Petersburg white nights. Why are the nights in St. Petersburg? How long is a daylight

The best time to visit St. Petersburg is during the white nights. You can always find out in advance when they start in 2018, and carefully prepare for this event.

What to expect for tourists

Peter - incredible place... Especially when after 22.00 darkness does not fall on the city. A kind of haze appears, which creates pleasant memories and awakens a romantic mood.

White nights is a time when a full morning comes at 4 in the morning, and the day as a whole lasts more than 18 hours. The peak of this phenomenon occurs on the 20th of June, which lasts almost until the beginning of the next month.

Peter: White Nights, exact date

According to official data, the white nights in St. Petersburg begin on June 11 and last until July 2. But residents northern capital increase daylight hours have been observed since the end of May. Moreover, everything continues in June and until the middle of the next month.

After the day of the city, which is celebrated invariably on May 27, daylight hours lasts about 18 hours, and even before June 20, the maximum mark is reached at 18 hours and 50 minutes.

By the way, on the longest Saturday of the year, that is, June 23, 2018, the traditional Scarlet Sails holiday will take place. It is on this day that graduates celebrate graduation from school, think about the future and enjoy the warm and velvety twilight like never before.

What places should you visit

When the white nights begin in St. Petersburg, there are a lot of events designed for a large number of tourists. In 2018, first of all, it is recommended to visit:

Holiday "Scarlet Sails"

  1. Colonnade of St. Isaac's Cathedral... This is one of best places in the center of St. Petersburg with a great view. Already from June 1, tourists can get there from 22.30 until 4.30 in the morning. The only day the building is closed to visitors is Wednesday.
  2. The main temple of the Russian Empire... Another one observation deck that “breathes” with history and allows you to enjoy the colorfully illuminated cities at dusk.
  3. hermitage Museum... A first-time visitor is unlikely to refuse to visit Winter Palace and all adjacent buildings. After all, this museum is considered one of the largest in the world, and it is difficult to describe how beautiful it is.
  4. General headquarters building... To get there, it is enough to cross the palace square. There are wonderful paintings and there are always interesting exhibitions.
  5. Excursions along the streets and embankments... The skill of the guides will help you to feel the magical atmosphere of the city, to feel like a part of something meaningful and unique.
  6. Boat trip... Such a pastime will allow you to get acquainted with Dostoevsky's St. Petersburg, see the famous Kolomna, mansions and parks of the ancient city in just a few hours.
  7. When the white nights begin in St. Petersburg, bridges are also raised. And 2018 is no exception in this regard. For three years, the Palace Bridge near the Hermitage has been raised to the sounds of a classical orchestra.
  8. Palaces of Peterhof... There is a lot of greenery here, beautiful parks, ancient fountains and statues. All this helps a person to feel the mood of another world and to look at many things in a new way.
  9. International festival classical music"Stars of the White Nights"... The Mariinsky Theater already hosts opera and ballet performances, in which groups from different countries the world. The festival opened on May 26 and will continue until July 23.

As you can see, when the white nights begin in St. Petersburg, the city starts completely new life... In 2018, not only tourists will have the opportunity to relax and feel in fabulous location... Even the indigenous inhabitants of St. Petersburg will be able to discover a lot of new and interesting things.

St. Petersburg is one of the most beautiful megalopolises in the world, which amazes with its grace and splendor at a glance. Every summer thousands of tourists come to this amazing city, when there are white nights in St. Petersburg, in order to see with their own eyes how wonderful it is. a natural phenomenon.

Formation of St. Petersburg

On May 1, 1703, the Russian army conquered a Swedish fortress called Nienschanz. But the Russian emperor did not like the fact that this fortress was located far from the sea.

Peter I carefully examined the surrounding area and found perfect place- Rabbit Island. It was surrounded on all sides by the Neva River, and this made it possible to fire cannons at passing ships. And soon the Peter and Paul Fortress was built on the Hare Island.

The Russian emperor personally drew a scheme for the construction of the fortress. The architects built the fortress as soon as possible before the onset of the first frost. The fortress had powerful walls capable of withstanding a huge siege.

For the first ten years, this place was occupied by military units, a temple and Gostiny Dvor. An industrial enterprise was opened here in 1705. In 1712, the Russian sovereign announced an important decree to make the city of St. Petersburg the capital of Tsarist Russia. And two years later the Mint was moved to St. Petersburg.

By the end of the eighteenth century, more than 200,000 inhabitants lived in St. Petersburg. Many churches were built. In 1785 a Duma was formed in St. Petersburg.

Today St. Petersburg continues its active development.

When do the white nights begin?

In the summer of 2016 in St. Petersburg it will be light at night from the eleventh of June to the tenth of July... V the given time there are many townspeople on the streets of St. Petersburg. The time of the white nights coincides with a large-scale event for graduates of St. Petersburg educational institutions with the romantic name Alye Parusa. And thousands of young men and women have fun until the morning under the bright sky of their hometown.

Surprisingly, during the magical period of bright nights in the city on the Neva, athletes come from all over the world. Every year a sports marathon starts in St. Petersburg. Endurance athletes will run more than forty kilometers - from Palace Square and further along the delightful embankments and numerous streets of this amazing city.

During the white nights, millions of tourists from all over the world strive to get to the city on the Neva and see with their own eyes not only crazy beautiful city but also beautiful white nights.

Why are the nights in St. Petersburg?

White night is called daylight. White nights are like cloudy days... In order to find out what this natural phenomenon is, it is necessary to understand why it is dark at night. Planet Earth rotates not only around its own axis, but also around the sun. When the sun rotates in the shady part of the earth, it is dark.

In St. Petersburg, during the white nights, the sun does not set. It is not dark at night, but only gloomy. Scientists call this natural phenomenon a polar day.

Sometimes the sun does not completely go beyond the horizon, but later a new day comes and the sun, without having time to go beyond the horizon, begins to gradually rise. As a result, the night does not have time to enter into its legal rights, as a new day begins again.

Where are the white nights? List of countries

Beautiful white nights happen not only in St. Petersburg, but also in Finland. Since childhood, the inhabitants of Finland have become accustomed to dark nights, which last in their country for more than six months, and in hot weather, dark nights are replaced by an amazing phenomenon called the "midnight sun".

Most of the people on the planet Earth who most often saw the magical white nights are citizens of cold Finland. In the capital city of Helsinki, the sun does not set over the horizon for at least two months. And in southern regions states come into their legal rights white nights. Therefore, the sun does not hide behind the horizon even late at night. In Finland, the summer is insanely short, and therefore at this time tourists and townspeople walk in the squares, as well as daily performances by popular artists and children's performances.

V summer time During the year, tourists come to Finland to see with their own eyes and photograph the splendor and charm of this city, take a walk through the beautiful forests, play golf with their friends, catch fish in a clear reservoir and swim in a boat.

One of the most beautiful natural phenomena - White Nights can be seen not only in the northern capital, but also in states such as:

  • Estonia;
  • Norway;
  • United Kingdom;
  • Sweden;
  • Canada;
  • Greenland;
  • Iceland;
  • Finland;
  • Denmark;
  • Antarctica.

Various events and celebrations are organized in the city during the polar nights. Residents of the city believe that during the white nights there is no need to go to bed, but to have fun and walk.

For more than one century, St. Petersburg has been rightfully considered cultural capital... Every year, many tourists come to see this marvelous city, and when there are white nights in St. Petersburg, the city just comes alive.

What is the Northern Lights?

The Northern Lights are a multicolored sparkle in the heavens. Usually, the northern lights shimmer with bluish-emerald lights and inserts of light pink and scarlet. These are a kind of colored stripes in the night sky, which simply amaze the imagination with their scales and tints. The aurora borealis is caused by numerous processes taking place on the sun.

Air is made up of a mixture of different gases. The sun kicks off protons and electrons, and then they interfere with the air and meet with the molecules of protons and electrons. In a strong collision, atoms lose their own electrons, and other atoms are excited, taking on an energy charge. After the atom has completely calmed down, it slowly but surely emits a light photon.

When nitrogen molecules collide, they completely shed electrons and begin to emit dark blue and violet light. But when a molecule is excited, but at the same time it does not shed a single electron, then it emits a scarlet color. When oxygen and solar wind molecules converge, the number of electrons does not change. The molecule becomes highly electrified, and then emits a scarlet and emerald light.

At the North Pole on any night you can see the northern lights, in Scandinavia - from twenty to two hundred times a year. In France and England, the Northern Lights can be seen seven times a year. And once the northern lights were even in Mexico.

How and where does the rainbow come from? Color order

The rainbow is a truly amazing natural phenomenon. Many peoples have thought about the nature of this phenomenon since ancient times. Rainbow falls mother rain. And it appears after heavy rainfall.

Rainbow is multi-colored arc in the sky... This arc can be seen on the other side of the sky to the sun, while the bright sun is not overcast. Most often, the beautiful arc can be seen in the warm summer by walking after a warm rain. Also, a rainbow can be observed near waterfalls or fountains.

The source of the multi-colored arc is the light of the bright sun, decomposed into components. A prism decomposes a ray of sunlight into its constituents. In the case of a rainbow, raindrops play the role of a "prism".

The colors of the rainbow are in the following order:

  1. Red;
  2. Orange;
  3. Yellow;
  4. Green;
  5. Blue;
  6. Blue;
  7. Purple.

A rainbow can be seen when it is pouring rain and the sun is shining at the same time. In order to see the rainbow with your own eyes, you need to stand between rain and sun. Provided that the rain is in front and the sun is behind.

There are still many amazing phenomena in nature. There is romance in the air when there are white nights in St. Petersburg, couples in love swear to each other in eternal love and fidelity, and school graduates enter adulthood and dream of the future.

Video about White Nights in St. Petersburg

Of course, people who want to visit the city this year and have never encountered a similar phenomenon are interested in the question, when there are white nights in St. Petersburg in 2018?

When the city is "awake"

By the end of May, the night in our northern city is getting very short, and Peter is entering a period of "sleeplessness." Outside the window it is light day and night, do not fall asleep. Citizens draw blackout curtains on the windows, and tourists have the opportunity to extend their acquaintance with the city and stretch the pleasure for as long as 24 hours.

The exact dates of the White Nights in St. Petersburg different sources indicate in their own way, changing them from year to year. Based on geographic location cities, white nights in St. Petersburg "start" on May 26, reaching its peak on the day of solar opposition - June 22. They end on July 17th.

Festive events in St. Petersburg

During the White Nights period, the city traditionally hosts many interesting events. You can visit both city holidays and international competitions and festivals. Opens a colorful extravaganza City Celebration. The Stars of the White Nights International Music Festival continues until the return of the usual "dark nights".

City Celebration

St. Petersburg's birthday is celebrated on May 27. In 2018, this significant date falls on Saturday. The celebration will take place at numerous venues in the city. In the evening, at 9 o'clock, the magnificent annual show "Classics on Dvortsovaya" will begin. In the open-air format, world-class opera soloists will perform on the square.

International Festival "Stars of the White Nights"

The 2018 classical music festival, which is held annually under the direction of Valery Gergiev, will be held from May 26 to July 23. The best ballet and opera performances will be presented on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater. The audience will be introduced to the premiere screenings. Symphony and chamber orchestras will perform.

Scarlet Sails

Already several generations of Petersburg graduates have been admiring an unforgettable sight - a schooner with scarlet sails slowly glides along the Neva. They usually try to coincide with the day of the solstice (the day off closest to June 22), but changes are possible. The exact date of Scarlet Sails is usually announced by the city administration in the last may days or early June.

International Marathon "White Nights"

In 2018, the marathon traditionally held in St. Petersburg will be held on July 22. They will start at 9 o'clock in the morning at Palace Square. Athletes will also finish there. Professional athletes will run the usual 42 km 193 meters. Lovers are offered a shortened route - 10 kilometers. The route is laid along the central streets of the city. Registration of the marathon participants began in January.

International Festival "Swing of the White Night"

The St. Petersburg Jazz Festival usually takes place in the last days of June. The best jazz bands from all over the world perform in the Jazz Philharmonic. The last day of the festival is open-air. Jazz lovers can enjoy the skills of the performers performing at the stage near the Russian Museum for free. In 2018, the holiday is planned to be held on June 30.

How transport works

In the white nights, guests of St. Petersburg can admire the characteristic spectacle of our city - the raised bridges. The sight is beautiful, but it is better to enjoy it without leaving the island where your hotel is located. Petersburg is built on islands, a raised bridge can cut you off from your habitat. The night metro train, which allows you to cross the Neva on the section between Sportivnaya and Admiralteyskaya stations, carries passengers in a limited mode (Friday, Saturday, Sunday and holidays). Night buses duplicate the metro lines closed at night from 0 to 6 o'clock within the islands.

How to get to St. Petersburg

You can get to St. Petersburg by any kind of transport - by train, plane, bus. You need to take care of purchasing air tickets or train tickets in advance, because there are usually many people who want to visit the city, immersed in the mystery of the white nights.

Where to stay in St. Petersburg

Mysterious white nights in St. Petersburg attracting crowds of tourists affect the level of hotel room rates. You can get cheap accommodation in numerous hostels and mini-hotels. Comfortable rooms with the necessary minimum of amenities will fully satisfy the needs of those tourists who have come to enjoy walks around our city. In order not to run around the city in search of accommodation, it is advisable to book hotels in advance

  • Summer in the northern city of St. Petersburg is fraught with surprises. When going on a night walk, take an umbrella and something "warm" with you.
  • Wear comfortable shoes. The city is big, you want to see everything, you have to walk a lot.
  • When planning your trip, take some time to visit the palace complexes in the suburbs of St. Petersburg.
  • Shops and cafes are open at night in the city. If you get hungry, there is where and what to eat.

Our city loves guests. Come at any time, you will always be welcome.

White nights are the time when the evening twilight merges with the morning, and the night darkness never comes. This natural phenomenon can be observed in the northern regions located at a latitude of at least 60o33 '. The length of the white nights period depends on the geographic location.


The "official" time when the white nights begin in St. Petersburg is June 11, and the end day is July 2. The peak of the white nights falls on the three-day summer solstice, June 21-23, when the length of the day from sunrise to sunset is almost 19 hours (more precisely, 18 hours 51 minutes). The so-called "civil twilight" (during which you can clearly distinguish surrounding objects without additional lighting) at this time begins around midnight and ends at about 2 am.


But in fact, you can watch the white nights in St. Petersburg for longer. Evening twilight here merges with morning twilight, starting from May 25-26 and until July 16-17. The sun at this time does not fall below 9 degrees below the horizon, and darkness as such does not come. At one time in St. Petersburg, it was during this period that night lighting was turned off - the streets are already bright enough.

What happens during the White Nights in St. Petersburg

During the white nights, St. Petersburg is very crowded: in the center of the city, life is in full swing both at night and during the day. At this time, the traditional festival "Scarlet Sails" is held, something like a city-wide prom for schoolchildren and other celebrations, music festivals and sports competitions are held.


When there are white nights in St. Petersburg, guests of the city are very actively offered a night program: bus and walking tours walking along rivers and canals. Traditionally, the highlight of the program is an impressive spectacle of bridges being raised: the embankments of the Neva are very crowded at night at this time, and cars and tourist buses in the city center sometimes sit in traffic jams for a long time.


Many cafes and shops in the city center are open around the clock at this time. Unfortunately for those who like to walk around St. Petersburg during the White Nights, public transport does not switch to 24/7: only night buses run from Friday to Saturday and Saturday to Sunday, and from the Admiralteyskaya metro station to open bridges walks night Train... In addition, on the night of the "Scarlet Sails" holiday, the metro does not close at all.


Many believe that during the white nights in St. Petersburg, at night it is as bright as it is during the day. This is not entirely true: for example, in the "twilight hours" in an open space without additional lighting it is difficult to read a book (unless the font is very large), but it is quite possible to play badminton.

"Pitfalls" of the white nights

Arriving in St. Petersburg during the white nights, one must bear in mind that late and short twilight can cause some discomfort. Firstly, during this period, many people in the evenings lose their sense of time, not being able to "navigate by the sun." Therefore, if you go for a walk around the city, and want, for example, to catch the subway - set a "reminder" on your phone, otherwise the night may come unnoticed.


Besides, White Night can be fraught with sleep disorders - not everyone is able to fully sleep in the light. In such cases, blackout curtains and "adjustment" of the personal schedule for daylight hours save. If you have difficulty falling asleep, it is best to go to bed right after midnight, when twilight is just beginning to come and the illumination, albeit not very strong, is still declining.

The secret of the white nights has not existed for a long time, this phenomenon is scientifically explicable. In areas located at high latitudes - in Greenland, Alaska, St. Petersburg, Chukotka, white nights are observed.

You will need

  • - access to the Internet.

Instructions

For most people, this phenomenon seems mysterious and unusual. And therefore, there are many people who want to get to St. Petersburg precisely during the period lasting several weeks - from early June to mid-July. At this time, many tourists come to the city, many different festivals, concerts, shows are held. During the white nights, they seem to be an interesting sight, there are twenty of them in St. Petersburg, but there are about three hundred bridges in the city. Excursion tours on a motor ship along the Neva are also especially beautiful at this time. Peter's White Nights are full of beauty and romance.

If you are planning a trip to St. Petersburg during the White Nights period, please note that it will not be easy to find a free place in the hotel. Make sure to book your room in advance. You can also stay in mini-hotels, they are located in the city center and have economy class rooms. Tickets for and also need to be purchased in advance, about a month and a half before the start of the White Nights season.

Contact one of the travel agencies offering tours to St. Petersburg during the white nights season. This can be done through the website of the selected company, for example, arina-tour.ru. Here you can find various suggestions for organizing your trip. The site provides information on individual and group tours, provides descriptions of various excursions and their cost; the contact details of the company managers are indicated.

Visit the FAVORIT travel agency website. On it you can familiarize yourself with the offers of visiting St. Petersburg during the white nights for individual tourists. On this resource you will find detailed tours that include hotel accommodation and services. The company also organizes tours for groups of 25 people or more. The site contains contact information by which you can easily contact the managers of this tour operator.

Related Videos

Sources:

  • Travel agency "Favorite"

White nights are common in northern latitudes. But it is in St. Petersburg that they seem especially charming. At dusk, old houses, streets and monuments are transformed.

Instructions

White nights - as is clear from the designation, nights in which the sun only slightly sets behind. Evening twilight lasts until morning and darkness does not descend. The peak of the white nights falls on June 21-22, i.e. summer. During it, the sun is closest to the Northern Hemisphere (where the city-on-Neva is located). Further south, these dates have the shortest nights and longest days. And in St. Petersburg during this period the nights generally "disappear", giving way to twilight. It’s not that it becomes daylight — a book, for example, is still better with additional light from a lamp. But you can walk around calmly, without fear of dark alleys - they are simply not there at this time of year.

Despite the fact that the peak of the white nights falls on the summer solstice, they themselves begin before it and continue for some time after. Of course, the nights begin to shorten after the winter solstice, 22, but they become bright enough somewhere in May. The period, which is accustomed to "white nights", begins around the 10th of June, on the 22nd it reaches its apogee and then gradually declines. At the end of June, twilight is still long, but already on July 2-3, they thicken to the usual nighttime darkness.

The described phenomenon is of the same nature as the polar days and nights, which last six months. The closer a point is to the North Pole, the shorter the days in it in winter and longer in summer. The opposite situation is observed in the Southern Hemisphere, where "nights" come in winter (in December), and in summer, on the contrary, it gets dark quickly. For the same reason, there is always short morning and evening twilight, and there are no "white nights" or "dark days". Therefore, many also notice that the nights there come very abruptly and just as suddenly give way to a clear day.

note

You can see "White Nights" not only in St. Petersburg, but also in many other northern cities.

St. Petersburg is an amazing city with many symbolic names. Venice of the North - this name was given to the city for the abundance of rivers and canals. Northern Palmyra - for unique beauty... Northern capital - the city has been the Russian capital for more than two hundred years. But the most intriguing name is the city of "white nights".

White nights in St. Petersburg begin on May 25-26. Already at this time, the evening twilight begins to merge with the morning dawn. This is due to the fact that the sun drops below the horizon by only 9 degrees. As a result, the nights become light. On June 22, the length of the day is 18 hours 53 minutes. The solstice is observed for three days, after which the length of the day gradually decreases. July 17th is the end of the White Nights.

Thousands of tourists from all countries come to St. Petersburg to see the white nights. At this time, the city is permeated with romance, guests and indigenous people become dreamers. This mood is created due to the fact that all temples, monuments, bridges, fences, houses become unrealistically beautiful, it seems that tourists from the real world have got into a fairy tale, where all wishes will come true.

During the white nights, festivals and holidays take place in the city. Since 2005, it has been customary to celebrate the brightest and most beautiful holiday of graduates under the fabulous name "Scarlet Sails". Concerts begin on Palace Square, on the Spit of Vasilyevsky Island. In conclusion, a pyrotechnical show is held in the water area of ​​the Neva. Three million viewers gather annually to host the multimedia show.

To get to St. Petersburg from May 25 to July 17, tickets must be ordered in advance. All flights are full of tourists who dream of a vacation in the city of white nights.

The hotels are also overcrowded. Currently, the situation has changed somewhat, many private hotels and inns have been opened in the city, but even they cannot accommodate everyone. Therefore, you need to reserve seats in advance.

Once having seen the white nights, most tourists return to St. Petersburg again and again to feel like a romantic again and plunge into a fabulous atmosphere.

Russians hear about the White Nights almost every year - mainly due to the rich cultural life of St. Petersburg, where at this time the theater festival with that name is being held. Although, as a natural phenomenon, white nights can be observed not only in Russia, but also in other countries, whose territories are captured by the polar regions - in Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Iceland, in the northern regions of Canada and Alaska.

White nights as an atmospheric phenomenon

Depending on the illumination, or, strictly speaking, on the position of the sun relative to the horizon line, experts distinguish civil, navigational and astronomical twilight.

Civil twilight lasts from the moment of visible sunset until the time when the angle between the horizon and the center of the solar disk is 6 °, from 6 ° to 12 ° - navigational, from 12 ° to 18 ° - astronomical twilight.

Thus, night is a phenomenon when the evening twilight smoothly turns into, bypassing the night, i.e. period of minimum illumination of the earth's surface.

A bit of astronomy

If we consider the phenomenon from an astronomical point of view, it should be remembered that the earth's axis is located at an angle to the plane of the ecliptic, i.e. to the plane around the Sun, and this slope does not change.

Actually, the angle of inclination of the earth's axis changes. She describes a circle in space and in different time"Looks" in different places of the starry sky. However, the period of this movement, in human understanding, is very long - almost 26 thousand years.

Thus, in the process of the Earth's orbit, the Sun illuminates either the northern or the southern hemisphere. Moreover, the inclination of the earth's axis is such that at some points of the orbit, the sun's rays fall on one of the poles almost perpendicularly. Summer is on the lit hemisphere. In the polar regions at this time there is a polar day, when the sun does not hide behind the horizon for many days in a row.

The other hemisphere is going through the winter as it is poorly lit. The sun's rays glide along the surface of the Earth and heat it badly. The pole is in the shadow, there is a polar night. V circumpolar regions the illuminated hemisphere The sun sets, but not for long and is close to the horizon. So close that it can illuminate the surface of the planet with its rays scattered in the atmosphere. White nights are falling.

Related article

White nights are a natural phenomenon in which real darkness does not occur at night. The appearance of white nights is typical for temperate and high latitudes in the period shortly before the solstice and for some time. The darkest time of the day is twilight. St. Petersburg is especially famous for its white nights.

Time of White Nights in St. Petersburg

It is believed that visiting the northern capital is best in the middle of summer, in late June or early July. It was at this time that white nights reign in the city, which are considered the best time to visit the sights and contemplate city views. Unfortunately, the downside is that at this time the highest prices in hotels, sometimes the cost rises several times compared, for example, with the winter months. That is why it is recommended to buy a plane ticket and book a hotel in advance during the White Nights period.

On white nights, all buildings in the city look especially beautiful, so you should definitely take a walk along the canals or a night tour. Daylight hours increase to almost 20 hours, and night illumination in weak twilight makes the views of the city from the water simply unforgettable. Drawbridges add a special charm to this.

The peak of the white nights falls on June 22, the solstice, and the "official" period for them is the period from June 11 to July 2. In fact, in St. Petersburg all summer daylight hours are quite long. The difference is clearly visible even in comparison with Moscow, which is not so far removed.

There are other cities in which white nights can be even much brighter, for example, in Arkhangelsk or Murmansk there are days when the sun does not set at all. But the white nights of Petersburg, thanks unique architecture and the history of the city have gained particular popularity. The houses and palaces, which offer stunning views from the water, shaded by the silhouettes of the drawbridges, make a strong impression on people.

Visiting St. Petersburg during the White Nights

If you do not like crowds, then white nights are not the best time for visiting the city, since it is on these dates that the embankments at night are densely dotted with tourists from different countries. At the end of June, the "Scarlet Sails" holiday is held, which many people strive to visit, and this only increases the tourist excitement that falls at this time.

When booking an excursion during the White Nights period, make sure that Travel Company undertook to take you to the hotel upon its completion. Usually this is implied by itself, but it is better to clarify just in case, as there are incidents. If you are walking on your own, then find out the schedule so that you do not have to wait several hours for the shores of the city to reconnect and you will be able to get to your side.

At night in St. Petersburg there are buses that replace the metro routes, but if the bridges are divorced, then the bus will not help.

Related Videos

Many Russians associate the phenomenon of white nights exclusively with St. Petersburg. And not surprising. Much has been written and written about the city on the Neva, while white nights - a striking feature of the northern capital - of course, does not stand aside. Remember, for example, Pushkin's: "and not letting the darkness of night enter the golden skies, one dawn hurries to change another, giving the night half an hour." Brilliant and amazingly accurate! Today people hear about this phenomenon regularly - at least once a year. Lighting up cultural life countries, the media do not ignore St. Petersburg, with its annual theater festival "White Nights".

White nights or civil twilight?

Well, if someone thinks that white nights are the exclusive privilege of the Russian northern capital, then this delusion is solely on the media. White nights are amazing, but this is an atmospheric phenomenon that repeats every year and can be observed in many cities of Russia, as well as throughout Iceland, Greenland, Finland, in some circumpolar regions of Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Estonia, Canada, Great Britain and Alaska. The White Nights Zone starts at 49 ° N. There is only one white night a year. The farther north you go, the brighter the nights get, and the long period their observations.

White nights are an amazing phenomenon, which experts rather dryly refer to as civil twilight. And, in fact, twilight? This is a certain part of the day - depending on what kind of morning or evening twilight we are talking about - when the Sun is already or is not yet visible, since it is below the horizon. At this time, the surface of the Earth is illuminated by the sun's rays, which are partially scattered by the upper atmospheric layers, and partially reflected by them.

If we assume that night is the period of minimum illumination of the earth's surface, then twilight is the time of its incomplete illumination. Thus, white nights are a smooth flow of evening twilight into morning twilight, bypassing the period of minimum illumination, i.e. night, just as A.S. Pushkin wrote about it.

But why is the twilight "civil"? The fact is that experts distinguish several gradations of twilight, depending on the position of the Sun relative to the horizon. All the difference lies in the value of the angle formed by the horizon line and the center of the solar disk. Civil twilight - the lightest "twilight" period - the time between the apparent sunset and the moment when the angle between the horizon and solar center will be 6 °. There are also navigational ones - an angle from 6 ° to 12 ° and astronomical twilight - an angle from 12 ° to 18 °. When the value a given angle exceeds 18 ° the "twilight" period will end and night will come.

Since everything is more or less clear with atmospheric processes, the question can be posed more globally. Why does the Sun plunge just a few degrees below the horizon at certain times? What caused the appearance of the white nights from an astronomical point of view?

A short course in astronomy

Astronomy course high school provides familiarity with the material at a sufficient level. That is, a person who graduated from school is quite capable of understanding how everything happens from a universal point of view.

First, the Earth's axis, like the axes of all other planets, are at an angle to the plane of the planet's motion around the Sun, i.e. to the plane of the ecliptic. The change in the value of this angle occurs over such a long period of time - 26,000 years - that, in this particular case, it may not be taken into account.

Secondly, when moving in orbit, at some quite definite intervals of time, the Earth relative to the Sun is located so that the rays of the luminary fall on one of its poles almost vertically. In this particular place, the Sun is at its zenith in days - a polar day is observed. A little further to the south, the angle of incidence of the sun's rays relative to the earth's surface changes. The sun sinks beyond the horizon, but so insignificantly that the evening twilight smoothly flows into the morning, bypassing the period of minimum illumination of the earth's surface. These are the white nights.

Summer reigns in the hemisphere facing the Sun. The further south you go, the darker and longer the nights. The other hemisphere during this period is experiencing the delights of winter, since the rays "sliding" along the surface of the planet heat it weakly.

At the end of this short course, it should be noted that White Nights are by no means the exclusive privilege of the Northern Hemisphere. The same phenomena are observed in the Southern Hemisphere. It's just that the zone of white nights of the Southern Hemisphere falls on the vastness of the World Ocean and only sailors can observe the beauty of the phenomenon.

Why choose Korea for your autumn trip?

Autumn in South Korea is accompanied by favorable and mild weather. Depending on the time of day and the altitude to which you plan to climb, the temperature varies. In autumn, not only tourists, but also Koreans themselves come to see the beauty of the forests covering the mountains under the clear blue sky.

While the beaches and lakes are overcrowded in the summer, the roads leading to the mountains are overcrowded in the fall. During this period, Koreans tend to plan outings with friends and family. At the end of the day, they head to the hot springs. The waters are full of minerals and have a beneficial effect on the health and condition of the skin. This is why a unique phenomenon "Danpung" is a good reason to come to Korea in the fall and combine the process of contemplating the scenery with the healing of the body.

There are several places to enjoy Danpung to the fullest:

Seoraksan

The Seoraksan Mountains, located in Gangwon Province, are undisputedly the most famous fall destination in Korea. This national park is a mix of cliffs, deep caves, waterfalls, temples and forests. Seoraksan is beautiful at any time of the year: natural colors change depending on the season, but they reach their peak in autumn. Another reason to visit the mountains is the popular walking route, which runs near hot springs. After a long excursion in the fall, it is especially pleasant to take a mineral bath.

Chirisan

Chirisan - the place where the first appeared in Korea National park... This is the highest mountain in the country, so there is an opportunity to get best views... The local valley of Piagol is especially popular: it even hosts the Crimson Leaves festival. Oaks and ash trees grow in the lower part of the mountains, pine and spruce trees grow a little higher. People come to Chirisan for inspiration, which is given not only by the surrounding nature, but also by several Buddhist temples- valuable architectural monuments.

Nezhangsan

If there is no way to visit South Korea in October, Nezhangsan Mountains - the best way... The peak of flowering occurs here in November. The main attraction of this mountain range- 200-meter natural tunnel made of raspberry, yellow and orange leaves. At the peak of leaf fall, hundreds of tourists come to the mountains every day. You can escape from them to mountain waterfalls, rivers, temples and traditional villages. Natural beauty can be viewed from observation deck, to which the cable car leads.

Gwanaksan

Closer to Seoul - the main base of many tourists - are the Gwanaksan Mountains. Transforming in autumn, the trees of this area delight those wishing to see the colorful leaf fall. Gwanaksan has become a favorite vacation spot for residents of the capital, and this is largely due to its affordability. You can get to the mountain by metro, and then change to a bus that will take you to the very entrance. Like many others Mountain peaks Korea, Gwanaksan is home to several Buddhist temples.

There is no exact astronomical definition of "white nights". As the summer solstice approaches, the nights become brighter, reaching peak illumination on the night of the solstice - June 20-21. Moreover, the greater the latitude, the brighter and longer the white nights.

On days close to the winter solstice, the opposite phenomenon is observed- dark days when the sun does not rise high enough above the horizon during the day to create normal lighting. Such a day, especially in cloudy weather, is more like twilight, cars drive with headlights on. Visually, sunrise can blend in with sunset. Like white nights, dark days have no clear astronomical definition. If we take as a basis the midday height of the sun above the horizon no more than 9 °, then at the latitude, for example, of St. Petersburg, they will last from November 27 to January 15.

At the poles white night is observed continuously 15-16 days before sunrise and the same number after sunset. At the North Pole, these are the periods from March 3 to 18 and from September 26 to October 11, at the South Pole - from March 23 to April 7 and from September 7 to 21. The differences in the duration of the white nights, the polar day and the polar night at the poles are due to the fact that the area in the South Pole region is at an altitude of 2800 meters above sea level, and at the North Pole the altitude is determined by the level of the Arctic Ocean.

In latitudes above the Arctic circle White nights and "dark days" can also be seen in cities in the Arctic Circle: Salekhard, Murmansk, Norilsk, Vorkuta, Naryan-Mar- 3 weeks before the onset of the polar day (polar night) and the same number after its end. In these cities, the white night gradually brightens until the sun stops setting over the horizon and the polar day begins. In winter, the day gradually darkens until the sun stops rising over the horizon and the polar night sets in.

In southern Karelia, including at latitude Petrozavodsk White nights begin in the second half of May and end in mid-August. In Petrozavodsk, street lighting is not switched on during the white nights. It is so bright there that you can do without artificial lighting.

V St. Petersburg there is an "official" white nights period: from June 11 to July 2. But many Petersburgers consider May 25-26 to be the beginning of the White Nights, and July 16-17 as the end. During this period, the sun at the latitude of St. Petersburg at night drops below the horizon by no more than 9 °. On June 20-21, at astronomical midnight (the moment of the lower climax), the sun sets below the horizon by about 7 °. Street lighting in St. Petersburg during the white nights is switched on at night for a short time.

At lower latitudes, nights are no longer called white, but light. For example, at latitude Moscow at local midnight, the observer will notice only a slight lightening of the sky towards the sun (in clear weather), artificial lighting in settlements will work all night.

Finally, starting at about 48 ° N lat. at true midnight during the summer solstice, not the slightest twilight can be seen or recorded. It is these dark summer nights that are sometimes called "southern".

It is famous not only for its architecture, but also for its white nights. This truly mystical and magical natural phenomenon is very attractive for tourists. Many travelers plan a trip in this direction when there are white nights in St. Petersburg.

The "endless days" of St. Petersburg can be seen from late May to mid-July. The very phenomena of nature occur in the second decade of June. What are the White Nights in St. Petersburg? When the sun sinks minimally below the horizon, then the evening twilight does not become darker and merge with the morning. For guests of the northern capital, the time when there are white nights in St. Petersburg is an additional opportunity to see as much of the beauty of this city as possible. After all, such a night is as bright as day. Even the street lights are off. And you can sleep on your arrival home.

Many people associate white nights with St. Petersburg. But this natural phenomenon can also be observed in Murmansk, Arkhangelsk, Samara, Pskov, Kazan, Syktyvkar, Pechora, Novy Urengoy and other cities. In some places the white nights are much longer than in St. Petersburg, for example, in Yakutia they last until August. The farther north the city, the longer the "eternal day" in it. This natural phenomenon can be seen in Moscow, but not for so long and not so obvious.

The absence of a dark night is typical for high and temperate latitudes before and after the summer solstice. When the sun drops below the horizon by 6-7 0, the usual twilight sets in. During the summer solstice, the planet remains at these marks, and people see white nights. In the latitudes of the Arctic Circle and above, residents have the opportunity to observe the same night in winter.

At a time when there are white nights in St. Petersburg, various holidays and festivals take place. One of the annual holidays is school graduation. This event is called "Scarlet Sails". During the same period, the International Badminton Competition “White Nights” is celebrated every year since 2007 in Gatchina. Stars of the White Nights is the name of the arts festival held here. The magical image of an endless day attracts creative people - artists, poets and musicians come here.

The White Nights of St. Petersburg are a great opportunity to admire and photograph drawbridges - another symbol of the city. After all, they are bred mainly at night. In St. Petersburg, there are twenty drawbridges out of a total of three hundred objects.

The period when there are white nights in St. Petersburg is one of the best times to visit this city. At this time, fountains are working, and there is also more sunny days because this northern city is known for its rainy weather and fogs. But tourists should purchase vouchers in advance and book places in hotels, since during the White Nights St. Petersburg receives a huge number of guests.

The mystical atmosphere of an endless day, drawbridges, river and walking bridges along the river embankment, fountains and the atmosphere of an eternal holiday are weighty arguments in favor of choosing this city as a travel destination.