Trips: Saint Petersburg
Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood
The Church of the Resurrection, also known as the “Savior on Spilled Blood,” was built in memory of Alexander II who was assassinated in 1881. The church stands in the very place where a bomb was thrown into his carriage by a young man who opposed the Tsar’s reforms.
Alexander II was among the greatest Russian tsars, one of the main accomplishments of whom was the emancipation of serfs in 1861, which brought an end to the de facto slavery of the Russian peasantry, five years before the emancipation of slaves in the US.
The Cathedral of the Savior on Spilled Blood attracts people with its five onion-domes exuberantly decorated and covered with jeweler's enamel. It has a similar façade to St Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow and its peculiar multicolored exterior makes the church stand out from St. Petersburg’s typically strict architectural proportions and color combinations.
It took around 24 years to construct the majestic building and, after early Soviet vandalism, 27 years to restore. People would even joke that as soon as the construction trestles outside it were removed, the Soviet Regime would fall.
It may have been a coincidence, but the reconstruction that finished in 1991 was followed by the famous events which put an end to the Communist regime.
The highlight of both the interior and exterior of the Cathedral are its mosaic collection based on the paintings of Vasnetsov, Nesterov, and Vrubel. With a total area of 23,130 square feet, it is one of the largest mosaic collections in Europe.
Peterhof Palace
Hugging the Gulf of Finland, 29km west of St Petersburg, Peterhof — the ‘Russian Versailles’ — is a far cry from the original cabin Peter the Great had built here to oversee construction of the Kronshtadt naval base. Peter liked the place so much he built a villa, Monplaisir, here and then a whole series of palaces and ornate gardens. Peterhof was renamed Petrodvorets (Peter’s Palace) in 1944 but has since reverted to its original name. The palace and buildings are surrounded by leafy gardens and a spectacular ensemble of gravity-powered fountains.
What you see today is largely a reconstruction, as Peterhof was a major casualty of WWII. Apart from the damage done by the Germans, the palace suffered the worst under Soviet bombing raids in December 1941 and January 1942, because Stalin was determined to thwart Hitler’s plan of hosting a New Year’s victory celebration here.
The Hermitage
The Hermitage lives up to its sterling reputation. You can be absorbed by its treasures for days and still come out wanting more. The enormous collection (over three million items, only a fraction of which are on display in 360 rooms) almost amounts to a comprehensive history of Western European art. Viewing it demands a little planning, so choose the areas you’d like to concentrate on before you arrive.
Catherine the Great, one of the greatest art collectors of all time, began the collection. Nicholas I also greatly enriched it and opened the galleries to the public for the first time in 1852.
It was the post-revolutionary period that saw the collection increase threefold, as many valuable private collections were seized by the state, including those of the Stroganovs, Sheremetyevs and Yusupovs. In 1948 it incorporated the renowned collections of post-Impressionist and Impressionist paintings of Moscow industrialists Sergei Shchukin and Ivan Morozov.
The State Hermitage consists of five linked buildings along riverside Dvortsovaya nab. From west to east they are: Winter Palace, Small Hermitage, Great (Old) Hermitage, New Hermitageand Hermitage Theatre. The Hermitage's excursions office is the place to contact to arrange a guided tour.
As much as you see in the museum, there’s about 20 times more in its vaults, part of which you can visit at the Hermitage Storage Facility. Other branches of the museum are the east wing of the General Staff Building (home to the Hermitage's amazing collection of Impressionist and post-Impressionist works), the Winter Palace of Peter I, the Menshikov Palace on Vasilyevsky Island, and the Museum of the Imperial Porcelain Factory in the south of the city.
Saint Petersburg City
Saint Isaac’s Cathedral The biggest cathedral in Saint Petersburg and the fourth largest dome church in the world after Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome, Saint Paul’s Cathedral in London, and Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence. The cathedral’s dome is covered with a thin layer of pure gold and you will see its shining glamor from many places in the city. The dome shines so much that during II World War they covered it with grey paint not to attract enemies’ planes.
Trinity Bridge This Art Nouveau structure (above and below) crosses the Neva River. It was completed in 1903.
The Admiralty Tower Seen from the Alexander Gardens, it is the focal point of St Petersburg’s city center. It was formerly the headquarters of the Admiralty Board and the Imperial Russian Navy and the current headquarters of the Russian Navy.
Winter Canal This canal connects the Neva and Moika Rivers near the Winter Palace.
Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral The first cathedral in Saint Petersburg, tsar Peter the Great chose the place for it himself. He wanted that its bell tower is higher than Bell Tower of Ivan the Great in Moscow. That’s why until today, a golden tower raises above the city and it is forbidden to build higher buildings in the city center. The walls belong to the Peter and Paul Fortress, the original citadel of St. Petersburg.
St. Nicholas Naval Cathedral A major Baroque Orthodox cathedral in the western part of Central Saint Petersburg. It has always been closely associated with the Russian Navy, serving as its main shrine until the Russian Revolution.
A little Russian fender-bender.
