Wordless Wednesday in the Winter Palace

Recommended Reading: The Madonnas of Leningrad

I have a long list of books to read.  I doubt that I will ever read them all.  Each week I read the book review in the Sunday paper and check the best-seller lists.  I add anything interesting to my list.  My library is also a great resource for suggestions which is how I heard about 'The Madonnas of Leningrad' by Debra Dean.

In short, the book is about a young woman who was a docent at the State Hermitage Museum in Leningrad during the 900-day siege that began in 1941.  Now elderly and living in the United States, she has Alzheimer's and the story goes from present day to the past and her memories of the paintings in the museum.

I was fascinated.  The descriptions of the halls and paintings were so real it was as though I was walking through the museum all over again.  But I did learn something that had not been told to us when we were in the museum on our trip.  It seems our guide forgot to mention that many of the paintings were sold off by Stalin in 1930-31 to finance the Soviet government.  An elderly docent at the museum tells our young woman about the paintings and describes them in great detail to her, telling her to build a 'memory palace'.

Since I knew that Faberge eggs had been sold, I guess I should have realized they might have sold paintings too.  With further research I learned that Andrew Mellon bought several paintings to establish the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.  I am sure I have seen these paintings and never realized how they came to be there.

I went through my photos from the Hermitage and Winter Palace.  I do have some photos of paintings though it is difficult with lighting and so many people around to get a good shot.  Here are a few for your enjoyment.

Leonardo da Vinci 'Benois Madonna'

Raphael's 'The Holy Family'

Rembrandt's 'The Holy Family with Angels'

Gallery with malachite urns

V-E Day, One Day Late

I meant to post something yesterday and got busy with 'stuff'.  Yesterday's news reports talked about the ceremonies in Red Square celebrating the end of the war in Europe with the signing of the surrender documents.  I am sure it was quite a sight to see.

As I promised to post more pictures of Russia, here are photos of the Memorial to the Historic Defenders of Leningrad in Saint Petersburg.

Yesterday also would have been my father's 92nd birthday.  He fought in the second World War in India, Burma and then Germany.  He died suddenly at the age of 57, never even seeing his youngest grandson who would be born one month later.  I cannot imagine how pleased he would be to have four grandsons and two great-grandsons.  He lived for his children.  I miss you, Dad.

Z is for Zamoskvoreche

Z is for the Zamoskvoreche (literally "beyond the Moscow River") area of Moscow.  And so we are nearly back where we started, with the Kremlin on the opposite bank of the Moscow River.

My only mistake on this trip was not staying in this area and opting instead to stay farther afield.  Note to self:  Don't always believe online reviews of hotels.

Walking to the Tretyakov Gallery:

Entrance to the Tretyakov Gallery, holding the largest collection of Russian art in the world:

The gallery had some wonderful iconostases.  Unfortunately, it was another no interior picture places.

Vodootvodnyy Canal, built in 1783-86 to cope with flooding from the Moskva river.  In the distance on the left you can see a church spire in the Kremlin.

Lock tree on the bridge where newlyweds place a lock to symbolize their union:

Another view of the Canal with the Peter the Great Monument in the distance:

Peter the Great:

Tolkien Bonus:  Z is for Zirakzigil, one of the Mountains of Moria, where Durin's Tower was built and where Gandalf slew the Balrog.

And so we end.  

Thanks for travelling with me through 
the cities of far-eastern Europe 

and the places of Middle-Earth.

Y is for Yuriev Monastery

Yuriev Monastery is another attraction near Veliky Novgorod, Russia.  It is also known as St. George's Monastery.  It is one of the Historic Monuments of Novgorod and therefore a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

As you may have noticed during this A to Z, Russia has a lot of churches, palaces, cathedrals, and monasteries.  The architecture was most impressive and I hope you have enjoyed the trip.  With one more post to go, enjoy these photos of Yuriev.

Church of the Exaltation of the Cross of St. George

St. George Monastery

               

Kivory Canopy under the Spring of Water            Bell Tower

Tolkien Bonus:  Y is for Yuletide.  Yup, they celebrate in the Shire too, just not for the same reasons.  For your listening enjoyment, here is the Lord of the Rings Symphony.  (The haunting theme starts around 3:25.)  Composer Howard Shore not only conducts, but he talks about his inspiration and how he created various themes.

X is for Kha in the Cyrillic Alphabet

Finding a city or location starting with the letter 'X' is not easy.  In fact, it was impossible for this trip.  The next best thing I could do was use the Cyrillic alphabet.  The Cyrillic alphabet combines Greek and Latin letters.  I still can't keep it straight.  The letter Kha is the same as the Greek chi, or 'X'.

If you are interested in learning the alphabet, you can check out some info here.  When you have mastered the alphabet, you can order at Starbucks:

Tolkien Bonus:  X is for eXiles.  This includes both the Noldor who were banished from Middle-Earth in the First Age and the Dunedain who came to Middle-Earth after the fall of Numenor.

W is for the Winter Palace

W, X, Y, and Z.  The last four letters for the Challenge.  Let's go.

The Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg, Russia is THE place to see. As part of the Historic center of Saint Petersburg, the palace in also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Even before you enter the buildings it is just breathtaking. Here are just a few photos.

The view from the Neva River:

Standing in Palace Square:

The Palace Arch on the south side of the square, facing the above, with the Army General Staff Building

Passing through the gates into the courtyard:

The Interiors:

The Peacock Clock  It's an automaton.  Watch the video (link) to see it move.  Astounding!

Some of the artworks above that make up the Hermitage.  For me, the art took second place to the beauty of the architecture.  Here is a view of another garden as we left the palace:

Tolkien Bonus:  W is for the War of the Ring, the subject of the Lord of the Rings.  I have two beautiful editions of these books, one with original drawings.  The books really are better than the movies, though they were excellent, IMHO.

Mikhailovskiy Castle

I showed the garden pavilion of this castle for the letter V.  Here is a water view of the castle itself:

This view gives you an idea of its size:

Nice, huh?

V is for Vitoslavlitsy, Vasilyevskiy Island, and Venice of the North

How many times can you come across great V words?  And why not use them?  So, this post has 'Vs' to spare.

First up is Vitoslavlitsy in Novgorod, Russia.  This was such a charming outdoor museum of traditional wooden architecture, I have to share it with you.  The buildings were moved to the site and are part of the UNESCO sites in Novgorod.  Please pardon the rain drops on the pictures.  More pictures here.

18th Century Chapel from Kashira Village

Tiered Church of St. Nicholas, 1757

Cottage of Mary Dmitrievna.  Living quarters of the cottage above, which were over the barn, are seen below:

Baby's cradle:

The next place is in Saint Petersburg, Vasilyevskiy Island, (UNESCO), where we find the Rostral Columns.  There are two on the island.






















Also on the island are two Egyptian Sphinxes, roughly 3,500 years old, which once stood in front of the tomb of Amenhotep III and now stand in front of the Academy of Arts Building, seen below.

The Academy of Arts Building:

Also present are the Academy of Sciences Building

and the Kunstkammer:

As you can see from these photos, there is lots of water, which makes Saint Petersburg the Venice of the North.  Here are some random canal views:

The garden pavilion of the Mikhailovskiy Castle:

Peter the Great's Summer Palace:

Cruising down the Fontanka River below:

Tolkien Bonus:  V is for the Valar, the Great Ones, the Mighty, the Powers of Arda.  They were essentially the guardians of Ea.