Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
baroque spires and golden domes. It was one of the few churches that continued to
work during the Soviet era, when organised religion was effectively banned.
Nicknamed the Sailor's Church (Nicholas is the patron saint of sailors), it contains
many 18th-century icons and a fine carved wooden iconostasis, though visitors are
limited to only a small area of the church's interior. A graceful bell tower overlooks
Kanal Griboyedova, which is crossed by
Staro-Nikolsky most
. From this bridge,
you can see at least seven bridges, more than from any other spot in the city.
THE
THEATRE
TRE
MARIINSKY THEATRE
11am-7pm, tours by arrangement; Sadovaya)
The pretty green-and-white Mariinsky
Theatre has played a pivotal role in Russian ballet ever since it was built in 1859. Out-
side performance times you can wander into the theatre's foyer and maybe peep into
its lovely auditorium. To experience the theatre as its designers intended, your best
sometimes available - ask at the main ticket office if these are running during your
visit.
Construction of the New Mariinsky Theatre is under way directly west of the ori-
ginal building on the other side of the Kryukov Canal. Due to open by 2012, the
theatre will seat some 2000 people and contain six stages, marking the Mariinsky's ar-
Elsewhere around Teatralnaya pl you will find the illustrious music school,
DRAMA BACKSTAGE: THE NEW MARIINSKY THEATRE
When the Mariinsky Theatre's artistic director, Valery Gergiev, announced in
2003 that the first opera house to be built in Russia since the 1917 revolution
would be constructed next door to one of Russia's most august cultural institu-
tions, his reception in ultra-conservative St Petersburg was unsurprisingly cool.
