Day 1 of St. Petersburg, Russia. This was the first country I've cruised to that actually had you go through full Customs agents. After that 30-minute process they actually allowed me in! |
Capitalism is alive in the terminal |
I'm sure it's an original |
When Peter the Great was a young man in the 1800s the land in this area was just swamps and 40-some small islands. He went off to Europe for two years, loved what he saw, realized that for his country to be considered an equal with the rest of Europe he needed to make it look like Europe. He comes home, begins making cheap copies of nearly everything he sees in France and Rome, makes everyone in the country ditch their clothing and appearance to look more European. One of his first orders is to make some Russian Orthodox churches in the style of those he had seen during his travels.
St. Petersburg was to be the cultural and hear of the new Russia.
We'll come back to this church in a minute. It's here to given an idea how tightly all these places are together. The Blood Church is on the other end of the street as the one above.
Scale of the Winter Palace Residence.
Each of the buildings along the river were from the royal families to their family members as a wedding gift. There is no mandatory color a building must use. The only rule is they must be vibrant and colorful. This area only gets roughly 60 days of sun a year. You can imagine how dreary it would be if all the buildings were gray.
The Royal Palace - now a massive museum called the Hermitage Museum |
Museum entrance |
Peter's wife, Catherine the Great, liked collecting things. Some for public viewing, some for only her eyes. This building was expanded over time as she picked up more and more things. Each room had a specific purpose.
The heaviest chandelier in Europe weighing in at 2 tons |
Peter's Throne Room |
Catherine loved dancing and could dance all night. Of course she had to create a dance hall in her palace. Yes, it was created to mimic the Great Hall of Mirrors in Versailles.
After the fall of the Royal family (more on that later) these buildings were all ransacked. The Nazi's fire bombed everything when they invaded. Each room in the palace as been rebuild and restored. Many art pieces were buried, hidden in forests or taken to other countries before the mobs or Nazi's came into the city.
The Patriotic Hall of 1812. Portraits of all the generals that helped Russia win that critical war.
One artists painted all the portraits. Some died before he could collect their image thus blanks left on the wall in their honor.
Even the floors have been rebuild. It took 15 years for this one room to be completed. You can see why..
The Pavilion Hall. If you're going to have a room to tell time you must do it in grand style.
In the gold case is their 'clock' - a gold peacock, sitting on a tree, fully animated.
Catherine wanted amazing pieces and the spared no expense to get them for her personal viewing. Here's a piece painted by Raffaello at the age of 18.
Another piece by Raffaello, "The Royal Family" - Joseph, Mary and Jesus.
After a while you need a room to display everything you've collected. Thus the Portrait Gallery.
1549's "Resurrection of righteous" by Bassano |
During renovation, this one piece of glass was left intact to capture that violent day forever.
Headed towards the statue hallway.
The below photo is by Rembrandt. In 1985 a man later deemed to be insane threw a water bottle filled with acid onto her feet and stabbed it twice. Thankfully Rembrandt used very thick paint. They sprayed water on the portrait for three days and spent the next 12 years restoring it.
They even have an Egyptian hall.
"Why are you hitting yourself? Why are you hitting yourself?" |
All the people! |
All the Chinese tourists |
After 2 hours there we moved on to the Church of the Spoiled Blood. To the right side of this photo is a canal. In 1881 Emperor Alexander II was walking and was assassinated by a member of the Red Army. Literally this church was built atop the spot that Alexander was murdered and his blood spilled.
Inside the church is filled with mosaics depicting various stories from the bible.
During the USSR uprising, not everything could be saved. Here are four pieces that were stolen and never recovered. Instead of recreating it they've chosen to place photos in the event they were found and returned.
Before visiting I didn't realize how much religion played in Russians in the 1800's and early 1900's. The Royal family believed in the power of religion and spread it to everyone in their kingdom. It wasn't until the uprising of the USSR that religion was squashed.
Onward to the cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul. The large bell tower is the largest Orthodox bell tower in the world (1712). It holds the tombs of many of the Russian emperors and their family.
Yes boys and girls, that's a launcher for an ICBM. It's on display, much of other items in this country, to show the people the strength of their past.
St. Isaac's Cathedral (1881). This chapel is the 4th to stand on this spot. Remember that when Peter the Great wanted this new 'heart' of Russia in this spot the land were just tiny islands and lots of swampy marsh land. For Isaac's Cathedral to be build 25,000 wooden piles had to be sunk into the ground to hold the weight. It took 40 years to complete. Once the Soviet uprising occurred it was stripped of all religious symbols. After all the USSR didn't want to have a God people could turn to and worship - that was the role of the State - the one true "god" for the people. When communism failed the work began to restore the church to its original state.
These columns, when delivered to the site, were able to be erected within 40-minutes |
View upon first entering the church |
Ropes and pulleys lifted the columns in 45-minutes |
They've done an amazing job restoring this building |
Everything in the building is made from mosaic stones. Winters can be tough, humidity would kill paintings. Here's an example of how the ceilings look like paintings but are actually tiles.
7am-7pm. Time for sleep. Tomorrow, Day 2.
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