Russian GirlsWhite Nights
St. Petersburg's seasonal phenomenon the so-called "White Nights" are not unique to the city, but it is the world's only metropolis where such an event occurs every summer.
When?
Night's start becoming brighter in St. Petersburg from
late May lasting through to late July, but the real "White Nights" generally
last from June 11 to July 2.
Every year there are times during this period when St. Petersburg's centre is full of people of all ages throughout the night, enjoying social gatherings in the abundant of outside bars, watching street entertainers or simply strolling along the various canal and river embankments.
Around 2am spectators gather at the river Neva's embankment
to watch the raising of the various drawbridges allowing huge
barges and tankers access.
Why?
The nature of these "White Nights" is explained by the geographical
location of St. Petersburg. It is the world's largest most
northern city with a population of over 3 million
inhabitants, and located 59 degrees 57' North (roughly on the same latitude as
the southern tip of Greenland and Seward, Alaska).
Due to this high latitude the sun fails to dip under the horizon deep enough for the sky to get dark, and dusk eventually blends into dawn. The brightness of nights is such that artificial street lighting is not switched on.
White Nights form one of the many summer tourist attractions for St. Petersburg Russia, but there is also an attempt to attract tourists and visitors to St. Petersburg in winter, the so-called White Days - snow, snow and more snow!