 His anonymity only lasted a few days, and he left for Amsterdam, leaving a number of his party behind to learn the trades.During the five months in Holland he interacted most extensively with Nicolaes Witsen, the mayor of Amsterdam, who was an expert on both Russian affairs and on shipbuilding.In 1703, Peter the Great founded Saint Petersburg and in 1712 he married his second wife, a peasant of Livonia who succeeded the throne under the name of Catherine I.