Twelve Collegia Yesterday I and my son were driving back to the home from the zoo. When we were getting by strange-looking long red building named “Twelve Collegia”, I decided to tell my son the legend behind that place which is one of my favorite spots in St. Petersburg. “Twelve Collegia” was built in 18th century by order of Peter the Great. Famous Russian tsar decided to place all legislative bodies there. About me, “Twelve Collegia” has a perfect architecture but placed in very strange way. Like in almost all cities in the world, in St. Petersburg long buildings usually placed along embankments. But not in this case. “Twelve Collegia” is extremely long and it’s placed perpendicular to Neva river, crossing almost entire Vasilievsky island. The legend says when Peter the Great was going to Europe for a long time, he gave a plot of land along Neva river to his appreciated associate Alexander Menshikov and ordered him to construct a building for legislative bodies. Also tsar said that if some land left, Menshikov would be able to take it. That was the reason why cunning Menshikov decided to build “Twelve Collegia” perpendicular to Neva river. When Peter the Great had returned for Europe he got angry because of Menshikov’s decision, took a heavy wooden stick and would run after his fellow hitting him before they would get by all building’s length. But historians say that legend is bullshit. Really, there is the Menshikov’s palace placed next to “Twelve Collegia”, but that palace was built a while before. Also it was Tsar’s idea to construct that building perpendicular to Neva river. Peter the Great wanted to build large square on the eastern end of Vasilievsky island and “Twelve Collegia” would be one of the sides of that square. But than St.Petersburg development plan was changed and a street was built along “Twelve Collegia” instead square.