Transcript The Winter Palace

My native city Saint-Petersburg
Автор: Палий Н.С.
2010 г.
St.Petersburg is
quite a young city.
It was founded on May
the 16-th 1703 by Peter I.
St Petersburg is rightly
considered one of the
most beautiful cities in
the world. The city itself
is even often called an
open-air museum
because the streets are
full of beautiful
architectural ensembles
and monuments.
A lot of remarkable
architectural
monuments are wellknown all over the
world. St Petersburg
is a city of great
historical, cultural
and political
importance.
The beginning of the City
In the beginning of the 18-th
century Swedes occupied a large
territory from Ladozskoe Lake to
Neva. So Russia was separated
from the Baltic Sea almost 100
years.
This fact had an influence on
political, cultural and
economical development of the
country. The liberation of Baltic
Sea shores and the Neva land
become a sharp necessity for
Russia.
Nienchance
It happened in 1703, on May
the 16-th, and the date became
the birthday of the city.
The war between Russia and
Sweden of 1700-1721 years
became the beginning of such
liberation. When the Russians
took Nienchance, they decided
not to strengthen this fort, but
chose another place for one of
the island, where the fortress
was found and called Saint
Petersburg.
Peter and Paul Fortress
The building of the fortress was
going very fast. Thousands of
soldiers and serfs from all over
the country worked here. They
lived and worked in terrible
conditions, and hundreds of
them died because of cold,
hunger and exhausting work.
But the fortress of wood and earth
was built by the autumn of 1703.
Further, when the Peter and Paul’s
Cathedral was erected, the fortress
was called Petropavlovskaya, but
the city got the name Saint
Peterbsburg.
The Peter and Paul’s Cathedral
The Cathedral of
Peter and Paul with
the 122 metre high
steeple is designed by
architect Domenico
Trezzini in 1712-1733
In 1924 the fortress
was turned into a
museum.
Russian tsars from
Peter I to Nicholas II
were buried here.
A weathervane in the form of
an angel with a cross is
standing on the top of the
steeple. The winds spread
about 4 metres
The Neva
St. Petersburg is placed in the
Neva delta on several islands.
Now the Neva delta consists of
about 42 islands. The largest of
them are Vasiliyevsky,
Petrogradsky and Kristovsky.
The Neva length is 74 kilometers,
the Great City occupies 30 kilometres
of them. Mainly (преимущественно)
the depth of the river is 8-11 metres,
but near the right bank, opposite
Arsenalnaya Street the Neva’s depth
reaches 25 metres.
Rostral Columns
Rostral Columns
The ensemble of two32meter high Rostral Columns
are situated on the Spit of
Vasilievsky Island. They were
constructed by the architect
Thomas de Thomon in 1810.
Originally they were used as
lighthouses for ships coming
to St.Petersburgh.
The columns are decorated with
ship prows (нос судна), naiads and
huge sculptures symbolizing
Russia’s biggest rivers: the Volga,
the Dnieper, the Neva and the
Volkhov.
Vasilievsky Island (the Strelka)
The Birzha
The Palace of the first St Petersburg’s
Governor-general Alexaner Menshikov
was built in 1710 by the architects
Fontana and Shadel. When it was
finished in 1727 it became the biggest
palace in St Petersburg.
The Stock Exchange Building
is located on the Spit of
Vasilievsky Island (the Strelka).
From 1730 to 1880 there was a port
there. Earlier the building of
the Stock Exchange for trade deals
was built there by the architect
Thomas de Thomon.
Menshikov Palace
Kunstkammera
Academy of Fine Arts
The building was built in 17181734 for the Kunstkammera,
the astronomical observatory
and the collection of Peter I.
The classic styled building of
the Academy of Fine Arts was
constructed by architects Valline
de la Mothe and Kokorinov
between 1764 and 1788.
The Academy of Fine Arts was
established in 1757 and played
a great role in the development
of the Russian art.
The Admiralty
The Admiralty building
we see today was built
between 1806 and 1823 by
the architect Adrian
Zakharov. Earlier it was
designed as a dockyard
where some of the ships of
Russia’s Baltic fleet were
built.
The weather-vane “the little ship” is on
the spire of the Admiralty. This ship is
one of St Petersburg’s symbols, because
St.Petersburg a great sea and river port.
There are two granite lions on the Neva
embankment. These lions are opposite
the yellow and white building of Admiralty.
The Winter Palace
On the left bank of the river
the Winter Palace, the former
residence of the Russian tsars, stands
in Palace Square. It is the central and
the most picturesque square of the
city. The Winter Palace was created
by Rastrelli in the 18-th century.
On the roof of the blue and white
palace there are many statures of men,
vases, triumphal cars and horses.
Nowadays it is the well known
museum – the Hermitage and has
the richest collection of pictures in
the world. The main street of the city,
Nevsky Prospect, begins from this
place.
The Hermitage
The treasures of the Hermitage, the
largest museum in our country, are
famous throughout the world. The State
Hermitage comprises the complex of five
buildings:
 The Winter Palace
The Small Hermitage
 The Old Hermitage
The Hermitage Theatre
The New Hermitage
They were built and designed in different
times and by different architects. But the
oldest and the largest is the Winter Palace.
It served as a repository of great art since
the time of Catherine II.
Palace Square
The General Staff building together
with the Winter Palace forms
a world famous architectural
ensemble of Palace Square, the main
square of St Petersburg.
The Alexander Column was designed
by the architect Montferrand and
built between 1830 and 1834 to glorify
Russian’s victory in the Patriotic War
of 1812.
St.Isaac’s Cathedral is one of
the finest cathedrals in Europe.
It is a unique monument of Russian
architecture. It was the largest
building of its time. It was built by
the architect A. Montferrand.
St.Isaac’s Cathedral is made of grey
marble; the monolithic columns are
of red granite.
The famous monument to the founder
of St. Petersburg Peter the Great is set up
on Decembrists Square. It is known as
The Bronze Horseman. It was created
by the French sculptor Falconet. It was
opened in 1782. The Bronze Horseman
is a symbol of our city.
Letny (Summer) Garden
In 1704, a year after the founding of
St.Petersburg, the first garden of the city
was laid out. Peter the First hoped
to have the best garden in Europe.
He designed the first project of the
planning of the park. Many architects
and masters of park planning worked
there.
Straight symmetrical paths and alleys
crossed the territory of the park. Trees and
bushes, which were put in here, were cut.
There were decorative summer- houses,
a grotto, pavilions, sculptures of white
marble, bought in Venice, fountains and
artificial ponds.
Nevsky Prospect
Nevsky Prospect, Petersburg’s main street, begins at the Admiralty
and runs almost 5 kilometres to the Alexander Nevsky Monastery.
Nevsky Prospect is so straight that standing near Moskowsky railway
station we can see the Admiralty building very well. There are a lot of
cafes, restaurants, hotels and different shops on Nevsky. We can see
many artists here and there. They draw portraits and offer to buy
small and large pictures.
The Kazan Cathedral
The Kazan Cathedral was constructed
by Voronikhin in the first decade of
the 19-th century. The Cathedral has
a colonnade of beautiful columns.
The Kazan Cathedral is a monument to
the Patriotic War of 1812. The great Russian Field
Marshal M.Kutuzov was buried there. There are
also a lot of trophy French banners and keys from
the cities taken by the Russian army.
The Savior on the Spilled Blood Cathedral
was build as a memorial on the spot where
Emperor Alexander II was killed on March the 1,
1881. It was built by architect Parland in the style
of Russian churches of the16-th and the 17-th
centuries. The Savior on the Spilled Blood
Cathedra has unique decorations. They include
icons and panels made of majolica.
The State Russian Museum was opened
in 1898. It is a treasury of the Russian
culture. The Russian Museum is one of the
largest museums in the world. It has one of
the best collections of paintings of Russian
and Soviet artists. The Russian Museum is
called Mikhailovsky Palace. It was designed
by the architect Rossi and built in 1819-1825.
The City of Bridges
St.Petersburg is known as
a City of Bridges. It is not
surprising because the city
is situated on more than 42
islands. Nowadays there are
more than 500 bridges.
Bankovsky Bridge
The bridge’s four famous
golden griffins, or winged
lions, are representations
of mythological creatures
reputed as guardians of
treasure.
Lviny Bridge was created
in the first quarter of the
19-th century. The iron
columns are connected by
the chains holding the
bridge. The columns are
decorated with sculptures
of lions by which explain
the name of the bridge.
Anichkov Bridge is over the Fontanka River where it crosses Nevsky Prospekt. It is
one of the most beautiful bridges in St.Petersburg. It was constructed in 1839-1841.
The most impressive aspect of Anichkov Bridge is the group of four sculptures.
The sculptures known as “The Horse Tamers” were executed by Clodt.
Being the second largest city in
Russia after Moscow, Petersburg
is not only an important seaport
but it is also known for the oldest
factories, scientific and
educational establishments,
theatres, libraries.
Petersburg is an
It is famous for granite
important seaport ,
embankment, unique
airport and also a
historical monuments,
modern railway centre .
museums and bridges.
St. Petersburg is a cultural capital
of Russia. The city itself is even
called an open-air museum
because the streets are full of
beautiful architectural ensembles
and monuments.
St. Petersburg is rightly considered
one of the most beautiful cities in
the world. St. Petersburg is a city of
great historical and cultural
importance. And it is well-known
all over the world.
There is much rain, fog,
mist in autumn, winter
The city has the
and spring. The sun
population of about 5
doesn’t often shine. But
million. The weather is
the city is beautiful at all
not extremely cold even
times of a year.
in winter .
And especially during the magic
time of the White Nights. The
period of white nights continues
from June the 11-th to July the 2nd. It is the best time in
St.Petersburg. White Nights give
a peculiar charm to the city.