St. Petersburg’s House of Books
Dom Knigi (Дом книги) is situated on the corner of Nevsky Prospekt (Невский Проспект) and Canal Griboedova (Канал грибоедова). The bookstore is on the first floor of the historic ‘Singer House’ building, named after an American sewing machine company who designed the building we know today in 1904. Singer house has become somewhat of a St. Petersburg landmark as it is one of the tallest buildings along Nevsky and so is easy to spot from quite a distance. The art nouveau style distinguishes Singer House thanks to its clear glass and turquoise design, plus sculptures of angels adorned on the side.
Apart from a good stock of Russian and foreign prose, Dom Knigi also sells postcards, local guidebooks and St. Petersburg souvenirs. For Russian language students, there is an international section which offers many bilingual versions of classic Russian novels. Also on offer are English translations of contemporary Russian fiction that are often hard to find elsewhere. On a rainy day it is great to spend an afternoon browsing the shelves and souvenirs in this lovely building. On the second floor there is Singer cafe with great views of Kazansky Cathedral (Казанский собор) opposite through the large bay windows. There you can relax with a coffee and any new purchases, watching the world go by on Nevsky Prospekt.
