Russian Travel Guide

Коллекция Russian Travel Guide. Города. Новогодняя Москва

CHRISTMAS TREE ORNAMENTS. THE HISTORY OF HOLIDAY TOYS AND DECORATIONS

The winter holidays are a time of magic and tree ornaments – complex little decorations that are more than just beautiful shimmering figures. Each one has a special meaning and is from its own era, reminding us of how fleeting time is and of the fragility of human happiness. The technology used to make these ornaments has changed over the years: they have evolved from flat shapes made of cardboard and paper figures stuffed with cotton to shiny designs made of glass and true technological miracles. One can even trace Russia’s history by examining the images used for tree ornaments over the years: polar bears and polar stations began appearing during the exploration of the Arctic, while satellites and rockets made their debut on trees with the dawn of the space age.

The bastion of emperor Paul

Russian Emperor Paul the First was so fascinated by the period of knights and the Middle Ages that he had a real castle built for himself – called BEP (the Bastion of Emperor Paul) — complete with a moat, drawbridges, narrow windows and high towers. Centuries later the historical building, located just outside of St. Petersburg in the suburb of Pavlovsk, has become a design hotel. The castle’s rooms in which the Emperor himself once stayed have become elegant apartments. The hotel has about two dozen rooms, each which is unique in its own way with the décor lending to an atmosphere of the gloomy yet romantic period the Paul loved so much without imitating its style. RTG TV presenter Evgenia Altfeld set off to learn about the artists who helped create this historic design hotel and discovered just why the Emperor insisted there be secret staircases as well as the explanation behind the na...