Vasilyevsky Island (Russian: Васи́льевский о́стров, Vasilyevsky Ostrov, V.O.

) is an island in
St. Petersburg, Russia, bordered by the Bolshaya Neva and Malaya Neva Rivers (in the delta of
the Neva River) in the south and northeast, and by Neva Bay of the Gulf of Finland in the west.
Vasilyevsky Island is separated from Dekabristov Island by the Smolenka River. Together they
form the territory of Vasileostrovsky District, an administrative division of Saint Petersburg.

Situated just across the river from the Winter Palace, it constitutes a large portion of the city's
historic center. Two of the most famous St. Petersburg bridges, Palace Bridge and
Blagoveshchensky Bridge, connect it with the mainland to the south. The Exchange Bridge and
Tuchkov Bridge across the Malaya Neva connect it with Petrogradsky Island. Vasilyevsky Island
is served by Vasileostrovskaya and Primorskaya stations of Saint Petersburg Metro (Line 3 ).
There are plans to build new Metro stations on Vasilyevsky Island by extending Line 4 (the
Orange Line) to the Island. In addition, the island is serviced by bus routes and tramway lines.

Landmarks

Spit of Vasilyevsky Island. View to Universitetskaya Embankment, Kunstkamera museum and Peter and
Paul Fortress

The easternmost tip of the island, called Strelka (spit, literally Arrow), features a number of
museums, including the Old Saint Petersburg Stock Exchange (Bourse) as well as two Rostral
columns, and is a popular tourist attraction. The edifices lining the Universitetskaya
Embankment along the Bolshaya Neva include the Kunstkamera, Twelve Collegia, Menshikov
Palace, Imperial Academy of Sciences, and St. Andrew's Cathedral – all dating from the 18th
century. In the island center there is a considerable Museum of electrical transport organised by
transport history enthusiasts. It is based at the oldest Vasileostrovsky tram depot. Another recent
notable attraction was an animated floating anchored illuminated musical fountain located just
off the Spit.[5]

In contrast with the Neva embankments in the historical center, the western part of the island was
developed much later, in the late Soviet times, and has mostly typical Soviet apartment blocks. A
monument to Vasily, the legendary Peter I's local gunners' battery commander after whom the
island may have been named, was opened in 2003.

The principal buildings of Saint Petersburg State University are located on the island and include
the Twelve Collegia by Domenico Tresini (1722–44) and the former palace of Peter II of Russia.