#palace square

"Солнечные силуэты". Фотограф Иван Смелов.  Россия (Санкт-Петербург).

"Sunny silhouettes". Photographer Ivan Smelov. Russia (Saint Petersburg).

Tsar Nicholas II on the balcony of the Winter Palace on 20 July, 1914 reading the declaration of war against Germany that would set WWI in motion [read the speech online]

"To declare war the Tsar and the Tsarina had to go to St. Petersburg to the Winter Palace. The halls of the Winter Palace were full of people. Everyone who had a chance to get to the Palace used it. A crowd consisting of many thousands of people surrounded it. When the Tsar went out onto the balcony all and one went down on their knees.  When the war was declared all the courtiers gathered in the Nicholayevski Hall where the Tsar was to receive thousands of officials, ministers and noblemen. The Tsar made his famous speech which contained the following words: "I solemnly declare here that I shall not conclude peace until the last enemy soldier leaves our homeland."  Then a service took place. The hymn "To Thou Lord" reflected against the walls of the Palace was received with exultant cries of the crowd.  The Empress Alexandra Fyodorovna walked beside the Emperor holding his arm with her eyes full of tears. Standing in the doorway of the Malachite Sitting Room I touched her hand when she was passing by, we looked at each other and read understanding in each other's eyes. Her weakness didn't last long. On the next day she was a new person who forgot about her illness and weaknesses. She started organizing storehouses for linen, hospital and hospital trains equipment. It was important to do it fast. The Empress understood that thousands of badly wounded soldiers could start arriving after the first battle. She planned to create a network of hospitals and medical centres from St.Petersburg to Khatkov and Odessa in the south of Russia. One could not believe his eyes when he saw how strong the Empress was and what a great talent for organizing she possessed. She could forget all her troubles for the sake of others. - Later Memoirs of Anna Vyrubova

The Alexander Column (or Alexandrian Column) in Palace Square, Saint Petersburg

It is considered the tallest column in the world at 155 feet. The column stands as the focal point of Palace Square. It was designed by a French architect and built between 1830 and 1834 to honor Russia's victory over France in the Napoleonic Wars.

The column is topped by an angel whose face is remarkably similar to that of Alexander I. On the side of the sculpted base is an inscription that says, "To Alexander I from a grateful Russia."

The column is considered a remarkable engineering accomplishment. A single piece of red granite was obtained in Finland and transported by sea to Saint Petersburg on a barge specially designed for this purpose. Without the aid of modern cranes and engineering machines, the column, weighing 661 tons, was erected by 3,000 men under the guidance of William Handyside in less than 2 hours. It is set so neatly that no attachment to the base is needed, and it is fixed in position by its own weight alone.

The Terreiro do Paço (Palace Square) and the Ribeira Royal Palace, prior to their destruction in the 1755 Lisbon earthquake.

“Murderers, You Bombed It to Smithereens”

Of course, as a true masochist, I went to Palace Square to look at those hearts, small and large, supposedly symbolizing the sister cities of Petersburg and Mariupol. It is clear whose heart is the small one, and whose the big one, in the imperial capital. My thoughts about this are unprintable, so I’ll omit them. But I went for curiosity’s sake: how many people would be getting their pictures…