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The KremlinCity/Region: Moscow
The oldest part of Moscow dating back to the city's foundation in 1147, and situated at the very heart of the city on top of a hill, the Kremlin is a fortress surrounded by a thick red wall interspersed with 20 towers. The complex consists of a number of glittering, golden-domed churches and palaces, museums, residences, offices, assembly halls and monuments. It was the royal regime during the Tsarist rule and from 1918, the seat of the Communist government. Cathedral Square is the religious center
of Moscow and the historic heart of the Kremlin, and is home to numerous churches. The attractive Annunciation Cathedral was set aside for the private use of royalty and contains beautifully painted murals and icons on the interior walls. The throne of Ivan the Terrible can be found in the Cathedral of the Assumption, which was used for the coronation of tsars; most of the leaders of the Russian Orthodox Church were buried here and their tombs line the walls of the spacious, richly colored interior. The Belfry of Ivan the Great is the tallest structure within the walls and a visible city landmark. At its foot lies the world's biggest bell, broken in a fall from its bell tower in 1701, and nearby is the world's largest cannon, the Tsar Cannon. Also within the Kremlin is the Armoury Palace, the richest and oldest museum housing a staggering collection of treasures gathered over the years by the church and Russian state, including jewel-studded coronation capes, thrones encrusted with diamonds, royal coaches and sleighs and the renowned jewelled Fabergé Easter eggs, each containing an exquisitely detailed miniature object of precious metal inside. The Diamond Fund Exhibition in the same building contains the 180-carat diamond given to Catherine the Great by Count Orlov.
Phone Number: (095) 202 3776.
Email Address: prs@kremlin.museum.ru
Website: www.kremlin.museum.ru
Transport: Metro stop Biblioteka imeni Lenina or Aleksandrovsky Sad
Hours: Daily except Thursdays from 10am to 5pm
Admission: 300 rubles; Armoury Museum 350 rubles. Concessions available
Red SquareCity/Region: Moscow
Red Square is a dramatic open cobbled space in the center of Moscow, originally the city's market place that served as a public gathering place to celebrate festivals, listen to government announcements or to witness executions, especially common during the reign of Ivan the Terrible. The Soviet state turned it into a memorial cemetery, and constructed Lenin's Mausoleum to one side - a crystal casket containing the preserved body of the founder of the Soviet Union that is still open to public viewing today. The communist government destroyed several ancient buildings around Red Square, including the Resurrection Gate and chapel, to make space for and to allow easy tank access to the demonstrations and military parades that frequented the area. The current Resurrection Gate and chapel are replicas that were built in the 1990s. Its most impressive parade involved the gathering of thousands of Russian soldiers ready to march to war against the Nazis in 1941, the rumble of tanks a demonstration of Soviet might during the Cold War. The word 'red' doesn't apply to the color of the brickwork, neither is it a reference to communism. The meaning of the word 'krasny' originally meant 'beautiful' in Old Russian, referring to St Basil's Cathedral at the southern end, but over the centuries the word changed to mean 'red' too, thus the square's present name. St Basil's Cathedral is the city's most well known building and is crowned by the bulbous multicolored domes that have made it an instantly recognizable landmark.
Address: Krasnaya Ploshchad
Transport: Metro stop Ploshchad Revolutsii
St Basil's CathedralCity/Region: Moscow
St Basil's Cathedral with its multicolored domes is the most famous image of Russia, standing on the edge of Moscow's Red Square, a striking design that was commissioned by Ivan the Terrible to commemorate his victorious military campaign against the Tartar Mongols at Kazan in 1552. Legend has it that Ivan was so overwhelmed by its beauty that he had the architect blinded to prevent him from creating anything to rival it. It comprises a central chapel surrounded by eight red brick tower-like chapels, each crowned with a different colored and uniquely patterned onion-shaped dome. The church escaped demolition many times during the city's turbulent history and with the beginning of the Soviet regime the cathedral was closed and later turned into a museum. The interior is a dimly lit maze of corridors and delicately decorated chapels, one of them housing a priceless 16th century screen decorated with icons that shields the inner sanctuary. In comparison to the exquisite exterior, the interior can seem disappointing.
Address: Krasnaya Ploshchad 4
Phone Number: (095) 298 5880
Transport: Metro stop Kitai Gorod
Hours: Daily except Tuesdays between 11am and 5.30pm
Admission: 100 rubles, concessions 50 rubles
Bolshoi Opera and Ballet TheaterCity/Region: Moscow
Moscow's oldest theater, the Bolshoi dates from 1824 and is Russia's most famous theater, with its world-renowned opera and ballet companies in residence. Completely rebuilt after a fire in 1856, the grand building is a masterpiece of Russian neoclassicism, including an eight-columned entrance porch topped by a horse-drawn chariot of Apollo, patron of the arts. The glittering five-tiered interior is richly adorned with red velvet furnishings, gold decoration and chandeliers, and the size of the auditorium makes it the largest theater in the world. The Bolshoi Theater has hosted some of the world's most celebrated premieres and performers, including Swan Lake, Spartacus and concerts by Richard Wagner, and an evening performance at the Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Theater constitutes one of Moscow's best nights out.
Address: Teatralnaya Ploshchada
Phone Number: 095) 292 9270 (ticket outlets)
Website: www.bolshoi.ru
Transport: Metro stop Teatralnaya
Admission: Ticket prices for performances vary
Tretyakov GalleryCity/Region: Moscow
The Tretyakov Gallery houses some of the great masterpieces of traditional Russian art from before the Revolution and has the world's finest collection of Russian icons from the 11th to the 17th centuries. The gallery's collection of paintings, graphics and sculptures covers Russian art from the 18th to the 20th century. The gallery was named after its founder, Pavel Tretyakov, an art collector who donated about 2,000 works of art from his private collection to the city of Moscow, forming the basis of the collection to which state acquisitions were later added. He also donated his own house, which became the original site of the art gallery. Two separate buildings at different locations house the works selected for display.
Address: Lavrushensky Pereulok 10/12, and 10 Krymsky Val
Phone Number: (095) 951 1362, 238 1378, 230 9766; recorded message: 230 7788
Email Address: tretyakov@tretyakov.ru
Website: www.tretyakovgallery.ru
Transport: Tretyakovskaya or Novokuznetskaya metro stop to Lavrushensky Pereulok, or metro to Park Kultury
Hours: Tuesday to Sunday 10am to 7.30pm
The Winter Palace and the Hermitage MuseumCity/Region: St Petersburg
The magnificent green, white and gold Winter Palace is superbly situated on the banks of the Neva River, a 656 ft-long (200m) Russian Baroque building that is the biggest and most lavishly decorated palace in the city. The palace was the official residence of the tsars, and Catherine the Great later added the Small and Large Hermitages onto the palace as a sanctuary for herself and her private art collection. The Hermitage Museum comprises a stately complex of buildings strung along the embankment, with the Winter Palace at its heart. The Hermitage Museum is one of the world's greatest art museums that has grown from a small collection of paintings started by Catherine the Great in 1764, to a massive display of over three million exhibits, housed within the sumptuous splendor of one of the most luxurious palaces worldwide. The three floors cover a full range of world art from ancient times, to Russian works and 20th century Europe, and a fabulous collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings, set against the rich interior of white marble staircases, golden ceilings, crystal chandeliers, and elaborate mosaics. Of the highlights, the lavish State Rooms, the Golden Rooms, containing a spectacular collection of royal jewels, gold and silver, and the modern European art section are the most popular.
Address: Dvortsovaya Square
Phone Number: (812) 710 9625
Email Address: visitorservices@hermitage.ru
Website: www.hermitagemuseum.org
Transport: Metro stations Nevsky Prospekt or Gostiny Dvor; trolleybus 1, 7 or 10; or bus 7, 10 or 147
Hours: Daily except Mondays from 10.30am to 6pm
Admission: US$17.95, free for students and children. A valid form of ID is required to enter. A combination ticket of US$25.95 is valid for the Hermitage and three buildings in the museum complex. Both costs include permission to take photos and use video cameras.
Palace SquareCity/Region: St Petersburg
The main square of St Petersburg and one of the world's most magnificent plazas, Palace Square contains the picturesque Baroque buildings of the Winter Palace and Hermitage Museum on one side and the Classical yellow and white former General Staff buildings of the Russian army on the other. The focal point of the square is the Alexander Column, a tall monolith of red granite topped by the statue of an angel and a cross, dedicated to Russian military victory in the Napoleonic wars. Palace Square has been the site of numerous political protests, most notably the demonstrations of Bloody Sunday in 1905 that started the first Russian Revolution. Today the square, with its beautiful views of the Admiralty's golden spire and the dome of St Isaac's Cathedral from across the vast stone paving, is filled with markets, outdoor cafes and the sound of horse-drawn carriages.
Address: Dvortsovaya Ploshchad (Palace Square)
Transport: Metro stations Nevsky Prospekt or Gostiny Dvor; trolleybus 1, 7 or 10; or bus 7, 10 or 147
Nevsky ProspektCity/Region: St Petersburg
Almost three miles (five km) long, Nevsky Prospekt is one of the best-known streets in Russia and is the main thoroughfare of St Petersburg, starting at the Admiralty whose gilded spire is a famous city landmark, to the Moscow Railway Station and then to the Alexandr Nevsky Monastery where some of the country's most celebrated artistic figures are buried. It has been the hub of the city for centuries, cutting through the most historical part, and home to the most important sights in the city. Intersected by rivers and canals, the most beautiful part of the avenue surrounds the Griboedova Canal. Here the impressive colonnade of the grand Kazan Cathedral catches the eye, curving around a small grassy square, and opposite the view along the canal towards the multi-colored onion domes of the Church of Our Saviour on the Spilled Blood (officially called the Resurrection of Christ Church) is breathtaking. Modelled on St Basil's Cathedral in Moscow and adorned with exquisite mosaic panels the church is one of St Petersburg's most striking landmarks, built on the site of the assassination of Emperor Alexander II in 1881. As well as many churches the street boasts St Petersburg's finest shops and restaurants, old manors and impressive buildings, and a beautiful mixture of architectural styles from the different periods of its history.
Website: www.nevsky-prospekt.com
St Isaac's CathedralCity/Region: St Petersburg
The golden dome of St Isaac's Cathedral dominates the skyline of St Petersburg, the colonnade around the cupola offering superb panoramic views over the city. It was commissioned by Tsar Alexander I to be a magnificent imperial cathedral, and the ensuing masterpiece was of grandiose proportions that took over 40 years to build and was decorated in the most extravagant manner. The Russian Classic style exterior encloses a splendid interior adorned with red granite columns, exquisite mosaics, painted ceilings, sculptures, frescoes, and a beautiful stained glass window, incorporating many different kinds of stone and marble work into the massive structure. The cathedral can accommodate 14,000 worshippers, but today services are only held here on special occasions. It is worth noting that no photgraphy or filming is allowed in either the Cathedrak or the Colonnade.
Address: Isaakievskaya Ploshchad 1
Phone Number: (812) 315 9732
Transport: Nevsky Prospekt or Gostiny Dvor metro stops
Hours: Open daily except Wednesdays from 11am to 7pm. The colonnade is open until 6pm
Admission: 50 rubles. Colonnade: 18 rubles
Peter and Paul FortressCity/Region: St Petersburg
Situated on a small island on the Neva Delta across the river from The Hermitage, the Peter and Paul Fortress is the oldest building in St Petersburg. Planned by Peter the Great as a defense against possible attacks from the Swedes, the fortress never served its original purpose as they were defeated before its completion, and the six bastions at its corners were turned into high security political prison cells. The notorious dungeons held many famous people, including Alexei, the son of Peter the Great, Trotsky and Gorky, and it is now a museum. Other buildings in the fortress house the City History Museum and the Mint. The midday gun is fired every day from the roof, echoing around the city from across the water. Also enclosed within the imposing walls is the Cathedral of St Peter and St Paul, its distinctive golden needle-like spire visible throughout the city. The first church in the city to be built from stone, it has a richly decorated interior containing the tombs of every Russian Emperor since Peter the Great.
Address: Petropavlovskaya Krepost
Phone Number: (812) 238 4550
Transport: Gorkoskaya metro stop
Hours: The fortress is open 24 hours daily. The cathedral and museums are open daily except Wednesdays and the last Tuesday of the month, from 11am to 6pm
Admission: There is no charge to enter the fortress, but the cathedral and museums require tickets
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