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March 25, 2011
left before SPIMUN 2026 Around the Gymnasium - Articles
The luxurious mansion was built for Peter the Great associate Alexander Kikin. Unfortunately, Kikin failed to live there for a long time: in 1718 he was executed. By the order of Peter I the Kunstkammer (the chamber of curiosities) - the first museum in Russia - was started there. The collection includedcoins and medals, anatomic preparations, botanic and zoological rarities, archeological artifacts.
The Tzar himself used to show them to the nobility and foreign guests. However, common people were afraid of visiting the Kunstkammer. So, it was decided to treat each visitor either with a cup of coffee or a glass of vodka or wine. Bread and butter were served in addition. Nowadays the Kikin Hall houses a musical lyceum.
Smolny Nunnery and Smolny Cathedral
The name Smolny derives from the location - in the early days of St. Petersburg the place at the edge of the city where pitch (smola in Russian) was processed for use in shipbuilding and maintenance. As a result, it was called smolny - the place of pitch.
The daughter of Peter the Great, Empress Elizaveta Petrovna, decided to spend her old age in the peace of a nunnery. She ordered to build the nunnery for one hundred and twenty nuns and herself as their Mother Superior. The Smolny nunnery was built, but eventually, the Empress gave up her wish to become a nun. The convent main church, a blue-and-white building, is considered to be one of the architectural masterpieces of the Italian architect Francesco Rastrelli.
In the XIXth - at the beginning of XXth century this building housed the Smolny institute for noble maidens - a private educational establishment for girls from noble families. After the monarchy failed to exist in 1917 the building was occupied by Bolsheviks - the supporters of Vladimir Lenin. It was turned into the headquarters of the Revolution. The first in the USSR monument to Lenin was erected in front of the Smolny. During the Siege of Leningrad, the building of Smolny Institute served as the city defense headquarters. Now Smolny houses the Administration of St. Petersburg.
Bridge of Peter the GreatThe construction of the bridge was fascilitated by a tragic event. In spring of 1907 the ferry, which was crossing the river with passengers on board, overturned and sank. The foundation ceremony took place in honor of the bicentenary of Poltava battle on 26 June, 1909. Therefore, the bridge was named to commemorate the winner of the battle - the Emperor Peter the Great. The legend says that one of the bridge clinches was made of pure gold and painted the same color as the others.
