巨大美術館とすごい教会 A colossal museum and tremendous churches

サンクトペテルブルク滞在２日目、３日目。

300万以上の芸術品が収納されると言われる世界最大級の美術館、エルミタージュを訪れました。２日券を買って２日に分けて回ったのですが、それでも全部は回れませんでした。有名な芸術家の作品はもちろん、旧ロシア帝国の冬宮殿を利用したこの美術館はそのたくさんの部屋自体も見所。お昼に買ったサンドイッチが乾いておいしくなかったこと以外、感動の体験でした。

On our second and third day in St Petersburg, we visited the Hermitage Museum, one of the largest museums in the world. The collecｔion is said to contain more than three million works of art and artefacts. We bought 2 day-tickets but 2 days were not nearly enough to see them all. The museum is housed in the Winter Palace, the residence of the Russian emperors. Not only famous artists' work, but the numerous rooms themselves are must-see things. Apart from the fact that sandwiches we bought for lunch there were dry and tasteless, the whole museum was awe-inspiring.

巨大美術館で足が棒になりながらも、教会も２つ訪れました。

１つ目は聖イサアク大聖堂。旧ロシア帝国のランドマークとして19世紀半ばに建てられた当時ロシア最大の大聖堂です。緑のマラカイト（くじゃく石）と青のラピスラズリ（瑠璃）でできた柱をはじめ、その豪華さにはまさに驚嘆しました。

We managed to visit two churches although touring around the colossal museum made our feet stiff.

One was St Isaac's Cathedral. It was built in the mid-19th century to be one of the most impressive landmarks of the Russian Imperial capital and was the largest cathedral in Russia. Its grandness, including the columns of malachite (green) and lapis lazuli (blue), filled me with wonder.

２つ目は血の上の救世主教会。この生々しい名前は教会が皇帝アレキサンダー二世が暗殺された場所に追悼のために建てられたことに由来しています。初め見た時は「アラジンの魔法の宮殿みたい・・・」と思いましたが、この玉ねぎ型ドームはロシア中世の建築様式らしいです。モザイク画で埋められた内部も素晴らしかったです。

The second church we went to was the Savior on the Spilled Blood. This bloody name was derived from the fact that the church was built on the spot where Emperor Alexander II was assassinated and to commemorate him. At first glance, it was just like a palace in Arabian Nights. But actually its onion-shaped domes are said to have been a traditional Russian style in the middle age. The inside was covered with marvellous mosaics.

旧ロシア帝国の贅の極みをみた３日間でした。

Three days passed by swiftly, seeing the extravagance of the Russian Empire.