PETER'S HOUSE

One of the oldest buildings in St. Petersburg, Peter's House was built over three days in 1703 close to the site of the Peter and Paul Fortress so that he could supervise its construction. All the items in here are authentic artifacts from Peter's time though not all of them belonged to him; some have been moved here from other museums and private collections.

Note that the ceilings are only 2.5 meters high which might seem strange as Peter was over two meters tall himself. Peter, ever the idiosyncratic emperor, eschewed big beds and high ceilings preferring to sleep on a fold-out cot that he took with him on his travels. Any time he was provided with a high- ceilinged room he would request his hosts to rig up a false low ceiling of cloth so that he would be able to sleep. In addition to Peter the Great paraphernalia (including a boat that he built), there are plans and drawings of Petersburg from Peter's time.

Across from the house on the Neva Embankment are the "Shih Tze" statues - half-lion and half-frog - which were brought here from Manchuria at the beginning of this century.

Petrovskaya Naberezhnaya 6. Metro: Gorkovskaya. Ticketing office open 10:00-17:00, museum 10:00- 18:00.Cosed Tuesdays and last Mondays of the month. Tel: 232 4576.