Wednesday, February 14, 2007

The Ice Palace Story

First, the history bit …

This story takes us back in time, to the late 17th, early 18th century ... the coldest winter in Tsarist Russia. The problems all started when Tsar Peter II died without leaving any heirs. Now, in cases like this, it was normal for the Tsar to provide the name of his successor, just in case the grim reaper made an expected appearance. Unfortunately, Peter didn’t think to do this, nor did he leave any clues as to who he thought might be up for the job. Given that there was no-one to continue the Romanov line, someone else had to be found to lead the people.

In her time as Tsarina, Catherine I had set up an elite group called the Supreme Privy Council, who had a great deal of clout in the corridors of power. So, it seemed sensible for them to make the decision. One contender was Elizabeth, Peter the Great’s teenage daughter. She could have been a contender, but the council wanted someone they could manipulate. After all, their highest priority was to maintain their dominance. So, they went instead for the daughter of Ivan V, Peter the Great’s niece, Anna Ivanovna.

To safeguard themselves, the council decided to put some conditions in place. They set it all out in a document for her to sign. Just small things, like none of this getting married or naming a successor rubbish, no getting rid of the council, no spending of state revenues – who needs a husband and a shoe collection the size of a small nation anyway? Of course, Anna agreed. When will men ever learn. In true girl power fashion, she later tore up the document, rejected all the conditions, dissolved the council and crowned herself. The result was a return to autocratic rule. Anna chose her own group of ministers to help her rule.

Eventually, Anna got a bit fed up of spending time on matters of state, so she left her ministers to take care of the country. On reflection, not a good idea. Anyone who opposed them was punished with exile, torture and even death.

Now, Anna isn’t a well-known Empress in Russian history. She reigned for ten years and was, on the whole, not liked by her people. After all, she did nothing for them, really. She also showed great cruelty and insensitivity. Many of her subjects would even go as far as to say that she was just a few slices short of a Hovis loaf.

Anna also had an unhealthy interest in grotesque, foolish or malformed people. She even had her own private collection. This wasn’t unusual for the time in Russia. Other Tsars shared this interest. But Anna was cruel. She took a great deal of pleasure in torturing and humiliating them, often making them do the most degrading things.

Onto the story …

Despite her failings, Anna did find a husband. Something drove him to drink, can’t think what. Unfortunately, it proved to be his downfall. One day, on his way back from St. Petersburg, he literally dropped down dead drunk. They hadn’t had any children. The incident lead Anna to make a monumental decision. She would have a hand in the marriages of all her courtiers. And, it didn’t do to not ask her permission, as one poor prince was to find out.

Prince Michael Alexievich Golitsyn made a terrible error, which began on a trip to Italy. He fell in love with a pretty, ordinary girl and, in order to marry her, became a Catholic. A double faux pas because Anna herself was Orthodox. Unfortunately, his wife died not long after the wedding.

Back in Russia, Anna’s first punishment was to demote the prince to the role of jester, a great humiliation for him. If that wasn’t enough, she decided to pick another wife for him. Looking to her strange entourage, she chose an ugly Kalmuk serving woman called Avdotia, who she had nicknamed ‘Bujenina’, after her favourite dish of pork and onions. There was nothing the prince could do but go through with it.

Even this wasn’t enough revenge for Anna. She commissioned a palace to be built for their honeymoon. It was to be built entirely from ice. For the product of a cruel joke, this palace was an architectural marvel. It was the one of the coldest winters Europe had experienced for 30 years. All the major rivers had frozen over, including the Seine, in Paris, and the Thames, in London.

The palace was designed, in a classical style, by the architect Peter Eropkin. It was 80 ft long and around 30ft high and located on the Neva River. The workers were skilled artisans and serfs. The ice was specially picked for its transparency. Every block was expertly measured, cut and joined together with water, which froze instantly in the cold weather. Additions to the castle, all also made of ice, included trees, some with ice fruit, birds and statues, and six cannons. Even the windows were sheets of ice. Inside the palace, the furnishings were made of ice - a four poster bed, mattress, quilt, pillows, a clock. There were also ice clothes. If that wasn’t spectacular enough, there was a life-sized elephant in the grounds, and yes, you guessed it, that was also made of ice. It spouted 24 ft of water during the day. At night, petroleum was used to make it spout flames. A trumpeter was installed inside to simulate roars.

On their wedding night, the couple were to take part in a procession, taking them to the palace. They were locked in a cage sitting on top of an elephant, this one was real, and led by Anna’s entourage of strange people. 300 guests were invited to a fantastic feast and transported on sleds pulled by a variety of animals, including pigs and bears.

When they arrived at the castle, they were taken to their ice bedroom and made to spend the night there. Guards were posted on the doors to make sure they didn’t escape. One story has it that the prince had drunk a fair amount and didn’t feel the cold as badly as his new wife. One story has it that she swapped a pearl necklace, which Anna had given her as a wedding present, for the guard’s fur coat. She used it to keep her husband warm all night.

The couple survived the night and were let out in the morning. In fact they found that they got on really well together. The palace melted in the spring.

Anna died of kidney disease soon after the ice palace incident, at the age of 47. The prince was compensated for his losses and Avdotia gave birth to twin sons.

A final word … apparently Anna wasn’t all bad. She did succeed in making ballet and opera popular for the first time in Russian history – allegedly.

Alexandre Dumas wrote a short novel based on the ice palace story – ‘Maison de Glace’.

If you want to experience a night in an ice palace and fancy a holiday with a difference, you can go to the Hotel de Glace in Quebec, Canada. Take a look, it’s really cool, excuse the pun! http://www.icehotel-canada.com/.

Valentine's Day Posting

All I have to say on this, is that I hope Arsenal beat Bolton tonight. That's good enough for me.