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Hermitage
After lunch <City Tour 4> we visited the Hermitage which was formerly the Winter Palace and home of the Tsars. Today the Hermitage is one of the most splendid museums in the world. Built by the Empress Elizabeth, daughter of Peter the Great, the palace became part of the Hermitage Museum, when Catherine the Great began her private art collection. The Hermitage is a complex of buildings magnificently and lavishly adorned with gold leaf, malachite, jasper, agate, and marble. There are more than 1,000 rooms which house nearly 3 million exhibits and displays some of the world’s greatest art.
The collection of art and paintings at the Hermitage range from ancient Egypt to early 20th-century Europe. The Hermitage contains masterpieces by da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Rembrandt, French Impressionists, Van Gogh, Rodin, and many more of the world’s great artists.
<05 Hermitage_A> <05 Hermitage_B> <05 Hermitage_C> <05 Hermitage_D> <05 Hermitage_E>
That night, after dinner, we were treated to a concert of <ancient music> and musical instruments by a local artist.
Day 4 July 3: -Catherine’s Palace -Alexander Nevsky Lavra -St. Petersburg Cruise
Today was visit to one of the great Tsarist palaces, Catherine’s Palace, <Catherine Palace_Front> a royal retreat just 15 miles outside St. Petersburg. Named for Peter the Great’s wife Catherine the First, the palace was enlarged and redecorated by his daughter Elizabeth as one of the most striking examples of Russian baroque architecture.<Catherine Palace_Interior> Its grandiose facade stretches 978 feet and glitters in all its former glory, with elegant white columns and ornate gold moldings set against a background of brilliant blue sky.
The gem of the palace is the famous <Catherine Palace_Amber Room> reopened after the restoration in 2003 during the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg. The room is a unique example of decorative art. The Amber Room was looted during World War II by Nazi Germany and brought to Königsberg. Knowledge of its whereabouts was lost in the chaos at the end of the war. .<Catherine Palace_Interior_2>
We ended our tour of <Catherine Palace_Gardens> with a tour that surround the palace. The gardens were originally laid out as a private park for the royal family. .
This afternoon we had free time to wonder around St Petersburg. Our first stop was at the Tikhvin and Lazarus Cemeteries.
Tikhvin Cemetery, Alexander Nevsky Lavra
The Alexander Nevsky Lavra contains two cemeteries where many of the greatest contributors to St Petersburg culture are buried. Artists, architects, dancers, musicians and writers such as Dostoevsky are buried in the <Tikhvin Cemetery> at the end of Nevsky Prospect. They include Cesar Cui, Mily Balakiriev, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Modest Mussorgsky and Alexander Borodin, Anton Rubinstein, Fyodor Stravinsky (the father of Igor), Peter Ilych Tchaikovsky and Alexander Glazunov and many more.
Lazarus Cemetery, Alexander Nevsky Lavra
Facing the Tikhvin Cemetery across the entrance path, the <Lazarus Cemetery> contains the graves of great St Petersburg architects - Andrei Voronikhin, Giacomo Quarenghi, Vasily Stasov and Carlo Rossi. Scholar and polymath Mikhail Lomonosov are buried here, as well as other statesmen, nobles, artists and intellectuals.
Alexander Nevsky Monastery
The <Alexander Nevsky Monastery> comprises some of the oldest buildings in the city and the Tikhvin and Lazarus cemeteries with graves of the giants of Russian culture. Founded in July 1710 by Peter the Great. In 1724, a church by Italian architect Domenico Trezzini, was consecrated. The new church was named for Alexander Nevsky - considered a saint by the Russian Orthodox Church. In January 1918, the Bolsheviks attempted to seize the monastery and its valuables, but were driven off by determined church-goers. However, the monastery was closed shortly afterward, and robbed and looted of its valuables. Holy Trinity Cathedral was returned to the Orthodox Church in 1955. On June 3, 1989, the remains of Alexander Nevsky were moved back to the Cathedral from the Museum of Atheism.