Apraksin Dvor

Apraksin Yard (also Apraxin Dvor; Russian: Апраксин Двор) is a market and retail block in Saint Petersburg, Russia, covering 14 hectares (35 acres).

The buildings of Apraksin Dvor stand between Sadovaya Street and the Fontanka River, just southwest of the Alexandrinsky Theatre.

The first market there began in the mid-18th century, deriving its name from Count Apraksin who owned the plot.

By the beginning of the 21st century, Apraksin Dvor was a large city of block of small, downmarket shops facing the street with an open-air market – mostly clothing and accessories – on the inside: an enormous downmarket retail area in the middle of the ever more upscale city center.

There are plans to turn the area into a modern, pleasant retail, office, residential, hotel and cultural space.