St Petersburg Part 2 - More of Youssupov Palace

I cannot leave Youssupov Palace without showing you something of the lavish lifestyle enjoyed by the main instigator of the plot against Rasputin. I would add that he then moved to Paris. His position would have been untenable as the murder was investigated. Apparently his doctor friend who brought the poison and was thought to have administered it completely disappeared and was never found. 

The trouble is we saw several fine buildings that day and so my photos all have the same date on them. I hope that I do not inadvertently show you an object that I saw at the Hermitage instead, which is where we went next. My visit was a few days ago now, and my memory is far from perfect. Please correct me if you know I am in error. 

I do remember seeing the bedroom upstairs at this palace, and learning that the beds of the people in those days were shorter than they are now. This was not because they were shorter people. It was because they thought that lying stretched out made them appear to be dead, and they feared being buried alive, so they slept half sitting up. This belief and practice must have been widely practised in Europe, because I also heard the same story in a palace in Bruges in Belgium last Friday and yesterday at a chateau near Lyons la Foret, a little village near the Seine river in Normandy, France. 

Outside the front of the Youssupov Palace.

One of the magnificent old tapestries hanging in the palace.

The ceilings of the rooms were simply elegant. 

A kind of reception room in the palace.

The main staircase.

The chandelier hanging over the staircase.

The skill involved in creating the ornate ceiling above the staircase was extraordinary.

On the side of the staircase.

One of the lovely sculptures set in a recess in the wall at the staircase.

This was a drawing room, with musical instruments. 

This tapestry was hanging at the end of the drawing room (behind me as I stood to take the previous photo).

The fireplace in the drawing room.

Looking towards the other end of the drawing room.

A beautiful, ornate piece of furniture in the palace. Notice the parquetry as well. 

The master bedroom. I don't think husbands and wives slept together in those days, in which case I think this was the wife's room, if you look at the pink motifs on the cornices. 

In the corner of the bedroom.

Some gorgeous furniture in the bedroom. Goodness - it looked like they had conferences in there!

Seen in the next room, which was a sitting room, as I recall. A beautiful piece of porcelain.