To the west of the Hall are the Emperor's private apartments. His study is particularly impressive. Through the small-scale panes of its windows overlooking the sea, one could perfectly observe the fortress island of Kronstadt on the one side and St Petersburg on the other. The walls here, like in other rooms, are panelled with oak and the panels are adorned with tiles depicting thirteen types of eighteenth-century ships. The oval plafond painted by Philippe Pillement shows monkeys gamboling amidst garlands and flowers.
Peter the Great liked this room. By lifting the lower half of the window he could watch ships passing by to the northern capital of Russia and to the west. The old instruments kept in a sideboard remind us of the Emperor's nautical activities. Above them one can see a steel casket presented to Peter the Great by Tula craftsmen.
The paintings hanging in the Naval Study deserve special mention. These include ten landscapes by Frans de Paula Ferg (1689-1740), three works based on ancient subjects by Victor Janssens (1658-1736) and, as usual, depictions of piers. One of such pictures belongs to the brush of Hendrik van der Moon, a Dutch painter of the first half of the seventeenth century.
The Bedroom is adjacent to the Maritime Study. Originally its walls were lined with Dutch green cloth, but already in the 1830s the worn-out lining was removed. Now it has been replaced by olive-coloured woollen fabric which perfectly harmonizes with the oak doors and the tracery of the windows. A particular air of festivity is lent to the interior by its fireplace, the shield of which is decorated with an amazingly elaborate moulded pattern. In the centre of the room stands a huge bed with a canopy over it and next to it is a table-top brazier executed in the eighteenth century by Spanish craftsmen from the town of Pamplona. The wooden mug with a set of glasses and a saltcellar put inside was made and painted by master-craftmen from Arkhangelsk. The jug and the tub for washing, coated in black lacquer, are of English work. All these objects were Peter the Great's personal belongings.
Complete playbill of all St. Petersburg,Russia theatres, shows, concerts, etc. !
World-known music festival "The Stars of the White Nights".