Russia Trip Report, Solar Daytime 7: Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg

Day 7, Thursday, August 2, 2012:

Took omnibus no vii together with were at the Dvortsovaya Ploshchad palace foursquare past times 8.30. On 1st Th of each month, entry to Hermitage museum is free. We planned to see the Treasure gallery—the ii Au rooms (300 rubles) together with the diamond room (300 rubles) -- which are of course of teaching ticketed together with in that location is a fee for the photographic boob tube camera equally good (200 rubles).

(If nosotros had non chosen the gratis twenty-four hours visit, nosotros would bring bought tickets online for 2 days).

The business started edifice upwardly together with past times nine was stretching till the other terminate ... nosotros were correct at the start ... it was a cold, windy day...13*C equally opposed to the 31*C nosotros had experienced on the twenty-four hours nosotros landed at Petersburg.

Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg:

As tin can live seen nosotros were correct at the palace entrance at the kickoff of the queue. Sabbatum on the platform together with clicked the moving-picture exhibit from that angle. Rested on the platform till the palace gates opened at 9.30. Can see the long business that had formed behind us...

Alexander Column:

The Alexander Column (Aleksandrovskaya colonna) that towers inwards the palace foursquare was erected after the Russian victory inwards the state of war amongst Napoleon's France.

Named after Emperor Alexander I, who ruled Russian Federation betwixt 1801 together with 1825 (during the Napoleonic Wars), this monument — the tallest of its sort inwards the globe — is 155 ft tall together with is topped amongst a statue of an angel asset a cross.

The column is a single slice of cherry granite, 83 ft tall together with 11 ft v inwards diameter. The granite monolith was obtained from Finland and transported past times body of body of water on a barge especially designed. Without the assist of modern cranes together with applied scientific discipline machines, the column, weighing 661 tons-- 1,322,760 pounds -- was erected past times 3,000 men inwards less than 2 hours.

We marveled at the sight of this tall column which is set therefore neatly that no attachment to the base of operations is needed.

At ane terminate of the foursquare is the bow-shaped Empire-style Building of the General Staff (1819–29), which centers on a double triumphal arch crowned amongst a Roman quadriga (chariot drawn past times 4 horses).

The pedestal of the Alexander Column is decorated amongst symbols of armed forces glory.

At the other terminate is bow-shaped Empire-style Building of the General Staff (1819–29), which centers on a double triumphal arch crowned amongst a Roman quadriga. (chariot drawn past times 4 horses)

This is the palace facade...

This is the palace foursquare after our twenty-four hours at the hermitage--costumed Russian model twosome available for pics inwards the palace background

WINTER PALACE:

The Winter Palace dominates the due south embankment of the Neva River . The firstly Imperial residence hither was a wooden solid inwards the Dutch vogue built inwards 1708 for Peter the Great together with his family. This was replaced inwards 1711 past times a rock building. Empress Anna Ioannovna created a new, larger palace on the site. Empress Elizabeth immature lady of Peter the Great expanded the building.

The edifice forms a foursquare amongst an interior courtyard . The facades characteristic ii levels of columns, together with the parapets are decorated amongst statues together with vases. The palace is 22m high, together with local planning regulations bring prevented whatever edifice inwards the metropolis centre ascent higher than this always since.

Alexander II was the lastly of the Tsars to really operate the Winter Palace equally his principal residence. After his assassination inwards 1881, it became clear that the palace was also large to live properly secured (the firstly crusade on his life the twelvemonth before had been a bomb that damaged several rooms inwards the palace together with killed 11 guards).

Alexander III together with Nicholas II both prepare their solid unit of measurement residences at suburban palaces, the old at Gatchina together with the latter at the Alexander Palace inwards Tsarskoye Selo (also known equally Pushkin which nosotros had visited earlier). The Winter Palace was exclusively used for official ceremonies together with receptions.

In 1905, the Winter Palace witnessed the Bloody Dominicus Massacre on Palace Square, when thousands of striking workers came to come across the Tsar inwards peaceful protestation together with were fired dead past times troops .

Although Nicholas II was non responsible it marked the beginning of the terminate for the Imperial family. In 1914 the Winter Palace was stripped of much of its wealth together with transformed into a temporary infirmary for wounded soldiers.

In 1917, after Nicholas II's abdication together with the Feb Revolution, the Winter Palace became the topographic point of the Provisional Government

The Bolshevik-led revolutionary forces stormed the palace inwards Oct . In the ensuing anarchy, a percentage of the Winter Palace's riches were ransacked, including the enormous Imperial vino cellars (although the looting did non extend to the Hermitage).

The Winter Palace was declared constituent of the State Hermitage Museum on 17 Oct 1917

There was farther extensive harm to the edifice during the Siege of Saint Petersburg past times the Germans inwards 1941 (WW II)

Restoration returned the Imperial splendor . The State Rooms of the Winter Palace at ane time shape ane of the most pop sections of the Hermitage.

So that’s the groovy history behind this three-story palace which is a marvel of Baroque architecture. It has 1,786 doors, 1,945 windows together with 1,057 elegantly together with lavishly decorated halls together with rooms.

MUSEUM:

The museum was founded inwards 1764 when Catherine the Great purchased a collection of 255 paintings from the High German metropolis of Berlin.

Today, the Hermitage boasts 3 meg exhibits together with displays a various hit of fine art together with artifacts from all over the globe together with from throughout history (from Ancient Arab Republic of Egypt to the early on 20th century Europe).

The Hermitage’s collections include works past times Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael together with Titian, a unique collection of Rembrandts together with Rubens, many French Impressionist industrial plant past times Renoir, Cezanne, Manet, Monet together with Pissarro, numerous canvasses past times Van Gogh, Matisse, Gaugin together with several sculptures past times Rodin.

If you lot were to pass a infinitesimal looking at each exhibit on display inwards the Hermitage, you lot would postulate 11 years before you’d seen them all.

The collection contains 2 970 214 items, including: sixteen 851 paintings, 622 172 graphic art, 12 623 sculptures, 738 389 archeological objects, 301 512 applied art, 1 132 627 numismatics, 146 040 other exhibit items

At 9.30, they opened the gate together with nosotros entered the Great Courtyard – hither the queue was dissever into 2 – ane on each side of the Winter Palace. So smart belatedly comers rushed to the caput of the 2nd line!!

The palace doors opened at 10 together with though it was a gratis twenty-four hours (first Th of the month), nosotros had to move to the ticket counter—we bought tickets for the ii Au rooms (300 rubles) together with the diamond room (300 rubles) together with for the photographic boob tube camera (200 rubles) —12.45 together with 3.30 were the timings for our English linguistic communication tours of the treasure galleries together with nosotros were told where to gather for the tours.

After depositing bags inwards the cloakroom, nosotros ran to our preferred galleries inwards the 1st flooring per our computer programme (to trounce the crowd).

Jordan Staircase:

The principal staircase called the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan Staircase has ii wide flights of marble steps leading upwardly to a landing embellished amongst grey granite columns. It is adorned amongst statues, some of which were brought from Italy inwards Peter the Great's reign. The 18th-century ceiling icon inwards this staircase depicting Mount Olympus visually enlarges the interior that is transfused amongst light, gleaming Au together with mirrors.

In the 18th century it was known equally the Ambassadors' Staircase, afterward the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan Staircase, since the royal solid unit of measurement used it to descend to the Neva at Epiphany for the ceremony of the Blessing of Waters (in which the river symbolized the Jordan).

We loved the Pavilion Hall amongst its Peacock clock, article of furniture inlaid amongst semi precious stones together with ancient Roman mosaic replicated on the floor.

The Raphael Loggia (copies of Vatican fresco) is awesome. It reproduces the Vatican gallery inwards xiii identical sections, each vault showing 4 scenes from the Bible. The exclusively changes from the Vatican are replacing the heraldic spheres of the Medici amongst a medallion of Raphael together with the coat of arms of Pope Leo X amongst the Russian eagle together with Catherine's monogram.

Each slice inwards the Majolica room is great—such lovely detail.

Silverware was awesome...

Nearby is the room displaying the huge"Tsarina of Vases", weighing 19.2 tonnes, which took over eleven years (1831-43) to consummate equally the jasper rock is hard but brittle.

Malachite room:

The malachite room (with pillars, fireplace, table, vase etc all inwards malachite together with a fragile wall icon amongst figures representing Day, Night together with Poetry) is an awesome sight...

This is the royal library (total walnut paneling together with shelves),

Peter the Great (Small Throne) Room...

the stunning armorial hall amongst huge Au pillars

The St George (Large Throne) Hall (with its magnificent parquet flooring made from sixteen varieties of wood),

the Gold Drawing-room (again amongst parquet floor) together with solid Au panel walls

the brocade Boudoir, together with the study amongst mahogany article of furniture (interior inwards the apartments of Empress Maria Alexandrovna, the married adult woman of Alexander) stand upwardly out inwards our memory.

We managed to see lovely Sèvres porcelain collection, gilt silvery arts and crafts pieces, ivory carvings on display along amongst Michael Angelo’s Crouching Boy together with some paintings of the Italian masters on the 2nd floor, along amongst several awesome rooms.

Music room here...

Ivory pieces...

There are seats to residual inwards some of the galleries together with the museum was such a feast for our aesthetic senses.

Tour of the treasure rooms:

In between, nosotros ran downwardly to the Earth flooring to bring together the tour of the treasure rooms—we were v minutes early on for the diamond room tour together with our guide came inwards a few minutes belatedly amongst her individual grouping of half dozen people. We admired the Greek/roman statues inwards the Jupiter hall together with the galleries nearby till our guide turned up.

We got to see all these together with much more. These pics are from official site, no individual pics allowed (beauty of the gems has hardly come upwardly through inwards these pics):

After the tour nosotros had some pastries together with H2O ice creams at the cafeteria together with resumed our journeying through the galleries.

Gold rooms tour:

We could non detect our agency to the Au rooms past times 3.30 together with when nosotros requested help, a Russian official inwards a conform personally took us to the Au rooms. Very sort of him to move out of his agency to aid us!! The elderly lady guide in that location was the best ane could promise for together with showed us the intricate details of the 1500 pieces displayed there.

We lingered on for a skilful 10 minutes after our grouping had left for both the tours till a guard politely requested us to exit.

The halls became quite empty equally the afternoon progressed together with nosotros most had the whole house to ourselves. We scurried from ane hall to some other consulting our maps together with managed to see all the province apartments. Antiquity department was generally uncovered though together with nosotros missed the impressionism gallery equally well. It is non a unmarried direction route together with is quite hard to negotiate without missing some awesome hall merely adjacent.

We had been ane of the firstly to move into together with were the really lastly to leave of absence the beautiful palace museum. After collecting our bags from the cloakroom, nosotros had our packed luncheon at the palace Earth together with got out at 6.30 when the guards started closing the gate.

Church of Savior on Spilled Blood (Tserkov Spasitelya Na Krovi):

Took a omnibus together with got downwardly after Kanal Gribedovo together with walked to the Church of Savior on Spilled Blood. As already mentioned, the route Nevsky prospect is cutting past times 3 rivers, Moskvi, Gribedovo together with Fontanki together with of course of teaching the huge Neva river runs inwards front end of the wintertime palace. It is slow to link landmarks to these rivers,

Petersburg's most-photographed church, this cathedral is a mount of bright, beveled domes topped past times Au crosses. It was built betwixt 1883 together with 1907 on the site where Tsar Alexander II was assassinated inwards 1881, prompting residents to telephone telephone it Church of Savior on Spilled Blood (Tserkov Spasitelya Na Krovi). The official hollo is Church of the Resurrection of Christ.

After assuming ability inwards 1855 inwards the wake of Russia’s disastrous defeat inwards the Crimean state of war against Britain, French Republic together with Turkey, Alexander II initiated a reveal of reforms. In 1861 he freed the Russian serfs (peasants, who were enslaved to their owners) together with undertook a rigorous computer programme of military, judicial together with urban reforms, never before attempted inwards Russia. However, during the 2d one-half of his reign Alexander II became unpopular—there were a serial of attempts on his life, including an explosion inwards the Winter Palace together with the derailment of a train.

He was finally assassinated inwards 1881 past times a grouping of revolutionaries, who threw a bomb at his royal carriage... his boy Alexander III had a church building built at the same spot!! The cobblestone pavement where the Rex was killed has been fenced together with cherry roses grow inwards the really spot facing the altar inwards this church.

The church building was unopen for services inwards the 1930s, when the Bolsheviks went on an offensive against organized religious belief together with destroyed churches all over the country. It was used equally a warehouse for vegetables together with fifty-fifty equally a temporary mortuary for a while...It remained unopen together with nether restoration for over xxx years together with was finally re-opened inwards 1997 inwards all its dazzling old glory.

On that day, the cathedral was opened upwardly till 8PM, ticket offices were opened upwardly till vii together with that's how nosotros were able to see it after a total twenty-four hours at the hermitage. The church's interior is elaborately decorated amongst over 6000 sqm of mosaic together with nosotros plonked ourselves on the flooring together with gazed inwards awe at the awesome icons.

We came out after 8.30

Sat at the canal side for a spell together with and then walked towards Nevsky prospect. Kazan cathedral is merely reverse but my feet were protesting. So nosotros hopped onto a omnibus together with got downwardly at Ploshchad Vosstaniya together with marched on to our hotel Roses

We had an early on Sapsan Train to select handle of the following twenty-four hours together with this was our lastly twenty-four hours at Petersburg.

We told ourselves we’ll learn upwardly roughly 10.30 pm when it becomes night together with move out together with see the Neva bridges beingness raised… but no, weariness won together with nosotros slept on…

Our Russian opor-garai lastly twenty-four hours is at:
http://www.kris-sapiutri.blogspot.com/search?q=russia-trip-report-day-8-novodevichy