Saint Michael’s
Castle (Saint Petersburg)
Date of issue:
15.03.2017
The common theme of EUROPA stamps this year
is Castle. New Russian stamp on this theme features St Michael’s Castle. It is a
former royal residence in the center of Saint Petersburg, and a major
architectural landmark of 18th–19th centuries. It was built as a water castle for
Emperor Paul I by architects Vincenzo Brenna and Vasily Bazhenov in 1797–1801.
The postage stamp
features St Michael's Castle and the EUROPA logo.
St. Michael's
Castle, also called the Mikhailovsky Castle (Russian: Миха́йловский за́мок),
is a former royal residence in the historic centre of Saint Petersburg, Russia.
The castle looks different from each side, as the architects used motifs of
various architectural styles such as French Classicism, Italian Renaissance and
Gothic. As the castle was solemnly consecrated on 8 November
1800, i.e. on St. Michael's Day in the Eastern Orthodox calendar, so it got this
name.
St. Michael's
Castle was built to the south of the Summer Garden. The building with rounded
corners was surrounded by the waters of the Moika River, the Fontanka River and
two specially dug canals (the Church Canal and the Sunday Canal), transforming
the castle area into an artificial island which could only be reached by
drawbridges.
The First Day Cancellation features the
bronze equestrian monument to Peter the Great, set up in front of the castle.
The Northern Façade
of Saint Michael’s Castle, Saint Petersburg is the motif depicted on the First
Day Cover.
Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and
related group of monuments is inscribed in UNESCO’s World Heritage list since
1990.
: Pradeep Kumar Mallik - Patna
email : mallikphila@gmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment