Moyka River

The Moyka River (Russian: Мо́йка) is a small river that encircles the central portion of Saint Petersburg, effectively making it an island. The river, originally known as Mya, derives its name from the Ingrian word for "slush, mire". It is 5 kilometres (3 mi) long and 40 metres (130 ft) wide.

The river flows from the Fontanka River near the Summer Garden past the Field of Mars, crosses Nevsky Avenue and the Kryukov Canal before entering the Neva River. It is also connected with the Neva by the Swan Channel and the Winter Channel.

In 1711, Peter the Great ordered the banks of the river to be consolidated. After the Kryukov Canal linked it with the Fontanka River four years later, the Moyka became so much clearer that its name was changed from Mya to Moyka, associated with the Russian verb "to wash".

In 1736, the first Moyka quay was constructed in wood. Four bridges originally spanned the river: the Blue, the Green, the Yellow, and the Red. The 99-metre (325 ft)-wide Blue Bridge, now hardly visible underneath St. Isaac's Square, remains the widest bridge in the whole city.

Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg (Russian: Санкт-Петербу́рг, tr. Sankt-Peterburg; IPA: [ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk]) is the second largest city in Russia. It is politically incorporated as a federal subject (a federal city). It is located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. In 1914 the name of the city was changed from Saint Petersburg to Petrograd (Russian: Петрогра́д; IPA: [pʲɪtrɐˈgrat]), in 1924 to Leningrad (Russian: Ленингра́д; IPA: [lʲɪnʲɪnˈgrat]), and in 1991, back to Saint Petersburg. In Russian literature, informal documents, and discourse, the word "Saint" is usually omitted, leaving "Petersburg". In casual conversation Russians may drop the "burg" as well, referring to it as "Peter": Russian: Питер (Piter).

Tsar Peter the Great founded Saint Petersburg on May 27 [O.S. 16] 1703. Between 1713–1728 and 1732–1918 Saint Petersburg functioned as the imperial capital of Russia. In 1918 the central government bodies moved from Saint Petersburg (then named Petrograd) to Moscow. It is Russia's second-largest city after Moscow, with 5 million inhabitants (2012), and the fourth most populated federal subject. Saint Petersburg is a major European cultural center, and also an important Russian port on the Baltic Sea.

Stroganov Palace

The Stroganov Palace (Russian: Строгановский дворец) is a Late Baroque palace at the intersection of the Moika River and Nevsky Prospect in St. Petersburg, Russia. The palace was built to Bartolomeo Rastrelli's designs for Baron Sergei Grigoriyevich Stroganov in 1753-1754. The interiors were remodeled by Andrei Voronikhin at the turn of the 19th century.

History

The first house for the Stroganovs was built on the site probably in the 1720s. It was a one-storey building. Аrchitect Mikhail Zemtsov erected a second, two-storey house on the site in the 1740s.

In 1752, Baron Sergei Stroganov commissioned the palace design from Italian architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli, then at work extending the Catherine Palace and building the Smolny Convent for Empress Elisabeth. Since the Stroganovs were the richest family in Russia and were related to the Empress by marriage, Rastrelli could not turn down the commission and hastily prepared a design for the townhouse.

Like the Vorontsov Palace (also designed by Rastrelli for Stroganov's in-law Mikhail Vorontsov), the Stroganov Palace was not rapidly built. The Main Staircase decorated with marble sculptures led to the elegant Grand Hall, which featured a huge painting by Venetian artist Giuseppe Valeriani. After Sergei Stroganov's death in 1756, the decoration was completed by his son Alexander in 1760. Within several years, the new empress, Catherine II introduced the Neoclassical taste. The style was also championed by Alexander Stroganov, who became President of the Imperial Academy of Arts in 1800.