theheadysmiths

I posted this question previously but under a different title.

Am wondering about spending an afternoon at the Zoological Museum in St. Petersburg... supposed to be the largest in the world.

Am also interested in anything connected with Dmitri Mendeleev -- credited with making the first chemistry periodic table...

I will take a "peek" in Hermitage but have no great interest in ANOTHER art museum or church... have seen many through my years...

2Italy

A "peek" in the Hermitage won't be much. There are something like 18 miles of hallways in that museum. It's well worth at least 4 hours.

Dottee

I was in SP last year, and the most impressive tour I took was through St. Isaac's Cathedral. The Hermitage was certainly grand, but if you're not that wild about art museums, I can understand your point. St. Isaac's, though, was spectacular to see.

I understand that there is a new museum devoted entirely to erotica. There was a rumor that a certain very enormous private part belonging to Rasputin, the mad monk, was one of the exhibits, but although we joked about it while we were there, we never did bother to find the museum.

FauxSteMarie

The dome of St. Isaac's Cathedral and the dome of the US Capitol are of similar construction. They are both made of metal. The Capitol metal is painted white to match the rest of the building. It is not stone!

When I was in St. Petersburg in 2004, there was actually an exhibit in St. Isaac's comparing the two buildings.

Dottee

"The edifice of this Cathedral is in the form of a cross (95m x 105m), crowned with a magnificent central ribbed dome that is gilded with over 100 kg of pure gold."

It is an impressive sight, isn't it?

I was also impressed with the massive malachite columns inside the cathedral.

FauxSteMarie

Also I cannot imagine going all the way to St. Petersburg and not visiting The Hermitage, but, then, I did not put Mendeleev at the top of my list.

Different strokes for different folks.

theheadysmiths

Thank you for the feedback. But any information about the zoological museum ?

Zhenya

Zoological museum – University embankment, 1.
Opens daily except Friday 11.00am-6.00pm
Phone number +7-812-328-0112

Museum has more than 30.00 exhibits including one of the world-biggest whale skeleton, over 10.000 insects, inhabitants of world ocean, world-known collection of stuffed birds, mammoths and more.

There is a museum of Mendeleev – here is the link http://www.spbu.ru/Structure/Culture.../enmuseum.html

Have a great trip!!!

theheadysmiths

Thank you.

I will definitely have to schedule a visit.

We're still wondering if there is anyone who has actually visited the Zoological Museum -- if so, how much time did you spend ?

thit_cho

I visited the Zoological Museum in May 2006, and its absolutely incredible. It has, by far, the largest collection I have ever seen, and I have been to most of the world's major natural history museums, including London, Paris, Berlin, Sydney, Beijing, New York, Washington, and Chicago. But, aside from the mammoths, which are stunning, most of the exhibits are just animals and birds in glass cases. I probably spent two to three hours in the museum

A few other things. There is a restaurant around the corner called PECTOPAH (the Russian word for restaurant), which was one of the best restaurants I visited in St. Petersburg. There's also a museum next door with medical oddities (I don't recall its name, but its described in Lonely Planet).

While I didn't visit, I believe Mendeleev's house is w/i walking distance of the zoological museum -- its also on the map in Lonely Planet.

hopscotch

The DK Eyewitness guide to St. Petersburg is a great intro. It has cut-away drawings of the museums, and plenty of other information.

theheadysmiths

Special thank you to thit_cho -- You gave us EXACTLY what we were looking for ! THANK YOU !