Reply #9: We were watching the History channel just this yesterday...

[YellowRubberDuckie]

and they were talking about when Peter the Great created the city. It was a series called Land of the Tsars. It was a really cool, interesting show about the legacy of the rulers of Russia. Apparently, Peter took over the area from Sweden and made the nobility build their summer homes there. He told them where and what, and they took care of the rest. He wanted to make a new capitol, a new center of the country. He wanted a place that rivaled the beauty of Versailles. He spent a lot of time travelling thru Europe and to England learning EVERYTHING he possibly could. He built ships and homes, learned surgery and dentistry, and he worked right along side his people building ships for his navy.
His people loved him. He created museums and places of learning. Right before he died, he rushed into the cold sea to save some sailors who had crashed on the rocks. He died a few days later, having never named an heir. It's all a very neat story. It really made me want to visit the place and Russia. You might try to find a copy of the show or try to catch it again. It's a very awesome story. The history of the place after that gets bloody and corrupt, but it is VERY interesting. If you're a history buff, I highly recommend it.
Duckie