Winter Canal, St. Petersburg, Russia
Here are two more postcards sent to Bob from Russia to share this week. The card above has a photograph of the Winter Canal dug in 1718-1719. It is one of the shortest canals in St. Petersburg at 748 feet or 228 meters long. It is about 66 feet or 20 meters wide. I. F. Dunker, sculptor, designed the railings that were added along with the granite embankment in 1782-1784. The arch connects Old Hermitage and Hermitage Theater built by architect Yury Felten. This canal was originally named Old Palace Canal but beginning around 1780 townfolks began calling it the Winter Canal and in 1828 it was officially renamed the Winter Canal. There are three bridges that cross the canal.
The second card, seen below, is the Griboyedov Canal originally called the Catherine Canal after the Empress Catherine the Great. It was renamed during the Communist rule after a playwright and diplomat, Alexander Griboyedov. The canal was constructed in 1739 along the Krivusha river. Later, in 1764-1790, the canal was deepened, the banks reinforced and covered with granite. This canal is 3 miles or 5 kilometers long with a width of 105 feet or 32 meters. There are 21 bridges that cross the Griboyedov Canal. This is the canal that features in the book Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsy.
Griboyedov Canal, St. Petersburg, Russia
The outer envelope came with several stamps, two are shown below. The first one is dated 1976 showing the Sputnik orbit around the earth.
This second one, a 1971 "Brooch Rose" made of platinum and diamonds, made for the centennial of Lenin's birth.
For additional information, see:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_Canal
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Griboyedov_Canal
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Soviet_Union_1...
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