HISTORIC LANDMARKS

                      The Catherine Palace and Peter and Paul Fortress

             The elegant Catherine Palace, built in 1718 for Peter the Great’s wife, is a monument to Russian art and culture. The summer palace of the czars is located just outside the city. Construction began in 1744 and after years of embellishment and reconstruction it reached its current Baroque grandeur of elegant blue, white and gold perfection.

            The Catherine Palace facade is the longest in all of Europe, stretching more than 1,000 feet in a fantastic profusion of columns, windows, pilasters and statues. Originally the ornaments of the palace were gilded, which must have been a brilliant contrast against sapphire blue walls. Very expensive to maintain and difficult to keep looking fresh and clean, later Catherine II ordered the gilt palace ornaments to be painted over in a bronze color.

            There are two fronts to the palace; one faces the garden and the other is an enormous parade ground enclosed in a one-story arc of baroque buildings and gilded railings. After Peter and Catherine’s deaths, the palace passed to their lively, blue-eyed daughter, Elizabeth, who lived in the palace during the reigns of her half-brother Peter II and her cousin, Anna. Elizabeth had the palace enlarged and later the famous Italian Architect Rastrelli took on the task of the famous palace facades that are seen today.

            Catherine II made a Neo-Classical style addition, which she preferred over the flamboyant Baroque style, to the far wing of the palace.

The weather was very damp and dreary while I was in St. Petersburg and I managed to pick up a nasty cold. Unfortunately I felt pretty awful the day we made this visit so my notes are shorter than usual.

The Peter and Paul Fortress, built in 1703, is situated on a small island in the Neva River delta. The historical treasure  has been a prison, fortress and now is the burial site of Russian czars. Originally built to defend against the Swedes, Peter the Great laid the first stone.

The city developed on both sides of the fortress but eventually the site across the river is the one that was sustained. From the Admiralty on the south embankment the main streets radiate like wheel spokes. Canals and other streets cross the spokes and run parallel to the main channel of the Neva.

Across the Neva  River, the distinctive gold spire shines over what was a major shipbuilding and naval center. The city’s major streets fan out from this point. The 12-meter thick walls support 300 pieces of artillery. The fortress even had a functioning mint at one time. The courtyard is cobbled.

            Nearby stands the Dutch-style Peter and Paul Cathedral, a shrine to the Romanoff dynasty. Its belfry supports a stunning needle-like golden spire, which can be seen from most any spot in the city. The golden angel holding a cross is the city symbol. The bells ring four times a day. The baroque interior with its carved iconostasis is breath taking. It took 40 serfs seven years to carve the linden wood under the gold leaf. Inside are the Romanoff monarch sarcophagi, and the one with a bust on top identifies Peter the Great.