Peter the Great
While the Poles fought the Swedes, Peter founded the city of Saint Petersburg in 1703, in Ingermanland (a province of the Swedish Empire that he had captured). It was named after his patron saint Saint Peter. He forbade the building of stone edifices outside Saint Petersburg, which he intended to become Russia's capital, so that all stonemasons could participate in the construction of the new city. Between 1713 and 1728 and in 1732–1918, Saint Petersburg was the capital of imperial Russia.
State Museum of the History of St. Petersburg
The headquarters of the museum are located in the Peter and Paul Fortress. It was established in 1938 as the Museum of History and Development of Leningrad. It is a successor of the City Museum and the Museum of Old St. Petersburg. During the second world war on the eastern front the content were moved to Sarapul. The first full historical exhibitions began in 1957, celebrating the 250th anniversary of Leningrad. The museum contained over 1 million objects in 2002, including the collection of architects documents, photos and plans of Saint Petersburg of the 18th–20th centuries.