The Golden Age · Architecture · Science · Paris

Names of battles against the Russian army on the arch and the Austerlitz bas-relief

The arch carries no Russian towns in the sense of places “taken”; what it carries are the names of battles fought against the Russian army. They fall into several groups. The campaign of 1812 Battles fought on the territory of the Russian Empire are inscribed in the French transcription of

The East · Architecture · Faith · Heritage

Church of St Sergius of Radonezh in Tashkent, consecrated in 1897 and demolished in 1932

Until 1932 Tashkent had a church of Saint Sergius of Radonezh. It was built at the state's expense on the initiative of the Governor-General of Turkestan, Baron Alexandr Vrevsky, and the construction cost 90,000 roubles. The church stood on Pushkinskaya Street, at the junction with Assakinskaya.

Archive · Architecture · Books · Heritage · Paris

Villa Marmottan Library in Boulogne-Billancourt Holds a Collection on the Napoleonic Era

The Villa Marmottan library is a hidden sight of Paris, situated in the suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt. This former mansion of the historian Paul Marmottan has today been turned into a unique public library under the aegis of the Académie des Beaux-Arts. Unlike the popular Musée Marmottan Monet, this

Three white ventilation pipes of the Centre Pompidou with graffiti, in front of scaffolding covering the facade.

NB! · Architecture · Museums · Observations · Paris

The Centre Pompidou in Paris is closed for renovation until 2030

My beloved Centre Pompidou is now wrapped in scaffolding. Until 2030, Paris has one fewer brilliant place of pilgrimage. But, honestly, every time I glance at it in passing, I am afraid: what if it never reopens?

Architecture · Heritage · Society · Saint Petersburg

The Fire at the Miller Mansion in Saint Petersburg, and Building Bans After Fires in the Laws of Different Countries

On the evening of 1 October the Miller mansion at 3 Isaakievskaya Square in Saint Petersburg burned down. The house dates from the second half of the 18th century; in 1879-1880 it was rebuilt in eclectic forms by the architect Ferdinand Miller, and in 2021 it received the status

NB! · Architecture · Moscow · Archive · Books

Characters from Gogol's "Petersburg Tales" on the pedestal of the monument to Nikolai Gogol on Nikitsky Boulevard, photograph of the 1960s

The Golden Age · NB! · Archive · Architecture · Mores · Saint Petersburg

Interior view of the changing cubicles at the Yegorov Baths in Saint Petersburg, 1907

Architecture · Faith · Observations · Heritage

Palekh's Church of the Exaltation of the Cross and its tented bell tower after Nikon's ban

Palekh has a remarkable Church of the Exaltation of the Cross with an interesting tent-roofed bell tower. The people of Palekh built it all together, from 1762 to 1774. In Saint Petersburg at that time Rastrelli was giving way to Vallin de la Mothe, while in the Vladimir lands

NB! · Architecture · Moscow · Observations · Humour

I fail to understand why Moscow needed a monument to Luzhkov, when we already have the Nautilus shopping centre, the Parus residential complex and the Patriarch residential complex?

Paris · Archaeology · Architecture

A wall more than two thousand years old found in the centre of Paris

On the Île de la Cité in the centre of Paris, archaeologists have discovered a section of ancient wall about 20 metres long. The researchers suppose that this wall formed part of the fortifications of Lutetia, the settlement of the Gallic tribe of the Parisii from which Paris later grew.

Faith · Architecture · The East · Heritage

Restored 10th-century church consecrated in the Georgian village of Didi Kldeisi

Restoration of a tenth-century church has been completed in the Georgian village of Didi Kldeisi in Tetritskaro Municipality. Tetritskaro Municipality lies in the Kvemo Kartli region in the south of Georgia. After its restoration, the church was consecrated in honour of the Dormition of the Most Holy Mother of

Moscow · Architecture · Observations

A new pedestrian bridge along Bolotnaya Embankment

I forgot to mention that I have tested the new pedestrian bridge along Bolotnaya Embankment. I award it full marks: a pleasant refresh for the city's walking routes