Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
(
Новый выставочный зал
; Nevsky pr 179/2; admission R100; noon-6pm Sat-Wed;
Ploshchad Alexandra Nevskogo)
This small, two-storey exhibition space is used as a ven-
ue for temporary contemporary art exhibits. Exhibitions change monthly, usually
showcasing Russian artists, as well as some works by influential 20th-century artists.
THE SOVIET SOUTH
Sprawling southern St Petersburg was once planned to be the centre of Stalin's
new Leningrad, and anyone interested in Stalinist architecture should make the
easy trip down here to Moskovskaya metro station for a wander around and to
see a clutch of sights all within easy walking distance.
Right outside the metro station you'll see the
House of Soviets
(
Дом
Cоветов
; Moskovsky pr 212; closed to the public),
a staggeringly bombastic Stalinist
beauty. Planned to be the central administrative building of Stalin's Leningrad, it
was built with the leader's neoclassical tastes in mind. Begun by Noi Trotsky in
1936, it was not finished until after the war, by which time Trotsky had been
purged. Nonetheless, this magnificently sinister building is a great example of
Stalinist design, with its columns and bas-reliefs and an enormous frieze running
across the top. Today it houses the Moskovsky Region's local administration.
Due south from here down Moskovsky pr is the striking
Monument to the
Heroic Defenders of Leningrad
(
Памятник героическим защитникам
Ленинграда
; pl Pobedy; admission free; 10am-5pm Thu-Tue; Moskovskaya)
. Centred
around a 48m-high obelisk, the monument, unveiled in 1975, is a sculptural en-
semble of bronze statues symbolising the city's encirclement and eventual vic-
tory in WWII. On a lower level, a bronze ring 40m in diameter symbolises the
city's encirclement; a very moving sculpture stands in the centre. Haunting sym-
phonic music creates a sombre atmos-phere to guide you downstairs to the un-
derground exhibition in a huge, mausoleum-like interior. Here, the glow of 900
