German Petersburg. Diversity connects - by students from Russia

Millionnaya street

Catherine II

Heinrich Schliemann

Mariinsky Palace

German Petersburg.

In 18 century the residents of the new city on the Neva River called all foreign people the Germans because their presence was very noticeable in the Northern capital. The first people, who came from Germany, appeared on the banks of the Neva at the same time with the foundation of the city. Peter I invited experts from Western Europe to Russia, making enjoyable conditions for them. From the foundation of St. Petersburg till the revolution in 1917, the German colony had a great role in the life of the city.
The German «outskirt» was located near the Winter Palace in the region of modern Millionnaya Street which was called the Great German at that time.
The influence of German Nobility in St. Petersburg increased during the reign of Anna Ioannovna. E. Byron, and General-Field Marshal von B. Minih, a native of Oldenburg were famous Germans of that time. Minih was invited to be an engineer: for more than ten years he has been leading the restructuring of the Peter and Paul Fortress, and also developed a project to protect the city from floods.
The Germans in the new Russian capital were in all classes of society - from members of the Imperial family to pharmacists and bakers. For example, a German princess Sophia Augusta Frederica Tserbstskaya-Anhalt became the Russian empress Catherine II, whose reign was a great era in the life of Russia.
People of Germany had a significant role in the foundation of the Academy of Sciences and the Military Medical Academy.
The Baron von Stiglitz was a «Petersburg German» - he was the court banker, first Governor of the State Bank and the founder of the famous art school, which has his name now.
For about twenty years a German businessman Heinrich Schliemann, who discovered the legendary Troy, had lived in the Northern capital.
There were about 300 architects of German origin during two centuries in St.Petersburg.
It is impossible to imagine the city center without the magnificent buildings of famous architect Andrey Shtakenshneyder. In 1833 he was appointed to be a court architect, and Nicholas I commissioned him to build palaces in court. Shtakenshneyder built palaces of Grand Duke Michael, Grand Duke Nicholas, the princes Beloselsky-Belozersky and a lot of luxurious private homes.
In the capital there were many German-Russian enterprises. In 1841 year the factory of musical instruments "J.Becker" was founded. In the beginning of last century about 250 factories with 30 thousand workers belonged to Germans. The biggest manufacture has been concentrated in the hands of brothers Siemens - they owned factories of manufacturing of cables, electric motors and other.
For a long time in St.Petersburg words "German" and "doctor" were almost synonyms. The most famous of them were: the best known pediatrist, the founder of the All-Russia guardianship on protection of motherhood and infancy Charles Rauhfus and the director Imperial institute Dmitry Ott.
The first state pharmacy (or the Pharmaceutical order) in the beginning of 1720 has moved to the German suburb. However a well-known pharmacy Vasily Pelj’s on Vasilevsky island became a symbol of a German pharmacy for Petersburgers. This pharmacy works today, storing the collection of subjects of pharmaceutical life of XVII–XX centuries, but glass spheres with a blue liquid and a stuffed animal of the dried up crocodile under a ceiling have been lost.
Since the foundation of St.-Petersburg, before revolution of 1917, the German colony played an important role in a city life.
The revival of the German community started in the early 1990's.

Diversity connects. Karol Antoniak, class 1b, Poland

The Jewish school -"jesziwa" in Lublin

The influences of other cultures on Lublin

JEWS IN LUBLIN

They were in Lublin 700 years before Lublin got civic rights. Jews were a very big group of people. Lublin was the capital of Jews.. They named Lublin "Jerusalem of the Polish Kingdom". First Jews appeared from 1316r. In 1336r energe first jews commune. In those days buliding hospitals , cemetery. Many bulidings stay and we can see them in real world.

Summer in Finland

Polish Saint-Petersburg. Diversity connects - by students from Russia

City Duma

Dvortsoviy Bridge drawn during White Nights

The bridge of Peter the Great

Stanisław August Poniatowski

Mathilde Kschessinska as The Dying Swan

Polish Saint-Petersburg
First Poles came to St.Petersburg as soon as the city was founded. Many people with Polish surnames were around Peter I. Stanisław August Poniatowski lived in the city in 1755 – 1758. He adored the future Empress Catherine II and 40 years later returned to St.Petersburg as the last king of the Rzeczpospolita (The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth).
After the division of Poland, when its Central and Eastern parts became parts of the Russian Empire many more Polish people came to live in St.Petersburg.
Adam Jerzy Czartoryski made a successful career in St.Peterburg. He was a friend of the Emperor Alexander I and became one of his advisors, a minister of foreign affairs and a senator.
The Poles played an important part in the development of cultural relations between two countries. The first step was a visit of Adam Mickiewicz to Saint-Petersburg. In this perion he created his masterpieces: ‘Sonets’, ‘Crimean Sonets’ and ‘Konrad Wallenrod’ 1828, dedicated to Nicolas I.
In 1828-1830 the music salon of a famous Polish pianist and composer Maria Szymanowska was very popular.
In 1870 Stanisław Moniuszko visited the capital, where his operas were very popular, including the famous ‘Halka’.
Matylda Krzesińska was the prima of the Emperor’s Mariinsky Theatre.
Polish arcitects and ingeneers took part in the construction of the main bridges of the city: Troitskiy Bridge, Dvortsoviy Bridge, the Bridge of Peter the Great and the Bridge og the Liutenant Schmidt. Marian Lialevich is the author of the project of the City Hall (Duma).
In 1914 there lived about 70 000 Poles in Saint-Petersburg.
The main Catholic cathedral of St.Petersburg is the Cathedral of St.Catherine. It was often visited by Adam Mickiewicz. In 1798 the last Polish king Stanisław Poniatowski, who spent his last years in Russia, was buried there (his remains were brought to Poland in 1938).

Finnish Saint-Petersburg. Diversity connects - by students from Russia

Nevanlinna

Saimaa canal

St.Mary’s church

Carl Gustaf Mannerheim

Finnish Saint-Petersburg
The Finns and Finnish traditions have deeper roots on the banks of the Neva than the city Saint-Petersburg. In the XVII century in the mouth of the river Neva there came thousands of Finnish settlers. The trade center of this territory was the fortress Nyenskans (Nevanlinna), which was occupied by the army of Peter I during the Great Northen War.
Finnish, Swedish and Russian people were building the new city. It grew bigger and bigger and icluded some Ingermanland (Inkeri) villages.
The Grand Duchy of Finland (Suomen suuriruhtinaskunta, Storfurstendömet Finland) was a part of the Russian empire but had its own laws, money, customs, army and post.
The Saimaa Canal was completed in 1856, the railway between Riihimäki and St.Petersburg was built in 1870. In a way Saint-Petersburg was the second ‘Finnish’ city in 1880-s, because only in Helsinki there were more Finns than in St.Petersburg. There lived about 24 000 Finns in St.Petersburg. Finnish centers of the city were around Finnish Railway station (Finlandskiy vokzal) and Finnish Church of St. Mary on Bolshaya Konushennaya street.
The list of Finns of St.Petersburg is long and impressive. Carl Gustaf Mannerheim had profound connections with the city. Many military men made brilliand careers in the Russian Army. About 400 of them became Generals ans Admirals including Mannerheim and Enckell.
Many Finnish companies started to work in Russia before revolution, including those producing granite, leather, juices and diary products Valio.
Finnish peasants from the Karelian Isthmus (Karjalankannas) were bringing food, fish and firewood the the citezens. Finnish workers were considered honest and accurate.
Among the members of the Russian Academy of Science were Eric Laxman, an explorer of Siberia from Savonlinna, Anders Lexell, an astronomer and mathematician from Turku, Andreas Sjögren, a philologist.
Many famous Finnish musician and composers including Sibelius gave their concerts in Saint-Petersburg.
The center of the Finnish cultural life of Saint-Peterburg was in the church of St.Mary, where in 1870 was published the first newspaper in Finnish not in Finland ’Pietarin Sanomat’. Today this church also belongs to the Finnish religious community.
In 1917 a Finnish governmental delegation came to the city to sign papers which gave independence to Finland. But up to now St.Petersburg remains an important city in the Finnish-Russian relations.

Dutch Saint-Petersburg. Diversity connects - by students from Russia

A monument to Peter the Great ‘Tsar-the carpenter’

The New Holland

Peter the Great

Kunstkamera

Dutch Saint-Petersburg

The connection between the Netherlands and Russia has a very long history. These two countries have much in common: rivers, poor soil, and severe climate.
In the XVII century many Dutch people lived in Moscow and some of them were very close friends of the young tsar Peter I.
Peter I made two trips to the Netherlands. The motto of the first trip was “I am a pupil and am looking for teachers”. In Holland Peter the Great learnt shipbuilding, studied the anatomic collections and saw the paintings of the Dutch and Flemish artists. He made a decision to make “another Amsterdam” of St.Petersburg.
A lot of famous Dutchmen lived in St.Petersburg during the reign of Peter I. The first manager of Kunstkamara was J.D. Schumacher. Many Dutch architects brought their native motive to the Northern capital. Among them Stephen van Zviten, Frantz de Vaal, Ottomar Eliger, Christophor Marcellius.
In 1717 there were about 36 parishioners in the Dutch church in St.Petersburg. A lot of Dutch merchants moved from Moscow and Archangelsk in the XVIII century.

New Holland
New Holland is an artificial triangular island created in 1717. This is the only island out of 42 of St.Peterstburg that is manmade. Its area is 59 000 sq.m. At first the island was used to store and to dry timber according to the new Dutch technology – that is how the place got its name. Later under the architect J.B. Vallen-Delamot several buildings in classical style were erected including the famous arch which is 23 meters high.
Today the island is under renovation. The old buildings will be used for new museums, hotels, offices and a concert hall.

A monument “Tsar – the carpenter”.
In the Duch city of Zaandam on the 15th January 1698 a young Russian tsar Peter I got a license of a ship-carpenter. To commemorate this event on the bank of the river Neva on the 27 June 1910 a monument to Peter the Great by Leopold Bernshtam was opened. A copy of this sculpture was presented to the Netherlands and put on the main square in Zaandam. After the October revolution of 1917 the monument was destroyed but its copy was in the Summer Garden. With the support of the Consulate of the Netherlands in 1996 when it was celebrated 300-years of the Russian Fleet this monument was put on its place again.