The United States is the birthplace of migrants.Leaving their homes for the illusory prospects of the New World, they took with them all the best that was somehow connected with their home. A vivid example of this is the names of settlements. Just think, in America there are several dozens of Paris, Manchester and Dublin. There are as many as seventeen cities proudly referred to as Moscow.
St. Peter
Not without its own St. Petersberg.It does not rise on the granite banks of the river. St. Petersburg in America does not breathe in the dank air of the Baltic. But at his disposal the sandy beaches of the Gulf of Mexico. And it is located in Florida. About 245 thousand inhabitants are registered on the territory of the southern “twin”. His age is one and a half centuries less than that of the Russian sister. The founding fathers of both Peter was called Peter. On this, perhaps, the similarities end, and striking contrasts begin again.
There are no drawbridges in St. Petersburg in America.But there is only one ferry. She connects the city with the pier. And also cable-stayed colossus, which meets and escorts travelers. On the central square stands the monument to Peter I, not familiar to us from childhood, but the figure of Christopher Columbus. However, the person who gave the name to this cozy American town was still called Peter by the name of Dementiev.
В летописи Санкт-Петербурга в Америке он appears as Peter Demens. His origin was admirable, and he himself was a brave and ambitious officer. He was predicted a brilliant military career, but the early marriage has made its own adjustments. After leaving North Palmyra, he settled with his family in the central part of Russia. After a while, civilian life bored him, and he went on a journey.
How it all began
During his wanderings, he visited the most secludedcorners of the planet, but he liked only Florida. At that time, the state was not yet inhabited, and land allotments were given away cheaply. An enterprising landowner did not lose his head and acquired about 30 hectares for his sole use. Possessing a business vein, he immediately grew a farm and began to lead a prosperous, by local standards, life. His settlement grew and developed, and one day Peter Demens became mayor.
Among the benefits that he gave to citizens, wasseparate railway line. Its length exceeded three miles. But Peter's aspirations attracted him further south, to the snow-white coast of the Gulf of Mexico. In 1888, he landed in Tampa Bay, founding a tiny settlement and giving it the name St. Petersburg. Such is the story of the birth of this unusual and distant twin city of the Northern capital.
Life and Life of North American Peter
Современный город Санкт-Петербург в Америке almost completely lost its historical heritage, which testified to its European origin. Today it is a typical southern town, immersed in greenery and flower gardens. Its center is streaked by wide car arteries.
Pedestrian pavements have street cafes andverandas of restaurants. Everywhere souvenir shops, the range of which echoes the arsenal of merchants in the Palace Square. Many shops of St. Petersburg in America belong to immigrants from already present Russia. They regularly visit the city on the Neva to replenish supplies.
Resort traditions
Due to the mild and warm climate, openterraces operate year-round. Since the town is not so popular with stars and celebrities of the world, the most ordinary Americans from the north of the United States come to rest on the local coast. Housing and entertainment prices in these parts are a third lower than in nearby Miami. St. Petersburg in America is included in the federal program aimed at the development of local tourism. "Get America moving!" - its official slogan.
The settlement serves a large portcapable of receiving high-rise yachts and liners. At its moorings crowded private sailing ships that go out into the open water only on weekends. The most common inhabitant of the depths in the water area is not a small fish, but manatees.
Действует исторический музей, а в парках и squares are sporting almost tame squirrels. In St. Petersburg in America there is a whole high-rise quarter. From the balconies of houses offers a picturesque view of the bay. In addition to local residents, pelicans run the city. These birds are so spoiled that they are absolutely not afraid of anyone!
In the footsteps of Tom Sawyer
Everyone who read the books of the writer MarkTwain probably wondered more than once about where exactly St. Petersburg is located in America. Which river, which part of it? Contrary to the famous song, it does not extend along the banks of the Mississippi. That city that appeared in the stories about the adventures of a barefoot boy, alas, is fictional.
This Peter is not shrouded in a damp fog of forests.Missouri. He is caressed by the warm waves of Tampa. Here you can not hear the long beeps steamers. The silence of these places is broken by sharp cries of pelicans, fiery Latin rhythms and hubbub of tourists.
