3 Sights You Must Visit on a St. Petersburg City Break
St. Petersburg is an elegant city with palaces lining its boulevards, large squares in front of architecturally stunning churches and bridges arching over the maze of canals. Founder by Peter the Great, it is often referred to as the Venice of the north and Russia's eye to Europe. Once the capital of the country, St Petersburgit is now the definite cultural capital with many famous buildings, churches, palaces, galleries and museums. Here's a quick guide to 3 sights you must see when you visit.
Church of our Saviour on Spilled Blood:
The brightly coloured exterior is typical of many Russian churches and you will have no doubt seen the shimmering domes pictured in many different places. However, it is the interior of the building, covered in mosaics that carefully mimic famous Russian art works that surprises visitors. The church is built on the site where Alexander II was murdered and the section of cobblestone road where he met his end makes up part of the walls and provides a striking contrast to the surrounding mosaics. The church was restored after being used to store potatoes during World War II and is no longer serves as a church, but solely as a mosaic museum.
The Hermitage Museum:
This famous museum occupies six buildings and houses a vast collection of art and artefacts from all over the world. The largest of the six buildings is the Baroque, St. Petersburg Winter Palace which was once home to the Tzars of Russia and matches the contents of its 18th Ccentury collections well. The gallery was opened to the public by Nicholas I in 1852 and now houses more than 3 million items. The museum houses endless items from Russia's past as well as works from renowned artists, but it is most famous for its collection of Faberge pieces, Russian royal artefacts and collections from masters such as da Vinci, Rembrandt, Gaugin, Monet, Rodin, Michelangelo and Rubens.
Catherine Palace:
Also known as the Summer Palace, this intriguing blue, white and gold building is a testament to the opulence of the Russian Tzars. Everything about the palace, from the gardens to the interior, is designed to the highest luxury standards and 100 kilograms of gold were used on the exterior and roof statues alone. The palace was severely damaged over both World Wars but enough of the interior was saved to enable restoration work. Restoration to 57 of the palace's apartments was completed in 2003, many of which are open to the public drawing in hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.
Take a look at the St Petersburg city breaks on offer from Regent Holidays to experience all sights and culture of this amazing city.
Church of our Saviour on Spilled Blood:
The brightly coloured exterior is typical of many Russian churches and you will have no doubt seen the shimmering domes pictured in many different places. However, it is the interior of the building, covered in mosaics that carefully mimic famous Russian art works that surprises visitors. The church is built on the site where Alexander II was murdered and the section of cobblestone road where he met his end makes up part of the walls and provides a striking contrast to the surrounding mosaics. The church was restored after being used to store potatoes during World War II and is no longer serves as a church, but solely as a mosaic museum.
The Hermitage Museum:
This famous museum occupies six buildings and houses a vast collection of art and artefacts from all over the world. The largest of the six buildings is the Baroque, St. Petersburg Winter Palace which was once home to the Tzars of Russia and matches the contents of its 18th Ccentury collections well. The gallery was opened to the public by Nicholas I in 1852 and now houses more than 3 million items. The museum houses endless items from Russia's past as well as works from renowned artists, but it is most famous for its collection of Faberge pieces, Russian royal artefacts and collections from masters such as da Vinci, Rembrandt, Gaugin, Monet, Rodin, Michelangelo and Rubens.
Catherine Palace:
Also known as the Summer Palace, this intriguing blue, white and gold building is a testament to the opulence of the Russian Tzars. Everything about the palace, from the gardens to the interior, is designed to the highest luxury standards and 100 kilograms of gold were used on the exterior and roof statues alone. The palace was severely damaged over both World Wars but enough of the interior was saved to enable restoration work. Restoration to 57 of the palace's apartments was completed in 2003, many of which are open to the public drawing in hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.
Take a look at the St Petersburg city breaks on offer from Regent Holidays to experience all sights and culture of this amazing city.
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