Our travel is drawing to a close, but we managed to fit in one last historic site: The Fortress of Peter and Paul on the north banks of the Neva River. The fortress was built in 1703/04 during the Great Northern War against Sweden, but apparently it was never used for its intended purpose as the war was won before it became active. The main purpose of the fort ended up being a prison, mainly political prisoners, and it was eerie to walk through the corridors, cell by cell, and read the stories of the people who had been imprisoned there. It all sounded very “comfortable”, but I have no doubt the heavy block walls have many different stories to tell as men and women lived out their last moments before passing through the Neva Gate on the way to their execution. Many of the stories we read were about the People’s Will, a group of terrorists who murdered Alexander II in 1881. Other stories included those of Leon Trotsky and Maxim Gorky from the 1905 revolution and stories of the Bolsheviks right up to 1921 when the last prisoners were held there. The other big attraction in the Fort is the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul built in 1712 to 1733 and designed by Trezzini and later embellished by Rastrelli, both of whom have been a huge part of the architecture in St. Petersburg. The church both inside and outside is stunning with lots of gold gild in the true Baroque style. We listened again to some Russian choral singing in the Grand Ducal Crypt which was so mournful it tore my heartstrings. Two of the guys in this group had appeared in the group at St. Catherine’s Palace yesterday, and one of those two had appeared in the Russian Song and Dance Show we went to.
There are several other interesting parts to the Fort such as a museum and the mint, but to be quite honest with you I am absolutely overloaded with information. It’s time to go home!! Ray found me sitting on the steps outside the door of the museum staring into space and waiting for him. Usually, it is the other way around and he is dragging me out!
We wandered back to the hotel in the warm gently falling rain, along the University Embankment, past statutes, bridges, and finely architectured buildings that are famous the world over. It was a fitting “good bye” to a majestic city.
In the evening, we had dinner in a small Russian restaurant, bought a couple of bottles of vodka to bring back to Canada with us on the way back to the hotel, packed up our stuff and collapsed in bed around midnight dreaming of returning home and seeing our daughter and our friends.
No comments:
Post a Comment