Iron County register., 1882-03-30
QUEEN ANNE'S ICE-PALACE.


QUEEN ANNE'S ICE-PALACE.
You have made ice-houses and snow
forts and snow men, and perhaps con-
structed temporary skating rinks, by
| pouring water upon level and letting
it freeze, but an -palace-none of you
evermade anything like that OF course
not. Only a very wealthy person, and a
very foolish one, would waste time and
money in this manner. I am quite sure
the pleasure-loving Queen Anne could
have employed her time much better
than by erecting such a useless, tran
sient and costly toy.
Queen Anne reigned in Russia, where
the winters are SO long and severe, a
long time ago, before your grand
mothers were born.
She was the grand daughter of the
great and hare-brained Peter, who COM
bined some of the worst qualities of the
man with the grandest virtues of a sover-
eign.
Of course, no one ever thought of
calling Anne great ruler. A woman
whose most notable exploit was the
construction of holiday plaything
like this could never hope to win a lofty
title.
But the ice-palace, what of that?
The winter of 1879 and 40 was very
severe all over Europe. Snow fell many
feet in depth, and the rivers froze near
ly solid.
Communication was cut off between
distant villages by huge drifts. Wolves
roamed the country, and many of the
scattered hamlets were depopulated by
81 &c = L.
deprived of their customary food in the
forest, became unusually bold in their
habits. 1t was a cold, dark, dreary
time.
In st. Petersburg, however, all was
gaiety and festiyity. Despite the freez-
ing cold, Anne and her court made the
season one of festal cheer.
Every day and every night the River
Neya cleaned with brilliant spectacles.
To-day it was military review. Two
hundred thousand men, infantry, ar
tillery. cavalry and wild hordes of the
fierce Cossack of the Don marched and
countermarched, performed evolutions,
and engaged in mimic battles upon the
glittering ice.
snow would be attacked and defended
W all tHC It1cS OI war, anu
taken, a. last, sword in hand.
In the night, great fires were kindled
along the shore, and maskers and skat-
ing parties celebrated their sports upon
the frozen river.
When these pageants had grown COM
monplace, Queen Anne thought of the
ice-palace. She consulted with her ar
chitect, Alexis Danilovitch Tatisxchev,
design was drawn up and forthwith exc
cuted. The site selected was between
the fortress, of the admiralty and the
Queens new winter residence, on the
broad public grounds which were used
by the people as park during the sum-
mer-time.
Two thousand men were engaged
upon the building for nearly one month.
The manner of building was simple
enough.
The purest and most transparent ice
was selected. 1t was cut from the Neva
in large blocks, which were then squared
with rule and compass, and carved with
all the regular architectural embellish-
ments.
When each block was ready, it was
raised to its destined place by cranes
and pulleys, and, an instant before let
ting it down upon the block which was
to support iN little water was thrown
between the two, the upper block was
Immediately lowered, the water froze,
and the two were cemented together.
The whole structure, in fact, appeared
to be, and really was, all of one single
piece, :'producing, without contradic-
ton, an effect infinitely more beautiful
than if it had been built of the most cost
ly marble, its transparency and blush
tint giving it rather the appearance of
precious stone"
The building, when completed, was
fifty-six feet long, twenty feet wide and
twenty-five feet high. The apparent di-
mensions of the palace seemed larger,
by reason of the palisading surrounding
it-eighty seven feet in length and thir-
ty-six feet in width. The actual length
of the front view, including the pyra-
mids at the corners, was one hundred
and fourteen feet.
The facade of the building was plain,
being merely divided into compart-
ments by pilasters. In each division
there was window, the framework of
which was painted to represent green
marble: The panes were formed of
slabs of ice, as transparent and smooth
as piate-glass. AT nlgnt these windows
were generally lighted. The effect of
this illumination is said to have been
peculiarly fine, as the light appeared
not only at the windows, but, from the
of the material, the whole
palace was filled with delicate, pearly
light.
There was no door in front-what
seemed door being, in fact, a large
window. In the rear there were two