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Russia

Architecture of Russia. Must see and must visit landmarks

Alexander Palace, Saint Petersburg

Location on the map:     Interesting facts:
» The Alexander Palace is one of the imperial palaces of Tsarskoye Selo (now Pushkin), built by order of Empress Catherine II as a gift for the wedding of her grandson, Grand Duke Alexander Pavlovich.
» In 1918, the Alexander Palace was opened to the public as a museum exhibition which included historic interiors on the ground floor in the central part of the building and residential apartments of the Romanov family in the right wing of the palace.
» Internal and external decoration of the palace has no glamour and excessive luxury. Inside the palace there is no gilding, no paintings, and no ornaments.
» The beauty of this structure isn’t achieved by decorative and architectural solutions.

Alexandrinsky Theatre, Saint Petersburg

Location on the map:     Interesting facts:
» The Alexandrinsky Theatre is one of the oldest theaters in Russia that has survived to these days.
» This theater is considered the mother of all Russian theaters and the date of its foundation is a birthday of Russian professional theater.
» The Alexandrinsky Theatre premiered almost all works by Russian drama classics.
» After the reconstruction in 2005-2006, the Alexandrinsky Theater was restored in its historic appearance.
» Currently, the Alexandrinsky Theatre has become one of the most advanced venues in terms of modern engineering of stage.

Bolshoi Theater, Moscow

Location on the map:     Interesting facts:
» The Bolshoi Theatre is one of the largest in Russia and one of the most important theaters in the world.
» The complex of buildings is situated in the center of Moscow, at the Theatre Square.
» Integral part of the theater is holding chamber and symphony concerts, which allows acquainting the public with the works of all musical genres.
» In the second half of the 19th century the Bolshoi Theatre was considered one of the best in the world for its acoustic properties. That was due to Albert Kavos, who had designed the auditorium like a huge musical instrument.
» Masterpieces of Russian musical theater of 19-20th centuries occupy a dominant place in the repertoire of the Bolshoi Theatre.

Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, Moscow

Location on the map:     Interesting facts:
» The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour is the Russian Orthodox Cathedral, not far from the Kremlin on the left bank of the Moscow River.
» Existing facilities are 1990s re-creation of the same name temple created in the 19th century.
» The original temple was erected in memory about Napoleon's invasion. Construction of the temple has lasted almost 44 years, but later the building was destroyed on December 5, 1931 in the midst of Stalin's reconstruction.
» Funerals of people significant for modern Russian history and culture were held in the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour.
» Great Orthodox relics and shrines such as a particle of the Robe of the Lord, the ark with holy relics, Reese of Blessed Virgin Mary, the relics of John the Baptist, the nail of the Holy Cross, and others are exhibited in the temple.

Cathedral of the Annunciation, Moscow

Location on the map:     Interesting facts:
» The Cathedral of the Annunciation is the most famous temple of Moscow. It’s situated on Kremlin's Cathedral Square.
» One of the oldest temples of Moscow, it was founded in the late 14th century as the home church of duke, and then the royal family at the Grand Kremlin Palace.
» The Cathedral of the Annunciation is small, as it was designed primarily for the family of Grand Duke. The central space of the church features underlined vertical proportions: torispherical arches of cross arms, stepped arches, and the high drum of the central dome.
» The Cathedral of the Annunciation keeps many Orthodox shrines. The main shrine of the temple is the miraculous icon of Our Lady of the Don by Theophanes the Greek. The icon is situated on the left side of the king's gate.
» From 1993 every April 7 the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia conducts liturgy there.

Catherine Palace, Saint Petersburg

Location on the map:     Interesting facts:
» The Catherine Palace is one of the largest palaces in the vicinity of St. Petersburg; that’s former imperial palace.
» The building was laid in 1717 by the order of Russian Empress Catherine I.
» The Catherine Palace was built in Late Baroque style.
» One of the most famous rooms in the Catherine Palace is the Amber room, which was decorated mainly with amber.
» During World War II, German invaders stole the Amber Room decoration and put it in the Amber Museum in Konigsberg. That was the last place where it was shown.

Church of the Savior on Blood, Saint Petersburg

Location on the map:     Interesting facts:
» The Church of the Savior on Blood is one of the main sights of St. Petersburg, which is the museum and a monument of Russian architecture.
» The temple was erected on the site, where in 1881 Alexander II was killed. The temple was built as a memorial to the King Martyr.
» The height of the central dome of the temple is 81 m; the temple accommodates up to 1,600 persons.
» The building represents a congregated image of the Russian Orthodox church. The architecture of the temple is an example of the late stage in evolution of the Russian style.
» The Church of the Savior on Blood is a veritable museum of mosaic, covering an area of 7,065 square meters. Mosaic was created in the workshop of Russian artist Vladimir Frolov on sketches by more than 30 artists

Dormition Cathedral, Moscow

Location on the map:     Interesting facts:
» The Dormition Cathedral is the oldest completely preserved building in Moscow located on the Cathedral Square of the Moscow Kremlin.
» The Dormition Cathedral was built in 1475 - 1479 under the guidance of Italian architect Aristotle Fioravanti and was the main temple of the Russian state.
» Currently the Dormition Cathedral houses the museum. However, it conducts service on some days with the blessing of the Patriarch.
» The Dormition Cathedral keeps the Nail and the staff of St. Peter, Metropolitan of Kiev and All Russia.
» The cathedral has long been the burial place of most of the Moscow saints.

Gregory Thaumaturgus Сhurch, Moscow

Location on the map:   Interesting facts: » The Gregory Thaumaturgus Church is the architectural monument of the 17th century.
» The temple hosts regular liturgy, all the sacraments and rites.
» The sisterhood of the Icon of the Mother of God and Orthodox school act at the Church.
» The baptistery for adults, the church fabrics shop, stalls with Orthodox literature and utensils work in the temple.
» Male choir sings at ministers.
» The temple has many shrines, such as relics of the Holy Fathers of the Kiev Caves and other saints.

Ivan the Great Bell Tower, Moscow

Location on the map:     Interesting facts:
» Ivan the Great Bell Tower is the church bell tower situated on Cathedral Square in Kremlin.
» Ivan the Great Bell Tower is an example of the influence of the Italian tradition on freestanding bell towers construction.
» After increasing the height to 81 m in 1600, the bell tower was the tallest building in Moscow before the beginning of the 18th century.
» In the old days royal decrees were read aloud from the belfry.
» In total there are 34 bells on the tower.

Kazan Cathedral, Saint Petersburg

Location on the map:     Interesting facts:
» The Kazan Cathedral is the outstanding monument of architecture and fine art in Russia.
» The cathedral was built in the first half of the 19th century in the Empire style imitating the temples of the Roman Empire.
» The Kazan Cathedral is richly decorated outside and inside with sculptures created by Russia's best sculptors.
» An integral part of the interior of the cathedral is painting of the iconostasis of, the walls, and dome poles.
» The main treasure of the temple is a revered copy of the Our Lady of Kazan.

Kremlin, Moscow

Location on the map:     Interesting facts:
» The Kremlin is the oldest part of the city, the main socio-political and historical-artistic complex of the city, the official residence of the President of the Russian Federation.
» Existing walls and towers of Kremlin were built in 1485 - 1516. The total length of the walls is 2,235 m, the height is of 5 to 19 m, and the thickness is from 3.5 to 6.5 m.
» Walls form an irregular triangle.
» There are 20 towers along the walls. Three towers standing in the corners of the triangle have a circular cross section, and the rest have square section. The tallest tower is the Trinity Tower of 79.3 m.
» The Moscow Kremlin is the biggest fortress in Europe, which has been operating until this day.

Kunstkamera, Saint Petersburg

Location on the map:     Interesting facts:
» Kunstkamera is the first museum in Russia, established by Emperor Peter I.
» The museum has a unique collection of antiques, revealing the history and life of many nations.
» Many tourists know this museum for the collection of freaks that contains exhibits with anatomical deformities and various natural rarities.
» Due to the abundance of material in the 1830s, Kunstkamera has been divided into a number of museums: the museum of zoology, ethnography, botany, and mineralogy.

Mausoleum, Moscow

Location on the map:     Interesting facts:
» The Mausoleum on Red Square in Moscow is the Lenin's tomb, one of the vertices of Soviet architecture.
» The Pyramid of the Mausoleum consists of five uneven ledges. The length of the Mausoleum on the facade is 24 meters, and the height is 12 meters.
» Visitors enter the mausoleum through the main entrance and come down the stairs to the left via 3-meter wide steps to the memorial hall. The hall has the shape of a cube (edge length of 10 meters) with a stepped ceiling.
» Visitors bypass the sarcophagus on three sides via low podium, leave the memorial hall, go up the stairs and right out of the mausoleum through the door on the right wall.
» Currently the Mausoleum is opened every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday from 10.00am to 1.00pm.
Russia guide chapters 1 2 3

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What to see in top cities of Russia

Moscow
Walking in the Park of the 50th Anniversary of October Revolution, you should definitely find the monument called My Family. The original monument consisting of four different hands was opened in 2008. You can take very interesting photos with the unusual monument. Walking in the centre of Moscow, you can hardly imagine that among the stone streets and traffic, there’s a romantic corner of nature hiding nearby. At Chistye Prudy, there’s an old Soviet dovecote that managed to survive … Read more
Ekaterinburg
In 2012, Yekaterinburg hosted Stenograffia art festival that gathered best graffiti artists of Russia in one place. The city changed drastically during this amazing event, and walls of many old houses were decorated with stylish abstract drawings. One of the most unusual graffitis can be found on the street of Malyshev Street . Just find the building 140 and you will see it. This street is located not far from Komsomolskaya metro station, so even inexperienced tourists will have no difficulty … Read more

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