Exploring the city

I. Read the texts using a dictionary, if necessary.

II. Tell the class about one or two major sights of the city that you like most. Use some additional information of your own.

III. Conduct an exertions in our city. Use photos, pictures, maps, etc.

a) The University Embankment – the Spit of Vasilievsky Island;

b) The Palace Square –the Admiralty - St. Isaac’s Square;

c) Peter and Paul Fortress – the Summer Garden – the Field of Mars;

d) The Griboyedov Channel – the Kazan Cathedral;

e) A Walk Along Nevsky Avenue.

You may also choose the route to your liking.

IV. Write a composition:

1. “I love you, Peter’s creation…”
2. St. Petersburg – One of the Most Beautiful Cities in the World.
3. St. Petersburg – an Open-Air Museum.

Text 1. A Kaleidoscope of Palaces

There is perhaps no other place in the world with as many palaces as St. Petersburg. No one would try to tell the exact number of them. They contribute to a severe, well laid-out urban landscape of St. Petersburg. Their history comprises both the history of the Northern capital and the people who built it.

The Menshikov Palace. Alexander Menshikov was Peter the Great’s closest associate and friend and the first Governor General of St. Petersburg. In 1709 Peter presented Menshikov with Vasilievsky Island and Alexander built his palace their. His first palace was made of wood, and in 1710 a large stone palace with a garden was laid. It was the most luxurious building in St. Petersburg. Its style combined traditional Russian and West European methods and forms of architecture. Lavish festivities, great banquets and official diplomatic receptions were held there. Since 1731 the palace housed a privileged military educational establishment, known later as the first Cadet School.

It was rebuilt several times, and only at the end of the 20^th century it was restored to its original appearance. In 1981 it became a branch of State Hermitage.

Commentary: associate – помощник, партнер; banquet – банкет; festivity – празднество, торжество; Governor General – Генерал-губернатор; lavish – расточительный; luxurious – роскошный.

The Mariinsky Palace was built between 1839 and 1844 by Andrey Stakenschneider for Maria, Nicholas I’s daughter. As a wedding present Nicholas commissioned to build a magnificent palace on one of the main squares of St. Petersburg when his daughter married the Duke of Leuchtenberg. In 1884 her descendants sold this palace to the Exchequer. After being rebuilt in 1906 – 1907 it became the seat of the State Council, the highest legislative body of the Russian Empire, and governmental center for St. Petersburg.

The Palace was constructed in a classical style. Fire-resistant materials and the latest architectural technologies were used by the architect. He demonstrated rich fantasy in designing the interiors of the palace.

The Mariinsky Palace was never turned into a museum, unlike many other buildings of the same status.

In 1859 a monument to Nicholas I was erected in front of the palace. The tsar is depicted in cavalry uniform and a helmet decorated with an eagle. The rider is sitting proudly and haughtily. The sculptor conveyed the tsar’s love for military exercise, his vanity, cruelty and arrogance. The most impressive thing about this monument is that it is an example of a statue on two points of support.

Commentary: arrogance – высокомерие; to commission – давать заказ (архитектору, художнику); to convey – выражать, передавать; State Council – Гос. Дума; descendant – потомок, наследник; duke – герцог; Exchequer – Казначейство (Министерство финансов); haughtily ['ho:tili] – надменно, высокомерно; helmet – шлем; vanity – тщеславие.

The Marble Palace is located not far from the Field of Mars. After the foundation of St. Petersburg there was the Post Yard with a hostel there.

The palace was erected between 1768 and 1785. It was intended for Catherine II’s favourite Count Grigory Orlov, but he died before the construction ended. After that the palace was the residence of the last Polish King, then it belonged to Tsesarevich Konstantin Pavlovich and Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich.

The palace was given its name because 32 sorts of marble were used in its façade and interior decorations. It is one of the buildings where natural stones of different kinds are used instead of more common plaster. The style of this building represents a transition from Baroque to Classicism.

Commentary: Count – граф; Grand Duke – Великий Князь; hostel – постоялый двор (гостиница); marble – мрамор; plaster – штукатурка; Post Yard – Почтовый Двор; transition – переход

The Mikhailovsky Palace was built between 1819 and 1825. The palace was erected for the youngest son of Paul I, Grand Duke Michael, Nicholas I’s brother.

The façade overlooks the square and the street leading to Nevsky Avenue. Rossi, the architect, considered it reminiscent of Louvre.

The main staircase and the White Hall have survived to this day in their original appearance.

In 1898 the palace was turned into a Museum of Russian Art. It was Emperor Alexander III’s will. The core of the collection consisted of items that had belonged to members of the Romanov family and of pictures from the Russian Picture Gallery in the Hermitage and the Academy of Arts. The museum had 37 exhibition halls. There were 434 pieces of art in it.

At present the collection including painting, graphic art, sculpture, decorative and folk art amounts to more than 400,000 exhibits representing national art from the 11^th century. Particularly rich is the art collection of the 18^th to 20^th centuries. It is the world’s largest collection.

In front of the palace in the center of the garden there is a monument to the great Russian poet Alexander Pushkin unveiled in 1957.

Commentary: exhibit –экспонат; to include – включать; folk – народный; Grand Duke – Великий Князь; to overlook – выходить на; piece – зд. картинa; reminiscent – напоминание; staircase – лестница; to unveil – торжественно открывать; will – завещание.

The Stroganov Palace is a fine monument to the Elizabethan Baroque. By its architecture it is very similar to the Winter Palace though it was erected a bit earlier, in 1753-1754.

The palace belonged to the counts Stroganovs. Alexander Stroganov was President of the Academy of Arts, so the palace was gradually turning into a repository of art collections of Western European and Russian painting.. The palace remained property of the Stroganov family until 1917 and after the revolution it was turned into a historical museum of daily life. In 1988 it became a branch of the State Russian Museum housing an exhibition of decorative and applied arts.

Commentary: applied art – прикладное искусство; count – граф; repository – хранилище; to turn (into) – превращать

The Sheremetev Palace is also known by the name the “Fountain House” as it overlooks the Fontanka River.

In 1712 Peter the Great presented this plot of land to Field Marshal Boris Sheremetev. But Count Sheremetev had never lived there himself as he had a splendid house not far from Millionnaya Street. The first owner of the house was his son.

It was a wooden building at first but in 1750-1755 a big two-storeyed stone palace was erected. Behind it there was a spacious park, a regular garden with classical sculptures and fountains, a grotto and a Chinese bower.

In front of the palace there is a remarkable railing. The gates are decorated with the Sheremetev’s coat of arms.

This palace was well known among many great people. Michael Glinka often visited it; Orest Kiprensky lived in this house and there he painted his famous portrait of A. Pushkin.

In 1924-1952 a famous poetess Anna Akhmatova, the “Sappho of the 20^th century, lived there. Her flat is a memorial museum nowadays.

In 1990 the Museum of Theatre and Music was organized there.

Commentary: bower – беседка; count – граф; fountain ['fauntin] – фонтан; grotto – грот, пещера; to overlook – выходить на; plot – участок земли; Sappho ['sepfou] – Сапфо (Сафо) – древнегреческая поэтесса 7-6 вв. до н.э.; spacious – просторный; coat of arms - герб

Hidden away on the Moika River is the Yusoupov Palace. Its construction dates back to the times of the city’s foundation. The estate originally belonged to Count Petr Shuvalov. In 1830 the palace became the property of one of the Russia’s richest family – the Yusoupovs. The Palace has become part of the Russian history, as this is the place where Grigory Rasputin, the favourite of the last Russian Emperor’s family was murdered. Much of the Palace’s decorations have survived to this day – furniture, chandeliers, and fireplaces. The interiors of the Great Rotunda, the Blue and Red Drawing Rooms with their magnificent ceiling paintings, the Ball Room and the White Column Hall are open to the public.

Commentary: estate – поместье; favourite – фаворит; chandelier – люстра