Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
a monument to the 1812 trouncing of Napoleon. Rossi also completed Mikhailovsky
Rossi's genius continued to shine through the reactionary rule of Nicholas I. In fact,
Nicholas was the last of the Romanovs to initiate mass municipal architecture; and so
Rossi remained in favour, despite Nicholas' personal preference for the Slavic Reviv-
al style that was very popular in Moscow at the time.
Rossi's largest projects under Nicholas were the redesign of Senate Sq (now pl
Zodchego Rossi). The Theatre St ensemble is a masterpiece of proportions: its width
(22m) is the same height as its buildings, and the entire street is exactly 10 times the
width (220m).
IMPERIAL ST PETERSBURG
Although Rossi continued to transform the city, the building that would redefine the
church built in a classical style, it is the fourth largest cathedral in Europe. Montfer-
rand's unique masterpiece took over three decades to construct and remains the
highest building in St Petersburg.
Nicholas' reign saw the construction of St Petersburg's first permanent bridge
across the Neva, Blagoveshchensky Most (Annunciation Bridge), and Russia's first
railway (linking the capital to Tsarskoe Selo to get the royal family to their summer
palace quickly - it's fair to say that the Romanovs didn't quite understand the massive
potential of the new technology). A more useful line to Moscow began service in
1851, and Nikolaevsky Station, now known as Moscow Station (Moskovsky vokzal),
was built to accommodate it.
The reigns of Alexander II and Alexander III saw few changes to the overall build-
ing style in St Petersburg. Industrialisation under Alexander II meant filling in several
canals, most significantly the Ligovsky Canal (now Ligovsky pr). A plan to fill in
Griboedov Canal proved too expensive to execute and the canal remains one of the
city's most charming.
The main contribution of Alexander III was the Church of the Resurrection of
