In 2003, a whimsical monument appeared near Ioannovsky Bridge, immediately becoming a favorite of St. Petersburg residents and the city's visitors. If you walk toward the Peter and Paul Fortress, to the left of the crossing wooden piles rise out of the water, and on one of them sits a small white hare.
There is a beautiful legend according to which, during a flood, a little hare jumped into the boot of Peter I, who was just stepping out of a boat onto the shore. The tsar saved the brave animal and named the island where he wanted to build the fortress in its honor.
The white hare, made from a special alloy, sits on a stump protruding from a cluster of piles. They protect the bridge from ice in spring and are located just a few meters from the line of the crossing. The hare is slightly larger than life-size - 58 centimeters from its paws to the tips of its sticking-up ears.
In St. Petersburg, there is a tradition associated with this long-eared talisman of the Peter and Paul Fortress. They say that if you make a wish and toss a coin onto the small pedestal at the hare's feet, it will surely come true.
There turned out to be many people eager to make their dreams come true, but not many accurate and agile ones, so the bottom of the Kronverk Canal is thickly strewn with coins. But in any case, it is worth trying - perhaps this hare will grant your very wish.
