The city of St. Petersburg has always been able to delight with its beauty all the tourists who came here from different countries peace. Most of all, this place is loved by romantics and for good reason, because only in St. Petersburg can you see white nights, which are business card cities.

The optimal time for a holiday in St. Petersburg is the beginning of July. Because at this time you can see white nights. At this time, a special energy reigns in the city, which even the city residents themselves can feel. It’s incredible when you look at the clock and it’s midnight, but it’s light outside.

As you know, white nights begin in St. Petersburg on May 20. Since then, the sun has not descended to the horizon, and the evening twilight gradually turns into morning. It is worth saying that this phenomenon can also be seen in other cities of Russia, namely: Perm, Vorkuta, Vologda, Magadan and others. But the classics of Russian literature called St. Petersburg the “City of White Nights.”

For a minute it may seem that nature changes the background, thereby giving you the opportunity to enjoy contemplating the beauty of the city, but only from a different perspective. Parks, fountains and palaces seem to be shrouded in a starry web. The city is immediately filled with romance.

A great memory of this incredible event is always associated with the opening of the Blagoveshchensky and Dvortsovoy bridges.

Events for White Nights in St. Petersburg

During the White Nights, various festivals, holidays, celebrations and concerts are held in St. Petersburg. Classics lovers can plunge into the incredible atmosphere of the Mariinsky Theater, where the Stars of the White Nights festival will be presented.

But the most favorite holiday of all graduates and city residents is the Scarlet Sails festival. At this time, you can see the beauty of fireworks and light shows that delight all tourists, reports the Therussiantimes portal. This event began to be celebrated in 2005 and is still very popular to this day.

Among all the interesting events, concerts on Strelka have become mandatory Vasilyevsky Island, as well as performances on Palace Square, and you can’t do without the pyrotechnic show that takes place over the Neva.

Floats slowly down the river big ship with scarlet sails, which serves as a symbol of joy and awakens the city from winter. This event attracts more than 4 million people.

The most long night in St. Petersburg it is observed from June 21 to 22, and the day lasts 19 hours. After this, the duration of twilight begins to gradually decrease, and real night falls in the city. From June 17, the first lanterns can be seen on the city streets at night, which means that the season has already ended.

Many people say that if you were in St. Petersburg and didn’t go to the White Nights, then you weren’t there. After all, many people try to come to this city at this particular time in order to see all the beauty with their own eyes.

What is the essence of white nights in St. Petersburg?

There is an opinion that the time of white nights is the period when the sun does not set beyond the horizon. In fact, white nights are nights when the illumination does not change, and the night consists only of twilight. The peak of the white nights falls on June 22, and officially they last from June 11 and end on July 2. Throughout almost the entire summer, the length of the day in St. Petersburg is longer than in Moscow.

In cities located north of St. Petersburg, white nights are brighter and longer, for example: in Murmansk and Arkhangelsk. Since Murmansk is located beyond the Arctic Circle, in winter you can see a completely different celestial phenomenon - the polar night. It turns out that there are days there when the sun does not rise at all.

White nights in St. Petersburg when they start in 2017

Many travelers who are planning to visit St. Petersburg want to combine this trip with the time of the “white nights” in the city. What are white nights and when do they happen in St. Petersburg?

The concept of white nights means a natural phenomenon when natural light is not too low at night. Instead of pitch darkness, the city experiences constant twilight at night. This happens due to the fact that the sun goes below the horizon by no more than 7 degrees. In cities located at the sixtieth geographical parallel, one can observe such a natural phenomenon.

White nights in St. Petersburg begin on May 26 and last until July 16. But officially, this is even written about in all Russian media, this is the period from June 11 to July 2. The brightest white nights are observed on June 21-22. During the official white nights in the city, street night lighting is not turned on, it is so bright in it. At other times, a little earlier or later, there is also increased natural light on the streets, but not to the same extent as during the peak of white nights.

When will the white nights in St. Petersburg begin and end in 2017? Perhaps the most frequently asked question a tourist who is going to St. Petersburg - when the northern capital becomes the “city of white nights”.

Many sources say that white nights begin in St. Petersburg in 2017 strictly on June 11 and end on July 2. In fact, everything is completely different.

We will analyze the topic from a scientific and practical point of view in order to put a final point on this issue. Let's start with the definition of the term "white nights".
It's surprising that many people confuse them with the polar day. During a polar day, the sun does not set beyond the horizon at all, but essentially moves along the horizon. If you are interested in this particular phenomenon, then you should head closer to the pole, for example, to Vorkuta, Naryan-Mar, Norilsk, Salekhard or Usinsk. On a white night, the sun goes below the horizon, but not far, falling below the horizon at a slight angle. What is happening on the street is not day, but twilight, and the closer the sun is to the horizon, the brighter it is.

There is even a division of twilight into the so-called “civil” (lighter), when the stars are not visible, and “marine” (“navigational”) - when the main stars are already noticeable and you can navigate by them. In the first case, the sun plunges below the horizon at an angle of up to 6 degrees, in the second case - up to 12°. To understand: in Moscow, evening “civil” twilight lasts no more than an hour.

White Nights

It is believed that classic “white nights” are when “civil” evening twilight does not turn into “sea” twilight, but immediately becomes morning. All objects are visible around the clock; no additional lighting is needed on the streets. There’s just one caveat: such twilight “from dusk to dawn” is possible only in latitudes above 60°60′00″, and St. Petersburg is located at 59°57′00″. That is, in the “city of white nights,” if we approach it formally, there are no such nights: even at the brightest midnight of June 20-21, there is a period when the sun drops below the horizon by 7 degrees.

White nights in St. Petersburg when they begin in 2017

White nights are nights during which natural light remains sufficiently high, that is, the entire night consists only of twilight. The phenomenon is observed in temperate and high latitudes before and after the summer solstice. There is no exact astronomical definition of the concept of “white nights”. For example, this may mean the phenomenon where the entire night is an interval of continuous civil twilight from sunset to sunrise. During the interval of civil twilight, the maximum angle of location of the center of the solar disk below the horizon is 6°. Under such conditions, white nights can only be observed at latitudes above 60.6° (this is 6° below the latitude of the Arctic Circle). However, St. Petersburg, which has the symbolic name “City of White Nights,” is located at a latitude of 59.9°. There, civil twilight turns into navigational twilight for some time. The lightest night falls on June 20-21, its duration is 5 hours 12 minutes.

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White nights are one of the most interesting phenomena in St. Petersburg, the northern capital of Russia. White nights are a period when the sun does not set. People can only see at dusk, so there is enough lighting even for night walks.

Many tourists are interested in when the white nights begin in St. Petersburg in 2018. After all, at this time you can walk for whole nights, enjoy entertainment, and take high-quality photographs without using a flash. The long-awaited period occurs at the end of June - beginning of July.

What causes white nights

White nights are a phenomenon that can be explained scientifically. The sun sets below the horizon at an angle of up to 6 degrees, less than usual. The position of the sun determines how dark it can get during a certain period of the day. At the beginning of summer, daylight hours increase, and the geographical position of St. Petersburg leads to the absence of full night for a couple of weeks.

Many tourists compare white nights with ordinary evening twilight, when there is not even a need to turn on city lighting.

White Nights

It is not surprising that tourists are interested in knowing when the white nights begin in St. Petersburg and when they need to come for pleasant walks and active tourist leisure in the summer of 2018. The period of white nights usually occurs in the second half of June.

However, the native residents of St. Petersburg are sure: the white nights begin at the end of May and end only in mid-July.

Throughout this time, city holidays, sports and musical events are held, which help improve the perception of St. Petersburg and further attract tourists to the Northern capital of Russia.

The end of June is the height of the white nights, the peak tourist season. Tourists try to book a hotel room and buy a train ticket in advance.

Opening bridges during white nights

Features of leisure in St. Petersburg at the end of June

As soon as the white nights begin in St. Petersburg in the summer of 2018, the holding of festivals, holidays and concerts intensifies:

1. Lovers of classical art try to visit the Mariinsky Theater, which is an important symbol of St. Petersburg. This is where the traditional annual festival “Stars of the White Nights” is held.
2. “Scarlet Sails” is a festival that is very important for graduates of St. Petersburg educational institutions and native residents of St. Petersburg. At this time you can enjoy fireworks and light shows. The main one is held for graduates, but St. Petersburg residents can enjoy fireworks. The Scarlet Sails festival has been held annually since 2005.
3. Among the most interesting events are concerts that are held on the Spit of Vasilievsky Island and Palace Square, the embankment.
4. From June 21 to June 22, when daylight hours reach 19 hours, many people enjoy night walks. In addition, the photographs taken surprise with their beauty.

At the end of June, twilight becomes shorter and shorter. After the second half of July, full night sets in, indicating the end of the peak tourist season. If you are interested in when the white nights begin and end in, you need to focus on the second half of June 2018.

Scarlet Sails

You need to prepare properly for your vacation in St. Petersburg during the White Nights. It is advisable to take into account various tips:

1. It is advisable to make accommodation reservations in advance. However, even with this approach, it is undesirable to focus on a large discount, since there are practically no special offers in the Russian hotel business. For budget tourists, hostel services are available, which sometimes offer good living conditions. You need to prepare for the fact that even in an ordinary hostel the cost of living will reach 500-600 rubles due to the high demand of tourists.
2. During the white nights, prices for all goods become very high. All goods and drinks on the main streets of St. Petersburg can only be purchased at high prices, so it is advisable to take care of the possibility of saving.
3. Every year various cultural events are held in St. Petersburg. When planning your leisure time, it is advisable to take care of purchasing tickets for concerts and exhibitions in advance. A number of matches are also being held in St. Petersburg in 2018.
   Security measures are always organized at a very high level to ensure the protection of the entire community. For this reason, you need to be prepared for possible enhanced checks.

Many beginners and experienced tourists are interested in when the period of white nights in St. Petersburg begins and ends, but for the convenience of your vacation, you can plan a trip in the second half of July, when the city will delight you with beautiful night illumination and the opening of bridges will still take place as before.

St. Petersburg is the brightest northern city - the countless number of architectural delights, bridges spanning canals, amazes the imagination. In this beautiful city, every element of street decor is executed with soul-stirring talent. The air of St. Petersburg is becoming truly filled with romance from June 11 to July 10, because it is during this period that the stunning period of White Nights begins. The period when dreams and secret desires come true.

How wonderful it is to go out on a warm, bright evening, taking a loved one with you and walk along the streets of St. Petersburg, look at, walk along the Hermitage and enjoy the view of the Neva. During this period of time, St. Petersburg acquires a special, ringing transparency of the air.

It is difficult to count how many talented people have dedicated their amazing works to this amazing natural phenomenon. And only St. Petersburg knows how many love stories the city saw at that time, and how many hearts were united into one.

St. Petersburg easily forgets old traditions and acquires new ones. And just as easily it brings back lost elements - this equally applies to masquerades. The night when the twenty-seventh turns to the twenty-eighth will be the night of the return of the masquerade ball. The main note of this event is magical creatures and fairy-tale characters. Masks are required for everyone.

White nights of St. Petersburg

White Nights are a time of magic in the air, a time when every walk around the city can turn into a meeting with your soulmate. The time when the northern city will help bring back faded feelings and stir up the stagnant romance of fading relationships.

When do the White Nights begin?, the city life of St. Petersburg is intensifying - many events are timed precisely for this moment. A large-scale event also takes place during the White Nights, allowing boys and girls to walk in an atmosphere of joy and happiness, under the bright night sky of St. Petersburg.

It’s amazing, but the magic of bright nights activates athletes from all over the world! An incredibly large-scale marathon starts on June 29th. Responsible marathon runners will run forty-two kilometers - the start will be from Palace Square, and further, along the embankment streets of magnificent St. Petersburg.

It is not for nothing that precisely when St. Petersburg is covered with a languid blanket of bright nights, countless tourists strive to grab their luck by the tail and taste the magic of this amazing city.

White nights are an annual natural phenomenon observed in the northern latitudes where St. Petersburg is located. The concept of “white nights” differs from the definition of “polar day”, when the solar disk does not disappear beyond the horizon, but moves along its line.

In St. Petersburg, the sun goes beyond the horizon, but drops below its line to an insignificant depth. This is a magical time when guests and residents of northern Palmyra observe a period of prolonged twilight, which cannot turn into astronomical night for objective reasons.

When does this natural phenomenon occur?

The onset of a long period of twilight occurs when the star called the Sun in areas that are located at latitudes above 60o takes a position 12º below the horizon. This prevents the onset of a full night, which begins provided that the Sun is 18 degrees below the horizon.

The solar disk moves at high latitudes at a slow pace along a flat trajectory. After midnight, the sun rises, preventing darkness from falling on the earth. The astronomical phenomenon lasts 9 weeks and is divided into three parts.

What stages does the white night go through?

The onset of the twilight period occurs gradually. After sunset, civil twilight begins. This is a period when it is light enough and celestial bodies are not visible. This state of nature continues until the solar disk is at a position 6º below the horizon.

Afterwards comes a time called navigational twilight. Then bright stars are visible, allowing sailors to determine the coordinates of the ship. When the Sun reaches a position of 12º below the horizon and does not fall further, the time of astronomical twilight comes. The sky is illuminated by the sun's rays, but this does not prevent you from contemplating all the stars of the northern hemisphere.

When the whitest nights come

The annual onset of white nights made it possible to conduct observations that were reflected in the work of all city services. Experts distinguish:

• increasing twilight period;
• reducing the time of darkness;
• peak with a maximum increase in daylight hours;
• decline as darkness increases at night.

Since May, St. Petersburg residents have been observing how daylight hours are rapidly lengthening and night time is shortening. If on May 1 street lights are turned on at 21:30 and turned off at 4:15, then on May 26 street lights are turned on at 22:45 and turned off at 3:00. This date is considered the beginning of the white nights period, because the decrease in the dark period of time will rapidly decrease until June 11th. At this time, the lights are traditionally turned on at 23:15 and turned off at 2:30.

After June 20, the length of the night will gradually begin to increase, but until July 10 this will be unnoticeable to people present on the city streets. Tourists walking around St. Petersburg at night during the peak of the white nights hardly notice the moment when the twilight thickens and turns into moments of darkness. This phenomenon is observed from the end of May and continues until mid-July.

The white night period will enter its final phase as twilight deepens from 10:50 p.m. Dawn reminds us of the beginning of a new day no earlier than 3:10, which happens on July 11th.

Petersburg at night is hospitable and attractive for tourists in the summer. The length of the day, approaching 19 hours, is presented as a feature of Northern Venice, which gives a special romance to this city.

Starting from the last week of May, the city hosts international events. This:

• economic exhibitions;
• political meetings;
• music festivals;
• entertainment programs;
• themed holidays.

Lots of cultural events to fill summer days and keep guests busy northern capital. At this magical time, the city's founding day is celebrated; in June, a holiday is held where school graduates gather. This event attracts up to 3 million spectators and is considered the hallmark of the city. The culmination of the prom celebration is a pyrotechnic show that takes place over the Neva.

Walking and boat trips through twilight St. Petersburg make people remember their visit to the city with a special feeling. An astronomical phenomenon gives rise to extraordinary sensations when the consciousness understands that night has fallen and it is light outside. In August, the period of white nights ends, and the night regains its rights.