We're in the countryside today, south of St Petersburg. First stop was Catherine Palace about 40 minutes drive out of St Petersburg. Was interesting to see the number of canals (Peter the Great had intended a lot more) and the crisscrossing of roads to accommodate.
Catherine Palace originated in 1717 when Catherine I of Russia hired German architect Johann-Friedrich Braunstein to construct a summer palace for her pleasure. In 1733, Empress Elizabeth commissioned Mikhail Zemtsov and Andrei Kvasov to expand the Catherine Palace. Empress Elizabeth, however, found her mother's residence outdated and incommodious and in May 1752 asked her court architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli to demolish the old structure and replace it with a much grander edifice in a flamboyant Rococo style. Construction lasted for four years, and on 30 July 1756, the architect presented the brand-new 325-meter-long palace to the Empress. More than 100 kilograms of gold were used to gild the sophisticated stucco façade and numerous statues erected on the roof. In front of the palace, a great formal garden was laid out. Upon Catherine's death in 1796, the palace was abandoned in favour of Pavlovsk Palace. Subsequent monarchs preferred to reside in the nearby Alexander Palace. When the German forces retreated after the siege of Leningrad during World War II, they intentionally destroyed the residence leaving only the hollow shell of the palace behind. Prior to World War II, Soviet archivists managed to document a fair amount of the interior, which proved of great importance in reconstructing the palace. Although the largest part of the reconstruction was completed in time for the Tercentenary of St. Petersburg in 2003, much work is still required to restore the palace to its former glory.
Once again, we were the first people into Catherine Palace as they had opened early for the Cruise ships. Even then we had quite a wait to get in. Also once again there was lots of security – no backpacks or coats and we also had to put covers over our shoes.
Of particular interest was Katya's description of how the Palace was damaged during World War II and its restoration – some of it paid for by the German Government. We finished with a walk through the gardens back to our bus and then on to lunch.
Back on the bus, we headed back to the Bay of Finland to Peterhof and the Grand Palace and Grounds. Same requirements here. No coats or backpacks, shoe covers and in addition – no photos inside. Versailles was the inspiration for Peter the Great's desire to build an imperial palace in the suburbs of his new city. Peterhof - which means "Peter's Court" in German - became the site for the Tsar's Monplaisir Palace, and then of the original Grand Palace. The estate was equally popular with Peter's daughter, Empress Elizabeth, who ordered the expansion of the Grand Palace and greatly extended the park and the famous system of fountains, including the truly spectacular Grand Cascade. Improvements to the park continued throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. Catherine the Great, after leaving her own mark on the park, moved the court to Pushkin, but Peterhof once again became the official Imperial Residence in the reign of Nicholas I, who ordered the building of the modest Cottage Palace in 1826. Like Catherine Palace and almost all St. Petersburg's suburban estates, Peterhof was ravaged by German troops during the Second World War. It was, however, one of the first to be resurrected and, thanks to the work of military engineers as well as over 1,000 volunteers, the Lower Park opened to the public in 1945 and the facades of the Grand Palace were restored in 1952.
After seeing the decadence of the royal family in Russia and the way the Russian people were treated one can understand why the Russian Revolution happened. It's just a shame that they didn't get the same outcome in Russia as they did in France (for example). Katya was quite open about how things are in Russia today and not too much of it is good. Corruption, in particular, is a huge issue. I guess there is a lesson here about the differentiation between rich and poor, something that is becoming an increasing issue in the western world.
Most of the drive back to the ship was on the expressway. You would have to say that the road system here in St Petersburg is first class and this applies to city streets as well – most are quite wide. I guess this is because St Petersburg is a fairly modern city, with a history only from 1703 and that many of the streets were initially intended to be canals.
Back on the ship for an early tea. We were sitting in the dining room at the back of the ship when we weighed anchor and headed for Helsinki. An early night tonight.
