I've been trying for two days to add photos but for some reason I now can't upload images. I'll update these pages with images when I get back to Houston.
We had two hectic but fantastic days in St Petersburg and it really is a magnificent city. St Petersburg was founded by Emperor Peter the Great in 1703 and was the capital of the Russian Empire for over 200 years. The city ceased being the capital in 1918, after the Russian Revolution.
Peter the Great designed the city as a monument to himself from images he obtained while traveling throughout Europe. He bought in workers from all over Europe and they created a city of palaces, cathedrals and residences for the nobility.
The city continued to grow under the reign of Catherine the Great (who if I remember correctly is the grand daughter of Peter the Great). She bought in architects and artists to help transform the city into a European showplace. Catherine is also credited with starting the Hermitage Museum, bringing in treasures of art from all parts of Europe.
Sheer opulence is one way of describing the magnificent palaces and cathedrals and although most suffered serious damage through the world wars and the revolution, the ongoing restoration has bought most buildings back to their former glory.
Our first stop was the Sts Peter and Paul Cathedral where all the Royalty of Russia are buried. The Cathedral is a mixture of western religious architecture and ancient Russian church design. The inside is all carved and gilded with magnificent domes and frescos.
All the Emperors, Empresses, Grand Dukes and Duchesses lie under identical white marble sarcophagi, except for Alexander 11 and his wife Maria. Their sarcophagi were made of coloured jasper by the workers of the plants as a sign of gratitude for Alexander abolishing serfdom.
The remains of the last Emperor, Nicholas 11 and his family were interred in a small attached chapel. They were not buried in the main part of the church because Nicholas had abdicated before he and his family were murdered. I did ask and Anastasia’s remains were identified but those of the two younger children, Alexei and his sister, whose name I can’t remember right now, were found a few years ago and identified.
The Church on the Spilled Blood (Church of the Resurrection) is probably one of the most recognized cathedrals in St Petersburg with all its multi coloured cupolas. It is both a historical monument and a work of art. It was built on the spot that Alexander 11 was murdered. Remember he was the Emperor who abolished serfdom so he had many political enemies. This is the only Russian Orthodox Church where the Alter is on the Eastern side. A special chapel stands at the western end on the spot where Alexander was murdered, and a canal is right nearby, so the Alter had to be placed on the Eastern end of the Church.
All the walls inside are covered with Mosaics. The Church was closed in 1930 and restoration took place many years later. The Soviet leaders wanted the church blown up on several occasions but it was saved.
Catherine’s Palace is huge and as with most of the other palaces, it had to be restored. At the moment only the reception rooms are open to the public but the whole exterior of the Palace in blue and white and grounds have been restored. The most famous part pf the palace is the Amber Room, which is much smaller that I had expected. It seems much larger in photographs and in the documentaries about it.
This is not the original Amber Room but a copy made from drawing and photographs. The original was stripped from the palace by the Nazis and was last seen in Germany at the end of the second world war. Unfortunately the Amber Room was one of the only rooms we weren’t allowed to take photographs in.
Peterhof is a opulent palace and estate built in 1723 by Peter 1 as a summer palace. It has hundreds of gilded statues and fountains that are all gravity fed. One of the most stunning is a cascade of fountains that lead to a canal that leads to the sea.
The Hermitage is totally amazing and there is not enough words to describle the incredible artwork on show. Our guide told us if we were to look at each piece of artwork in the Hermitage for one minute, it would take 11 years to see everything.
Of course we didn’t get to see much at all but I was most impressed with the art work of Leonardo de Vinci, Raphael, Rembrandt, Gauguin, Van Gogh and Matisse and the sculptures of Michelangelo. All the famous artists and sculptors are represented.
We have seen so much over the past 2 days I would be writing for ever but I’ll try to add more when I get home.
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