Gostiny Dvor
The city's largest department store

This is a huge department store which is gradually turning into a shopping mall, since a significant part of its 164 690 sq. ft. of trading space is rented out to smaller shops. Constructed in 1757-85, Gostiny Dvor has a reputation for being one of the world's first shopping malls and occupies a whole city block south of Nevsky Prospect. Originally it consisted of 178 separate shops, but in 1955-58 the store, severely damaged during the 900-day Siege of Leningrad, was renovated and the inner walls were torn down, providing plenty of space for the largest store in St Petersburg. The two-storey yellow-and-white building of Gostiny Dvor is familiar to all the locals due to its prime downtown location. One-fourth of the complex is currently under renovation, and a long wooden fence stretching along Nevsky has become a St Petersburg version of London's Hyde Park Speakers Corner, attracting activists from different parties, special interest groups and what not... The fence was recently removed but the "Speaker's Corner" is still there.

Location: Nevsky Prospect, 35

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