FOR CRUISE AND FERRY PASSENGERS - 2012

JEWISH DAY IN ST.PETERSBURG 

(7 hours)

In the morning you will visit the Jewish cemetery, the history of which goes back to 1875. Nowadays there are over 80,000 graves. The complex of buildings at the cemetery including  the  worship house for cleansing and burial services, reconstructed in stone in 1912 (arch.Y.Gervits), became the spiritual and cultural centre of the St.Petersburg Jewish community. On old tombs  you will  find an array of Jewish symbolism: the Star of David, Kohen`s hands, menorahs, Torah scrolls, tables of the covenant, and the tree of lament. Many of the monuments were designed by famous architects. The so-called Holy Brotherhood was in charge of burials, ensuring that all burial practices abided by special rules.  The cemetery had a permanent supervisor (Shamash) and an architect. A lot of famous Russian Jews are buried there, among them Mark Antakolsky, an outstanding sculptor, Menahem Gluskin, the Chief Rabbi of Leningrad Choral Synagogue in 1934-36 (the period of Stalin purges), Abram Lubanov, the Chief Rabbi of Leningrad Choral Synagogue in 1943-73.There are also mass graves, where sailors of the Baltic Fleet and citizens, who died during the Siege of Leningrad, are buried.

After an independent lunch in a local cafe you will visit the Big Choral Synagogue, an architectural monument of importance to all of Russia. The Synagogue is located in the so called Kolomna district of St.Petersburg, a thriving Jewish neighborhood in the past.

At the end of the day you will visit the Russian Museum of Ethnography. Its exhibition "History and Culture of the Jewish People on the Territory of Russia" featuring  more then 2400 pieces, traces the Jewish culture history, from the epoch of biblical Patriarchs to the period when Jews lived within the Pale of Settlement, a term used to describe Imperial Russia’s Western border region that was once populated with poor shtetls.  

Price per person in a party of 2 is 186 USD

Price per person in a party of 4 is 108 USD

Price per person in a party of 10 is 58 USD

The price includes car/minivan and guide services, entrance tickets to the Russian Museum of Ethnography.  

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