My Creative Blog:
architecture

St. Petersburg, former Leningrad, was founded by Tsar Peter I of Russia on May 27, 1703. It was the capital of the Russian Empire for more than two hundred years, until the Russian Revolution in 1917.

The city is considered to be the most Western inspired of Russia and by the Russians often referred to as The Northern Capital.

St. Petersburg is home to The Hermitage, the largest art museum in the world, featuring interiors of the former imperial residence and a vast collection of art. It was founded in 1764 by Catherine the Great and open to the public since 1852. Its collections, of which only a small part is on permanent display, comprise nearly 3 million items, including the largest collection of paintings in the world.

Other famous cultural sites are The Mariinsky Opera, The Ballet Theatre and The Imperial palace and park ensemble at Peterhof.

There are several gardens to see in St. Petersburg. Here's some of them.

The Alexander Garden was laid out in 1872-1874 over what had been Admiralty Square, to a design by the landscape gardener Eduard Regel, as part of the celebrations of the 200^th anniversary of the birth of Peter the Great. The Garden was formally opened in 1874 in the presence of Alexander II, who agreed to having the Garden named after him.

The Botanical Garden is one of the oldest Botanical Gardens in the country. The Garden was founded in 1714 by order of Peter the Great as the Apothecary's Garden, and soon became a centre for horticultural research that was the equal of any other in Europe in terms of the importance and size of its collection. Originally the Apothecary's Garden focused mainly on growing medicinal herbs, but soon people began bringing saplings and seeds of rare and exotic plants — for which a greenhouse was specially built.

The Catherine Garden is the unofficial name for the public garden in front of the Alexandriinsky Theater, between the Theater and Nevsky Prospect. The Garden was laid out in the 1820s to a design by Carlo Rossi, and the statue of Catherine the Great which dominates it and from which it takes its name was erected in 1873. From late spring to early fall — and sometimes into winter — local artists sit on the sidewalk outside the Catherine Garden exhibiting and selling their work and offering to draw portraits of passers-by.

The Summer Garden is located where the Fontanka River flows out of the Neva River. It was founded in 1704 by order of Peter the Great, who was personally involved in planning it, and is laid out according to strict geometrical principles. The Summer Garden is home to marble statues acquired from Europe especially for Russia's new capital, and also to rare flowers and plants, as well as fountains. It was a traditional location for courtly life outside the palace, and balls were held here by the nobility, who also enjoyed simply taking the air in the Garden.

Moscow Victory Park is located in the south of St. Petersburg on Moskovsky Prospect. It was founded in 1945 to mark the Allied victory in World War II over Nazi Germany. The Park, which spreads over 68 hectares, is home to more than 100 types of tree and bush, and includes elements of formal and landscape planning, being decorated with ponds, canals, avenues, and flower gardens.

The Tauride Garden was laid out in 1783-1789 on the estate of Grigory Potemkin behind the Tauride Palace from which it took its name. Potemkin was one of Catherine the Great's favourites (and lover, allegedly), and the Empress gave Potemkin the land and the title of Prince of Tauridia for his services in conquering ancient Tauridia (now the Crimean Peninsula). The Tauride Garden was landscaped in true Romantic style, designed to imitate nature, with ponds and canals and picturesque rolling landscape. Trees and shrubs were brought in especially from England.

And just for the fun of it, here are a few more photos of St. Petersburg.

Since my Man recently became the head of security at The Swedish Royal Opera House, I thought I'd publish a blog about the historic building.

The opera company was founded by King Gustav III and its first performance, "Thetis and Phel'e" with Carl Stenborg and Elisabeth Olin, was given on January 18, 1773; this was the first native speaking opera performed in Sweden.

But the first opera house was not opened until 1782 and served for a century before being replaced at the end of the 19th century. Both houses were officially called the "Royal Opera", however the terms "The Gustavian Opera" and "The Oscarian Opera", or the "Old" and "New" Opera are used when distinction is needed.

The original Stockholm Opera House, the work of architect Carl Fredrik Adelcrantz was commissioned by King Gustav III, a strong adherent of the ideal of an enlightened absolutism and as such was a great patron of the arts.

The Swedish Opera company had first been located in Bollhuset, but there was a need to separate the Opera from the theatre and give them separate buildings. Construction began in 1775 and the theatre was inaugurated on 30 September 1782 with a performance of the German composer Johann Gottlieb Naumann 's Cora och Alonzo . It was also the place for public masquerade balls, events inspired from the famous opera-balls in Paris, which was open for everyone wearing a mask at a cheap cost and somewhat ill-reputed.

The Gustavian opera building in 1880:

The building was very imposing with its center Corinthian tetrastyle portico supporting four statues and topped by the royal crown. The four-tiered auditorium was oval in shape, had excellent acoustics and sight lines. The sumptuous foyer contained neoclassic medallions and pilasters.

It was in the foyer of the opera house where the king met his fate: during a masquerade on March 16, 1792, he was shot by Jacob Johan Anckarstr'm, and died 7 days later. (In turn, this event inspired the opera Un Ballo in Maschera by Verdi.)

Following the assassination, the opera house was closed until 1 November 1792, when it was opened again, which by some was considered shocking.

The son of Gustav III, King Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden, did not like the Opera, possibly because of the murder of his father, and disliked the fact that the scene of his father's murder was used as a place of amusement and leisure, and when a frivolous play was performed for his queen Frederica of Baden in 1806, he decided to close it down. It remained closed until 1809, and when the king was deposed, it took until May 1812, before it was organised enough to be fully opened again.

You can find more information here!

Since it's Sunday, and although I'm not a Christian I do love churches. So let's start with some of those, around the world.

This is actually Las Vegas. Not so glamorous this way, is it?

It's still hot here in mid Sweden and to be honest it's beginning to test my strengths. I know I shouldn't complain but 30 degrees can be a bit of a shock on the Scandinavian body. We're used to snow and polar bears, you know. ;-)

The Greeks however'.

Hugs, Bettina.

Architecture and landscape. Those are my two favourite things to photograph. Nothing is the same, every new place, every new city, there's always something new to see and capture. If I could, I would visit all the cities on earth (and beyond, if that's the question) and all nature there is. But then again, who wouldn't?

More enjoyable photos from South-Norway.

Hugs, Bettina.

Kristiansand is the largest city in the south of Norway. It was grounded by the Danish and Norwegian King Christian IV in 1641.

Kristiansand is a 'summer city', large amounts of tourists visit every summer and ' Dyreparken ' ' the Zoo ' is the most visited tourist attraction in Norway, apart from Holmenkollen in Oslo.

The town is known for it's square city centre and the oldest part of the town is called 'Posebyen'. This part has the largest collection of low, coherent tree houses in Northern Europe.

Why it's called 'Posebyen' is somewhat unclear. One explanation is that the name is from the French 'repos' which means 'resting place'. This because the inhabitants in this part of town made good money by accommodating soldiers from the fortress.

There are many historical houses in Posebyen. Here are some of them.

Source: flickr

Canadian photographer Chris Smart makes abandoned factories beautiful with these pictures. His obsession has been made into the book Surface.

At first glance the pictures seem creepy and boring, but if you take a second look you will discover the atmospheric beauty and majesty of old exiting history. They remind of the ruins of Greek and Roman temples.

Beautiful pink houses in Saint Tropez.

Take an old mill and some stables in Wales, and convert it into a pretty family home and you're sure to win the English, Best Period Renovation Readers' Awards, which is what former fashion designer Linda Cobbett did. And here's the result.

Source: Period Living

Check out this absolutely amazing apartment! And it's for sale. In MY town. And. I. Want. It. Badly!!

Don't miss the beautiful fireplace. Fireplaces in cast iron is normal to see in Swedish homes but this one is so special. I've never seen one like it. I could buy this home only based on this object.

The prize tag is SEK 2 350 000, which isn't to bad for a renovated two story apartment with French balcony in the best area of the city!

The apartment building is a so called Governor's House, named after Albert Ehrensv'rd. The story behind it was that in the 19th century it was only allowed to build two stories high houses in wood and so one crossed the red tape and built the first floor in stone.

This way of building is typical for Gothenburg but can also be found in other places of Sweden.

Most of these homes were built for the working class and usually they had one room and a kitchen where up to 15 people lived together. Today the apartments are very popular amongst small families and it's hard to find one to buy.

Enjoy the photos!

Source: Stadshem