Two major Russian museums, the Tretyakov Gallery and the Peterhof Palace, opened their doors to the general public on this day.
Russia’s biggest art gallery welcomes first visitors
The legendary Tretyakov Gallery was opened to the public on this day in 1893. The gallery was opened by the merchant Pavel Tretyakov, who began collecting in 1856.
The collection contains over 130,000 works – all by Russian artists. Among the most famous of these are Andrey Rublyov’s “Trinity'” and Ilya Repin’s “The Volga Barge Haulers”.
Read more on this event in Russian history
Little Versailles appears near St. Petersburg
The Peterhof Palace, located 30 kilometers from St. Petersburg, was opened on this day in 1723.
Known as the “Russian Versailles”, the palace was founded by Peter the Great and became the summer residence for Russian emperors for many years.
One of its main attractions is the hugely extravagant Grand Cascade, a series of fountains modeled on a similar work owned by Louis XIV of France.