In the midst of the university grounds is a whimsical collection of sculptures from different artists including monuments to figures as disparate as Ho Chi Minh, Vladimir Nabokov, Tomáš Masaryk and Anna Akhmatova. Look out for the one of Major Kovalyov's nose, the character from Gogol's short story The Nose. The leafy central courtyard is a pleasant place to sit, but you may need to show your passport to gain entry.
University Sculpture Garden
St Petersburg
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
0.6 MILES
The Hermitage fully lives up to its sterling reputation. You can be absorbed by its treasures for days and still come out wanting more. The enormous…
14.12 MILES
The Grand Palace is an imposing building, although with just 30-something rooms, it is not nearly as large as your typical tsarist palace. From the start…
0.71 MILES
The east wing of this magnificent building, wrapping around the south of Dvortsovaya pl and designed by Carlo Rossi in the 1820s, marries restored…
14.3 MILES
One of the greatest attractions outside of St Petersburg is the jaw-dropping collection of gilded fountains, statue-lined lanes and picturesque canals…
0.82 MILES
This spectacular palace on the Moyka River has some of the best 19th-century interiors in the city, in addition to a fascinating and gruesome history. The…
15.89 MILES
The centrepiece of Tsarskoe Selo, created under Empresses Elizabeth and Catherine the Great between 1744 and 1796, is the vast baroque Catherine Palace,…
1.05 MILES
The Mariinsky Theatre has played a pivotal role in Russian ballet ever since it was built in 1859 and remains one of Russia's most loved and respected…
16.01 MILES
Around the Catherine Palace extends the lovely Catherine Park. The main entrance is on Sadovaya ul, next to the Palace Chapel. The park extends around the…
Nearby St Petersburg attractions
0.07 MILES
Call ahead to arrange a tour of this small but interesting museum inside St Petersburg University and dedicated to Dmitry Mendeleev, creator of the…
0.07 MILES
Completed in 1744 and marked by a statue of scientist-poet Mikhail Lomonosov (1711–65), the 400m-long Twelve Colleges is one of St Petersburg’s oldest…
0.13 MILES
The first stone building in the city, the Menshikov Palace was built to the grandiose tastes of Prince Alexander Menshikov, Peter the Great’s closest…
0.21 MILES
Also known as the Museum of Ethnology and Anthropology, this is the city’s first museum, founded in 1714 by Peter himself. It is famous largely for its…
0.28 MILES
One of the biggest and best of its kind in the world, the Museum of Zoology was founded in 1832 and has some amazing exhibits, including a vast blue whale…
0.3 MILES
The old Customs House, topped with statues and a dome, is now home to the Institute of Russian Literature. Fondly called Pushkin House, the handsome…
0.32 MILES
Designed by French architect Jean-Francois Thomas de Thomon, the Greek revival–style Stock Exchange was completed in 1810. It ceased to serve its original…
0.32 MILES
The most famous statue of Peter the Great was immortalised as the Bronze Horseman in the epic poem by Alexander Pushkin. With his horse (representing…