Week 3 - Russia - Anne Hallez
Dear Bloggers,Landing in Russia was probably the thing I looked most forward to this trip. Russia is a land with a lot of history and beauty to it that we couldn't wait to discover.
I’m a
little ashamed to say that before I came to visit Russia for the first time, I
had nothing to associate it with but the picture film ‘Anastasia’ I watched
passionately when I was little.
Remembering this movie as perfect and nostalgic
as it was, it was a big memory to live up to.
I’m very pleased to say though,
that the country in real life, did more than just live up to my memory.
The
architecture, the history, the beauty was more than I could ever remember or
expect.
Leaving my
trip to memory lane aside for a moment, I would like to share with you readers
what we saw and discovered in this new and beautiful country. When we arrived
and checked into our hotels, we decided to go visit the central square of
Moskou and all of Russia, the Red Square.
This
central square carries a lot of history and Artwork with it. Being here we
discovered the true meaning behind the name of this expressive place. The Russian
word красная or also pronounced ‘Krasnaya’ can either mean ‘red’ or ‘beautiful’. We
also discovered that this word ‘beautiful’ originally was derived from the
Saint Basil’s Cathedral standing by the Red Square and was later transferred to
the nearby square. Hearing this information, we decided to go take a look at
this well known Cathedral.
To get to
know a country, its culture and its architecture, it’s very important to learn
some of its history first. The Cathedral of the protection of Most Holy
Theotokos on the Moat, or shortly ‘Saint Basil’s Cathedral’ is a Russian
orthodox church build in 1551-1561. It was build in the order of ‘Ivan The
Terrible’, that was Grand Prince of Moscow from 1533 till his death in 1584. It
was build to commemorate the fall of Kazan Khanate, the final part of the
battle of the Russo-Kazan Wars in 1552. It marks the geometric center of the
city.
When I
first saw the building I was amazed by its vivid colors and beautiful
structure. If you looked closely you could see that the building consists of 8
parts standing around of one central core.
The building was built by a large
group of Italian architecture and represented the up and coming Italian Renaissance.
Some experts actually claim to see a little of the famous Leonardo da Vinci his
work but I on the other hand am a little rough on my architecture to see the resemblance.
I do agree though that it’s a beautiful piece of craftsmanship that truly deserves
its acknowledgment.
On our
first day we already saw a lot of Russian beauty, culture and history but just
like Rome wasn’t build in one day, seeing and experiencing all of Russia will
take us more than one day!
I’m actually really looking forward to discover more
and I hope you guys are too!
Write you soon!
Love from
the beautiful Russia.
Anne Hallez
Sources:
No comments:
Post a Comment