Vesnina and Lajovic Visit the Hermitage
One of the signature features of the ATP St. Petersburg Open and WTA St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy tournaments, whose successor is the team tennis tournament "North Palmyra Trophies", has always been a rich cultural program.
Year after year, the organizers strive to showcase the city and its iconic landmarks to the players, revealing this historical and cultural treasure trove to both those visiting St. Petersburg for the first time and those who regularly participate in tournaments in the Northern Capital.
The one constant in this program is a visit to the Hermitage.
The museum complex, consisting of six buildings and more than 400 halls, housing around 3 million exhibits, cannot be fully explored in a single visit or even in several. That’s why participants in tournaments held in St. Petersburg make it a point each year to find time between training sessions and matches to visit one of the world’s most famous museums.
This year, Elena Vesnina and her family, along with Serbian tennis player Dušan Lajović, ventured into the museum’s labyrinth to explore new routes and discover its treasures.
For three generations of the Vesnina family, the tour was designed to ensure that even little Liza (Elena’s daughter) wouldn’t get bored. One of the highlights for all the guests was "The Peacock Clock", a gift to Catherine the Great, whose intricate mechanism remains fully functional even after 200 years and is wound weekly on Fridays.
Dušan Lajović was introduced to the everyday life of the imperial family: their chambers, throne rooms, living rooms, and even the Grand Church of the Winter Palace, where imperial weddings and baptisms were held. The tennis players walked through the halls that Alexandra Feodorovna passed on her way to her wedding with Nicholas II, wearing a dress adorned with gemstones and weighing an incredible 23 kilograms!
Since the tournament days coincided with the very end of autumn and the first day of winter, part of the tour was dedicated to discussing the traditions of celebrating New Year in the Winter Palace. The group explored the hall where Nicholas The First's family would annually set up not just one Christmas tree, but a tree for each family member, creating a small grove in the center of the room with gifts placed under every tree.
Hermitage, we’ll see you again next year!
Year after year, the organizers strive to showcase the city and its iconic landmarks to the players, revealing this historical and cultural treasure trove to both those visiting St. Petersburg for the first time and those who regularly participate in tournaments in the Northern Capital.
The one constant in this program is a visit to the Hermitage.
The museum complex, consisting of six buildings and more than 400 halls, housing around 3 million exhibits, cannot be fully explored in a single visit or even in several. That’s why participants in tournaments held in St. Petersburg make it a point each year to find time between training sessions and matches to visit one of the world’s most famous museums.
This year, Elena Vesnina and her family, along with Serbian tennis player Dušan Lajović, ventured into the museum’s labyrinth to explore new routes and discover its treasures.
For three generations of the Vesnina family, the tour was designed to ensure that even little Liza (Elena’s daughter) wouldn’t get bored. One of the highlights for all the guests was "The Peacock Clock", a gift to Catherine the Great, whose intricate mechanism remains fully functional even after 200 years and is wound weekly on Fridays.
Dušan Lajović was introduced to the everyday life of the imperial family: their chambers, throne rooms, living rooms, and even the Grand Church of the Winter Palace, where imperial weddings and baptisms were held. The tennis players walked through the halls that Alexandra Feodorovna passed on her way to her wedding with Nicholas II, wearing a dress adorned with gemstones and weighing an incredible 23 kilograms!
Since the tournament days coincided with the very end of autumn and the first day of winter, part of the tour was dedicated to discussing the traditions of celebrating New Year in the Winter Palace. The group explored the hall where Nicholas The First's family would annually set up not just one Christmas tree, but a tree for each family member, creating a small grove in the center of the room with gifts placed under every tree.
Hermitage, we’ll see you again next year!
