World War II Siege, St. Petersburg, Russia

St. Petersburg was under seige by the Nazi army in the south and Finnish from the north from September 1941 to January 1944. Despite being surrounded with supplies cut off and constant bombing, my guide shared with pride that St. Petersburg is the only major European city that has never been occupied.

The city was hit with 148,478 artillery shells during the siege. Many buildings were destroyed. Some have been rebuilt or restored, but there are marks left throughout including this wall of the Spilt Blood Church which was left unrestored as a reminder.

One story my guide shared was of the five students from this monument outside Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral. To save the gilded churches from aerial bombs, they worked to paint the gilding black and cover portions of the churches with clothes to distrort their use as landmarks for planes. One shell fell in the church but did not explode. When they went to attempt to disarm the shell, they opened it and found no explosives, only a note of encouragement and support signed from their socialist brothers from Germany. Because of that, Russians from this area did not consider Germans their enemies, but rather the Nazis. It was an inportant distinction.

The Hermitage/Winter Palace, St. Petersburg, Russia

Built in 1756 for Peter the Great's daughter, Elizabeth, the oldest building of The Hermitage Museum was originally the Winter Palace.

Above is a corridor inspired by one in the Vatican commissioned by Catherine the Great.

The palace first became a museum when Catherine the Great decided to transfer her vast art collection to the palace and build an addition to house it.

Above is the throne of the tsars of Russua in the Winter Palace.

The expansion became known as the hermitage or "a place of solitude" because it was a quiet place for Catherine where even the servants did not bother her. Today, it is filled with art and people. There is little solitude to be found.

Church of the Savior of the Spilt Blood, St. Petersburg, Russia

Officially called The Church of the Resurrection, the more commonly referred to Church of the Savior of the Spilt Blood, was built between 1883-1907 on the bank of the Catherone Canal on the spot where Tsar Alexander II was mortally wounded in March 1881 by an explosion set to assassinate him.

It is considered a church-monument because it was never consecrated as a church. It was designed in the Russian style with the interior decorated in mosaic rather than paintings. Inside, there is more than 7,000 square meters of mosaics.

It was saved from Soviet destruction as a valuable museum of Russian mosaic.

Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral

Built as part of the fortress of the same name, the Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral was built in 1712 at the same time that St. Petersburg became the capital of Russia.

The gilded spire was designed to look like a ship's mast and is 122 meters tall and topped by a weathervane with an angel on top.

Within the cathedral, the tsars of Russia and their wives were buried including Peter the Great and Catherine the Great.

St. Petersburg, Russia

In 1703, Peter I (later known as Peter the Great) marched an army in to Nyenskans and took it from the Swedes. There, he ordered the building of a city that would be named St. Petersburg. His first order was to construct a fortress to defend the city and secure Russian access to the Baltic Sea through the Neva River.

In a single decade, the city had formed with straight streets and canals in a more European style than the expected Russian style.  The city is built on 42 islands connected with canals which led to the nickname of the Venice of the North.  In 1712, it became the capital city of Russia.

Helsinki, Finland

Helsinki became the administrative capital of Finland in 1809 when Sweden transferred control of it to Russia and the rulers of the Grand Duchy switched the regional capital from Turku. While the city had existed long before that time, most of the oldest buildings still standing were built in the 18th century because the most common construction material of that time was wood and a large fire destroyed the city.

The Lutheran Church on Senate Square was built in the 18th century was designed by Carl Ludvig Engel who designed much of the city when it was being reconstructed. The statue on the center of the square is of Alexander II who was not as popular in Russia.

The Uspenski Orthodox Cathedral shows the Russian influence of the city and is considered the most richly decorated building in the city.

The Railroad Station was striking against the modern buildings. It was designed to look like an early radio set.

Churches of Tallinn, Estonia

Alexander Nevsky Orthodox Cathedral was built in the 19th century on the foundation of earlier churches. It was dedicated to Alexander Nevsky, Grand Duke of Novgorod who was considered a protector of the faith and guardian of warriors.

Church of the Holy Ghost is a Roman Catholic church built in the 14th century. It has the oldest bell in Estonia and the oldest clock in Tallinn.

St. Nicholas Church, the steepled church on the right, was built in 1315 by the German merchants of the city to demonstrate their wealth. When Lutheran reformers mobbed the church to burn their art, as had happened in many other churches in the 15th century, they were not able to access the church. Why? When the church was first constructed, it was part of the defense of the city and had extremely thick walls. In addition, someone poured molten lead in the door locks which prevented the doors from opening and saving the church interior from destruction. During World War II, it was mostly destroyed, but was restored in 1984. Most of the art had been removed so was preserved and today it is a museum and concert hall. Some religious ceremonies are held in the building, but they are from multiple beliefs. It gas hosted both Pope John Paul II and the Dali Lama for services.