March has officially started, however St Petersburg Spring usually doesn’t start until May, and even when it does come there are in general only about 60 sunny days in the city throughout the year. So locals joke, if you haven’t seen St Petersburg when it’s raining, you haven’t seen St Petersburg at all.
And when the sun is shining we like to say that the city is just pretending to be nice and friendly. But even when the sky is grey and gloomy the mood of the city is still glorious and festive because of all those bright colorful palaces – no wonder our city is often nicknamed “The museum under the sky.”
However, there is one place in the city where you can actually influence the weather – and bearing in mind that another well-known nickname of St Petersburg is the Northern Venice – it is easy to guess the name of the place: The Museum of Water also known as Vodokanal Museum.
The museum complex is located in the former water tower of St Petersburg and offers three big expositions: “The Water Universe”, “The Underground World of St Petersburg” and “The World of Water in St Petersburg.” “The Underground World of St Petersburg” is an exposition where you will follow the way of the water through the pipes and into the sewage systems.
“The World of Water in St Petersburg” exposition will reveal to you the history of water supply systems in the world and in St Petersburg.
And “The Water Universe” multimedia exposition will tell you about the world of water in general and in St Petersburg in particular. And this is where you can try to influence the weather.
This is the Lady under the Umbrella sculpture. Under the umbrella there is a drop of sunlight. So if you want one day of the year to be sunny – hold on to the handle of the umbrella and whisper the date to the lady. According to the legend your wish is to come true!