Дидактический материал к уроку английского языка "История культуры Санкт-Петербурга"

Saint-Petersburg: the ADMIRALTY

1. What are three reasons why the place of construction the Admiralty was chosen on the place where it is?
2. What is there on the spire of the tower?
3. How did A.S. Pushkin call this spire?
4. What is there inside the “apple” and was is  kept in it?
5. What was put inside in 1999?
6. Why wasn’t the worker, who made fixing works of the spire in 1886, paid?

The Main Admiralty building is an outstanding sample of Russian and world architecture, a major achievement of the early classical art. The original Admiralty was one of the first structures built in St.Petersburg.

Admiralty was designed to be a dockyard, where some of the first ships of Russia's Baltic fleet were built (some with participation of Tzar Peter I himself who was an expert in shipbuilding). The building was assuming its present aspect during a whole century. The first Admiralty was founded in 1704 to a design of Peter I himself. One-story clay- walled structures were arranged in the form of the Russian letter N ("H") in the south the territory was fortified by an earthen rampart and bastions. The yard was surrounded by an inner moat. The building housed warehouses, workshops, as well as different admiralty departments; the yard held covered slips for constructing sailing vessels.

The new, stone building of the Admiralty was erected in 1732-1738 to a design by Korobov. It was built in the same place and retained the former layout and the general outline. In the center, above the gates, a well-proportioned tower went up 72,5 m high, topped by a gilt spire, which has remained there up to the present.

Sample – образец

Dockyard – earthen

Rampart – вал

Warehouse – склад

Slip – промах

Retain – сохранять

Layout – проект

In the early 19th century, when the center of the city could boast of grand architectural ensembles, it became necessary to radically rebuild the Admiralty. The fortification structures were demolished. In 1806-1823 the third Admiralty (the present one) was erected to a design by the Great Russian architect Zakharov that was to commemorate the naval power and victories of the Russian fleet. The grand structure (its main facade being 407 m long) consists of two H-shaped buildings - the outer and the inner ones; a canal used to run between them, that was later filled up. The first of them housed administrative establishments, the Department of Marine and River Transport of Russia; the second housed industrial workshops.

The gilded spire of the Admiralty and particularly its weather-vane - a little ship ("korablik") (width 1,92 m, height 1,58 m, mass 65,2 kg) is a famous St.Petersburg landmark. The tower of the building topped with the spire can be clearly seen from three streets: Nevsky Prospect, Gorokhovaya Street and Voznesensky Prospect. Later in front of the Admiralty a park was laid out which at once became one of the favorite outing places for the people of St.Petersburg.

Gilded spilt – позолоченный шпиль

Landmark – веха, ориентир

Spire - шпиль

Zakharov repeated the motif of the arch cutting through the central part of the building in the facades of the two symmetrical pavilions facing the Neva and completing the eastern and western wings. The regular segmentation rhythm makes the Admiralty look like a single whole. The Admiralty building is an example of architectural and sculptural synthesis. Zakharov maintained the original plan of the building, but turned it into a marvelous example of the Russian Empire style, where all lines are proportional and are subordinated to bright joining idea; there are rows of white columns, plentiful relieves and statues.

Segmentation rhythm – сегментный ритм

Maintain – поддерживать, сохранять

Subordinate -  подчинять

Zakharov enlisted the best contemporary Russian sculptors with Shchedrin at the head. The main high-relief The Establishment of a Fleet in Russia (sculptor Terebenev) in the tower attic is linked with the raison d'etre of the building-navigation and shipbuilding. The relief represents

High-relief- барельеф

Raison d’etre   - разумное основа

Neptune who is handing Peter I the trident-a symbol of power over the sea. The lateral parts of the relief are filled with the figures of Tritons and Nymphs, holding giant globes franking the main gate, engaged in the shipbuilding works or saluting the ships already launched. The sculptural decoration of the tower is especially rich and interesting. On both sides of the main arch there are sculptural groups representing Nymphs carrying the Globe; at the corners of the tower attic stand the statues of Alexander the Great, Achilles, Ajax and Pyrrhus (sculptor Shchedrin). The statues above the upper colonnade of the tower symbolize the four seasons of the year, four elements of nature, four main winds, there are Isis, the patroness of shipbuilding, and Urania, the Muse of Astronomy among them. Sculptors Pimenov, Demuth-Malinovsky and Anisimov also took part in the works.

Shipbuilding in the Admiralty went on till 1844. Later only some departments concerned with the Navy remained in the building, and since 1925 the Admiralty houses the Higher Naval Engineering School. The gardens and fountain in front of the Admiralty are particularly lovely in summer.

Trident {traident}– трезубец

Lateral – боковой

Franking – открывающий

Engage - вовлекать

Metro: Nevsky Prospekt / Gostiny Dvor

Saint-Petersburg: KRONSHTADT

Kronshtadt (Cronstadt) is a small city, NW European Russia, on the small island of Kotlin in the Gulf of Finland, c.15 mi (20 km) from Saint Petersburg. It is one of the chief naval bases for the Russian Baltic fleet. The harbor is icebound for several months each year. It was founded (1703) by Peter I as a port and a fortress to protect the site of St.Petersburg, and it was the commercial harbor of St.Petersburg until the 1880s. The port lost its commercial value after the development of St.Petersburg. The visit (1891) of a French naval squadron to Kronshtadt was followed by a Franco-Russian military agreement heralding the formation of the Triple Entente of France, England, and Russia. Mutinies of the naval garrison took place in 1825 and 1882 and played a part in the revolutions of 1905 and 1917. A revolt of the sailors in March 1921, was instrumental in establishing Lenin's New Economic Policy. The general unrest among peasants and workers touched off this mutiny of the naval garrison that had been loyal to the Bolsheviks during the revolution. This was the climax of the anti-Bolshevik unrest in the country. In World War II, Kronshtadt played a major role in the defense of St. Petersburg (then Leningrad) against the Germans.

The Sea Cathedral built in 1913 is truly known to be the symbol of Kronshtadt. The architect Kosyakov, the author of the project, was inspired by the Sophia Cathedral in Konstantinopol. The Cathedral with the height of 70,6 meters and the diameter of the dome of 27 meters can be easily seen from the coasts of the Gulf. Inside there is a marble memorial to the died sailors. The Cathedral was a cathedral only for 16 years. In 1929 communists closed the cathedral, destroyed many of the decorations, broke crosses and bells. Then the cathedral was used as a club building, a cinema and a museum. At the moment the cathedral is planned to be restored. The golden cross on the top of the dome was fixed up in 2002. The stained-glass windows are to be made soon.

The monument to Admiral Makarov in the Anchor Square near the Sea Cathedral is the most famous monument in Kronshtadt. The Admiral Makarov is famous for his contribution to military shipbuilding (especially for his works on floodability of a ship), bravery in battles, and the first torpedo attacks against enemy ships. Makarov took part in circumnavigations, conducted various scientific researches and was awarded a golden medal by the Russian Geographic Society. He was the commandant of the port of Kronshtadt and did a lot for the town. In 1904 he left Kronshtadt to take part in the war between Russia and Japan and died on April 13 onboard the battleship "Petropavlovsk". After that there was a struggle between Kronshtadt and Saint-Petersburg for the privilege to build a monument in honour of the Admiral. Finally a bronze statue was placed in Kronshtadt and stands upon a granite stone weighting about 160 tones. The stone bas-reliefs depict the events the Admiral Makarov took part in: the explosion of the Turkish boat "Intibach", the death of "Petropavlovsk", the icebreaker "Ermak" in the arctic ice. The monument is so beautiful and majestic that it cannot be compared with anything but the Copper Horseman is St.Petersburg.

Navy ships and submarines near the quays are the special feature of Kronshtadt. No doubt there are not many places in Russia where you can see the military enginery standing within tens of meters. Certainly there are no cruisers-carrier or atomic submarine here, but the fact that ships are surrounded by historic buildings instead of bare rocks in the north of Russia.

Italian Palace is one of the oldest buildings of the town. It was built in 1717–1724 by the architect Braunstein. During the XIX century the palace was rebuilt several times: in 1833-1835 by architect Anert for the Sea Cadet Corps, in 1844-1848 by architect Akutin for navigation and engineering school. For the last time the Italian Palace was rebuilt in 1946 to place the Officers' House. All these rebuildings deformed the initial look of the building however the general concept of the initial plan remained. A small garden near the palace was made in 1858.

Gostiny Dvor in the form we can see it now was build in 1827-1831 instead of the old wooden one. It was the engineer Beil, who built a stone Gostiny Dvor. Gostiny Dvor represents a square of the cases, surrounded by the covered gallery. There is gate for entrance to a courtyard from the western and eastern part of the building. In the ground and second floors there were warehouses of the goods. After 1917 a number of the shops has been incorporated for creation of large trading halls, but these shops had very small height, various show-windows and doors. In 1953-1966 the full reconstruction of shops and warehouses was carried out: small shops were incorporated into the big halls adequate to conditions of trade. Kronshtadt is also known for the monuments to Peter the First, Bellinsgauzen, Popov, Pakhtusov, battleship "October Revolution" and clipper "Oprichnik". Ancient buildings of The Sea Officer Assembly, Navy Hospital and many others are very interesting, too.