Not far off is the Tower of Ivan Veliki, which serves as a campanile for three cathedrals and has thirty-four bells. The largest is 65 feet in circumference.
The city is ornamented profusely with statues and triumphal arches; the most splendid is the Arch of Triumph. This is made of marble and is surmounted by a beautifully carved statue of Liberty, while the arch is ornamented with handsome bas reliefs.
Moscow has a number of attractive suburbs. One of these is Ostaukea; it is well laid out and has many handsome buildings. This place is especially well known for the splendid churches made of stone and marble.
Moscow, beside having a great deal that is beautiful, is interesting because the old and new meet in an unusual, almost grotesque, fashion. They are not apart, as in Paris, London and many other European capitals. They jog hand in hand as unevenly as the streets on which they stand.
The traveler to whom St. Petersburg is unknown, imagines the city as ancient, picturesque and irregular. But it is laid out as regularly as many American cities. It is an ancient city, dressed in a new guise. It is situated along the Neva, with many modern buildings and parks on the one side, churches and old buildings on the other.
The location of the city is not attractive; it is built on several islands in the delta. The ground is so low in many places that the buildings have to be raised on piles. This morass was changed into a splendid city by Peter the Great, who was insistent that he was going to train himself and his people to a fondness for the sea. As a child he had been frightened by the sudden rushing of a cascade, and for years he could not see water without trembling and fear. When he was grown, he said, "I shall build St. Petersburg here without bridges, that our people may be constantly on the waters of the Neva, crossing and recrossing." Since this time the city has grown and expanded greatly, and bridges are a necessity. The St. Nicholas is a large, massive, stone structure built on huge, granite piers. Three other bridges are large floating structures which span the river in the summer, but are removed as soon as the river is frozen.
On one side of the river are many pleasant summer homes and cottages surrounded by beautiful flowering gardens. On the other side are the barracks and the poorer part of the city.
Most of the public buildings are placed in a public square, so they are seen with little difficulty. At one end is the large senate and synod; before it stands the colossal equestrian statue of Peter the Great. To the south of the Admiralty, the most important part of the city is seen, the Bolshar Storma or Greater Side. Towards the west lies the Basilius Island with the large splendid exchange, the important Academy of Sciences and the university.
The city is divided into four large divisions, separated by the Great and Little Neva and by the Great Nefka. The great side includes the court, the nobility and nearly half the population. Here many of the best streets and some of the handsomest residences are seen. The streets are broad and well paved. Here are spacious and well-built houses, while beyond are a succession of magnificent palaces. This need not sound strange, as there are no European cities having so many princes and palaces. Even the dwellings of the poor have a showy magnificence about them. Everything is built on a gigantic scale. It is not unusual to find a house occupied by two hundred families, but they are not built high, two stories being the average height. Building a home in this city is usually an expensive affair. The driving of the stakes alone often costs hundreds of dollars.
But the palaces of the princes and nobility are usually as beautiful as the other homes are plain and unattractive. Here are found richly hand-carved furniture, splendid jade and malachite vases. There is so much of everything that it is really overpowering. The royal palaces are large and furnished at great cost. The Annitschoff palace is inhabited more by the present imperial family than the Tauride palace. The former stands on the great Pr'pektin, the neighborhood of the Fontanka, and closes the brilliant range of palaces in the street. It was originally built by Elizabeth. Some years ago it was bought as one of the Emperor's abodes. It is handsomely built, though it has no historic significance.