THE BRIDGE AND CHURCH OF ST. ISAAC, PETERSBurg.

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KREMPENSTEIN.

REFERRING the reader to our general remarks on the character and course of the Danube, in a recent number, we need here only remak, that the Castle of Krempenstein is picturesquely situated at a short distance from the city of Passau, about half-way up the rocks, amidst fir-forests. It was formerly subject to the bishops of Passau, who levied a duty on all vessels navigating this part of the Danube. It is sometimes called the Tailor's Castle by the people of the neighbourhood, owing to the circumstance of a tailor having been drowned in the river below, in attempting to throw into the stream the dead body of a goat.

THE BRIDGE AND CHURCH OF ST. ISAAC, PETERSBURG.

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"THE real and peculiar magnificence of Petersburg," says the amiable and accomplished authoress of Letters from the Baltic, "consists in sailing apparently upon the bosom of the ocean into a city of palaces. Granite quays of immense strength now gradually closed in upon us, bearing aloft stately buildings, modelled from the Acropolis, while successive vistas of intermediate streets, and canals as thickly populated, toldus plainly that we were in the midst of this northern capital ere we had set foot to ground. . . . The mosque-like form of the Greek churches-the profusion of cupola and minaret-with treble domes, painted blue with silver stars, or green with gold stars, and the various gilt spires, starting at intervals from the low city, and blazing like flaming swords in the cold rays of an October setting sun, gave it an air of Orientalism, little in accordance with the gloomy grey mantle of snow-clouds, in which all this glitter was shrouded. The loftiest and most striking object was the Isaac's Church, still behung with forests of scaffolding, which, while they revealed its gigantic proportions, gave but few glimpses of its form. Altogether I was disappointed at the first coup-d'œil of this capital-it has a brilliant face, but wants height to set it off." Such is the aspect of Petersburg as the traveller ascends the Neva, and stops to enjoy the scene now before the reader, if his patience at the tedious vexa

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tions of the Russian custom-house leave him spirits for the attempt. Far less striking is the impression from the Finland side, which disadvantage is somewhat compensated by passing the noble stream upon the longest bridge. On the road from Narva the stranger is introduced more gradually to the principal features which distinguish this Northern Palmyra from all other capitals.

Petersburg is situated partly on the continent, and partly on islands near the mouth of the Neva, as it winds its way to the Bay of Cronstadt, on the eastern side of the Gulf of Finland. At Schlusselburg the Neva leaves Lake Ladoga, running at first south-west, then north-west, till it approaches Petersburg; here it takes a northern direction for a short space, receiving on the right the river Ochta; it then turns suddenly to west-south-west, and, before entering the bay, divides into three arms, of which the principal is the southern, or Great Neva, the middle one, the little Neva, and the northern, the Great Nevka. All these rivers are crossed by means of bridges, of which there were, in 1837, no less than one hundred and thirty-three, twenty-six of stone, fourteen of iron, and ninety-three of wood; yet, owing to the great extent of the city, this number is far from sufficient. The bridge of St. Isaac, which forms part of the foreground in the plate before the reader, is one thousand three hundred and fifty feet in length, and rests upon fifteen pontoons. It connects Vassili-Ostrof (Basil's Island) with the quarters of the Admiralty. It is unquestionably the most important medium of communication, uniting the two busiest parts of the town, and is for this reason permanent, whilst most of the other bridges are removed on the first appearance of the ice. During the continuance of the navigation, the bridge is opened about an hour after midnight, to allow a passage to the numerous vessels that ascend the river from Cronstadt.

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The soil upon which Petersburg is built is alluvial, partly marshy, and hardly firm in any part, in general low and exposed to inundations, the most dangerous of which occurred in 1824, and threatened the greater part of the city with destruction. "No one," says the charming writer to whom we are already indebted, judge of the daring position of Petersburg, who has not mounted one of her artificial heights, and viewed the immense body of waters in which she floats, like a bark overladen with precious goods; while the autumn waves, as if maddened by the prospect of the winter's long imprisonment, play wild pranks with her resistless shores, deriding her false foundations, and overturning in a few hours the laboured erections of as many years. We wanted no one to recount the horrors of an inundation, for this is the season when the waters levy their annual tribute. A southwest wind was lifting the gulf furiously towards the city; the Neva was dashing along, rejoicing in its strength, tossing the keels of the vessels over the granite quays, disjointing the planks of the floating bridges, and threatening all who ventured across with sea-sickness, if with no worse danger. The water had already taken possession

THE BRIDGE AND CHURCH OF ST. ISAAC, PETERSBURG.

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of some of the wretched outskirts of the city, adding more misery where there seemed enough before, while flags floated from the tower where we stood, to warn the inhabitants of their dangers; and before we quitted our station, guns from the fortress, the appointed signal on such occasions, bade those remove who had aught to save."

Perilous as this situation is, the bold and fearless mind of Peter the Great, whose penetration foresaw the commercial and political advantages of the site, did not hesitate to lay here the foundations of a mighty capital. He found the Neva in possession of his enemies, the Swedes, who for centuries had maintained a fortress at the confluence of the Ochta with this river. He well knew the necessity of taking the fortress, which he did in 1703, and of making himself master of the whole course of the Neva. A glance at the map of Russia will show the vital importance of this stream to the commerce and inland navigation of the empire. Connected by nature with the Wolchof and Ilm lake, it could easily be joined to Russia's greatest stream, the Wolga, by means of canals, the construction of which already occupied his indefatigable mind. His ideas have been carried out by his successors. Petersburg, by a system of rivers and canals, is connected with the Caspian Sea, whence goods are conveyed for nearly one thousand five hundred miles without landing. The facilities to the north for the conveyance of goods from Siberia and China (although from the distance and the interruption of the long winters, the transit lasts three years) are equally great.

When this vast project had entered the mind of Peter, he lost no time in carrying it into execution with all the resources that his own energy and the despotic nature of his government commanded. He secured the islands, which are the key to the mouth of the Neva, without waiting for a peace with the Swedes, which might confirm his possession of his new conquests. On the 16th of May, 1703, he laid the foundation of a citadel on the little island of Jenissari, (Hare Island,) situated before the present Petersburg side of the island, which was at that time named Koiwissare (Birch-tree Island.) This citadel, which, however, did not assume its present form till a subsequent period, must consequently be considered the cradle of Petersburg. The first private dwellings were behind the fort, on the Petersburg side. On the south-east bank of this side was also the lowly dwelling of Peter, a little hut, protected, since 1779, by a stone covering, and, together with a boat, said to have been constructed by Peter himself, preserved as national relics. To the natural difficulties of the undertaking, arising from the marshy soil, were added the horrors of famine, and it has been supposed that during the first years one hundred thousand men perished. Peter was obliged to use force, not only to procure workmen or to recruit their thinned ranks, but likewise to keep together the inhabitants of the infant city. Under the reign of his successor, Catherine, this system was abandoned, as no

longer necessary-the residence of the czars* could soon boast of a rapidly increasing population, which has now probably reached the number of half a million, of whom scarcely more than one-third are females, and three-fourths are not natives of the city.

It was not until 1709, after the siege of Pultowa, that Peter made the city that bears his name the capital of his empire. The government edifices were at first erected on Basil's Island; but, probably, owing to the inundations, the rich and the nobles of the country settled on the south side of the Neva. Of the succeeding sovereigns, Catherine the Second contributed most to the progress and extension of the city. Alexander and the present emperor, Nicholas, have continued the work with zeal and energy.

Let us now turn to the magnificent prospect here presented to the reader. The whole city is divided into twelve parts, or quarters, of which nine are on the left and three on the right bank of the Neva. The former expand in a semicircle round the Admiralty, from which three long streets diverge like radii to the end of the city, which is designated by the canal (Sagorodnui, which signifies Beyond the City). These three streets are the Nevsky-Prospect, fourteen thousand three hundred and fifty feet long, so called from the Nevsky-Cloister, at which it terminates; the Garochowaya, or Pea-Street, and the Wosnesenskaya, or Ascension Street, which begins from the Church of St. Isaac, in the plate before us. The Admiralty, whose lofty gilt tower is visible from afar, and guides the stranger in his wanderings, gives its name to the four first quarters of the town. Next to the Admiralty lies the first Admiralty-Quarter, between the Neva and the Moika. In it we remark the immense square (whose dimensions, perhaps, are unequalled in the world) which surrounds the Admiralty on three sides, and is generally called Isaac Square, although this denomination is strictly confined to the part before the Church of St. Isaac. The traveller who arrives by sea, generally lands on the English quay, (so called from its being the residence of the English, who have here a church.) Opposite the end of the quay-famous for the fine view of the Neva, confined within banks of granite, and for the stately buildings of Basil's Island-is the new Admiralty and the Rumanzoff Museum. If we stand with our back to St. Isaac's Bridge, we are immediately in front of the equestrian statue of Peter the Great and St. Isaac's Church; to the right the new Senate extends its majestic length, in the middle intersected by the Galley Street, under a high arch. Advancing along the chief front of the Admiralty to the eastern extremity, we behold the celebrated winter-palace with its spacious square, and the lofty Alexander Column. But we must leave the extensive prospect which expands in every direction, and return to the striking features in the scene before us.

Peter II. resided at Moscow.