Tag: Russia

Botanic Garden of Peter the Great

It is around 4 degrees Celsius in Saint Petersburg when they arrive at the Botanic Garden of Peter the Great. The visit is well planned, just in time to tag along with the guided tour. The guide is the head gardener for the gardens. The tour language is, of course, Russian. But they have their personal translator and guide to assist.

The first of more than 20 greenhouses is home to a paradise of ferns. Already it is warmer than outside, and the humidity is immediately evident. The other spontaneous relief comes from the fact that all the plants are labelled. International conventions of nomenclature apply. As well, the date of the plant’s introduction to the garden, is shown on the label. So, what is missed in the commentary is more than compensated by the labelling.

The tour begins ….
Clear Botanical labelling

Over the next hour or so, outer garments are removed as the group is led through temperate zones, to arid desert, to tropical and sub-tropical forests. True to the charter of a botanical garden, every continent is visited along the way. There are sighs when the age of some specimens is explained, over 200 years in some cases. The successors to Peter the Great have done a great job, compiling and nurturing this collection.

Ancient ferns
Huge elk horns
The Botanic Garden of Peter the Great
Various cacti
Abundant cacti
Impressive cacti
Diverse succulents
Giant agave
An unusual agave
An unusual flowering tree
Flourishing bromeliads
Flourishing bromeliads
Epiphytes doing well
Tropical fruit
Orchids
Orchids
Sunbaking turtles
Anthuriums

Emerging from the last greenhouse, hats, scarves and coats are rapidly put on. It is still very chilly on the outside.

Peter the Great founded this garden in 1714, initially as a herb garden for medicinal purposes. It became known as the Imperial Botanic Garden in 1823. It is the oldest botanical garden in Russia, and now belongs to the Komarov Botanical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The total garden occupies 18.9 ha. The garden features 25 greenhouses constructed in 1823-4. Not all are open to the public, and those that are open only allow guided visits. The park is closed to visitors from October to May.

Weekly Photo Challenge : Bridge

From the decorative, to the purely functional, Saint Petersburg is host to very many bridges over its canals and rivers. For the tourist from ‘down under’, they are symbolic of  getting to know the culture and people of this distant country.

Decorative Bridge over Moyka River
Decorative Bridge near Church of The Saviour on Spilled Blood
Functional Bridge near Church of The Saviour on Spilled Blood
Millionaire Street Bridge over the Winter Canal
Bridge over the Winter Canal from the canal
Bridge over the Winter Canal from Millionaire Street Bridge
Pevcheskiy Bridge over the Moyka River (load bearing)

Weekly Photo Challenge, Bridge

Saint Petersburg : The Hermitage, Part 1

Walking from our St Petersburg hotel alongside the Moyka River, we soon come upon the broad entrance to the Palace Square. Directly ahead and towering over the centre of the square (actually an irregular shape) is Alexander’s Column.  To the left, a long curved neo-classical facade greets us, but to the right is the distinctive blue and white facade of The Winter Palace, home of The Hermitage Museum. We really have arrived!

Palace Square
Alexander’s Column
The Winter Palace

Our tickets were prepaid, so we are able to bypass the queue. On this day, the queue is around ten minutes, but we can see how it is sometimes up to an hour. After collecting our audio guides, we head for the Grand Staircase. So does everyone else! Everyone wants photos. Everyone tries for the best angle.

Heading towards the Grand Staircase
Passage, looking back from Grand Staircase
Grand Staircase, L’Hermitage Museum
Grand Staircase
Grand Staircase
Grand Staircase
Balcony, Grand Staircase
Ceiling, Grand Staircase

The audio guide is excellent. The first number pressed gives a ‘how to’ and a description of the Grand Staircase follows. After that, it is just a matter of selecting the number corresponding to the room or artwork for which a description is needed.

In a future article, we will share some art that caught our eyes. Perhaps even a comment or two. For now, join us on a walk, in no particular order, through some of the passageways and rooms in this magnificent museum. By the way, don’t ever forget to look up towards the ceiling!

The Hermitage Ceilings
The Hermitage – an Avenue of Doorways
The Hermitage
The Hermitage- Cafe and Internet
The Hermitage Collection
The Hermitage Collection
The Hermitage Collection
The Hermitage
The Hermitage
Majolica Room
The Hermitage
Raphael Loggias
Raphael Loggias Ceilings

 

The State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg was founded in 1764 by Catherine the Great, and has been open to the public since 1852. It is said that “if you stand in front of every piece of art in the collection for half a minute, you will be there for over eight years”. Clearly this refers to the entire collection of over 3 million items, much of which is in storage and not on permanent show.

Of six buildings of the main museum complex, five, named the Winter Palace, Small Hermitage, Old Hermitage, New Hermitage and Hermitage Theatre, are open to the public. The entrance ticket for foreign tourists costs more than the fee paid by citizens of Russia and Belarus. However, entrance is free of charge the first Thursday of every month for all visitors, and free daily for students and children. The museum is closed on Mondays.