Saint Petersburg

I love you, citadel of Peter’s. I love your elegant austerity of line, Your broad Neva, whose gracious waters Mid granite – clad embankments shine. I love your traceried iron of gate and railing, The moonless brilliance of the light That sheds a beauty never paling Upon your meditative night. When, neither lamp nor candle needing I sit composing verse or reading, And slumbering mansion, towering high, Stand clear against the lucid sky. A.S.Pushkin.

Contents *The History Of St Petersburg *Museums *Gardens and Parks *The Pearl Necklace of Petersburg *Bridges *The Temples Of St Petersburg *Photo gallery

The History of St Petersburg It is for almost three hundred years that Saint Petersburg stands on the banks of the Neva River. It was founded along the ancient trade water-way for centuries connecting peoples of East and West. From 8th-9th centuries the banks of the Neva belonged to Novgorod Rus. And in the 17th century they were occupied by the Swedes.

To secure his position on the Baltic coast Peter I decided to build a new fortress on the Enisaari Island, which means the Hare Island in Finnish. This island is a small one, only 600 metres long and 360 metres wide. But it is protected from all sides by the Neva, which it divides into the Big and Little Neva and a canal going round it from the north side. The place is open and artillery fire can go in all directions.

Museums

The Winter Palace The present Winter Palace, was build in 1754-1762 by Bortolomeo Rastrelli’s plan on the place of the fourth palace. As the architect himself wrote, it was built for “the common glory of all Russian”. The grand three-storey stone building built in the baroque style was exceptionally big for its time, had splendid exterior decorations and a magnificent interior. The size of the rectangular palace is amazing – 210metres long (along the Neva) and 175metres wide. The building has more than a thousand rooms and a big inner yard. In the palace many jewels were kept, as well as the symbols of tsar’s power – the crown, the sceptre and the globe.

The Kunstkamera The Kunstkamera is “the cradle of Russian science”. It was the seat of the Russian Academy of Sciences from its foundation by Peter in 1724 up to the end of the 18th century. The first Russian astronomical observatory was installed in the tower, there still is a globe 3metres in the diameter. Rare books, minerals, maps and astronomical instruments in the museum have been collected from the Petrine times.

The Russian Museum The Russian Museum of St. Petersburg is a world-famous repository of Russian art. It houses more than 300,000 items, including paintings, sculptures, drawings, water-colours and works of applied and folk art. The palace was build in 1825 by Carlo Rossi for the youngest son of Paul 1, Grand Duke Mikhail. In March 1898, the first state museum of Russian art was open.

Gardens and Parks

The Primorsky Victory Park The Primorsky Victory Park was laid out in October 1945 in honour of the naval victories during the Great Patriotic War. It was planned for holidays, mass festivals and sports events. The park occupies an area of 168 hectares. The main idea of its plan is the combination of regular and landscape parts. From east to west through the centre of the park runs the triple linden alley 2km long. It is decorated by lawns, flower-beds and sculptures. The Primorsky Victory Park has about 50 types of trees and shrubs. And it has a special avenue – the symbol of peace. The young oaks in it are planted by people of different nationalities.

The Summer Garden The Summer Garden, the oldest in the city, was laid out in 1704. The garden was created in “regular” style with straight alleys and paths, clipped shrubs and trees. First water for the fountains was pumped by a “great wheel” turned by horses from the river nearby the garden, which has been called The Fontanka.

The Pearl Necklace of Petersburg

Petrodvorets Until 1914 Petrodvorets was know as Peterhof. It’s a small town on the south coast of the Gulf of Finland, 28km from St Petersburg. Petrodvorets has several parks with a lot of fountains. In summer 142 fountains are playing. The water system of the fountains, the largest in the world, was constructed in Petergof in 1721-1722 under the supervision of the first Russian engineer Vasily Tuvolkov. During World War II Petrodvorets was razed, only walls remained. The destruction was so catastrophic that restoration work is still going on.

Pushkin (Tsarskoye Selo) This town, 25km from St Petersburg was named after the famous Russian poet and writer Alexander Pushkin in 1937. The town’s former name was Tsarskoye Selo. It was the summer residence of the tsars. There are many parks with palaces, monuments to military men and naval victories, garden pavilions, decorative ruins, gates, bridges in Pushkin.

Pavlovsk The town is situated in the neighbourhood of the town of Pushkin 25km from St Petersburg. The Great Palace was started in the late 18th century by the architect Charles Cameron before Paul came the throne. During the war, the palace was damaged though less than the places in other places. Many fragments of wall painting, plaster, mosaic were preserved. Much restoration work had to be done in the park. Today it is difficult to find a trace of war damage in Pavlovsk.

The Bridges Over the Neva The first permanent bridge over the Neva was built in 1850. It joined the Blagoveshchensky Square and Vassilievsky Island. At first it was called Blagoveshchensky Bridge, then Nicolaevsky, and in 1918 it received the name of Lieutenant Schmidt, the hero of the first Russian Revolution who led the insurrection on the cruiser “Ochacov” in Sevastopol in 1905.

The Liteyny Bridge Then the Liteyny Bridge was built (1875-1879, military engineer Struve). It joined Liteyny Prospekt to the Vyborg Side. On the cast iron railings is the St Petersburg coat of arms (architect Carl Rachau). From 1879, the bridge was lit with electricity, the first in the whole world.

The Temples of St Petersburg

St Trinity Alexander Nevsky Monastery. In 1710 the tsar gave order for a great monastery named in honour of Alexander Nevsky on the place where the Monastyrka River enters the Neva to built. He chose this place because of the legend that says that here in 1240 the famous Neva battle against the Swedes took place. The Holy Trinity Cathedral of the Alexander Nevsky Monastery is a rare example of a temple building in Russian classicist style. Architect Ivan Starov made it centre of the ensemble. In 1797 the monastery was transformed into “Lavra”. Lavra - is a major orthodox monastery.

The Smolny Cathedral The Smolny ensemble reflects two epochs, two styles of Russian architecture: baroque and classicism. The Convent of the Resurrection – the first nunnery in St Petersburg - was built by the architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli on the place of the former tar yard (Smolny Dvor), hence the name Smolny. It became one of the masterpieces of world architecture.

The Kazan Cathedral The grand colonnade of the Kazan Cathedral consist of 96 Corinthian columns in 4 rows. It embraces the square in front with its two curving wings.

Photo gallery

The End Создатель: Используемая литература: Благодарим за поддержку: Жучкова Ирина Витальевна Используемая литература: Е.В.Дмитриев «Санкт-Петербург» The End Благодарим за поддержку: Наталью Михайловну, Ольгу Николаевну