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Museum ang Galleries Page 1
The Central Navy Museum
Russia's main naval museum tells the fascinating story of the development, growth and achievements of the Russian navy. With a collection of over 800 thousand exhibits, the museum displays some fascinating naval memorabilia, armaments, authentic maritime equipment, quality models of historically significant vessels and numerous paintings by marine artists.
The pride of the museum has to be the boat of Peter the Great, known as the "Grandfather of the Russian Navy". It was on this very boat that Peter learned to sail as a teenager and acquired his fascination for the sea, sea faring and shipbuilding. This fascination later prompted Peter the Great to found the Russian navy. If you are interested in military and naval memorabilia, this is THE place to go!
The museum is located on the eastern tip of Vasilyevsky Island, in the impressive white, pillared building of the former Stock Exchange. The building, inspired by the best examples of ancient Greek and Roman architecture, was constructed by the architect Thomas de Tomon between 1805 and 1810. Back in the late 18th - early 19th century this part of Vasilyevsky Island was still a seaport, and visitors can see high up on the portico of the Stock Exchange building an imposing statue of Neptune, the ancient God of the Sea. Two Rostral Columns, monuments to Russia's many naval victories, flank the modern home of the Naval Museum.
Visitors enter the museum through a small side door that faces the Hermitage.
Address: Birzhevaya Ploschad 4
Metro: Vasileostrovskaya or Nevsky Prospekt
Telephone: 7 (812) 328-2501
Open: 10:30 am to 4:45 pm
Closed: Monday, Tuesday, and the last Thursday of the month
Peter and Paul Fortress
Peter the Great founded the city of St. Petersburg in 1703 and the very first building to be constructed was the Peter and Paul Fortress. Today the fortress is one of St. Petersburg's major tourist attractions and has become the emblem of the city. It is also home to the headquarters of the St. Petersburg City History Museum, which displays collections throughout the fortress complex.
- City History Museum
- Exhibitions
- History
- Petrovskye Gate
- Peter and Paul Cathedral
- “The Angel”
- Grand Dukes Mausoleum
- Commandants’ Cemetery
- Commandants’ House
- Engineers’ House
- Statue of Peter the Great
- Trubetskoy Bastion Prison
- Neva (Nevskiye) Gate
- “The Old Printing House”
- Walk along the Southern Wall
- 12 o’clock cannot shot?
- Gazodinamicheskaya Laboratory
- The Mint
- Helicopter Tours
Alexander Pushkin Museum and Memorial Apartment
This literary museum, dedicated to Russia's most celebrated poet, stands just a few yards away from Palace Square and two blocks from Nevsky Prospekt on the quiet embankment of the Moika River. The museum is housed in Alexander Pushkin's memorial apartment where he lived between 1836 and 1837, and died after being mortally wounded in a dramatic duel. On a wave of nationwide grief for the untimely death of this major Russian literary figure, Pushkin's apartment was carefully preserved and remains a fine example of a nobleman's residence of the 1830s. Visitors can step into the museum and see the study of the great poet and writer of the famous epic novel in verse, "Eugene Onegin", and the well-known story "The Queen of Spades", both of which were later turned into operas by the great Russian composer Tchaikovsky.
The museum boasts numerous literary and historical exhibitions, charting the life, work and times of arguably Russia's greatest writer.
Address: 191186, Naberezhnaya Reki Moyki 12
Metro: Nevsky Prospekt/Gostiny Dvor
Telephone: +7 (812) 311-3531, +7 (812) 314-00-06
Fax: +7 (812) 311-3801
Open: Wednesday to Monday, 10:40am to 5pm
Closed: Tuesday and the last Friday of each month
Russian Ethnography Museum
While the British Empire brought together different nations from all over the world, the Russian Empire of the 18th - early 20th century united the peoples who lived on the vast territory between the Baltic Sea in the West and the Pacific Ocean in the East. The lifestyles of all those peoples are reflected in the array of curious artifacts on display at the Ethnography Museum. The collection provides some marvelous insights into the history and culture of Russians, Ukrainians and Belorussians, as well as the peoples and tribes of the Caucasus, Central Asia and Siberia.
Address: 191011, Inzhenernaya Ulitsa 4/1
Metro: Nevsky Prospekt/Gostiny Dvor
Telephone: +7 (812) 219-1710
Fax: +7 (812) 315-8502
Open: Tuesday to Sunday, 11am to 6pm
Closed: Monday
The Russian Museum
In March 1998 the State Russian Museum, the world's largest museum of Russian Art, celebrated its Centennial. Having undergone an extensive renovation program, the museum's main building, the Mikhailovsky Palace, has now been restored to its former glory and is open to visitors as usual.
The museum, originally called the "Russian Museum of Emperor Alexander III", was established in 1895 and opened its doors to the public on March 7 (19) 1898. The first few pictures that formed the original collection were donated by the Hermitage, the Academy of Fine Arts and the various royal palaces surrounding St. Petersburg.
Since then the collection has grown rapidly and the museum now hosts exhibitions in four separate venues in St. Petersburg's city center. All the branches of the museum are within short walking distance of each other and the city's central tourist attractions:
The Mikhailovsky Palace and the Benois Building
This is the main building of the museum and showcases examples of Russian art from icons dating back to as early as the 14th century to modern canvasses from the beginning of the 20th century. The museum also hosts regular temporary exhibitions.
The Mikhailovsky (St. Michael’s) Castle
Hosts a permanent collection of Russian Official Portraits plus regular temporary exhibitions.
The Marble Palace
Modern Russian art from the early 20th century to the present plus an insightful display from the Rossica Collection - paintings by foreign artists resident in Russia. Also hosts regular temporary exhibitions
The Stroganov Palace
Collection of Russian icons, once owned by the Stroganov family and a display of historical waxwork figures.
Admission:
All four branches of the Russian Museum are open Wednesday to Monday, 10 am to 6 pm (last admission at 5 pm)
N.B.! All four branches of the State Russian Museum are closed on Tuesdays
The Stroganov Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia
The Russian Museum is still mid-way through an extensive restoration program for the Stroganov Palace, but a number of rooms are already open to the public and feature displays Russian Icons from the Stroganov Private Collection. The palace also houses an excellent exhibition of waxwork figures dedicated to the Romanov Dynasty (you will need separate ticket to visit the waxwork section). One of the exhibition's guides will take you around the selection of figures, recounting the history and notable events in the life of each personality. English tours can usually be organized in advance.
There are no temporary exhibitions being staged at the moment.
Address: Nevsky Prospekt 17
Metro: Nevsky Prospekt/Gostiny Dvor, exit to Kanal Griboyedova
Telephone: +7 (812) 311-23-60
Open: The Stroganov Palace is open Wednesday to Sunday, 10am to 6pm (last admission at 5pm)
Monday, 10am to 5pm (last admission at 4pm)
Closed: on Tuesdays
St Isaac's Cathedral
St. Isaac's Cathedral was originally the city's main church and the largest cathedral in Russia. It was built between 1818 and 1858, by the French-born architect Auguste Montferrand, to be one of the most impressive landmarks of the Russian Imperial capital. One hundred and eighty years later the gilded dome of St. Isaac's still dominates the skyline of St. Petersburg. Although the cathedral is considerably smaller than the newly rebuilt Church of Christ the Savior in Moscow, it boasts much more impressive fades and interiors.
The cathedral's facades are decorated with sculptures and massive granite columns (made of single pieces of red granite), while the interior is adorned with incredibly detailed mosaic icons, paintings and columns made of malachite and lapis lazuli. A large, brightly colored stained glass window of the "Resurrected Christ" takes pride of place inside the main altar. The church, designed to accommodate 14,000 standing worshipers, was closed in the early 1930s and reopened as a museum. Today, church services are held here only on major ecclesiastical occasions.
Foreign visitors should buy entrance tickets just inside the right-hand door in the southern facade (not at the street-level ticket booth). We also recommend that you climb the 300 steps up to the cathedral's colonnade, and enjoy the magnificent views over the city.
Address: Isaakievskaya Ploschad 1
Metro: Nevsky Prospekt/Gostiny Dvor
Telephone: +7 (812) 315-9732
The Cathedral Open: Thursday to Tuesday, 11am to 7pm, last admission is at 6pm
The Colonnade observation point is open: Thursday to Tuesday, 11am to 6pm,
last admission is at 5pm
Closed: Wednesdays
N.B.! No photography or video-filming is allowed in the Cathedral or at the Colonnade.
The Summer Palace of Emperor Peter the Great
Emperor Peter the Great's private palace was built by between 1710 and 1712 by St. Petersburg's most celebrated architect, Domenico Trezzini. The small palace, built in the delightful Summer Garden, contains just 14 rooms and was the summer residence of Peter the Great and his family from 1712 until the Emperor's death in 1725.
The two-story yellow palace is very modest in appearance for a royal residence. Its facade is simple and features only a few depictions of mythological subjects in relief. Unlike the old palaces of 17th century Muscovy, this palace has a high roof and large windows, which let plenty of natural light into the interior. During its construction, its design was referred to as "Dutch".
Each floor of the palace consists of seven rooms. Peter the Great resided on the lower floor of the palace while his wife preferred the upper floor. The original rooms were decorated with oak panels, paintings, engravings, beautiful painted stoves and period artifacts, many of which belonged to Tsar Peter himself. Although many of the palace's interiors were redesigned in the 18th and the 19th centuries, they were all meticulously restored to their former glory soon after the end of WWII.
The palace stands on the bank of the Fontanka River where it flows into the mighty Neva
River. During the time of Peter the Great a small harbor was constructed next to the entrance to the palace, enabling the Tsar to sail right up to the front door of his residence. A rather overgrown park filled with marble statues and park pavilions now surrounds the Summer Palace, but in the early 18th century, the garden was much more formal and was filled with trimmed trees and bushes (collected from all over Europe), fountains and even a grotto. The park was the site of the famous "Assemblies", social gatherings of St. Petersburg's nobility, prominent citizens and guests of the city. These "Assemblies" inevitably included enormous feasts, concerts, fireworks and all manner of entertainments.
Visitors are welcome to tour the rooms once occupied by Peter the Great and his wife Catherine, the future empress Catherine I. If you have not pre-arranged a guided tour, tickets can be purchased in a little green booth opposite the palace.
Where? The Summer Garden
Metro: Nevsky Prospekt
Telephone: +7 (812) 314-0456
Open: 10am to 6pm
Closed: on Tuesdays and the first Monday of each month
The Aleksander Suvorov Memorial Museum
This museum is devoted to one of Russia's most outstanding generals, the military strategist and army commander Aleksandr Vasilyevich Suvorov (1730-1800), who excelled in his service to the state during the reign of Empress Catherine the Great and Emporer Paul I. Suvorov's charismatic personality won him respect and admiration among his troops, a crucial element in helping the general to achieve his military goals. Suvorov rose to fame during the Crimean Wars against Napoleon's France, when he defeated several leading French generals in the challenging terrain of the Alps.
The newly refurbished museum is packed with military memorabilia from Suvorov's times, including weapons, banners, uniforms and excellent models and large panoramas recreating historic battlefields.
When passing by the museum's host building, take a look at the two large mosaics, which decorate its facade. Both are based on historical events; the left-hand one features "Suvorov Crossing the Alps" and the right-hand one illustrates "Suvorov leaving home for the campaign of 1799".
Address: 193015, Ulitsa Saltykova-Schedrina 43
Metro: Chernyshevskaya
Telephone: +7 (812) 274-2628
The Yelagin Palace
This classical gray-and-white mansion stands in the lovely park, which covers the whole of St. Petersburg's small Yelagin Island. Once the property of the prominent nobleman, Ivan Yelagin, the palace was bought by the Imperial family and rebuilt between 1818 and 1822 by the famous Italian architect for Empress Maria Fedorovna, the mother of Emperor Alexander I. The palace remained a royal residence until 1917.
After having been virtually destroyed by the Nazi bombardments of 1942, the palace's stylish interiors have now been fully restored to their former elegance. The palace became a museum in 1987 and visitors are free to roam around the building's Oval Hall, the Porcelain Room, the Dining Room and the other impressive interiors. Frequent temporary exhibitions are held in the palace and the garden pavilions. The adjoining park and Butter Meadow (Masliany Lug) is a delight to wander through and provides some fantastic photo opportunities.
Other St. Petersburg buildings designed by the architect Carlo Rossi include the Army General Staff Building on Palace Square, the Anichkov Palace on Nevsky Prospekt, the Aleksandrinsky Theater and the Mikhailovsky Palace (the Russian Museum).
Address: 197000, Yelagin Ostrov 1
Metro: Chernaya Rechka
Telephone: 239-1130, 239-0141
Open: 10am to 6pm
Closed: Monday and Tuesday
The Yusupov Palace
he story of Rasputin's murder unfolds here!
On a quiet stretch of the Moika River stands a long yellow building, which was once the residence of the wealthy and respected Yusupov family and which saw one of the most dramatic episodes in Russia's history - the murder of Grigory Rasputin. In 1916 a group of the city's noble elite, including one of the Grand Dukes and led by the prominent anglophile Prince Felix Yusupov, conspired to kill the one man who they felt threatened the stability of an already war-torn Russian Empire. Grigory Rasputin, a peasant and self-proclaimed holy man, had gradually won favor with the Tsar's family through his alleged supernatural powers. His control over the decisions of the family and the Russian ruler himself, put him in a potentially manipulative position and posed a very real threat to their power. Consequently, Rasputin was murdered at the Yusupov Palace on the night of December 16-17 1916, and his death proved to be an almost greater mystery than his life had been.
As excellent tour-guides lead you through the beautifully recreated interiors of the palace, the full story of the murder of Rasputin will unfold before you.
The Rasputin exhibition can be visited only with a tour. English-language tours are available by prior arrangement (tel. 314-9883). Russian-language tours for individual tourists start at 1pm and 4pm.
A separate tour includes the Yusupov Palace's magnificent interiors. English-language tours are available by prior arrangement (tel. 314-9883). Russian-language tours for individual tourists start at 11:10am, 12:10pm, 1:10pm, 2:10pm and 3:10pm. Groups are encouraged to book in advance.
Address: 190000, Naberezhnaya Reki Moyki 94
Telephone: +7 (812) 314-9883
Open: By special arrangement (Call in advance)
Zoological Museum
St. Petersburg's impressive zoological collection consists of over 17 million species, although only 500 thousand species can be displayed in the museum's current 19th century home. Exhibits range from enormous dinosaur, mammoths and whale skeletons to stuffed animals and birds and a unique collection of butterflies. Although the museum's exhibits are rather low-tech and old-fashioned, future funding projects hope to liven up the museum with more interactive displays and multimedia presentations.
The museum developed from the original zoological collection of the Kunstkammer, which was established in 1832 and opened to the public in 1838. Since 1898 the museum has occupied its current location, which previously housed part of the city's Sea Port Authorities. Today the turreted building of the Zoological Museum blends beautifully with the architectural ensemble of the Strelka of Vasilyevsky Island. Many locals call this district of St. Petersburg the "Museum Town" due to the large number of museums concentrated in the area (the Navy Museum, the Ethnography of the World Museum a.k.a. the Kunstkammer etc.).
Address: Universitetskaya Nabereshnaya 1
Metro: Vasileostrovskaya
Telephone: +7 (812) 328-0112
Open: 11am to 5pm
Closed: On Fridays
