Vyborg is a beautiful and not just ancient, but a real medieval city just two hours drive from St. Petersburg. Its history begins about a thousand years ago, when there was a small settlement of Karelians and Slavs on this place. Later, a fortress appeared here, and Vyborg became an outpost of the Swedes.
The uniqueness of the city lies in its medieval buildings, which have survived to the present day. Therefore, Vyborg is mandatory to visit if you spend your vacation in St. Petersburg.
How to get
From St. Petersburg to Vyborg, you can get by:
- by train;
A commuter train departs from the Finland Station several times a day. The journey will take a little more than 2 hours.
- “Swallow”;
To get to Vyborg faster, get on the "Swallow". The high-speed train also runs from the Finlandsky railway station, and the journey time will be only an hour.
- bus;
Bus services to Vyborg depart daily and several times a day from the bus station on the Bypass Canal or the Parnas station The Northern bus station. The journey by bus is 2-3 hours.
- by car;
A car is one of the most convenient ways to get to Vyborg. The travel time will not be more than 2 hours.
History of Vyborg
The first documented evidence of the existence of Vyborg dates back to 1293, when the Swedes founded Vyborg Castle here. However, the Ioakimov Chronicle says that the city existed already in the 9th century under the Novgorod Prince Gostomysl. The chronicle has not been preserved in its original form, and all the facts in it are known only from historians' retellings, so this version cannot be considered reliable.
Nevertheless, scientists agreed that the settlement in these parts was founded long before the arrival of the Swedes. Karelians and Novgorod Slavs lived here.
During the Swedish period, Vyborg was turned into a fortress to protect Karelian lands from the claims of the Novgorod prince.
Vyborg returned to the Russian Empire only in 1710. Peter the Great wanted to protect St. Petersburg from the Swedes in this way.
After the revolution, Vyborg passed to the Finns and remained part of Finland until 1940. Back, already part of the Soviet Union, the city returned during the war and is still part of Russia.
Vyborg sights
One day is enough to study Vyborg. Take the morning train or any other transport and go on a little trip through the Middle Ages to see:
- Vybor castle of the 13th century and fortress of the 15th century;
- Swedish House on the rock;
- Town Hall;
- Granite Palace;
- Aalto City Library;
and also take a walk through the old streets.
Book a cozy room at the Theatre Square Hotel, enjoy the tourist locations of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region. The Teatralnaya Ploshchad Hotel is located in the Admiralteysky district of the northern capital, from where you can easily get to the Finlyandsky Railway Station and take the nearest train to Vyborg.
