Admiralteyskiy II - Saint Isaac's Square

"Bow down in worship, humble and alone,
bow lowly down before the sacred sight
of man's Divinity alive in stone"
- Claude McKay (about Saint Isaac's Cathedral)


15/5/1941 - Saint Isaac's Cathedral (Isaakievskiy Sobor) before the war. It's dome made of pure gold rises 100 metres over Leningrad. In front of the building the gardens of Saint Isaac's Square honour the Soviet hammer and sickle. To the right of the picture we see the famous Hotel Astoria, and to the South, Nicholas I stands his endless watch from his bronze horse.

Barrage balloons were grounded and transported during the day and rised during the night. Their obective was to damage enemy aircraft or at least difficult their approach to the key city targets.

To prevent starvation the gardens of Saint Isaac's Square now provide cabbage and other vegetables for the people. In the picture we see two women collecting the crops and a soldier examinating the product.

27/7/1941 - Saint Isaac's Cathedral (Isaakievskiy Sobor) during the war. The golden dome is being painted in grey to avoid attracting attention from enemy aircraft. Three barrage balloons are being taken South from the embankment. A plantation of cabbage and a lookout have taken the place of the gardens. Hotel Astoria is serving as a hospital, and the equestrian statue of Nicholas I has been camouflaged with boards.

Two heavy anti-aircraft guns guarding the approach to Saint Isaac's Square in one of the most famous pictures of the war.

22/5/1942 - At the other side of the Blue Bridge, the widest bridge in the world, sits Mariinsky Palace. Several Red Army soldiers and a T-34 tank protect the entrance to the building.

Disclaimer: This CJ includes original photos taken during the siege. To my knowledge none of them is protected by copyright, but if I were wrong I'm happy to delete any picture that infringes the law.
----------------------------------[CREDITS]----------------------------------
You can't imagine how much I enjoyed working and documenting this update. I'm happy with the result, but please feel free to comment with your impressions. Just curious, do you preffer the pacific scene or the war scene?
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