St Petersburg is among the few cities that can boast that the exact date of its foundation is known. On 27 May 1703, Emperor Peter the Great himself laid the first stone during the construction of the Peter and Paul Fortress, from which the future city was formed. It is no exaggeration to say that St. Petersburg is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Almost every building in the city historic center is a work of art and has its own history.

Monumental  building, the key element of the Spit of Vasilyevsky Island architectural ensemble – has peculiar fate. First, the St. Petersburg Stock Exchange was located within its walls for centuries - from 1703 to 1930. The Central Naval Museum settled in the Exchange building in the 20^th century. Today the building belongs to the Hermitage; it was to create the State Heraldic museum and ceremonial hall.

The Stock Exchange building was erected in the style of late Classicism, which is also, called the High style. Externally, the Stock Exchange building resembles ancient Greek temples. It is mounted on a stylobate (pedestal), which was designed not only to exalt the structure at the Neva mouth, but also to protect it from floods. The decision of the architect Thomas de Thomon (1760 — 1813) turned out to be correct. Even during the notorious flood of 1824, the waves of the raging Neva almost reached the level of the stylobate, but did not break through into the building. The external colonnade of the Doric order that visually increases the building size, hence at the same time does not burden its visual perception, surrounds the Stock Exchange building. The central portico is highlighted by triangular pediment; the external marble staircase leads to it. Two rostral columns made of copper according to the ancient Roman mode are in front of the Stock Exchange building. The columns are called rostral since they are ornamented with decorative images of a ship forebody – “rostrum” (from the Latin rostrum - "a ship bow").

The museum Collection section “Russian art and Ceramic Art”  features several glasses with the image of one of the oldest buildings, the Stock Exchange building, reconstructed from the engraving by Ivan Chesky from the drawing by Mikhail Shaposhnikov "View of the Port and the Stock Exchange from the Neva river".

1622/ДПИ;  3776/ДПИ;  2648/ДПИ;  7071/ДПИ

For reference: the Stock Exchange building is depicted on the contemporary 50-ruble Russian banknote, a statue at the foot of the rostral column is on the reverse side.