Escape to Sensational St. Petersburg

St. Petersburg is a wonderous city with unique and historical attractions such as the Field of Mars. This section of St. Petersburg, Russia, between the Neva and Moika Rivers, is where the Field of Mars and its surrounding architectural wonders are located. It is considered "one of the most beautiful places of Leningrad[since 1991 renamed back to St. Petersburg]" [Leningrad Guidebook]. Unfortunately, it is often overlooked by the busy tourist visiting the world famous Hermitage, located just to the west, and the impressive Summer Palace of Peter the Great, located just to the east.

The Field of Mars, or "marsovo pole", is a beautiful 25-acre park planted with low-growing shrubs that was first constructed in 1703 during Peter-the-Great’s reign. It was used as a vast military drilling ground, and became know for its dustiness, often referred to as the " St. Petersburg Sahara". One could sometimes find here "montagnes russes", a French expression that the Russians used to describe small roller coasters. These were enjoyed both by the peasants and the nobility. Military parades were also a common occurrence here and would often end in fireworks, or "amusement lights", as they were then known. This is how the field got its first name, Amusement Field.

It then became known as the Tsarina’s Meadow, or "Tsaritsin Lug", because it was a section of the square of land adjoining the royal palaces, the Summer and Winter Palaces. At this time, it was closed to the common people, with only the nobility participating in the festivities. From the end of the 18th century, after the reign of Catherine the Great, troops began doing routing drill on the field. The grass disappeared, and the ground was packed hard by the soldiers’ boots. The field lastly became known as the Field of Mars around the beginning of the 19th century, in reference to the Roman god of war. Since 1920, it has been a site of many workers’ demonstrations. Many of the native Leningraders have donated their time and effort to restoring this once barren field. Their hard work has made it into the beautiful garden and park that it is today. Located right in the center of this park is the Liberty Monument, a huge block of granite formerly known as the "Monument to Revolutionary Fighters". It comprises stepped marble walls forming a square, with side passages on each side. Designed by architect Lev Rudnev in March 1917, it is the site where 180 victims of the February Revolution lie buried. Those who died in the October armed uprising, heroes of the Civil War, and leading Communists are also buried here. Noticeable, too, are the war epitaphs by Lunacharsky which are engraved on each of the blocks of this tomb/monument.

In the middle of the Liberty Monument is the famous "eternal flame". Lit in 1957, the 40th anniversary of the 1917 Revolution, it is the symbol of the unending glory of all Soviet fighters for freedom, burning in reverence to their revolutionary causes. Interestingly, all other flames that burn at memorial complexes throughout Russia have been lit by this eternal flame.

The Marble Palace

Located on the northwest end of the Field of Mars, between the Palace Embankment and Millionaire’s Street, looking across the Neva towards the Peter and Paul Fortress, stands the great Marble Palace, or "Mramorny Dvorets". It was built by the architect Antonio Rinaldi in the years 1768-1785, in the traditional U-shaped floor plan typical of urban palaces at that time.

This palace was presented by Catherine-the-Great to Count Grigory Orlov, her lover for 12 years, in commemoration of his big European naval victory. It was Orlov and his two brothers who led the conspiracy against Peter III, which in turn gave the throne over to Peter's wife, Catherine-the-Great. Rinaldi, the architect, also happened to be the person who designed Gatchina Palace, or "Gatchinsky Dvorets". Completed in 1766, it was the first palace presented by Catherine II to Orlov.

The Marble Palace is famous for its unique use of 32 kinds of marble, taken from Russian, Finnish, Italian, and Greek quarries. The Marble Palace is the only building in the city faced with marble both inside and out. The facade includes four Corinthian columns at its center, and was designed in the classicist and baroque architectural styles. The first floor is made of rough gray granite, while the upper levels are comprised of refined marble (and hence its name). Both the first and second stories are decorated with pale pink marble pilastres, and ornamented with valuable wood and ivory. Reflecting her extremely lavish tastes, Catherine never spared any expense when having this or her other palaces built. The roof of the palace was formerly of copper sheeting, and the window frames of gilded bronze. There is as much marble in the inside as there is on the outside- worth seeing are the Marble Room and the formal staircase. The original entrance to the palace was on the east side of Marsovo Pole, by way of the old Red Canal (which used to be there but was filled in in the 19th century).

Now the main entrance is in the courtyard of the palace, along the side, where we also find the equestrian statue of Alexander III.

This statue replaced Lenin’s armored car in November of 1994. The Marble Palace, formerly home to the Lenin Museum from 1937 to 1991, contained exhibits related to his life, his personal belongings, autographs, photographs, documentary films and more. It now houses the permanent exhibition on the Romanov family. Point of interest: although intended for Count Orlov (note two sites that show how his name still lives on Orlov1 and Orlov 2), and even returned to him by the Czarina after he had gambled it away a couple of times, the Marble Palace was never enjoyed by him. In fact, he died before its completion, and it was instead given to the grand dukes. If you would like to visit this historical site, it is open Wednesday-Sunday 10-6, Monday 10-5, and is closed on Tuesdays.

Suvorov Monument

Right next to the Marble Palace at the north end of the Field of Mars and the beginning of the Kirovsky Bridge stands the statue of the great Russian general and field marshal, Alexander Suvorov. It was erected in 1801, and portrays a 26-foot tall young Suvorov holding a shield carrying Russia’s coat of arms. Below the shield are the Neopolitan, Sardinian, and Papal crowns, representing the victory of Russian armies led by Suvorov against Napoleon’s troops over Italy in 1799.

Pavlovsky Barracks

Moving on to the western side of the park, one sees a large yellow building of enormous length with a twelve-columned portico - what was known at the time as the "Barracks of the Pavlovsky Regiment". This building was built in honor of the regiment which distinguished itself in the Patriotic War of 1812. One will notice here the many trophies and weapons used as decoration. This regiment was also known for being the first military unit to openly take the side of the insurgent people in the Russian Revolution, and it was here at the barracks where the first shots rang out in February, 1917. Today the barracks house the board of management of the Lenenergo power grid which operates the hydraulic and thermal power stations of north-western Russia.

Engineers’ Castle

Finally, we end our loop around the Field of Mars at the Engineers' Castle, also known as the "Mikhailovksy Palace". This huge building was designed by Bazhenov for Paul I, son of Catherine the Great, who chose to have his palace surrounded by water and drawbridges. He was extremely worried about being assassinated, which in fact did end up happening- only 40 days after he moved in. It was then occupied by an institution for the blind, charity committees, and archives. In 1822, a school for military engineers was opened here, and since then, the palace has been known as the Engineers’ Castle. One famous man who studied here at the age of 16 was Fyodor Dostoevsky.

I hope you have enjoyed the tour around the Field of Mars, St. Petersburg. Happy traveling!

For information about my sources click on bibliography