Since June 2012 the Saint Petersburg magnetic observatory is being developed and maintained by two institutions of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) – the Geophysical Center of RAS (GC RAS) and the Saint Petersburg branch of the Pushkov Institute of Terrestrial Magnetism, Ionosphere and Radio Wave Propagation of RAS (IZMIRAN SPb Branch). On 29 April 2016 the application from the Saint Petersburg observatory (IAGA code SPG) for introduction into the INTERMAGNET network was accepted after approval by the experts of the first definitive data set over 2015, produced by the GC RAS, and on 9 June 2016 the SPG observatory was officially certified. One of the oldest series of magnetic observations originated in 1834 was resumed in the 21<sup>st</sup> century, meeting the highest quality standards and all modern technical requirements. In this paper a brief historical and scientific background of the SPG observatory foundation and development is given, the stages of its renovation and upgrade in the 21<sup>st</sup> century are described, and information on its current state is provided. The first results of the observatory functioning are discussed, geomagnetic variations registered at the SPG observatory are assessed and compared with geomagnetic data from the INTERMAGNET observatories, located in the same region.