Vocabulary

1. adornment, architect, architecture, church, count, column, decoration, drawbridge, duel, facade, fortification, glorification, in memory of, lay-out, masterpiece, moat, monotony, moulding, relief, slipway, sculpture, sculptor, second; eminent, restrained, unique, urgently;

2. to adorn, to be under construction, to be shaped as (like), to create, to crown with, to execute, to fit in with, to gleam, to launch, to mount, to relieve, to span, to surround with.

Notes to the text

¹ is to be worth noting — стоит того, чтобы его отметили

² Wawelberg Bank — Банк Вавельберга

³ Doges' Palace in Venice — Дворец Дожей в Венеции (итал. Doge означает вождь)

⁴ had been named after... — был назван в честь...

⁵ the chief of the St. Petersburg police — начальник полиции Санкт-Петербурга, полицеймейстер

⁶ Dutch Church — Голландская церковь

⁷ P.Jacquot - П. Жако

Exercises

1. Practise the pronunciation of the following words:

1. church, column, count, drawbridge, duel, facade, moat, moulding, warship, yard, unique, to execute, to launch;

2. architecture, architectural, architect; sculpture, sculptural, sculptor.

2. Circle a strange word in the group:

1. fortress, shipyard, palace, building;

2. roof, entrance, window, door, house;

3. wall, moat, drawbridge, fortification;

4. facade, portico, spire, relief, sculpture, moulding, column;

5. wood, plaster, glass, background, granite, stone.

3. Sort these words into five groups of related words. There are four words in each group:

thoroughfare building build street

erect road office house

establishment create building design

construct street avenue house

facade colonnade portico entrance

4. Write a list of adjectives suitable for each noun given: centre, building, street, style, beauty, sculptor.

5. Talking points:

1. What was the Admiralty Yard intended for?

1. Why was the Admiralty Yard surrounded with a line of fortifications?

2. What was built in the Admiralty Yard?

2. How long did the shipbuilding continue in the Admiralty?

3. When did A.Zakharov erect the modern building of the Admiralty?

3. What adorns the Admiralty?

4. What are the names of poets, writers and composers who lived and worked in Nevsky Prospekt at different times?

Part III

The Kazan Cathedral. A block beyond the Moika River, we can see the Kazan Cathedral built in 1801-1811 by Andrei Voronikhin, who came from the family of serfs. The cathedral is one of the city's finest architectural monuments. The work of Voronikhin began a great period in the Russian architecture of the 19th century. The cathedral is named after the miraculous Kazan icon¹ which it once housed. With its fine semi-circle of 144 Corinthian columns² the cathedral plays an important part in the architectural appearance of Nevsky Prospekt. Huge bas-reliefs³ on biblical themes (49 feet⁴ long and 7 feet high) adorn the end walls of the semicircular colonnade which faces the Prospekt. The niches of the facade contain enormous statues (13 feet high) of Russian warriors (sculptor S. Pimenov). The small square in front of the main entrance (Plekhanov Street) is surrounded by beautifully designed ironwork by Voronikhin, an outstanding example of Russian decorative metal casting (1811-1812).

After Russia's victory over Napoleon in 1812, the cathedral became a sort of a memorial to Russia's military glory. It contains captured enemy banners and the keys of fortresses taken by the Russian troops in 1812. Here, too, is the tomb of Field Marshal Kutuzov. In December 1837, during the celebrations of the twenty — fifth anniversary of Napoleon's defeat in Russia, two monuments to the leaders of the Russian army during the war, Kutuzov and Barclay de Tolly were unveiled in front of the cathedral. These colossal bronze statues were the work of the sculptor B.I.Orlovsky and their tall granite pedestals were designed by the architect V.P.Stasov.

Building 28. Opposite the Kazan Cathedral, on the corner of Nevsky Prospekt and the Griboyedov Canal, stands a building faced with polished granite, with a glass tower and a glass globe (ten feet in diameter) rising from its roof. Constructed of stone, iron and glass in 1902-1904 by the architect P. Suzor it is the only fire-proof building in St. Petersburg. Nowadays it is known as Book House (Dom Knigi), the largest book shop in the city.

Khram Spasa na Krovi (Saint Saviour's Church). On our left, some distance along the Griboyedov Canal embankment, there is a good view of the church Khram Spasa na Krovi built in 1883-1907 by A.A.Parland on the spot where Alexander II was assassinated by members of the People's Will Party. It is a mediocre imitation of that splendid monument of ancient Russian architecture, St.Basil's Cathedral, which is situated in Red Square in Moscow.

Building 30. Opposite Book House, there is an eighteenth-century building. In St. Petersburg it was known as the house of Engelghardt, a friend of the great Russian poet A.S.Pushkin. The Philharmonic Society, founded in 1802, frequently held its concerts there and the performers included such famous musicians as Berlioz, Wagner, Liszt, Strauss, etc. Today it is the Small Hall of the St. Petersburg State Philharmonic Society opened in 1949 and named after the outstanding Russian composer Mikhail Glinka.