The Flight of Hermes: Imperial St. Petersburg (I)

One of the best ports of call that a cruise can offer us on the Baltic Sea is St. Petersburg, since overnight gives us practically two days off to visit the best of the city and its surroundings. Let us know before enjoying its charms a little of its history.
Petersburg (in Russian Sankt Peterburg) is located in the Northwest of the European Russia. It was called Petrograd from 1914 until 1924, and Leningrad between 1924 and 1991. Located in the delta of the river Neva, in the end Eastern of the Gulf of Finland, the greater part of the city is built on the banks of the river and in the Islands formed by it. It is the second city in importance in Russia, and one of its more important seaports, as well as being an important railway junction. The canals and natural waterways connecting the Neva River (navigable) with the Caspian Sea, the White Sea and the rivers Dnieper and Volga make the port of St. Petersburg a crossroads for many of the regions close to the Caspian Sea, the Ural mountains and the Volga. A great depth in the Neva channel makes the port of St. Petersburg accessible to the large transoceanic vessels from the Gulf of Finland. Although the port remains frozen from November to April the machines icebreakers keep it open, except during the period of coldest winter.

It is one of the largest industrial centers of Russia. The energy of the factories are supplied through large thermal and nuclear plants generating electricity; It also has an important shipyard (shipbuilding industry). They include industrial products: electrical components, machinery and tools, agricultural appareils, paper, furniture, textiles, clothing, tobacco, leather goods and chemical products. In the last picture we see the Arc de Triomphe, designed by Vasili Stásov and built in 1834-38 to commemorate the victory in the Russian-Turkish war of 1828-1829. After the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878, the Avenue changed its name to Zabalkanski (i.e. Transbalcanica) to commemorate the passage through the Balkans by the Russian army.

Let's take the way to Tsarkoe Selo (Catalina Palace) in the meanwhile I'll tell you more about the city. It is one of the most beautful cities in the world and the best exponent of the Russian culture, as its history dates back at least 300 years.

Petersburg was a Swedish fortress, controlling the near lands of Neva River. In 1703 Peter I seized this area and built the forts of St Peter and St Paul, and Kronstadt. He also ordered the construction of a new city called Petersburg in honor of his patron saint. He wanted the city to be "westernized" to the point of considering it "a window to Europe". In 1713 the Royal family established here its residence, making it the capital of Russia instaead of Moscow. Later, in the 18th century, the population grew considerably, and the city became one of the cultural centers of Eastern Europe. During the reign of Emperor Alexander I took place the drainage of the marshes, which allowed to dispose of more land for his estate, so the population grew twice in number. The development of port facilities in the 19th century led to industrial development of the city.

The situation of poverty of the workers, in contrast to the luxury that the Russian court, did boast was the first cause of the revolutionary disturbances. The first, the Decembrist uprising, took place in 1825. In 1905 a popular protest was harshly repressed opposite the Winter Palace, which forced Tsar Nicholas II to establish the Duma (Parliament). The revolution of 1917 broke out with an uprising at the fortress of Kronstadt, guarding the port, which allowed the Bolshevik triumph in October of the same year.

We continue the trip with the Moscow Avenue, the largest in the city and go through Victory Square.

Victory square is directly linked to the patriotic defense of military and civilians of Leningrad during World War II. This square was built at 9 kms from the battle line. In 1941 the military detachments passed through this square on their way to war. This Memorial to the heroic defenders of Leningrad was built in a very short time. Also the city volunteers helped to build it, opened an account at a Bank for collection and the speed to pick up the funds made the consrtuccion lasted only 13 months. Under this Piazza is housed the Museum of Leningrad.
And we arrived early at Tsárkskoe Seló, the Palace of Catherine

The Catherine Palace was the summer residence of the Tzars of Russia, built in rococo style and located in the town of Tsarskoye Selo (now called Pushkin), 25 km southeast of Petersburgo. The Palace is integrated, together with the ensemble of palaces and parks of the town of Pushkin, as well as its historical center in the heritage place called 'Petersburgo and annexes monumental historic centre'.

The residence has its origin in the year 1717, when Catherine I of Russia placed an order to German architect Johann-Friedrich Braunstein to build her a summer palace for divertissement. In 1733, Empress Anna commissioned Mijáil Zemtsov and Andréi Kvasov to expand the Catherine Palace. Empress Elisabeth, however, considered that the residence of his mother was last fashionable and uncomfortable and in May of the year 1752 asked her court architect, Bartolomeo Rastrelli to demolish the old structure and replace it with a much larger in a striking style rococo building. Construction took four years, and on July 30, 1756, the architect presented the brand-new Palace of 325 meters long to the Empress, their stunned courtiers and stupefied foreign ambassadors.

In Isabel's life, the Palace gained fame for its obscenely luxurious exterior. More than 100 kilos of gold were used to gild the sophisticated façade of stucco and numerous statues were erected on the roof. It was even rumored that the roof of the Palace was built entirely of gold. In front of the Palace, a huge formal garden was designed. Its Center is the Pavilion of the blue- and -white Hermitage near the Lake, designed by Zemtsov in 1744, reviewed by Rastrelli in 1749 and formerly crowned by a large golden statue depicting the rape of Persephone. Inside the Pavilion had tables with rolling little table mechanisms. The great entrance to the Palace is flanked by two solid «circles», in rococo style. A delicate cast iron fence separates the complex from the city of Tsarskoye Selo.

Although the Palace is popularly associated with Catherine the Great, she actually considered its architecture of "whipped cream" as outdated. When she ascended to the throne, a series of statues in the park were covered with gold, in accordance with the last wish of the Empress Elisabeth, but the new Empress stopped all the works once she knew the costs. In his memoirs she censured the reckless extravagance of her predecessor: "the Palace was then being built, but it was the work of Penelope: what was done today, was destroyed tomorrow.» That house had been demolished six times to its foundations, then return to build until it reached its current state. The sum of one million six hundred thousand rubles was spent on the construction. There are accounts that prove it; but apart from this amount, the Empress spent a great deal of their own money in it, something that no one ever knew.".

To gratify her passion for antique and neoclassical art, Catherine employed the Scottish architect Charles Cameron who not only renovated the interior of a wing in neopalladian style which was then in vogue, but he built the personal apartments of the Empress, a rather modest Greek reminiscence structure known as the "agate rooms" and situated to the left from the Grand Palace. Featured by their elaborate Jasper decor, the rooms were designed to link with the hanging gardens, the cold baths and the Cameron Gallery (which still preserves a collection of bronze statues) - three neoclassical buildings constructed according to designs of Cameron. According to the wishes of Catalina, many notable structures for her entertainment at the Catalina Park were erected. Between them, the Dutch Admiralty, the screeching pagoda, the column of Chesme, the Obelisk Rumyantsev and the bridge of marble.

Here we see the entrance ceiling

Gentlemen's dinning room

Since Catherine's death in 1796, the Palace was abandoned in favour of the Pavlovsk Palace. Subsequent monarchs preferred to reside in the nearby Alexander Palace and, with only two exceptions, avoided adding reforms to the Catherine Palace, whereas a splendid monument to the wealth of Isabel and the glory of Catherine II. In 1817, Alexander I ordered Vasili Stásov to redecorate some interiors of his grandmother's residence in the Empire style. Twenty years later, the magnificent Stasov staircase was built to replace the old circular staircase leading to the Palace Chapel. Unfortunately, most of Stasov's interiors - specifically, which date back to the reign of Nicolás I - have not been restored from the ravages of Second World War until today.

When forces of the German army withdrew from the site of Leningrad, they destroy the residence intentionally, leaving only the empty shell of the Palace behind them. Before the Second World War the Russian archivists managed to move a fraction of its contents, which proved to have great importance to the rebuilding of the Palace. Although most of the reconstruction was completed in time of 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg in 2003, still requires much work to restore the Palace to its former glory. To attract funds, the administration of the Palace lately rent the Great Hall for events of high level, like an Elton John concert for an audience of elite in 2001 and the exclusive party of the year 2005 with people in the style of Bill Clinton, Tina Turner, Whitney Houston, Naomi Campbell, and Sting.

In Twentieth Century Fox's 1997 Anastasia, the Palace of Catalina is represented, erroneously, as the home of the Imperial family. The Vermilion Hall.

This room presents the Empress in a suit made of paper...

The portrait hall is a formal apartment with a surface of 100 m2. The walls of the room look formal portraits of Empress Catherine I, Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, as well as paintings of Nathalia Alekseyévna, sister of Peter the Great and the Empress Catherine II. Embedded soils of the Hall contain precious woods. The Office of Alexander I was designed between 1752 and 1756 and belonged to the set of private rooms of the emperor. Office stood out from the rest of the formal rooms in the Palace due to the fact that its walls were covered with Chinese silk. Other decoration in the room was typical of the formal rooms of the Palace, a fresco on the ceiling and gilded carvings. Elegant chart tables and embedded wood dresser show Berlin porcelain, Chinese and Japanese.

The Green dining room, which replaced Rastrelli's «hanging gardens» in 1773, is the first of the rooms in the northern wing of the Catherine Palace, designed by Cameron for the future Emperor Paul and his wife. The pistachio colored walls are lined with Iván Martos stucco figures. During the great fire of 1820 room was seriously damaged, thus sharing the fate of other Cameron indoor. It was later restored under the direction of Stasov.

The only room that was forbidden to photograph or film is the Amber Chamber, a luxurious room of the Tsar of Russia consisting of a set of panels of different sizes, baseboards and furniture made of thousands of chips of amber whose price was twelve times higher than gold. The Chamber was a gift from Frederic William I of Prusia to tsar Peter I the Great to strengthen the diplomatic relations between the two nations. Since then it was expanded and considered the pride of Russia, even after the revolution. During the invasion of the USSR during the second world war the Germans included that jewel in the list of works of art for their looting and was transferred to the castle of Königsberg, where his trail was lost. In 2003 it was replaced by a copy, made by German companies, led by the company Ruhrgas AG. resources. Russian President Vladímir Putin and the German Chancellor, Gerhard Schröder, inaugurated it at the end of the celebrations of the 300 anniversary of the city of St Petersburg. We leave the Palace by a subterranean passage, where there was an exhibition of the destruction and reconstruction of the Palace.

The beautiful gardens

Located at 30 kilometers from St Petersburg, Petrodvorets is one of the most refined and world famous architectural ensembles. No doubt you can call it the main jewel of the ¨pearl necklace¨, that conform the beautiful surroundings of Petersburg.

The history of Petrodvorets (i.e. Peterhof or Piterhof, as they were called at the beginning of the 18th century) is linked in the first place to Peter I. In 1714 the Emperor of Russia wanted to build a main residence that could eclipse the fame of Versailles. Numerous drawings of Peter the Great, who took part in its construction and in the planning of the architectural complex, fountains, waterfalls and various elements of smaller scale are well preserved.

The main ornament of Peterhof are hundreds of suppliers and waterfalls that form an incredible landscape. A particular position among them occupies the large waterfall built according to the project of Peter the Great. It is one of the greatest buildings in the world, representing a vast Grotto with stairs of waterfalls on two sides. The most colorful symbol of the victory of the Russians over Turks is the source of Samson, with the statue of the biblical hero representing Russia, tearing the mouth of Lion representing Sweden. It was erected in Peterhof in honor of the 25th anniversary of the victory in the battle of Poltava.

The second world war caused much damage to Petrodvorets. The occupation of the city lasted nearly three years and during this time the Germans made explode the large Palace, caused great damage to the Large Waterfall, Gold Cascade and "Mount of Chess", also destroyed the underground water passages, they felled the parks and took many statues including the Samson. Fortunately, restoration work began at the same time that the war ended.. Now we can enjoy the beauty and pomposity of this magnificent place.

Let's walk its gardens...

And we find the "Dragon's Waterfall" or Mount of Chess

Roman twin fountains, in imitation of San Pedro in Rome.

Had to try to put a coin in the boot of the statue for good luck!!

This is the "Sun" fountain that rotates with the only help of water...

And we arrive at Monplaisir, the mansion built by Peter to have absolute intimacy, and where it is said that even the Empress cooked for her friends...