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Panorama of the Neva by the Spit of Vasilyevsky
Island
Karl Bulla
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Celebrations on the Neva for the 200th anniversary
of Peter the Great's birth
Albert Felisch
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Panorama of the Neva by the Winter Palace
Unknown photographer
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Following age-old tradition, at the feast of the Epiphany
in January, after the liturgy in the Great Church of the Winter Palace,
the imperial family accompanied by their retinue and representatives
of all the armed forces ceremonially descended onto the frozen Neva.
The Jordan Canopy - a pavilion in which the Blessing of the Waters
took place - was constructed on the ice. The ritual took place in
the presence of the troops and a large crowd of citizens and ended
with the Metropolitan sprinkling all present with holy water to the
sound of a cannon salute. Early spring saw the celebration of the
opening of the navigation season on the Neva. It began with the formal
ceremony of the commandant of the Peter and Paul Fortress crossing
the river to the Winter Palace in a launch. An immense crowd on Palace
Embankment, festively decorated steamers and boats turned the event
into a joyful, picturesque spectacle. |
