The lecture offers a look at the university as a participant in urban life: a creator of ideas, communities, scientific centers, and images in literature. From imperial Russia to Soviet science cities and the present, listeners will trace how universities changed cities and how the urban environment influenced their role, character, and daily rhythm. The university is usually perceived as a place for lectures, exams, academic debates, and student stories. But this institution has another important role - urban. The university can change the daily rhythm of the neighborhood, create new communities, attract intellectuals, influence the economy, shape the language of public discourse, and even set the image of a place in literature. The lecture examines this topic over a long historical distance: from imperial times to the Soviet period and the present. We will tell you how to organize leisure in St. Petersburg.