Russia 2019 (60) SAINT PETERSBURG - Peter and Paul Fortress

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One highlight of the city tour was the Saints Peter and Paul Fortress. This was built on land captured from Sweden and SP's oldest defensive citadel. It was built in 1703 on Hare Island and is a formidable monument to PtG's reign.

As we neared the fortress, we saw the back of the Winter Palace and Hermitage Museum across the Neva River. Just as beautiful on this side as on the Palace Square side.

Part of the Fortress wall.

We saw signs advertising events or exhibits coming to the area. Wish I could read Russian.

Inside the complex we saw the Mint building, one of the oldest industrial enterprises in SP. It dates back to the 1720s and continues to produce commemorative coins and state awards.

From the outside we viewed the Grand Ducal Mausoleum (back right-most building). It holds minor members of the Romanov family.

This statue of "woman with oar" was atop the pavilion.

Middle above and left below is the Boathouse Pavilion. It was originally built to house PtG's Dinghy, a small sailboat used by the young tzar to learn naval principles on the lakes nearby Moscow. That boat was kept here between 1767-1931. Keep in mind that PtG founded the Russian Navy, so that boat was significant to him and to Russia's history. Currently, a smaller replica resides there.

Above to the right is the Saints Peter and Paul (patron saints of the fortress) Cathedral built 1712-1733. Its tower is the tallest Orthodox church bell tower in the world. The interior of the cathedral is absolutely gorgeous.

The church holds the remains of most of the emperors and empresses from Peter the Great to the last Tzar Nicholas II and his family.

Some of the imperial vaults are made of colorful stone such as jasper and rhodonite.

Or decorated with paintings.

And some are very simply adorned with gold crosses.

The last room we saw was the Chapel of Saint Catherine the Martyr, located in lower right of diagram above. It is a memorial to the last tzar of Russia Nicholas II, his wife Alexandra, their four daughters (Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia ), their hemophilic son Alexei, and a few loyal servants. Not sure why I got all emotional here these many years later.

All were murdered in Yekaterinburg soon after the Revolution of 1917. Their remains were discovered after 60 years and positively identified through DNA investigation. Their combined remains were laid to rest on July 17, 1998 in this modest chapel. That was the 80th anniversary of their murder.

Exiting the cathedral we spied the cathedral guard cat, a gorgeous calico. A guard was guarding the guard cat as it cat-napped. We were not allowed to pet. Brought our Bella cat to mind. Glad we were nearing the end of our journey, so we could see her again.

Russia 2019 (59) PUSHKIN - Catherine Palace Grounds Part 2

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Catherine Palace's three connected parks cover 600 hectares (1,483 acres). Scattered throughout this large tract are water features and out buildings decorated in various styles (gothic, Turkish, Chinese, "Neptune," etc). We had a partial tour and then could stroll the paths on our own for a bit.

This yellow building was the banya or sauna house for the palace.

We saw this Venetian gondola transporting supplies on one of several lakes.Across that lake was the Turkish bath house.

The Grotto Pavilion. A lot of ocean art features incorporated in the design.

We couldn't go inside. Well, we could go in, but could not get out until the live concert going on there was finished. But I got a camera shot through the door. The acoustics were fabulous, even from outside.

There are over 100 sculpture and war memorials throughout the huge park lands.

A river water feature.

This was the Little Hermitage Pavilion at Catherine I's palace. It was surround by a moat for extra privacy. The dining room had a number of special features. The table could be raised or lowered from flat floor level to table height. One's individual serving position could be raised and lowered as well. You would put your menu or drink order on your serving spot. It would lower down to the kitchen level and be processed. Your completed order would be raised back up and ready to eat. This allowed total privacy for guests, so servants could not overhear conversations. I wish we could have gone inside this one!

This was the last building on the way out. It was the original kitchen area for the palace.

More photos and info at: http://www.saint-petersburg.com/pushkin/catherine-palace/

AN ASIDE: Pushkin is the sister city of Kalamazoo, Michign (our home town).

Russia 2019 (58) PUSHKIN - Catherine Palace Grounds Part 1

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It took over three centuries (18-20th) to create this majestic palace and gardens. The complex has a mixture of architectural (baroque to rococo to art nouveau ) and landscaping (English to French to freeform) styles with influence from many countries. Tzars and tzarinas enjoyed the pleasures of the palace for many years. After the Revolution of 1917, the property was converted into a museum. 

Then, it took only 28 months during the Great Patriotic War (WW II) to almost completely destroy the complex. Gardens were turned into trenches and foxholes. Bridges, dams, and cascades in the town and park lands were partially demolished, not to mention untold damage to the palace itself.

The German invasion was  halted by the Russian army in winter of 1941. In April 1944, the Council of People's Commissars decreed to restore and preserve the complex. Vintage paintings, sketches, and photos helped to achieve the original look. The first halls opened in 1959 for exhibition. Restoration continues as 20,000 visitors per day pass through these halls.

As we exited the building we went through the original Staff Hall. It was lined with photos of war damage...

...and famous people that have visited here. There's Liza Minelli in the bottom row.

Outside the sun was shining as we strolled the grounds and viewed interesting and varied pavilions. I could imagine romantic walks along the pathways, enjoying nature's finest of flora and fauna.

I don't have a photo, but all along the back of the building was a wide "patio" overlooking the park and gardens. These are the steps coming down from the patio.

On our right was the Catherine the Great addition--the Cameron Gallery, circa 1785. Remember the original structure and name of this edifice was for Catherine 1, second wife of PtG. CtG wanted this addition because she felt the original structure was too old-fashioned.

These steps come down from the end of that addition into the gardens. Off to the left were more private gardens. It was said that CtG was near bald but could freely wander here in private without her wigs or fancy attire.

As we strolled along we saw vendors selling works of art one could buy as a remembrance of their visit.

Jerolyn, a Kalamazoo friend who visited Russia 16 times (Pushkin is her fave city), told us about her friend Vladimir Vereschagin (1949-still alive) who often sells art here. It turns out he had exhibited his work in Kalamazoo a few years back and Mike and I had purchased two pieces from him. We looked for him at the palace, but didn't see him there that day.

I hope he doesn't mind if we show off his art here. He is on several websites, so Google his full name.

There is another famous artist, Vasily Vereshchagin (1842-1904) who has paintings in the Hermitage. Don't get them confused. Way different kind of style. I wonder if they are related?!

Grounds continued.

Russia 2019 (57) PUSHKIN - Catherine Palace

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Inside Catherine's Palace (or Tsarskoye Selo) was elegant and opulent, certainly fit for an empress. I'll just drop in a few photos. Not much to tell, just looking is enough.

Here's the grand staircase. Not as grand as the one at the Hermitage, but pretty dang grand. LOTS of tourists here, so hard to get a clean photo. After this stop, it was very organized and not crowded on our interior sightseeing route.

Ceiling detail in a hallway.

A wall clock.

The Grand Hall overlooking the back gardens. It is opened year round and used for public snf private events.

Ceiling murals there.
We fit right in with the imperials. Haha!

In WW II, the city of Pushkin (all but 10 buildings burned) and this palace were devastated by German troops. Although over 54,000 artifacts were evacuated to interior cities or buried in parks, the palace itself was nearly destroyed. For about 2-½ years the Germans used it as barracks for soldiers, offices, and horse stables. Much of the wood from furniture and decor was burned for heat. Here's a painting of what the place looked like after the war. 

This is probably the biggest restoration in history and it is not finished. Floors collapsed and gaps in the roof. Only 10 of 55 halls escaped full-fledged burning. Those last ten were partially burned.

Later the palace was restored, but the two "dark" angels you see here were left in their original post-war condition to remind everyone how bad of shape the palace was. All of the remaining gold throughout the palace looked like the two angels, covered in smoke and soot.

Stories vary, but here's my research account. An attempt was made to evacuate the Amber Room, but in trying to remove panels, the amber facing began to crumble. The decision was made to glue whole panels with gauze and batting and then store in the basement of the palace for protection. After the war, however, those panels were never found.

From 1985-2003, this room was reproduced from scratch as closely as possible to the original. I had always imagined large slabs of amber, but it was more mosaic style with various colors (orange, yellow, red, green, white) and sizes. We could not take a pix of this room, but two rooms down I took a pix looking back and got a tiny slice of the Amber Room in the shot.

You can kind of see how big the amber pieces are. Maybe the size of your hand was the biggest.

There were a number of these amazing Delft ceramic fireplaces throughout the palace. They were  manufactured in the Netherlands. There were two of these in the Great Hall, one on each side of the door. Glad they weren't destroyed.

Portrait room.

Chevaliers' Dining Room.

Yet another dining room, the White State Dining Room.

Porcelain in this dining room.

Yes, one more. This one is the Green Dining. Looked like giant cameos on the walls. 

The Oriental Room.

Details of a few of the lovely items found here. The Romanov imperial crest--double headed eagle.

Chess set.

Wall decor. The red slabs are some kind of stone...maybe rhodonite.

 Spinet.

 Clock.

Gold everywhere. What a time-consuming job. Those gilders must have been very busy.

Of course, on the way out we were directed through the gift shop. Some amazing chunks of amber.

Rings and dice.

More.

Repro Fabergé eggs.

Engraved crystal. This one honoring Empress Elizabeth.

Buttons, if you have a fave Romanov.

There was also a cardboard repro of the Amber Room...and much more to entice any whim.

On to the grounds behind the palace...the back yard, so to speak.

AN ASIDE: Catherine translates in Russia to Ekaterine. The town of Yekaterineburg was named in honor of Catherine I (PtG's wife). It is also the town where Nicholas II (last tzar of Russia) and family were murdered after the Revolution of 1917.