Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Other notable additions to the cityscape during Catherine's reign included the new
Elizabeth had commissioned Rastrelli to rebuild an arcade that had burned down in
1736; but Catherine removed Rastrelli from the project and had it completed by Vallin
de la Mothe, who created a more subtle and understated neoclassical facade. The
purest classical construction in St Petersburg was perhaps Vasily Stasov's Tauride
Gould's expansive English gardens.
RUSSIAN EMPIRE STYLE
Alexander I (r 1801-25) ushered in the new century with much hope that he would
see through Catherine's reforms, becoming the most progressive tsar yet. His most en-
during architectural legacy would be the new Alexandrian Empire style, a Russian
counterpart of the style that had become popular in prewar Napoleonic France. This
style was pioneered by a new generation of architects, most famously Carlo Rossi.
Before the Napoleonic Wars, the two most significant additions to the cityscape
were the Strelka, the 'tongue of land' at the tip of Vasilyevsky Island, and Kazan
Cathedral, prominently placed on Nevsky pr by Andrei Voronikhin. The Strelka (
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) had long been the subject of designs and proposals as a centrepiece to
St Petersburg. Thomas de Thomon finally rebuilt Quarenghi's Stock Exchange and
added the much-loved Rostral Columns to the tip of the island. The result was a stun-
ning sight during summer festivities when the columns lit the sky with fire, a tradition
omaly in St Petersburg's architectural history. It had been commissioned by Tsar Paul
I and reflected his tastes and desire to fuse Catholicism and Orthodoxy. As such it is
strikingly un-Russian, borrowing many of its features from the contemporaneous Itali-
an architecture of Rome and Florence.
Following the Napoleonic wars, Carlo Rossi initiated several projects of true geni-
us. This Italian architect defined the historic heart of St Petersburg with his imperial
buildings - arguably even more than Rastrelli. On Palace Sq, he created the sumptu-
Rastrelli's Winter Palace without outshining it. The building's vast length, punctuated
by white columns, and its magnificent triumphal arch make Palace Sq one of the most
awe-inspiring urban environments in the world. The final touch to Palace Sq was ad-
