Category: Russia

Catherine Palace in Tsarskoye Selo

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The Amber Room is a famous masterpiece of 18th century art, which disappeared without a trace during World War II

The amber room was created by master Andreas Schluter on the order of King Frederik I of Prussia. Subsequently, the amber cabinet which was the original name of this astonishing architectural work, was presented to the Russian Tsar Peter I.

The Amber Cabinet was installed in the Menshikov Palace in 1717. In 1743 Elizabeth Petrovna who had ascended the throne of Russia ordered the Amber Cabinet to be installed in the Winter Chambers of Her Imperial Majesty’s Household. The Empress also asked the chief architect FB Rastrelli and the master Alexander Martelli to “correct” the cabinet. It was finished with gilded wood carvings, mirrors and mosaic paintings of jasper and agate.

For nearly 2 centuries this room has remained unchanged and admired undergoing only periodic renovations to minimize the effects of temperature changes, drafts and stove heating.

During World War II, it was decided not to evacuate to the Amber Room because of its fragility. And the Nazis, having captured the Catherine Palace, destroyed the Amber Room. According to the officers’ report, the wall panels were mutilated with bayonets and knives at human height, the parquet which had been composed of rare wood, sandalwood, rosewood, amaranth, cherry and lemon trees were completely destroyed. The paint on the ceiling was also mangled. This was done by 6 soldiers in 36 hours.

The Amber Room was later displayed at the royal palace in Kroenigsberg, but after liberating Koenigsberg in 1945, Soviet troops did not find the Amber Room.

Nevertheless, some of its fragments were transferred to Russia in 2000.

Since 1981, work on the reconstruction of the Amber Room began, led by AA Zhuravlev. On the occasion of the 300th anniversary of Saint Petersburg, the Amber Room has been completely restored.

She can now be seen by everyone in the Catherine Palace in Saint Petersburg

Watch Amber’s room in music video. These “videos are awesome. Don’t forget to like them if you like them as much as I do.

Watch this first video
Watch this second video
Watch this third video

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Cathedral and museum honoring WWII veterans

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The Patriarchal Cathedral in the name of the Resurrection of Christ is a magnificent Cathedral, built in record time and containing a museum site from the Second World War.

Also called the main temple of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, it is dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the Great Patriotic Victory (World War II) and was inaugurated on June 14, 2020. It was built in a record time of only one year and a half. (Video of the construction at the bottom of the page)

It is one of the tallest Orthodox churches in the world measuring 95 meters in height. All its dimensions are symbolic. The drum diameter of the main dome is 19.45 meters, the diameter of the dome is 22.43 (Germany’s act of unconditional surrender was signed at 10:43 p.m. (22:43) on May 8, 1945)

The height of the belfry is 75 meters (2020 marks the 75th anniversary of the end of the war). The height of the small dome 14.18 corresponds to the number of days and nights of the battles of the Great Patriotic War.

The number of full holders of the Order of Glory is represented by the interior mosaic area of ​​2644 square meters. The height of the mandora is 11694mm, which is also the number of participants of the Great Patriotic War who received the title Hero of the Soviet Union.

On the territory of the complex there is a museum complex, “Road of Memory”, which was created with a length of 1418 steps, in memory of the 1418 days and nights of the Great Patriotic War. The gallery is framed by millions of photographs of veterans.

In the open air is the “Fields of Victory” museum which is a collective image of the battle near Moscow in 1941. Its location is the area where the Germans made their last attempt to break into the capital.

Weapons and military equipment from the Great Patriotic War are installed in several themed areas of the complex which were created from archival documents and photos.

Below is the video of the temple with a visit to part of the museum: The one of the construction is below.

Below, the construction of the church.

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