University Embankment
Walking down University Embankment, 
one will find many scientific academies and museums, thus the word
University in the title of this area. Among the most noteworthy of these
attractions are the Kunstkammer, the M. Lomonosov Museum, the
Academy of Arts and the Academy of Sciences.
The Kunstkammer was the first National Science Museum in Russia. This
museum houses Peter the Great's collection of curiosities, along with many
items depicting the daily life and culture of various countries, including their
weapons, clothes, and sacred objects.
Other earmarks of this museum include a
library and an observatory. In the Kunstkammer tower stands a giant
globe which was made in 1754 under the direction of the Russian scientist
Mikhail Lomonosov. The outer surface bears a map of the Earth, while the
inner surface shows a chart of the heavens according to 18th century
astronomy. The globe rotates, giving the impression of the movement of the
stars and planets. Looted by the "Fascists during the war," the globe was later
returned to the Kunstkammer and restored and put on display once again in
1963.
The Academy of Sciences, which includes the M. Lomonosov Museum, resides
just beside the Kunstkammer. Some of the main attractions of this building
are Lomonosov's scientific instruments and writings, and a reconstruction of
the huge terrestrial globe made in the 1600's for the Duke of Holstein-Gottorp,
presented as a gift to Peter the great in 1713.
The Academy of Arts was constructed between 1764 and 1768 by the architects
Alexander Kokorinov and Jean-Baptiste Vallin de la Mothe. This academy
specializes in the teaching of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. Among
its attractions include scale models of many of St. Petersburg's other sights,
the Smolny and St. Isaac's Cathedral, the Engineers' Castle, and the Stock
Exchange and plaster casts of original artwork from around the world. Also,
outside the Academy is Sphinx Quay, where two sculpted sphinxes guard the
steps leading down to the Neva River. These two sphinxes once guarded the
tomb of Amenhotep III. These sphinxes were bought by Russia and shipped
to St. Petersburg in 1832.
However, not to be overlooked on University Embankment is the Menshikov
Palace. 
A close friend
of Peter the Great, Menshikov was a son of a baker who rose to great
power in St. Petersburg. This palace was Menshikov's private mansion.
It was in this mansion
that Peter I organized his lavish assemblies, celebrated Russian victories,
and received foreign ambassadors. Menshikov lived a much more lavish
life than Peter I, and this can be seen by the particularly lavish interiors of
the palace. 
The
largest room in the palace is the Assembly Room, which is over a thousand
square feet in size. Another room of note is the Walnut Room,
Menshikov's favorite room, with its painted ceilings and boiseries of
Persian walnut wood.
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Other earmarks of this museum include a
library and an observatory. In the Kunstkammer tower stands a giant
globe which was made in 1754 under the direction of the Russian scientist
Mikhail Lomonosov. The outer surface bears a map of the Earth, while the
inner surface shows a chart of the heavens according to 18th century
astronomy. The globe rotates, giving the impression of the movement of the
stars and planets. Looted by the "Fascists during the war," the globe was later
returned to the Kunstkammer and restored and put on display once again in
1963.
A close friend
of Peter the Great, Menshikov was a son of a baker who rose to great
power in St. Petersburg. This palace was Menshikov's private mansion.
It was in this mansion
that Peter I organized his lavish assemblies, celebrated Russian victories,
and received foreign ambassadors. Menshikov lived a much more lavish
life than Peter I, and this can be seen by the particularly lavish interiors of
the palace. 
The
largest room in the palace is the Assembly Room, which is over a thousand
square feet in size. Another room of note is the Walnut Room,
Menshikov's favorite room, with its painted ceilings and boiseries of
Persian walnut wood.