Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
things did not go so badly for d'Anthès. By way of punishment, he was stripped
of his rank and forced to leave Russia. He returned to France with his wife (who
supposedly never doubted his loyalty), and the two lived out their days in appar-
ent wedded bliss.
This ironic ending does not go over well with Russian romantics. Needless to
say, d'Anthès is a much-maligned character in Russian history, sometimes dis-
missed as a tsarist stooge, a hidden homosexual or a French spy (and perhaps
all three).
MMUSSEUUM
GENERAL STAFF BUILDING
dent R60/free; 10.30am-6pm Tue-Sun; Admiralteyskaya)
The western wing of this
magnificent building on Dvortsovaya pl was formerly used by the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, including private apartments for the minister himself. The fabulous Carlo
Rossi-designed interiors have been meticulously maintained, and today house exhibi-
tion halls displaying items from the Hermitage collection. Here, the art of 20th-cen-
tury French painters Pierre Bonnard and Maurice Denis is on permanent display.
Monarchists will appreciate the 'heraldic eagle', also featured in 600-plus examples
of graphics, paintings and applied arts from Russia and Western Europe.
MMUSSEUUM
WINTER PALACE OF PETER I
32; adult/student R60/free; 10.30am-5pm Tue-Sun; Admiralteyskaya)
Opened as a part
of the Hermitage in 1992, this palace on the Neva was the principal residence of Peter
the Great, and he died here in 1725. When Giacomo Quarenghi built the Hermitage
Theatre on this site between 1783 and 1789, he preserved parts of the palace and
grounds. Between 1976 and 1986, excavations beneath the theatre stage uncovered a
large fragment of the former state courtyard, as well as several suites of palace apart-
ments. Today, the courtyard is used to display Peter's official carriage and sledge.
Some of the chamber rooms have been restored to their appearance during Peter's era,
