Architectural Tour
For architecture and decoration enthusiasts and professionals: tourists are offered to enjoy the stunning architectural masterpieces and better understand Russian culture and soul
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What is Architectural Tourism?
Architectural tourism means traveling in order to visit architectural constructions, learn their styles and peculiarities, and enjoy the stunning architectural masterpieces. Such a traveling style has become more and more popular during recent years. Moscow and St.Petersburg are the major Russian cities, full of architectural heritage from admirable palaces and cathedrals since the times of Russian Tsars to the modern high-tech buildings with breath-taking city views. Acquaintance with architectural styles of these great cities helps tourists to dive into Russian culture and spirit.
Types of tourism
Excursion
theme
Excursion
theme
Saint Petersburg
A Mixture of Russian and European Architecture
Saint Petersburg is a big city, which includes a mixture of Russian and European architecture. Critics argue a lot about the architectural image of the city, some of them think that it does not have its own style, like a “city without a face”; but others suppose that thanks to it St. Petersburg has become a very unique and unusual city, which architecture will leave nobody indifferent. Eclecticism, which comprises different art forms of the past, is considered to be a highlight of the city, it varies from buildings in Baroque and Soviet styles to Neoclassical and Style Moderne constructions.
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The Age of Antiquity
Classical and Neoclassical Styles
Let’s start with describing the city’s Classical and Neoclassical styles. They are connected with the age of antiquity, ancient Greece and Italy, e.g. columns and sculptures, austerity, monumentalism, and greatness.
Among the brightest examples are Saint Isaac’s Cathedral, Kazan Cathedral, Music Hall, Admiralty, Yelagin Palace, General Staff Headquarters, Alexandrinsky Theatre, Russian Ethnographic Museum, and Imperial Academy of Arts.
Great Splendor
Baroque
Another architectural design popular in St. Petersburg is Baroque. It is characterized by great splendor, elegant decorative elements both inside and outside of the buildings, often turning into rococo. The Peterhof Palace, which is widely known as “Russian Versailles”, the Winter Palace and the Smolny Cathedral are the most iconic buildings of this style. The former residence of Russian Tsars, the Winter Palace is the State Hermitage Museum nowadays. It attracts a lot of people all over the world with its collections of great pictures. The Smolny Cathedral was designed by the same master as the Winter Palace. People can’t take their eyes off of its blue and white walls and sparkling golden domes.
Peter and Paul`s Сathedral is an amazing example of Peter`s Baroque. The cathedral was built in the times when Peter the Great was interested in Dutch and German architecture. The facility attracts tourists with its elongated shape and flat columns.
Asymmetric Shapes
Art Nouveau
St.Petersburg is filled with many bright constructions, built-in Style Moderne, or Art Nouveau, e.g. Vitebsky railway station, the Eliseyev Emporium, Cathedral Mosque, and Singer House. This style is characterized by free layout, asymmetric shapes and lines, the use of natural, roughly machined stones, decoration in the form of different details of flora and fauna. Buildings can also be decorated with metal products, stained glass windows, and mosaics. An exterior of facilities is usually made in the same concept and manner as an interior.
Rude Ways of Expression
Soviet Constructions
Describing the styles of St Petersburg’s architecture, we cannot but mention the Soviet constructions. Nearly all the outstanding buildings, which appeared in St Petersburg after the Second World War, were built in this style, e.g. impressive metro stations, the House of Soviets, the former KGB palace, Marine Station, and the Memorial to the Victims of Political Repression. The Soviet style attaches great importance to the shape of the buildings, it uses very rude ways of expression, like brutalism.
Moscow
Eclectic Architecture
Architecture in Moscow is totally eclectic, it comprises a mixture of medieval historical buildings and amazing facilities from the 17th till the 21st centuries. Moscow can also boast of the objects included in the UNESCO World Heritage List, such as Red Square and the Kremlin, the Novodevichy Convent, and the Ascension Church in Kolomenskoye Estate. Among the most widely spread architectural styles in Moscow are Moscow Baroque, Soviet, Modern architecture, and others.
The Kremlin and Red Square
Unique Architectural Style
The Kremlin and Red Square are the most picturesque constructions of our country, which arevfamous all over the world. If you ask any foreign citizen from any country what does he know about Russia, he will answer: “The Kremlin and Red Square”. These main symbols of Russia were built in the 15th century by Italian specialists. Tourists can’t take their eyes off the red-brick Kremlin walls, sparrow-tailed notches, and picturesque steeple-roofed towers. The Kremlin and Red Square were built in a very unique architectural form, which has no analogues all over the world and has become the ancestor of other new styles and schools.
Flying up Buildings
Moscow Baroque
Moscow Baroque is a unique Russian style of the 18th-19th centuries. Its main distinctive feature is flying up buildings, beautifully decorated facades, multi number of storeys, white-stone boyar chambers, columns, semi-columns, petal-shaped churches, etc. Among the brightest examples of this beautiful architectural design are Novodevichy Convent, the Assumption Church in Pokrovka Street, the Intercession Church at Fili, St. Clement’s Church, and others. The Soviet style attaches great importance to the shape of the buildings, it uses very rude ways of expression, like brutalism.
From Low Costs to High Rises
Soviet Architecture
The Soviet architecture is characterized by magnificent Stalinist buildings, which appeared in Moscow from the 1930s to the 1950s. Regarding examples we cannot but mention Stalin’s high rises, also called “Stalin’s Seven Sisters”, well-known all over the world. Another type of Soviet architecture is represented by large-scale low-cost panel buildings, which were popular in Moscow after the 1950s. Moscow Metro belongs to the Soviet and the post-Soviet architectural style. Among the most picturesque Metro stations, worthy of tourists’ attention, are Mayakovskaya, Kievskaya, Komsomolskaya, and Novoslobodskaya. Every station is characterized by impressive decorations and special meanings hidden in each element.
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Pride of Russia
Constructivism
Constructivism is considered to be a special type of the Soviet architecture, which influenced many styles in the whole world, the so-called pride of Russia. It is distinguished with a rejection of the decoration, priority of functional components, focus on the shapes, and a big break with traditions and the past. The main motto of Constructivism is “function is followed by the shape”. Architecture should be in service of ordinary people. Followers of Constructivism encouraged artists to create useful things and dreamt about a new harmonious person, living among convenient items in a well-maintained city.
The most iconic examples of this type are “Izvestiya” newspaper’s building, Moscow Planetarium, Rusakov House of Culture, Melnikov House, Shukhov Tower, Dom Narkomfina, Mosselprom Building and Danilov Department store.
High Technologies and Works of Art
Modern Moscow Architecture
Moscow city is definitely a must-see for every tourist, coming to Moscow. It has some similar features with great business centers in other countries and can impress even a very sophisticated traveler.
Regarding Modern Moscow architecture we cannot but mention the Moscow International Business Centre (known as Moscow City) as the brightest and most picturesque example of a mixture of high technologies with works of art.
Moscow is also proud of the great British architect Zaha Hadid`s masterpiece, called Dominion Tower. Among the usual buildings around this business centre looks like an alien ship resembling a stack of PlayStation 4 thrown at each other. This facility attracts with its uniqueness, extraordinary design, and beauty.
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