Momboisse Family Adventures Baltic Sea - Saint Petersburg, Russia - Palaces (June 8, 2011) Part 1

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Momboisse Family Adventures Baltic Sea

Norwegian Cruise Tour
Sunny 75 F 
Sunrise 4:44 am - Sunset 11:12 pm

 Tour Saint Petersburg, Russia
Part 1
June 8, 2011

The Norwegian Sun docked at Vasilyevski Island, St. Petersburg.  From the aft of our ship we could view the city skyline made up of rows of tall cement buildings with very little character.  These are the "modern" buildings of St. Petersburg, built in Soviet style.  

Not wanting to deal with Visa's is Russia we booked two tours through NCL for the next two days.  Today's tour, Puskin & The Hermitage, would drive us though St. Petersburg then 15 miles south to Puskin, the location of Tsarskoe Selo, returning to the city and the Hermitage Museum.  

The most time consuming part of visiting Russia is getting through Passport Control.  This must be passed in order to enter or exit Russia.  The agents are no nonsense as they study every wrinkle of our faces before stamping our Passports.  Don't smile, don't talk, don't move (unless motioned to), and DO NOT take pictures. 

Look up anywhere in St. Petersburg (inside or out) and you will find a camera.  Rest easy you are safe here.  Someone IS watching and probably listening.  

Here is a very brief history on the city and name changes of St. Petersburg. 

Peter the Great 

The city was founded in 1703 by Tsar/Emperor Peter the Great (more on him later in this post).  In 1712 the city became the capital of Russia, and remained so for more than two hundred years (1712- 1728, 1732 - 1918). 


During World War I, with Germany as an enemy of Russia, the Germanic name of St. Petersburg was changed to the Russian equivalent, Petrograd. 

In March of 1917, then Tsar Nicholas II abdicated. He and his family were murdered July 17, 1918. 

Vladimir Lenin

In 1917 Vladimir Lenin came into power which lead to 73 years of Communist rule.  Sometime thereafter, the capital was moved from Petrograd to Moscow.  In 1924 the name of Petrograd was changed to Leningrad symbolizing its transition into a Socialist city.

In 1991, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the city of Leningrad returned to its original name, St. Petersburg. 

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So now on with the tour.  Leaving port our bus drove along Morskya Street by Soviet built concrete apartments, turned onto Bolshoy Prospekt and crossed the Neva River via the Blagoveshohensky Bridge from Vasilevsky Island to Admiralteysky Island. 

Aerial view of the of Vasilyevsky Island

St. Petersburg, which is called the Venice of the North, is built on a number of islands intersected by the Neva River and various canals.  Consequently the city is filled with convenient distinctive bridges, each with a unique decoration, style or ornament.  For the next hour our bus would zigzag through the center of St. Petersburg passing the highlights of the old town before heading south to Puskin. 

St. Isaac's 

Driving down Admiralteyskaya (Palace Embankment) we view the dome of St. Isaac's Cathedral, and the Bronze Horseman Statue of Peter the Great, then pass the Admiralty and turn left to cross Dvortsovaya Bridge just before the Hermitage.  The Admiralty originally built as a dockyard, was Russia's Naval Headquarters until the revolution in 1917.  

Rostral Column in front of Naval Museum

Back on the eastern end of Vasilyevski Island known as the Stelka or "spit," we pass the Kunstkammer (now a museum), the Rostral Columns (former lighthouses), and the Naval Museum before crossing the Birzhevoy Bridge to Petrogradsky Island and pass between the Artillery Museum and the Peter and Paul Fortress. 

Sunbathers 

  

On the grass by the Artillery Museum are numerous sunbathers, Russian's taking advantage of the sun while supplementing their Vitamin D.  In June, St. Petersburg experiences 19 hours of sunlight which are called White Nights.  Come December they will have the other extreme with only 5 hours of sunlight. 

Church on Spilled Blood 

Leaving Petrogradskaya Island via Troitsky (Trinity) Bridge we will drive down Nevsky Prospect, St. Petersburg's main street, then pass three Russian Orthodox Cathedrals, The Church on Spilled Blood, Kazan Cathedral (dedicated to Theotokos of Kazan) and Troitsky Cathedral before we head to the freeway and Tsarskoye Selo (The Tsars' Village) in the town of Puskin. 

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Here is a very brief history of the rulers of Russia from 1682 to 1917.  Why is this important, because from 1708 on most of the rulers, at one time or another, made Tsarskoye Selo their home. 

Peter I also known as Peter Alekseyevch Romanov (House of Romanov) finally known as Peter the Great became joint Tsar (also called Emperor) of Russia, at the age of 10, with his brother, Ivan V, Alekseyevich Romanov (Ivan V) from 1682-1696.  After Ivan V died Peter the Great remained Tsar until his death in 1725.  He had two wives and fourteen children, only three survived to adulthood.  Alexei, heir to the throne, oldest son of Peter's first wife was involved in a plot to overthrow the Tsar and died in prison in the Peter and Paul Fortress. 

Peter's second wife Yekaterine Alexeyevna, used Tsarskoye Selo as her summer residence from 1708 to 1724.  In 1711 she began construction on a LARGER residence for the property.  (Maybe because their dresses were SO wide during this time period, all the rooms had to be enlarged.)

After Peter died in 1725, Yekaterine Alexeyevna became Empress of Russia taking the name Catherine I and ruling until her death in 1727. 

Peter's son Alexei (the one who went to prison) had one son Peter Alekseyevich known as Peter II was Tsar of Russia from 1727 - 1730.  With no males available, Anna Ivanovna, daughter of Ivan V (who had served as joint Tsar/Emperor with Peter the Great) became Empress from 1730 to 1740.   

Anna Leopoldovna, Empress Anna Ivanova's niece and grand-daughter of Ivan V (co-Tsar/Emperor with Peter I) gave birth to Ivan VI.  Empress Anna Ivanova adopted him at eight weeks old and declared him her successor on October 5, 1740. Upon Empress Anna's death October 17th, Ivan VI became Tsar of Russia at the ripe old age of around 10 weeks give or take. 

Ivan VI never actually reigned, he was overthrown by Elizabeth Petrovna daughter of Peter the Great and Catherine I before he reached two years old.  She ruled as empress from 1741- 1762 while Poor Ivan spent the rest of his life as a prisoner and was killed during an attempt to free him in 1764. 

Empress Elizabeth Petrovna - Ivan Vishnyakov

Catherine I (Empress 1725-1727) bequeathed Tsarskoye Selo to her daughter Elizabeth Petrovna. During the reign of Elizabeth, she began construction on an even LARGER addition to the residence in 1744 under the commission of Bartolomeo Francesco Rastrelli who designed and created the palace for the "common glory of Russia."

Catherine II (aka Catherine the Great)

Empress Elizabeth died without issue making way for Peter III, son of Anna Petrovna (daughter of Peter I and Catherine I).  Peter ruled for only 6 months in 1762, before he was assassinated by an alleged conspiracy led by his wife Catherine II.  Although not descended from any previous Russian emperor (she was a German princess), she succeeded her husband and became known as Catherine the Great ruling from 1762-1796.

Catherine the Great enjoyed the life of a monarch, further adding to the grounds of Tsarskoye Selo by having a new palace built next door for her grandson (Alexander I) called Alexander Palace.  She was also instrumental in starting the royal art collection which later developed into the Hermitage. 

Before Catherine II allegedly had her husband Peter III assassinated, Peter managed to impregnate her with a son, Paul I.  For some reason Catherine II was never very fond of Paul I.  She was far more enamored by her grandson, Paul I's son, Alexander I.  While grooming Alexander I to be Emperor, Catherine II died unexpectedly of a stroke, leaving Paul I Emperor from 1796-1801. 

One thing led to another and Paul I was assassinated leaving his son Alexander I Emperor from 1801-1825.  There is a debate whether Alexander I had anything to do with his father's murder.

Alexander I - Franz Kruger

Anyway, Alexander I was successful in stopping Napoleon's invasion of Russia in 1812, for which he was honored with a huge portrait by Franz Kruger in the War Room at the Hermitage. He died at age 47, some say under suspicious circumstances.  Not surprising. 

Nicholas I (son of Paul and brother of Alexander I) became Emperor from 1825-1855.  He died during the Crimean War of pneumonia.  Nicholas I son, Alexander II became Emperor from 1855 until he was assassinated in 1881.  His son Alexander III took over from 1881-1894. 

Nicholas II (son of Alexander III) was the last Emperor of Russia from 1894 to his abdication on March 15, 1917.  Nicholas and his entire family were murdered on July 17, 1918.  

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An hour or so later we arrive in Puskin and at the palace of Tsarskoye Selo (The Tsars' Village). 

The grounds of the Tsarskoye Seleo are massive.  We would only take a small bite out of the park and Catherine's Summer Palace on our tour.

In order to take pictures or video inside this palace, we paid US dollars to our tour guide who then placed a colored sticker on the front of our camera, $10 for pictures and $8 for video, but NO pictures inside the Amber Room, sticker or no sticker.  Everyone put on booties to protect the perfectly polished parquet floors. 

No expense was spared on this building.  Inside and out the walls are lined with decorations, many made of plaster or limestone and painted gold, but some decorations are just made of gold, over 200 pounds of gold.  Some of the gold purchased was not used in the construction. Empress Elizabeth Petrovna was asked whether the gold should be sold back to the seller.  She is said to have replied, "Russia never sells anything back, throw the gold in the Neva."    

A lovely Russian woman stands guard in each room but if they happen to miss something the cameras won't.  Just don't touch anything, don't sit on the furniture, what little there is, don't lean on the walls, and please no pictures in the Amber Room. 

The Great Hall which doubles as a Ballroom is over 8,400 square feet.  Six medium size homes would fit in this room alone.  A mural of the Triumph of Russia covers the entire ceiling.  Each room has a different pattern on the parquet floor.  This may be how the servants knew where they were as they moved about the palace. 

There are thee Anteroom's (waiting rooms), five were designed but only three built.  There are Drawing rooms (for entertaining) multiple Dining rooms (for dining), Pilaster rooms (for I don't know what), a Picture room (for showing off famous paintings), a Portrait room (for portraits of members of the House of Romonov) and the Amber room (which is made of amber).  No pictures or video were allowed inside this room. Nothing was stated about taking pictures into the room from the outside.  

After touring many rooms of the palace and the upper grounds (backyard) it was time to drive back to St. Petersburg and have lunch before touring the Hermitage. 

Lunch was served at the Park Inn Pulkovskaya in St. Petersburg.  Numerous tour buses arrived at exactly 11:55 and we all were ushered in an orderly manner to sit at tables for 8 as our lunch would be served promptly at 12 noon.  We were instructed by our tour guide not to leave our group because we did not have individual visas. The tour company provided our visa only as a long as we stayed together.  If we were on our own and we were asked for our papers and could not provide them (which we would not because we didn't have individual visas) we would be detained in Russia until we could obtain an individual visa.

Mike quickly finished his lunch and took off across the street to a monument that looked really important,  I wasn't happy. 

The Park Inn is across the street from Victory Square and the Monument to the Heroic Defenders of Leningrad.   During the rule of Joseph Stalin, the Germans broke a pact with Russia and fully encircled Leningrad's 3 million civilians (including 400,000 children).  The people of Leningrad refused to surrender, enduring food and fuel shortages along with little heating, water and electricity during the long winter months.  The people hid the art from the Hermitage in the basement of St. Isaac's Cathedral.  The siege lasted 900 days and was finally lifted January 27, 1944.  641,000 people died during the siege, though some estimate 800,000. 

Next, Part 2 of our all day tour -- The Hermitage

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For an interactive map and guided walking tour covering many of our tours please be sure to download the GPSmyCity App from the iTunes store. The App covers an extensive library of articles and walking tours from over 470 cities worldwide, and now features articles from Adventures of a Home Town Tourist covering Carmel and Monterey (with more cities on the way).

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All photography or video by L A Momboisse and R M Momboisse unless listed below: 

Picture of skyline at Vasilyevski Island St Petersburg - Cruise Clipper 

Portrait of Peter the Great by Paul Delaroche - Wikipedia  

Photo of Vladimir Lenin - Wikipedia 

Aerial View of Vasilyevsky Island - Public Domain Free Art License  - A. Savin - Wikimedia Commons 

Saint Isaac's - Public Domain 

Rostral Column at Naval Museum - Public Domain 

Church on Spilled Blood - Wikipedia Public Domain 

Empress Elizabeth Petrovna - Painting by Ivan Vishnyakov - Public Domain

Catherine II (aka Catherine the Great) - Painting by Fyodor Rokotov in Hermitage Public Domain 

Alexander I - Painting by Franz Kruger in Hermitage Public Domain