The Hermitage, St Petersburg Russia - anyone been there?

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can you please explain what it's like?

is there any special nod or recognition to the certain areas where the tsar and his wife acknowledged the "changing of the guard" when the imperial officers were replaced with bolshevik ones?

actually, i guess i'm just asking if there's any documentation or acknowledgement of the revolution? surely this is a dumb question...
 
Tsarskoe Selo is actually a large palace-and-park complex,part of which is 18 century and another part associated with the last Imperial Family (the Alexandrovsky Palace where they lived after Nicholas II abdicated and became Colonel Alexander Romanov,the Provisional Government,which was made up mostly of middle class liberals,took over the power and Russia became a republic).You can get all the historical information you want there but if you're particularly interested in things realted to the Bolshevik revolution itself ,the Hermitage is probably a more likely place to visit.Hope I don't sound too guide-y?;)
 
isnt hermitage.. where they hid all the priceless pieces of artwork and stuff. there was like the underground railroad for art that led to that place during the war so it could be saved
 
carrieluvv said:
isnt hermitage.. where they hid all the priceless pieces of artwork and stuff. there was like the underground railroad for art that led to that place during the war so it could be saved
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Not exactly.The Hermitage Museum contains a vast collection of artwork,so part of it was packed in the boxes and evacuated to Sverdlovsk in the Urals (by trucks and then by the special train but not underground)when the war broke out and part was hidden in the museum's basement and deep in the ground in the inner yard (especially the statues).The Winter Palace
which was the winter residence of the Russian tsars since 18c is now a part of the Hermitage museum and it's the place where the ministers of the Provisional government were arrested by the Bolsheviks back in October 1917.The room where it all took place is actually rather small but it's kind of got the atmosphere.
Hope you find this helpful...:)
 
Track down Interference member Angel. If I recall correctly, she has visited Russia a number of times and lived there for a period of time.
 
U2Kitten said:
Thanks Aine! :wave: :hug:
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You're welcome!:hug:
Btw I remember Angel,she's a very nice person from Canada and
has indeed been to St.Petersburg.I even remember her saying
something in Russian:) at some point.
 
angel is indeed a very fine lady.

she's been to russia once, including ekaterinburg! i'd LOVE to go to the urals...

aine, please please PLEASE explain more what it's like to be at tsarskoe selo. that is like my internal shrine, i must go there it's the most interesting place in the world (in my mind at least).

and i've never understood alexandrovich, etc. these names, they're crazy to me. same with nikolaivich or something.

please be my guide! type as much as you can, and know that at least i will read it from top to bottom...
 
Bear I finally watched Russian Ark.
The guy in the cloak/coat irritated me, but it was great watching the events and eras through each stage.
And I have to confess I rolled my eyes at the end when the door opened to the sea. But it was great seeing more of it :up:

Thanks Aine too for all your info! It's very helpful. You're so lucky!
:)
 
Angela Harlem said:

And I have to confess I rolled my eyes at the end when the door opened to the sea. But it was great seeing more of it :up:

:)
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that's really too bad, cause honestly that's my favourite part. it's surreal...

and the sea is right outside the hermitage anyway, it's not like they just put it there for extra effect.

so in other words, love it like i do. :angry:
 
Zoomerang96 said:
aine, please please PLEASE explain more what it's like to be at tsarskoe selo. that is like my internal shrine, i must go there it's the most interesting place in the world (in my mind at least).
Click to expand...

I love TS a lot,it's 20-30 mins from the city and it's a great place to stroll about,full of ghosts (but seriously,I once met a very suspicious looking red cat in one of its parks,it stared at me for a whole minute and then disappeared... I still believe it was on of the courtiers... :faint: ) and very diverse in terms of culture. I really think you should go there and see everything for yourself ... but first tell me what it is that made it your shrine..if you don't mind me asking of course.

and i've never understood alexandrovich, etc. these names, they're crazy to me. same with nikolaivich or something.
[/QUOTE]

Nah,it's pretty easy,it's patronymic.Alexandrovich= the son of Alexander etc.It's the same like for example MacPhisto is Phisto's
son... ;) I know they have patronymics in Iceland and in most Slavonic countries.
 
Zoomerang96 said:


that's really too bad, cause honestly that's my favourite part. it's surreal...

and the sea is right outside the hermitage anyway, it's not like they just put it there for extra effect.
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I agree it's a great one (sorry Angela! ;) ) it's not the sea though,
it's the Neva. My windows actually overlook the Neva (not that I
live in the Hermitage ... ;))
 
but isn't the neva connected to the sea?

regardless, thanks for sharing all this. i must, must go there one day.

and seriously, about the ghosts, it's gotta be haunted. tell more stories! more more more selo! :lamewink:
 
I was in St. Petersburg for five days in September and I loved it! The language barrier isn't that big of a problem, but my parents and I didn't feel safe enough to go around the city on our own without a native Russian. After about three days, though, I could read signs and pronounce a lot of words, but I wasn't able to understand what most of the signs meant- I could just switch the lettering into our alphabet.
The Hermitage is AMAZING!!!!! I think it's better than the Louvre somehow. We hired a guide via this little tourist desk at our hotel ( Pribatiyskaya Hotel) so there were only 4 of us in the group with the very knowledgeable guide. The museum is incredible- the collections are amazing- it's too much to take in. Spend as much time there as huumanly possible if you're an art lover.
I didn't go to Tsarskoe Selo but I did go to Peterhof which is gorgeous. St. Petersburg has some beautiful buldings, palaces and museums, and I wish I could have stayed longer b/c I didn't get to go to Tsarskoe Selo or the Russian Museum or where Dostoevsky lived.
 
Zoomerang96 said:
but isn't the neva connected to the sea?

regardless, thanks for sharing all this. i must, must go there one day.

and seriously, about the ghosts, it's gotta be haunted. tell more stories! more more more selo! :lamewink:
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I meant the Hermitage stands on the Neva :) and yeah,the Neva's
indeed connected to the Gulf of Finland - btw have you been to Peterhof or Lomonosov? You can get the most spectacular view
of the Gulf there,especially at dawn.
And I know lots of stories,gotta save 'em till you come here one day ;)
 
no sorry, it's not bono.

it's 'europe' from the film 'russian ark', a movie based entirely in the hermitage.
 
Aine said:


:ohmy: :love: :sexywink:

Btw thank you for saying all the nice things about St.Peter's :)
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Your welcome! I loved St. Petersburg when I was there. I had wanted to go since I about 9 and read a book about Anastasia. My dad was invited to a conference there, so we all decided to go and I absolutely loved it. There's just something that pulled me in and made me want to go back. I have also gotten into Russian Literature since I came home. The view of the Bay of Finland was gorgeous from Peterhof.
 
anitram said:
Russian is actually very easy to read, a letter always has the same sound, it doesn't change phonetically like English. It's just a matter of learning the cyrillic. You shouldn't have much trouble. :)
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yeah...i don't think cyrillic is really that scary...

arabic...now that scares me.
 
Zoomerang96 said:


that's really too bad, cause honestly that's my favourite part. it's surreal...

and the sea is right outside the hermitage anyway, it's not like they just put it there for extra effect.

so in other words, love it like i do. :angry:
Click to expand...

:madspit: It was the whole 'Ark' thing. Trite, floating etc.

But like I said, seeing more of it and the costumes...my God they were incredible!
:drool:

thanks aine!
:D
 
i haven't seen russian ark. for some reason i can find multiple copies of 'brother 2' but not that.

it's the movie filmed in one continuous shot, isn't it?
 
U2girl91289 said:


Your welcome! I loved St. Petersburg when I was there. I had wanted to go since I about 9 and read a book about Anastasia. My dad was invited to a conference there, so we all decided to go and I absolutely loved it. There's just something that pulled me in and made me want to go back. I have also gotten into Russian Literature since I came home. The view of the Bay of Finland was gorgeous from Peterhof.
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That's interesting! Did you visit any other places in Russia apart from St.Peter's? And which Russian writers do you like?
 
Angela Harlem said:
But like I said, seeing more of it and the costumes...my God they were incredible!:drool:
thanks aine!
:D
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It's my pleasure!:) Angela,are you specifically interested in Russian costumes or the history of costumes/fashion in general?
 
It was previously the artworks housed in the Hermitage that held all of my interest. Mum and I were out shopping a couple of months ago and I saw this 6 dvd set which documents and categorises all the major aspects of the paintings and sculptures held within it. To my surprise, Santa left it for me under the tree and since then my interest in the Hermitage has only grown. Bear recommended the film which I then hired out, and that has since piqued a great interest now in the costumes shown! They were just stunning. I'm guessing they were very authentic, though due to the mobile nature of 'Russian Ark' it was hard at times to get a good look at them all. The history of Russian costumes is something I think I would like to learn more of, but I've always appreciated at least, various forms of dress through cultures in the past.
:)
 
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