St. Petersburg

We left Tallinn at 5:00pm under sunny skies and warm temperatures (22c) and arrived in St. Petersburg the following morning at 08:00 under cloudy skies and cool temperatures (8c).  We would definitely need lots of layers and umbrellas for our 3 day stay here.  Rita and I had organized a 3 day tour with an independent tour company when we were still in Vancouver, as it was much cheaper than signing up for the tours offered through the cruise company.  We had printed our itinerary and had our passports to show the Russian Customs officials who require verification that you are with a tour company that has organized the Visas that are required for us to be allowed into Russia.  All went well and we were met by our tour leader, Sasha on the other side of Customs.  Six other people from our ship had also signed up for the tour.  Rita and I wanted to be part of a small group as we felt it would be a more positive experience that being part of a bus tour.  This was definitely the correct choice as the crowds at the Palaces and Museums made moving around very chaotic and the traffic on the roads was horrific.  We were shuttled around in a new Mercedes 12 passenger van with our own driver.  Our small group was able to maneuver its way around the large crowds and the van was very successful in maneuvering around the constant traffic jams.  We were advised that our 3 day tour was going to be long (08:00 – 17:00 every day) and very extensive.  They were right on both counts.

Our guide, Sasha, explained that St. Petersburg is the least Russian of Russian cities as it was established in 1703 by Czar Peter the Great who, after traveling extensively through the capitals of Europe, wanted to create a “window on the west” for his people.  Many of the government buildings, Palaces and grand houses of the nobility here have the look and feel of what you would see in any major 15^th and 16^th century city in Europe. The big difference is the glorious colors of the buildings.  Lots of bright yellows, blues, pinks and greens.  And a lot of gold.  Sasha explained that St. Petersburg averages only 30 sunny days a year and the colors of the buildings help to brighten up what would normally be a very drab city.  We can certainly attest to how beautiful the city looks even when the skies are completely covered by thick layers of clouds or in the rain.  St. Petersburg sits on land that was once a swamp but Peter the Great wanted to create a Russian city on lands he recently recaptured from Sweden during the Great Northern War.  The location is also very strategic as it sits at the mouth of the Neva River which happens to be the outlet for all Russian waterways to the Baltic Sea, and from there all of Europe. So all shipping coming from or going to the Nordic countries from Europe, Africa, Asia and beyond would have to go through St. Petersburg.  St Petersburg also gave his newly formed Navy an important deep water port.  

St. Petersburg became the capitol city of Russia and successive rulers expanded and glorified Peter the Great’s vision for the city.  Even after the Russian Revolution in 1917 when Czar Nicholas 11 and his family were killed and Communism took over, most of St. Petersburg’s Palaces, Churches and grand homes were not destroyed but were claimed by the state and turned into museums, theatres and offices.   St. Petersburg was no longer the capital city (Moscow once again became the capital) and its name was changed to Petrograd.  After Lenin’s death in 1924 it was again changed to Leningrad until 1991 when it was given its original name again.  During WW11 the German army lay siege to the city for 872 days and although they were unsuccessful in their attempt to enter the city, an estimated 600,000 of its citizens perished and many of the city’s historic buildings were destroyed or badly damaged.  However, as soon as the war ended the Soviet Government started restoring the damaged buildings and this process continues to this day.      

Enjoying a hearty 07:00 breakfast delivered to our room prior to our 08:00 departure to explore St. Petersburg

 

Looking across the Neva River at the buildings making up the Hermitage which run from the yellow building (Old Hermitage) on the left to the Winter Palace on the right

 

There are several entrances into the Hermitage and all of them have line ups to get in.  We were fortunate to have a pre-booked time and did not have to wait

 

The Winter Palace was completed in 1762 and was the official city residence of the Czars until the Russian Revolution in 1917.  This stairway leads to the second floor and is in high Baroque style

This replica of the famous Raphael Loggias gallery at the Vatican Palace was completed in 1792 after Catherine the Great sent artists to the Vatican to replicate the “Raphael Bible” frescos for this hallway

The Large Italian Skylight Hall was completed in 1851 and is part of the New Hermitage building which was intended to integrate seamlessly into the luxurious Winter Palace.  The Hall today looks almost exactly like it did in 1851



The massive Palace Square to the Admiralty sits in front of the Hermitage and was built in the early 18^th century by Czar Alexander 1 to celebrate Russia’s military victory over Napoleon. It is in fact two buildings joint by a triumphal arch four storeys high. The headquarters of tsarists army General Staff and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs 

Looking back across Palace Square at the Czar Alexander Column, the tallest in the world and the Hermitage  

The massive gold dome of St, Isaac’s Cathedral dominates St. Petersburg’s skyline.  The Cathedral was completed in 1858 and the exterior neoclassical design reminds many visitors of the US Capitol building

The wonderfully painted interior dome of St. Isaac’s

The interior of St. Isaac’s Cathedral is all about the grand space and it seems similar to St. Peters in Rome.  Here is a shot looking towards the Orthodox alter screen