The Museum of Water gives visitors a chance to get hands-on with plumbing and engineering, as well as learning about St. Petersburg’s own historical canals. Take in the exhibits, scale the water tower for views of St. Petersburg and relax on the grounds, which also overlook the city.
The water tower has its origins in the 1860s and is the oldest in the city. It was part of Peter the Great’s grand scheme to make St. Petersburg the “Venice of the North” and connect the municipality to Europe. Created by architects Ivan Merts and Ernest Shuberskiy, it was originally owned by utilities company Vodokanal but was gifted to the city as a 300th anniversary present in 2003.
Find out more about St. Petersburg’s interesting relationship with water in the Waterworld of St. Petersburg exhibit. Discover how the people of St. Petersburg have managed their water supply from ancient times to present day. Take a look at the wooden water well to get an idea of how things used to be and learn about the development of toilets through the ages, before moving on to the installation that explains how water is purified in the city today.
Take a “subterranean” tour of St. Petersburg and visit the Underground World of St. Petersburg area. Here, you can see a detailed model of the city that lights up just like the real thing. Elsewhere you can watch a film that explains St. Petersburg’s waterworks in detail, step through the sewers of St. Petersburg and take an excursion to Bely Island, which held the first major waterworks facility in the city.
Experience four seasons in one day in The Universe of Water exhibit. Here rainbows, rain and snow are all simulated. Various videos provide an explanation of how water is managed, while miniature recreations show bridges and boats that have featured prominently in St. Petersburg’s history. Have a go at plumbing or old-fashioned methods of collecting water while you are here too.
The Museum of Water is open Wednesday to Sunday. There is an entrance fee and it can be easily reached on foot via the Chernyshevskaya metro station.
