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St. Petersburg's historic addresses. Part two
In St. Petersburg there are many institutions which, after hundreds of years, are still working in their original field. Just as it did 200 years ago, the Literary Café on Nevsky Prospect continues to attract poetry lovers. At the beginning of the 19th century, this café was the well-known Wolf and Beranger Confectionery and a favourite place of great Russian poet Alexander Pushkin. It was at this very confectionary that Pushkin spent his final moments before his fatal duel with Georges-Charles de Heeckeren d'Anthès. The Eliseyev Emporium is another place with a long history and it continues to sell sweets and other exotic delicacies. You can still buy live leeches at Doctor Pel and Sons’ Chemist’s Shoppe and the doors of the luxurious Astoria Hotel, a historical place known for its many famous guests, are still open. It is now one of the most prestigious hotels in Russia. ...
The restoration of the Bolshoi drama theatre — the return
Every lover of theatre in Petersburg knows the address 65 Fontanka River Embankment. It's here that you'll the Bolshoi Drama Theater. Within its walls, the famed director, Georgy Tovstonogov, over the course of 33 years, shined the bright light of his talent on various aspects of human existence. He didn't judge, and he didn't lecture. He merely presented peole with the pressing issues of the day, offering spectators the chance to find answers to them within themselves. Tovstonogov's years were undoubtedly a standout period in the life of the BDT, but they certainly weren't the only one. Its history dates back to 1919, but the history of the building that it occupies dates back to the 19th century, the era when Petersburg was the capital of the Russian empire. For the first time in its 150 years, the applause has died down at this building on the Fontanka River, and its first major renov...
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The restoration of the Bolshoi drama theatre — the return
St. John the forerunner church
For almost 250 years the Orthodox Cathedral of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist has stood on one of the islands of the Neva delta in St. Petersburg. The elegant church on Kamenny Island is reminiscent of the gothic style with its pointed arched windows, doors and bell tower, along with its open-style brickwork. Such architecture is untypical for St. Petersburg churches, nevertheless the church’s appearance is heavily associated with the personality of the founder of the city itself, Peter the First. In the past, many of the parishioners of this church were those considered arbiters of the fate of the Fatherland such as famous Russian poet and playwright Gavrila Romanovich Derzhavin and respected and undefeated commander Alexander Sergeevich Suvorov. The cathedral also shares its history with who is perhaps Russia’s most revered and beloved poet, Alexander Sergeevich Pus...
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