{"id":458,"date":"2020-08-28T20:24:22","date_gmt":"2020-08-28T19:24:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/curiositycat.co.uk\/?p=458"},"modified":"2020-09-03T20:18:17","modified_gmt":"2020-09-03T19:18:17","slug":"russia-land-of-the-tsars-part-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/curiositycat.co.uk\/index.php\/2020\/08\/28\/russia-land-of-the-tsars-part-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Russia – Land of the Tsars – Part 3"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Welcome to the final leg of our epic trip to the world’s largest country – Russia. In this part, we’ll be heading off to St Petersburg, known as the city built on bones because of all the slaves who died building it! Luckily, the city has so much more to offer us than this rather bleak phase of its history, like the world’s fourth largest cathedral, the world’s second largest museum, the world’s most expensive eggs and Russia’s answer to the Palais de Versailles<\/em>. So let’s get cracking!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Settling in<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Astoria Hotel, Image by Alla Badanina<\/a> from Pixabay<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

After arriving in St Petersburg, we start by finding our hotel. A city landmark since 1912, Hotel Astoria has hosted many eminent guests, including dancer Isadora Duncan, poet Sergei Yesenin and now us! Situated directly across from St Isaac\u2019s Cathedral and a short walk from The Hermitage Museum, this five-star hotel is well-placed to explore some of the best of St Petersburg, so grab a drink from the bar, enjoy feeling like royalty as you ascend that grand staircase, pick a suite<\/a> and settle in. Mine’s the Tsar’s suite!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

St Isaac’s Cathedral<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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St Isaac’s Cathedral, Image by Peter H<\/a> from Pixabay<\/a> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Just across the street happens to be the fourth largest cathedral in the world, so let’s head inside for a quick look-see<\/a> and stand beneath that glorious dome, also one of the world’s largest. Look up and you’ll see at its very centre a white dove flying overhead, which symbolises the Holy Spirit and reminds worshippers that God is watching over Russia. St Isaac’s was commissioned by Catherine the Great<\/a> and took the italian architect 40 years to get right!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Winter Palace<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Hermitage Museum, Image by Peter H<\/a> from Pixabay<\/a> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

First stop on our itinerary is just a short walk from St Isaac’s<\/span> – the world famous Hermitage Museum<\/strong>, which houses the breathtaking Winter Palace<\/strong>, once the summer residence of the Tsar and his family. With over 3 million permanent exhibits, The Hermitage is Russia’s most famous museum, and the second largest in the world after the Louvre. When Catherine the Great became Empress, after conveniently depositing her husband in prison, she needed somewhere to read and write in peace, so she ordered that a small palace be built.<\/span> She called it \u201cl\u2019Ermitage\u201d, or hideaway, which later became the name of the whole complex – The Hermitage. Catherine was big on education, literature, and the arts and became the first Russian ruler to start collecting works of art. She even ordered 80 Russian painters to study the Raphael rooms at the Vatican for 3 years, so that they could reproduce them in a hall at the palace<\/span>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just to warn you, it’s been calculated that if you took just one minute per item and spent 8 hours in the Hermitage every day, it would take you nearly 15 years to view all of the museum’s exhibits, so we probably won’t see it all! We have to start with this whistle-stop tour through the Winter Palace<\/a><\/strong>, though. Pace yourself climbing the magnificent Jordanian staircase as we’re about to embark on a journey through unparalleled splendour and a veritable treasure trove of delights. The word opulent <\/em>doesn’t even begin to cover it with this place!<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There’s just so much to see. We can explore the exhibits on this museum tour<\/strong><\/a> complete with map [click on the \ud83d\udec8 to learn about each room you’re in] or, if you’re feeling particularly hardy, we can take the five-hour tour<\/a><\/strong>, with something a little different<\/span>! It’s up to you.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Getting around<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Let’s take a break from all that walking now and park our bums on some public transport. We have a choice of trolley buses or the metro, which incidentally, is the deepest metro in the world! To take a quick ride on a trolley bus get those roubles ready for your ticket and hop on here<\/a> or take a quick tour of some of the more extravagantly decorated metro stations here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The State Russian Museum<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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The Russian State Museum<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Ok, now you’ve got your second wind, we can have a nose around one of the world’s best galleries of Russian art – The State Russian Museum. Here we find all kinds of art from icons dating back to the 12th<\/sup> century<\/a>, to art from the 19th<\/sup> century<\/a>. I’ve got us a ticket for a phenomenal tour<\/strong><\/a> <\/strong>that allows us to access all the highlights of the gallery with information about each of the exhibits. You might want to start with the maps, as it’s easy to get lost. [To view an exhibit in more detail, click on the white square below the painting or sculpture and then click on the \u201ci\u201d at the bottom-right of your screen.] You’ll find Wassily Kandinsky<\/a> in the Benois Wing. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Church of the Spilled Blood<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Church of the Spilled Blood, Image by Peter H<\/a> from Pixabay<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A short walk away is the iconic Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood, built in memory of Tsar Alexander II<\/a>. An elaborate shrine, in the form of a ciborium<\/a>, was built at the end of the church opposite the altar, on the exact place of Alexander’s assassination. It’s decorated with topaz, lazurite and other gems. We can’t visit St Petersburg without at least a quick peek inside<\/a> <\/strong>the church, which is now a secular museum and one of the city’s major tourist attractions. [remember to expand to full screen to get the full impact of the place] It really is awe-inspiring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Peterhoff Palace and Gardens<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Peterhoff Palace, Image by Julia Casado<\/a> from Pixabay<\/a> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Next stop – the fancy pants Peterhoff Fountain Park, commissioned by Peter the Great<\/a> in answer to Louis XIV’s Palais de Versailles<\/em>. It’s full of statues and over 150 fountains including the world’s tallest natural fountain – Peterhoff\u2019s Grand Cascade – another world record for Russia! We can take an aerial tour<\/a> to see the park and get spectacular views of the River Neva and the Baltic Sea [or click here <\/a>to see the Grand Cascade in all its glory in real time!]. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

During World War II, there was only enough time to hide some of the statues in the grounds before invasion. The four statues of Samson, Neva, Volkhov and Triton were stolen by the Nazis and the Grand Cascade was reduced to rubble. But in 1956, restorers managed to rebuild the fountain and the sculptures were completely recreated bringing the record-breaking cascade back to life and now each year spring has not properly sprung in St Petersburg until the fountains are turned on at Peterhoff!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To find out more about the history of the palace and its inhabitants and even build your own Russian palace, there is an interactive timeline<\/a><\/strong> [click on the button at the top left \u201c\u0420\u0423\u0421\u201d for English version, then drag the timeline across the screen to see the palace magically transform through time before your very eyes!] Can you find the funky figurine of the foo dog?See how the palace would have been viewed by tourists throughout history with the Palace Ticket<\/a><\/strong> or take a tour<\/a><\/strong> inside the palace<\/strong> while at the same time discovering which Peterhoff hero you are, which is a fun way to explore! And if you somehow managed to miss that impressive glittering ballroom, take a peek here<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

World’s most expensive Easter eggs<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Faberg\u00e9  Egg<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

These gorgeous jewelled eggs were created by the House of Faberg\u00e9, here in St Petersburg in Imperial Russia. It’s believed as many as 69 were produced, between 1885 and 1917, of which only 57 survive today. The Faberg\u00e9 Museum<\/strong> now houses the <\/strong>largest collection of Faberg\u00e9 eggs in the world <\/strong>with a total of 11 that were created for the families of the last two Russian Tsars as elaborate Easter gifts for their wives and mothers. In case you’re wondering what all the fuss is about over a simple egg, a Faberg\u00e9 egg once owned by Russian royals could set you back hundreds of millions of dollars, as each egg, decorated with gold, diamonds, pearls and gems, took the royal jeweller, Karl Faberg\u00e9, a whole year to create!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now we know what we’re looking at, let’s discover the secrets inside these eggsquisite works of art…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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