12. Аврора

Travel back in time by stepping on board the memorial ship Aurora, which played an important role in the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. The cruiser Aurora was built between 1897 and 1900 by the "New Admiralty" in St. Petersburg and joined Russia's Baltic fleet in 1903. The ship measures 126.8 meters (418 feet 5 inches) in length, 16.8 meters (55 feet 5 inches) in width and weighs a staggering 7,600 tons. Maintaining a speed of 20 knots (23.3 miles per hour) it can travel independently for up to 1,440 sea miles. During the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05 the cruiser took part in the Battle of Tsusima. Amongst the ship's exhibits visitors can see a portrait of the ship's captain, who was killed during the battle. The crew used part of the Aurora's penetrated armor to frame Captain Yegoryev's photograph. In 1917, as the main training ship of the Baltic fleet, the Aurora took an active part in the Revolution. On the night of October 25-26 1917, it fired a blank shot at the Winter Palace (then the residence of the Provisional Government), giving the signal to the rebellious workers, soldiers and sailors of the city to storm the palace. That moment triggered a dramatic episode in Russia's history and was the start of over 70 years of Communist leadership. The Aurora is now maintained by cadets from the nearby Nakhimov Navy School. Admission to the Aurora is free, but for an extra fee you can tour the engine-room (ask an attendant).

13. Царское село

Czar’s village was for the 1st time mentioned in 1702 under the name of Saari Mois which means a farm on elevated grounds. The land was presented by Peter-I to Menshikov but later Peter changed his mind and presented it to his wife Catherine-I. The town of Pushkin originated as a private summer residence of Catherine-I. A stone palace was built for her by Brownstein. After her death it was bequeathed to her daughter Elizabeth. So Catherine Palace is called so after the mother of Elizabeth Catherine-I. But it was the favorite palace of Catherine-II and during her reign she chose to stay there. During the reign of Elizabeth Rastrelli rebuilt the palace and the gardens were lay out as French regular. The interior decorations were made by different architects in different styles that’s why now the interior decorations are represented as Baroque blend with Classicism. The first name of the city was the Czar village, because the word Saari somehow sounds the same as Czar. Later it was renamed several times and the last name the town got was Pushkin after the famous Russian poet who studied here in Lyceum for 6 years. The old entrance to the Czar’s village was Egyptian gate which were built when the fake Egyptian style was in fashion. Next to the gate there’s monument to Alexander Pushkin. The monument was not evacuated during the war and nazi Germans used it as a target for practicing shooting. The Catherine palace was set on fire and specialist didn’t believe in the possibility to rebirth the palace. There’s also an Alexander palace built to the design of Quarengi at the end of the 18th century for Catherine grandson Alexander-I. It’s a palace where Nicolas-II and his family were kept under the house arrest after the February revolution.

Amber Room. Amber panels were made in the beginning of the 18th century in Germany. It was a diplomatic gift of the Prussian king Fridrigh Vilhelm to Peter-I in 1716. P-I gave in exchange for amber panels 248 sturdy soldiers for the Prussian King’s guard. Great care and protection was given to transporting the panels to SPb. In 1755 to the order of Elizabeth the panels were brought to the Czar’s village. It took 76 strong guardsmen, 6 days of traveling to bring them to the Czar’s Village. Rastrelli created a magnificent amber hall in the Catherine palace. Since there were not enough amber panels to cover walls in the room a number of mirrors and mosaic pictures were inserted. Excelent immitation painting was made for the upper part of the hall. This room always drew attention of visitors. During the was the amber panels were not evacuated. They were left behind and covered with sand sacks. Nazy Germans discovered the panels and loot them to Koenigsberg. In the castle of koenigsberg they were displayed along with other war trophies and then disappeared. These priceless panels haven’t been found till nowadays. The works on the restoration of the architectural decor of this hall are being held. 6 tons of amber will be needed. The amber room was the only one in the world to demonstrate the usage of amber for decoration of the walls.Catherine’s Palace We start from the main staircase. It’s the compositional center of the palace (Monigetti). The architect had to match the new interior with those that had been created by his predecessors. That’s why the architect decorated the walls with plaster mouldings but without gold leaf which was out of fashion at that time. The only patches of bright colors are crimson curtains and blue porcelain. The marble staircase was restored to its original look of pieces of marble found under the ruins. The plafonds on the ceiling were brought from other collections (“The judgement of Paris”). We’re going to see 23 restored rooms out of 55 on the 2nd floor which was the main level. We’ll see not only apartments and ballrooms but also living rooms. On the upper landing of the main staircase there’re two marble statues of Cupid. One of them is waking up, the other one is falling asleep. The Grand Hall Its owners called it “light gallery” because windows which alternate with mirrors and walls seem to disappear. At night 696 candles were lit. Count Rastrelli who was presented on the ball was proud of what he had created. For the restoration of this hall 9 kilos of gold were used. The cost of one fighter plane and the cost of this hall are the same. It was restored in 1980. Amber Room Amber is sap of pine trees which grew a million years ago. Then they fell and were washed into the Baltic Sea. Then this sap turned into stone. Now pieces of that stone are found in the Baltic area. Amber can be of various shades from lime yellow to dark brown. It can be transparent or dull. The most valuable pieces are those where something can be found (bark, mosquitoes). There was an attempt to make synthetic amber. When it was glued to the foundation during the restoration of the amber room it changed the color. So they decided to make it anew of real amber. The creation of the amber room dates back to the XVIII century. It was the work of master-carvers under the supervision of Andreas Shluter. It was a diplomatic gift from Prussian king Friedrich Wilhelm to Peter I in 1716. Peter I gave 248 studied soldiers for the Prussian king’s guard in exchange for the amber panels. With great care and protection the panels were brought to Saint-Petersburg where they used to decorate one of the rooms of Peter’s winter palace. In 1755 to the order of Elizabeth 76 guardsmen brought them to Pushkin. It took 6 days to travel there. Rastrelli created a magnificent amber room. As there weren’t enough panels to cover the whole room he inserted a number of mirrors and used an excellent imitation painting for the upper part of the walls. This room always attracted attention of visitors. During the 2nd World War the panels weren’t evacuated, they were covered with cloths and sandbags. The occupants discovered them and took to Koenigsberg. These priceless panels haven’t been found till nowadays. At the moment the works on the reproduction of the architectural decor are held. 6 tons of amber will be needed. The amber room was the only one in the world where amber was used for decoration of the walls.There’re authentic amber items on display which have been preserved.