuring the exhibition on the history of the Russian and Soviet navy from its origins under Peter the Great to the present day.

Other landmark of the Vasilievsky Island Spit is the embankment decorated with lion masks, huge granite balls installed on the ramps, and splendid buildings of warehouses, built on both sides of the Stock Exchange in 1826-1832 by architect Giovanni Lucchini. The northern warehouse is occupied by the Central museum of agrology named after V.V.Dokuchaev, while the southern – by the Zoological institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Zoological museum, where the world’s largest collection containing more than 100,000 specimens is kept.

 Адрес: Birzhevaya Square, St. Petersburg, Russia