The Exhibition consists of 7 sections
Section I. Appearance of the population in the Imperial Russia in the early XXth century.
Section II. The Revolution of 1917 and the Civil War. Attributes of revolutionary fashion.
Section III. Fashion of the NEP period and struggle against it. Searches for the ”Soviet style» in clothes (the 1920s).
Section IV. Influence of the first five-year plans epoch on the Soviet people’s appearance. “Prosperity” course in the mid-1930s. Formation of the Soviet elite’s fashion and its influence on people’s tastes.
Section V. Difficulties of a post-war life. Passion for the western fashion and struggle against «servilities to the West» in the late 1940s – early 1950s.
Section VI. Formation of the consumer society in the 1950 – 1980s and its adaptation to the Soviet conditions. Deficiency and fashion. Arrival of the world fashion in Russia.
Section VII. «The Party fashion».
2. The Grand Ducal Burial Vault (Peter and Paul Fortress)
Arch. D.Grimm (1896-1908).
1. St. Apostles Peter and Paul Cathedral (Peter and Paul Fortress) Arch. D.Trezini (1712-1733)
4.The State Museum of the History of St. Petersburg (Peter and Paul
Fortress)
3. The Boat House (Botnyy Domik) (Peter and Paul Fortress)
Arch. A.Vist(1762-1765), Zayachiy Ostrov
On May 27, 1703 the Sankt-Petersburg fortress was founded on Zayatchy (Hare) island. The island is only 600 meters long and 350 meters wide. However, the fortress was constructed in the strategically important place of the Neva River’s estuary. At first, the fortress was called Sankt-Petersburg (Saint-Petersburg) - the city of Holy Peter. Later, the Saints’ Peter and Paul Cathedral was built on the territory of the island and the name was changed to the Petropavlovskaya (Peter and Paul) Fortress.
The Peter and Paul Fortress was supposed to be the Russia’s key to the European maritime communications - Russian outlet to the Baltic Sea, by Peter the Great. The enterprising emperor designed the plan of its construction himself. The fortress has an elongated form from East to West and the walls repeat the island’s outline. Pentagonal bastions at the corners of the fortress constructed under the supervision of Peter the Great and his close associates got their names - His Majesty’s, Menshikov,, Zotov,, Trubetskoy,, Golovkin, and Naryishkin,. The bastions are connected with the others by six curtains - Peter’s, Catherine’s, Neva’s, Basil’s, Nicholas and Kronverk. A canal was dug through the island to supply the garrison of the Saint-Petersburg fortress with ammunition, hardware and fresh water that was later covered with earth in 1882. The walls of the fortress were mainly made of earth and wooden planks in 1703. Their replacement with solid masonry constructions started in May 1706 and lasted till 1740. The Swiss architect Domenico Tresini designed bastions and curtains of the fortress to 12 meters high and to 20 wide. These military fortifications consist of two parallel walls. The external walls are from 4 to 8 meters thick, while the internal ones are to 2,5 meters. Casemates for soldiers and storage of ammunition were arranged between two walls. The fortress has six gates and the main is the Petrine Gate designed by Domenico Tresini. The gate was rebuilt in stone to the design of the same architect in 1718. The Petrine gate imitates a triumphal gate of the Russian victories over Sweden. The construction of ravelins - additional fortification structures, designed to protect Eastern and Western gates of the Peter and Paul fortress, started in 1731. The Eastern Ioanovsky ravelin is called in honour of Peter I’s brother - Ivan, while the Western Alekseevsky ravelin - after his father Aleksey Mikhailovitch.
Domenico Tresini presided the construction of the Peter and Paul Cathedral in 1712-1733. At first the 122,5 meters belfry was constructed to symbolize the Russian steadfast position on the banks of the Neva River and the Baltic Sea. It was the highest structure on the territory of Saint-Petersburg from 1718 to 1963, when the present 316-meters TV-tower was built. The bell tower ends with a 32-meters high golden spire, a turning cross with the figure of an angel. A Dutch chiming clock bought by the order of Peter the Great was placed on the top. The Peter and Paul Cathedral has an elongated rectangular form with a high belfry on the western side instead of a high central cupola in the Old Russian architecture. Inside the cathedral is divided into three naves by two rows of pylons that support groined vaults. Murals and sculptures depicting angels, chirrups and instruments of Christ’s torture decorate the vaults. One of the most precious exhibits of the Peter and Paul cathedral is an 18th-century iconostasis. It was made of oak and linden by a group of skilled craftsmen headed by Ivan Zaroudny in Moscow in 1722-1725. Then it was transported to Saint-Petersburg and was placed inside the cathedral in 1727. The iconostasis was designed in the form of a triumphal arch, symbolizing the Russian victory in the Northern war over Sweden. The tsar’s place, the pulpit and copies of Turkish and Swedish military banners impart a solemnity to the decoration of the Peter and Paul Cathedral. In 1756, a thunderbolt struck the high spire, the belfry with the figure of the angel burnt to the ground, and the inside of the cathedral was badly damaged as well. Only twenty years later the bell tower was completely rebuilt. The badly weathered frameworks of the belfry were replaced with the exact copies made of steel to the design of civil engineer Zuravsky in 1858. Then the height of the bell tower was increased to 122.5 meters due to the computation error. The Peter and Paul Cathedral was a burial place of all Russian tsars. All Russian emperors from Peter I to Nicholas II, except Peter II and Ivan IV, all Russian empresses and many Grand Dukes were buried there. The Grand Ducal Burial Vault, designed by Grimm, Tomishko and Benua, was constructed near the Eastern side of the Peter and Paul cathedral in 1896-1906. Thirteen members of the Romanovs’ family were buried there before the Bolshevik October Revolution in 1917.
A number of subsidiary buildings were constructed on the territory of the Peter and Paul fortress: ordnance depot, commandant’s house, mint, guardhouse, engineers’ house, jail of the Trubetskoy bastion. Today many buildings accommodate exhibitions about the foundation, construction and history of Saint-Petersburg. An excursion route called the Neva’s gala panorama was arranged on the bastions and curtains of the fortress that overlook the Neva River.
8. Zoological Park (It was established in 1865), Alexandrovskiy Park, 1.
ZOOLOGICAL PARK (until 1952, the Zoological Garden), a cultural, educational and scientific institution, where wild and certain domestic animals are kept, demonstrated and studied. It is situated on Petrogradskaya Side, on the former location of the Alexandrovsky Garden. Its area is about 7.4 ha. The collection of animals consists of approximately 2,000 examples of 408 species (80 are are considered to be internationally endangered species while 42 are endangered in Russia, 15 are protected in the territory of Leningrad Region). The Zoological Park was opened on 1 August 1865; its first owners were Sofia Gebgardt and her husband Julius Gebgardt (died in 1871). After her husband's death S. Gebgardt married E.A. Rost (1842-1908, who owned the Zoological Garden from 1873. Under Rost the Zoological Garden was supplied with the very latest equipment, and the collection grew to 200 species and 1,200 animals, birds and reptiles. A sewage system and electrical lighting was arranged, a theatre was built for 500 seats. The Zoological Garden had its own brass band and later on a symphony orchestra; the Zoology restaurant was also located at the park. In 1897, Rost departed to Germany and the Zoological Garden had gradually declined. After 1910, the Zoological Garden was practically re-created again under a new lessee, actor and entrepreneur S.N. Novikov (1850-1922): a number of pavilions were built for animals; city-residents could again see lions, hippopotamuses, rhinoceros, elephants and other exotic animals. Three theatres ran in the Zoological Garden, the open air theatre, the restaurant theatre, the shooting gallery and the carrousel. Performing animals acted there, children could ride on ponies or donkeys. A big wooden theatre was predominantly used for performing operettas. In 1918, the Zoological Garden was nationalised, zoologist N.P. Tanasiychuk (1890-1960) was appointed its manager, the general direction was performed by the Scientific Council (abolished in 1924), which included the most eminent zoologists. From 1929, the Young Zoologists Society has been working in the Garden. For the 75th anniversary of the Garden in 1940, 171 ha in the region of the Udelny Park were given to the Zoological Garden; however, military operations rendered the plans for constructing a new zoological garden impossible. During the Siege of 1941-44, workers of the Zoological Garden continued working in difficult circumstances (in memory of their exploits the old name of Leningrad Zoological Garden has been retained). The Zoological Garden was opened to visitors in the summer months, and from 1944 it has been working throughout the year (the animal theatre never ceased working). In 1952, the Zoological Garden was given part of еру garden of the State People's House, and its territory increased by more then 2.5 times. In the 1950s-60s, many interesting animals were brought to the park where acclimatisation experiments were conducted. The collection and the level of scientific and educational work carried out in the Zoological Garden was the best in the country.
4. (5.)Kronverk (The Museum of Artillery, Engineers and signal corps) Arch. P.Tamanskiy (1849-1860), Alexandrovskiy Park, 7
(Military-Historical Museum of Artillery, Engineering and Communications Forces)
Displaying an enormous collection of arms and heavy artillery from the Middle Ages to the present day, this museum is located just across a narrow canal from the Peter and Paul Fortress. The museum is a great place to visit with your kids, who will love the open-air exhibition of artillery and missile launchers in the museum's courtyard. Inside the museum displays a rather old-fashioned collection of military memorabilia, temporary exhibitions, a nice little shop stocked with models of weapons and miniature soldiers and a cafe.
1. Baltiyskiy Dom Theatre. Alexandrovskiy Park, 4
The excursion termination № 1 – M. Gorkovskaya
Walking tour № 2. The excursion beginning – M. Vasileostrovskaya
THE SPIT OF VASILYEVSKY ISLAND
Over the years the Neva River has enriched St. Petersburg's heritage both through its purely practical function as an artery for trade and also as a theme incorporated into outstanding Russian literature. From its source, Lake Ladoga, the Neva flows west seventy-four kilometers to the Gulf of Finland. The city of St. Petersburg has grown up on and around the more than forty islands which form the Neva's delta. You are currently standing on the eastern tip of one of them, Vasilyevsky (St. Basil's) Island. At one time this was the focus of Peter the Great's detailed development scheme for his capital. Since no bridges spanned the Neva in those early days, however, the transportation of construction materials here proved difficult and foiled the plan. Eventually the center of the city was constructed on the side of the Neva where Nevsky Avenue (Prospect) runs.
The spit of land upon which you are now located was formed from stone and sand fill material extending 122 meters (400 ft.) eastward into the Neva from, Vasilyevsky Island. All of the buildings in this area were constructed between 1805-32 to serve the needs of the growing port. In the center of what is now known as the Exchange (Birzhevaya) Square stands the former stock exchange. It currently houses the Central Naval Museum. The architect Jean Thomas de Thomon designed the structure; it was constructed in 1810. On each side of the stock exchange stands a building created by the architect Giovanni Luchini. The port utilized both of them originally as warehouses. Today the structure on the left houses the Zoology Museum. The Soil Science Museum occupies the one to the right.
Flanking the spit, two "rostral columns" rise 32 meters (105 ft.) into the sky. The term conies from the Latin "rostra" meaning "beak." In ancient times the Romans traditionally decorated triumphal columns with the figure headed prows of defeated ships. In the 19th Century, these columns served as lighthouses for vessels arriving from Lake Ladoga. Now they are used during national festivals. A tire is lit on the top which people can see from all over the river area. At the base of both columns rest sculpted figures which serve as the symbols of four of Russia's greatest rivers. Viewed from this location, from left to the right, these include the Neva, the Volkhov, the. Volga, and the Dnieper.
St. Peterburg's prominence as a seaport elates from November of 1703, with the arrival of the first trading ship from Holland. Eager So promote his fledgling port and gain for it further acceptance by the Europeans, Peter the Great rewarded the crew of this first ship with a cash bonus. He promised additional sums for succeeding visitors.
Eventually St. Petersburg became Russia's most important seaport; the immediate area around the spit became one of the busiest places in the city. One could hear the voices and shouts of numerous foreign languages. Here, before the construction of the elaborate buildings which now front onto the spit, Russian and foreign merchants came So negotiate their deals. Inhabitants of the capital frequently gathered to note the comings and goings of trading vessels from all parts of the world.
16. The Cathedral of Apostle St. Andrew the First Called Arch.
A. Vist (1764-1780), Vasilievskiy Ostrov, 6-ya liniya, 11
UNIVERSITY EMBANKMENT
Walk down the street which runs along the Senate-Synod ensemble towards the Neva River and cross over to the embankment at the stoplight. Try to find a vantage point which offers you an unobstructed view of the opposite bank, for there are a number of remarkable sites to look at.
Immediately opposite the Senate-Synod ensemble, for instance, lies the Menshikovsky Palace. Alexander Menshikov, a favorite of Peter, built his palace on this site upon being granted ownership of all of Vasilyevsky Island in 1707. Although it now appears rather plain-looking, in the days of Peter the Great, it was one of the most luxurious buildings in all of the city. The czar, who hated official meetings, often arranged for them to be held here.
To the left of Menshikovsky Palace, an extensive stand of trees marks the location of an obelisk, hidden from view, which commemorates a Russian victory over the Turks in a war fought between 1768-74. To the left of this, at the foot of one of the bridges which span the Neva, stands the Academy of Arts. Originally founded in 1757, it has played a crucial role in the training of Russian painters, sculptors, and architects. In our day, it houses not only an art school, but also one of the nation's oldest art museums.
Directly in front of the academy there are steps leading from street-level down to the Neva. Flanking them lie two sphinxes purchased by Russia in the 19th Century. Discovered in 1820, they probably, date from the 15th Century B. C. Archaeologists believe that the features of Pharoah Amenhotep III are carved on their faces. The Russian writer Andrei Muravyov saw the statues while traveling through Egypt. Much impressed, he lobbied for their purchase by his government. Czar Nicholas I granted his permission and a special ship brought the treasures to St. Petersburg in 1832.
Now look up the Neva in the other direction until you catch sight of one of the orange-colored rostral columns you visited earlier. To the left of it stands the former Kunstkammer, a blue and white building crowned with an eight-sided turret and high dome. Here the private collections of Peter the Great were housed and exhibited. This assembly included rare books, valuable minerals, exotic plants and animals, as well as preserved specimens of anatomical variation — some quite hideous. A number of these can still be seen in the Chamber of Curiosities located inside this building in the Museum of Ethnography. Later, the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences used the site.
After the Academy outgrew the facilities of the Kunstkammer, the Academy of Sciences building was constructed next door. Designed by Giacomo Quarenghi and featuring an eight-column portico, it was constructed between 1783-88. In 1934 most of the Academy's departments were transferred to Moscow. The departments of literature and language remained.
Finally, immediately to the left of the Academy of Sciences stands the red and white building which marks the location of St. Petersburg University. Designed by Domenico Trezzini and built between 1722-41, the complex of twelve adjacent structures housed ministries of the government until the University occupied the site in 1819. From this vantage point, only the short, southernmost end can be seen.