Dear Friends,
We were in St. Petersburg, Russia for two days. What a city!!! As most of you know, there are many beautiful things to see there. I think we managed to see the most important in the two days we were there. In order to avoid having to get our own Russian visas, we were required by the authorities to take ship's tours. Well, this was a no-brainer since we probably would have done it anyway. So, we took two all day tours and the night we were there we went to the Ballet - wow, Swan Lake (classic ballet) performed in Russia - can't get much better than that we think!!! I am going to send our separate emails for each day!!!
Just a little history first. On May 17, 1703 (Russian calendar), during the Great Northern War, Peter the Great captured the Swedish fortress of Nyenskans on the Neva river in Ingria. A few weeks later, on May 27, 1703 (May 16, Old Style), lower on the river, on Zayachy (Hare) Island, three miles inland from the gulf, he built the Peter and Paul Fortress, whichh became the first brick and stone building of the new city. He named the city after his patron saint, the Apostle Peter. The original name was meant to sound Dutch due to Peter's obsession with the Dutch culture. St. Petersburg, known as one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, is noted for its lavish palaces and grand cathedrals, as well as its waterways. More than 300 bridges connect the various parts of the city. Catherine (the Great), who succeeded Peter after his death, built most of the palaces and brought works of art.
Our tour today was called: Glories of St. Petersburg. First we drove out of St. Petersburg for about 50 minutes to the town of Pushkin where we visited Catherine's Palace, whose grandiose white, blue and gold facade stretches 978 feet. This is a Russian baroque style palace that was built in the first part of the 18th century. The luxurious structure was rebuilt by Rastrelli and is now a showcase for period art, architecture, and landscaping. During WWII, the Palace sustained severe damage but has been restored to its original glory. The Palace's magnificent rooms include the famous Picture Gallery and the Great Hall, as well as the unforgettable Amber Room which sparkles in unparalleled, breathtaking splendor. The park-like grounds are embellished with a number of charming pavilions. After a nice lunch at the restaurant there on the grounds, we headed back to St. Petersburg where we toured the Hermitage Museum. The Hermitage, or Winter Palace, was built for Elizabeth, one of Peter the Great's daughters, but she died before the lavish mansion was completed. Her nephew, Peter III, was the first Russian Czar to take up residence in the great palace. The gold-trimmed, green and white palace houses one of the world's most massive art collections (more than 2.7 million works), begun when Katherine bought 225 paintings from a Berlin art dealer. Its collection of Western European art is second to none. The Hermitage occupies five buildings: the Winter Palace, Old Hermitage, New Hermitage, the Small Hermitage, and Theater. Its collection of French Impressionist art is unmatched.
These two places were incredibly lavish. Hope you get an idea of what we saw from our photos. I have only included a few of the famous art works. I do have photos of many more. It was a really amazing place. Just to walk among all these beautiful things was spectacular. And to see that they really don't do anything to keep you away from the valuable and famous things - you can walk right up and next to it all.
Enjoy.
Jan and Dick
No comments:
Post a Comment