Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
admission price to the palace includes an audio tour in English and a number of other
languages, but you'll need to leave a R1000 deposit per audioguide.
SSTATUUE
BRONZE HORSEMAN
(
Медный всадник
; pl Dekabristov; Admiralteyskaya)
The most famous statue of Peter
the Great was immortalised as the Bronze Horseman in the epic poem by Alexander
Pushkin. With his horse (representing Russia) rearing above the snake of treason,
Peter's enormous statue stands at the river end of pl Dekabristov. The statue was
sculpted over 12 years for Catherine the Great by Frenchman Etienne Falconet. Its in-
scription reads 'To Peter I from Catherine II - 1782'. Many have read significance in-
to Catherine's linking of her own name with that of the city's founder: she had no le-
gitimate claim to the throne and this statue is sometimes seen as her attempt to form-
alise the link (philosophical, if not hereditary) between the two monarchs. The signi-
ficance of the inscription in both Latin and Cyrillic alphabets would not have been
lost on the city's population, which was still in the process of Westernisation during
Catherine's reign.
Falconet's original study for the magnificent sculpture can be seen in the Russian
Russia a bitter, angry man. Years of arguing with the head of the Academy of Fine
Arts over the finer details of the sculpture had taken its toll, and he didn't even bother
staying for the unveiling.
The statue has become a much-debated philosophical symbol of the city and the
main trademark of the new spirit of St Petersburg. Moreover, it's de rigueur for local
newlyweds to be photographed here after their weddings, so expect to lenty of blush-
TO HAVE AND TO HOLD
No event gives more cause for celebration in Russia than a wedding. Festivities
commence when the groom arrives to claim his bride. He is forced to pass a
series of tests - physical feats and brain-teasers - before he can see his be-
loved. Once he proves his devotion, the happy couple proceeds to the depart-
