Messages

91

The Alexander Palace / Re: Portrait Hall

« on: October 04, 2008, 12:55:13 PM »

The Main Enfilade was created by Quarenghi in 1796 and consisted of 3 halls: the Portrait Hall, the Semicircular Hall and the Marble Drawing Room regarded as a single premise subject to a unified artistic conception. The walls and the parquetry pattern of the 3 interiors were the same. If one looks at pictures from 1917 one sees 3 chandeliers, central in each room. I wonder if any survived?

92

The Alexander Palace / Re: Alexander Palace restoration will begin next year - 2009

« on: September 23, 2008, 07:21:37 AM »

I just thought that I would say " Do not go overboard on this ruin idea!" It is not a nice site and does not convey images of former glory. Ropsha is a case-in-point. As many times as you see a picture of Alexandra with the girls sitting on the stairs leading to the double doors with the white curtains blowing in the wind, today one sees ruins that are not maintained and are covered from top to bottom with rotting wood scaffolding. It is very difficult to find. It is glorious the first time you look at it because you do imagine its opulent past but after a few minutes one is overwhelmed by the magnitude of its restoration need. The people of the area want it restored to bring tourists and therefore a vibrant economy to the area. But it will take millions. Until then it is unsafe to even walk around the outside grounds. I would not want to think of the AP in this ruinous state.

93

Servants, Friends and Retainers / Re: Anna Aleksandrovna Vyrubova (1884-1964)

« on: August 30, 2008, 07:06:36 AM »

Her life during and after the revolution was indeed very difficult including prison, harrowing escapes and even leaving behind all her friends and worldly possessions. She had very good friends helping her. She did indeed live in Finland until her death; in a modern apartment building in Helsinki that still stands today; first in a bigger apartment on a higher floor (even had an elevator because she was very crippled) and then a tiny apartment on the ground floor. She is buried in Helsinki.

94

Tsarskoe Selo Palaces / Re: Books and Resourses on the Imperial Palaces

« on: August 25, 2008, 08:51:54 AM »

Just thought I would add the ISBN 09549137-1-X Polperro Heritage Press UK - "Saving The Tsars' Palaces" by Christopher Morgan and Irina Orlova, 2005

95

The Alexander Palace / Re: Alexander Palace restoration will begin next year - 2009

« on: August 21, 2008, 11:59:34 AM »

I must agree with Bob - the palace was in better shape in 2006 than in 2008. Now it seems to be very dirty, dusty on the outside. And when we were there, the outside was overrun by very large dogs - I counted 14 sitting on or at the bottom of the stairs leading to the doors of the left wing museum. I was terrified. We became frightened to even walk the park.

And this is from someone who's best friend is my neighbour's big yellow lab!!

I fell in love with the AP in 1996 when I saw it for the first time, in all its decay. Before we could see inside! And I have loved the grounds all my life. I like the ruins of the Gorodok because I envision the hospital during Alexandra's/girls' nursing days. I love the white tower with the girls sliding down the hill. Etc, Etc.

But now if fell disappointed. I hope one day it is restored to its former glory.

A funny story about paint colour - if you ask a Russian today what colour a palace was 100, 20, 5 years ago, they shrug. Because the exterior colour is not that important to them. The Winter Palace, Peterhof and the Anickovf were all a horrible (in my opinion) red because that was the paint colour that was in the greatest quantity at the time. So it was ordered by Tsar Alex that they paint everything red, to use it up.

I love the yellow of Pavlovsk and Peterhof and the AP. The blue of the Catherine Palace and the Smolney have changed 3 times in my visits; I love blue but I don't find these shades to be pretty. St. Nicholas' Cathedral is lovely. The Stroganoff has change colour twice. And so on... 

96

Tsarskoe Selo Palaces / Re: The English Palace

« on: August 19, 2008, 02:02:55 PM »

Amazing!!

97

Tsarskoe Selo Palaces / Re: The English Palace

« on: August 19, 2008, 07:45:14 AM »

The English Palace simply disappeared during the siege and nothing was found but rubble. It has been cleaned up and conserved but there has not so far been any attempt to recreate it. Per the book Saving the Tsars' Palaces.

98

Tsarskoe Selo Palaces / Re: War Damage of Tsarskoe Selo and Peterhof

« on: August 19, 2008, 07:30:24 AM »

Bob I think that we are all standing in line to buy your book   

Have you ever seen a picture of the AP INTERIOR as a SS hospital?

99

Tsarskoe Selo Palaces / Re: War Damage of Tsarskoe Selo and Peterhof

« on: August 17, 2008, 10:53:32 AM »

Thanks Michael HR for your kind words.

This is my passion.

Robert Hall in my haste I should have mentioned that it was the unburied statues that the Germans smashed - they did look for the buried statues and did find a few and destroyed them but most of the hidden statues were saved. A cute story - some people/palaces laboriously mapped every placement of every buried treasure; some people/palaces did not have the time to do the mapping. The lucky people after the war had an easier time unearthing the mapped statues. The unlucky people of the unmapped treasures had to dig everywhere to find them. Big holes!!

Kuchumov spent many years travelling throughout Russia and adjoining countries following the trails of lost and stolen treasures.

Gatchina today does not get the tourists that the Catherine Palace etc. do but it is being meticulously restored inside and does have lovely gardens. The park is open to the public. The town itself is rather uninspiring. But one day it will be a huge treasure as well.

I do not know if it was Getsapo in the AP but I do know that hundreds of SS are buried in the driveway/garden directly in front of the AP. I do not think that the bodies were moved elsewhere so they may still be under the gravel.

I do not know if Lenin was even in Tsarskoe Selo.

After the war there was a decree that found tenants for the mansions and palaces (during restoration and after) who would keep the buildings in reasonable repair and for the most part not destroy anything that remained. For example, rest homes and orphanages. Eventually, military moved into many.

Some places were never repaired and are lost forever.

100

Tsarskoe Selo Palaces / Re: War Damage of Tsarskoe Selo and Peterhof

« on: August 16, 2008, 06:31:44 AM »

It is absolutely impossible to describe the devastation to the palaces and park surrounding Leningrad during the war. A few pictures will not be enough also. The palaces (except Oranienbaum) were completely destroyed (during the occupation the Germans used most rooms a toilets, most walls for target practice and even boarded their horses. As they retreated they bombed and burned everything in site). All the park statues were destroyed. The parks themselves were mined. The towns were destroyed. Not many people remained and those that did were home less. In Pavlovsk for example only one house in the town remained standing.

The Russian artillery had to fire on their own palaces and towns in order to defeat the Germans (it broke their hearts to do so).

If it had not been for the foresight of the Russian people to hide what they could and to transport out of Leningrad and the surrounding areas as much of their historical treasures as was humanly possible, there would be nothing left today.

If it had not been for the courage and pride of the Russian people to go out everyday to clean up after the destruction, there would be nothing left today. Women, voluntarily, would walk the park grounds to find the mines - at least one died every day in the grounds of Pavlovsk. And they cleared rubble from the Catherine Palace, the AP, Peterhof, Pavlovsk and many more every day for years saving anything that could be restored and anything that could be used as an example to create a new copy.

If it had not been for the many many Russian people who learned the restoration techniques of the old masters and then dedicated their whole lives to the painstakingly restoration work, there would be nothing left today.

A very good book to read is "Saving The Tsars' Palaces" by Christopher Morgan and Irina Orlova, 2005.

My heroes are Anna Zelenova and Anatoli Kuchumov but there are thousands more, even today.

101

The Alexander Palace / Re: Children's Island

« on: August 06, 2008, 08:57:06 AM »

Thank you Marie-Catherine and Sarushka - I will now have to look more carefully at all my prints of old pictures. I find it hard to believe anything anymore because computers have allowed the retouching of photos and the rewording of documents and the falsification of signatures etc. etc.
But I still love the flow of information.
Cathy

102

The Alexander Palace / Re: Children's Island

« on: August 05, 2008, 12:43:15 PM »

Marie-Catherine and Emmylee

Can you tell me what part of the photo #2 is retouched? Or what you see on the photo that may not be original - the actual things that you see. I can't figure out what may not be real - it looks ok to me but I don't know what to judge it by.

Thanks so much
Cathy

103

Books about the Romanovs and Imperial Russia / Re: The Winter Queen By Boris Akunin

« on: March 06, 2005, 02:08:26 PM »

I have just purchased The Winter Queen and can't wait to read it - I bought it for $4 Cdn; I'm so cheap (hee hee) that I wait until I find good books used or on sale I'm on the hunt now for the next two.
Cathy

104

The Alexander Palace / Re: Children's Island

« on: January 09, 2005, 12:40:17 AM »

Thanks Joanna - At least the weather is not destroying the inside anymore.  I can't wait to see it in 'real' life!!

105

Books about the Romanovs and Imperial Russia / Re: In the Shadow of the Winter Palace by Cranksha

« on: November 17, 2004, 12:02:57 AM »

Yes, I agree - E. Crankshaw has a very readable writing style - his words flow with ease through interesting but sometimes tedious details of history.
Does anyone know when he died?
Janet-W says .."the late great historian Harrison Evans Salisbury..." - do you know when he died?
Thanks so much. Cathy