Monthly Archives: November 2012
The Ballet
The Mikhaylovsky Theatre is one of Russia‘s oldest opera and ballet houses. It was founded in 1833 and is situated in a historical building on the Arts Square in St. Petersburg. It is named after Grand Duke Michael Pavlovich of Russia.
The theatre was established by decree of Tsar Nicholas I.
St. Petersburg Icons – St. Peter and Paul, St. Isaacs
St. Petersburg’s greatest religious buildings are, of course, its Russian Orthodox Cathedrals and Churches. Although stone churches were built in St. Petersburg for little more than 150 years, the range of architectural styles is breathtaking, from the elegant charms of early baroque to the staggering ornamentation of the Russian revival.
St. Petersburg – At First Glance
As many times as I have seen this signature icon in pictures, when I came around the corner and it came into my view, it still took my breathe away.
It is The Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood. This Church was built on the site where Tsar Alexander II was assassinated and was dedicated in his memory.
On March 13, 1881, as Tsar Alexander‘s carriage passed along the embankment, a grenade thrown by an anarchist conspirator exploded. The tsar, shaken but unhurt, got out of the carriage and confronted the presumed culprit. A second conspirator took the chance to throw another bomb, killing himself and mortally wounding the tsar. The tsar, bleeding heavily, was taken back to the Winter Palace where he died a few hours later.
International Travel to St. Petersburg
International Airports are exciting enough all by themselves. We traveled from San Francisco through Amsterdam.
We left on a Thursday morning and did not arrive until after dark on Friday evening!