The Russian Museum was opened in 1898 in the Mikhaylovsky Palace by Tsar Nicholas II. The
museum is the world's largest museum of Russian art and numbers nearly
400,000 works. The museum exhibits the collection of icons, wonderful pieces of
graphic art, sculpture, applied art from the 18th to the 20th
centuries and the Avant-garde painting of the 20th century. It contains works
by Great Russian artists: Rublev, Shubin, Kiprensky, Fedotov, Repin, Levitan
and many others. The building is most impressively viewed from the back, during
a late-night stroll through the pleasant Mikhailovsky Gardens. The illuminated palace
by night is a perfect backdrop for romantic interludes.
St Isaac's
Cathedral
St.Isaac
Cathedral is one of the finest architectural monuments of the 19th century, the
former principal cathedral of the Russian capital, the largest cathedral in
town able to accommodate about 10,000 worshipers. The cathedral is graced with
112 solid granite columns weighing up to 114 tons each, and about 400 relieves
and bronze sculptures. The granite was ordered from Finland and delivered in
specially built ships and railways, 220lbs of gold leaf were used for the dome
and the end result, a lavish interior of marble and mosaic, is a must-see. The observation
platform on the colonnade provides a magnificent view of the city.
Kazan Cathedral
The Kazan
Cathedral is an outstanding example of the early 19th-century Russian
architecture, erected on the site of a small stone church to hold the ancient
icon of Our Lady of Kazan, said to have caused miracles. The Kazan Cathedral
encircles a small square with a double row of beautiful columns - an impressive
colonnade. It took 10 years to construct this church. Kazan Cathedral was meant
to be a Russian version of Basilica of St. Peter's in Rome and the main church of Russia. After the War of 1812, during
which Napoleon was defeated, the church became a monument to the Russian
victory. The captured enemy banners were put in the cathedral and the famous
Russian field marshal Mikhail Kutuzov, who won the most important campaign of
1812, was buried inside the church.
The
Communists closed the cathedral for services in 1929, and from 1932 it housed
the collections of the Museum of the History of Religion and Atheism, which
displayed numerous pieces of religious art and served anti-religious propaganda
purposes. A couple of years ago regular services were resumed in the cathedral,
though it still shares the premises with the museum, which is now just the
Museum of the History of Religion.