The Dhaka Times Desk We have seen many palaces but has anyone ever seen an ice palace? Today's Ice Palace is one such story. Which no one ever thought of.
During the harsh winter of 1739 to 1740, the Russian Tsarina Anna Ivanovna ordered the construction of an ice palace in St. Petersburg. Architect Pyotr Eropkin was commissioned to design the palace.
The Ice Palace was built on the orders of the Tsarina. The palace was 24 meters long and 7 meters wide. Large quantities of ice blocks are used in the construction of palaces. Ice cubes are joined by water. There was an ice tree in the garden of the palace. In that tree were snow birds and a huge snow elephant. Various pictures were carved on the ice walls outside the palace. There were some gunners standing right in front of the palace. But everyone was made of ice. The furniture inside the palace was also made of ice. Even the bed was made of ice. The mattress and pillows on the bed were also icy. However, the ice palace was surrounded by a high wooden fence.
Why is this ice palace?
It's for the prince. Prince Mikhail Golitsyn married an Italian woman. Without telling Zarina. Zarina thought, marrying this would be a direct insult to her. Czarina began to abuse her daughter-in-law in various ways. However, Prince's wife did not live long. He died shortly after marriage. Yet the Tsarina could not forgive Prince Mikhail. He wanted to give Prince an incredible punishment. He wanted to make fun of her.
The Tsarina herself found a new wife for the prince. The prince's new wife was not beautiful at all. She was a Kalmyk court lady. The name is Avodtia Ivanovna Bagheninova. Tsarina forced the marriage of Bagheninova with the prince. The newlyweds were sent to the ice palace. There they had to ride on the back of an ice elephant, spend the night on that ice bed. I had to sleep with my head on an ice pillow. The newlyweds spent a very difficult night in the ice palace, on the ice bed, with their heads on the ice pillow. But fortunately for the prince, Anna died the following year and his ice palace could not last the following summer. had melted
Did Zarina's marriage last?
Zarina's forced marriage survived in the end. The prince and Bagheninov became the parents of twins. This ice palace in St. Petersburg is the first known building made of ice in the world. Buildings made of ice are now built in many countries around the world. The construction of the ice palace is also celebrated. Ice palaces have been built regularly in North America since 1883. A variety of ice palaces are built in St. Paul, the capital of Minnesota, every year as part of a winter festival. The townspeople have been celebrating this festival since 1886. Some palaces are built with thousands of ice blocks. In 1992, a structure 150 feet or 45.7 meters high was built here with 25,000 blocks of ice. In 1941, the palace was built here with 30,000 blocks of ice. An ice palace was last built in 2004 in St. Paul's. The Quebec City Winter Carnival has been celebrated in Quebec every year since 1954. Ice palaces are also built at this winter festival in Quebec. However, the size of the ice palace that will be built in a given year depends on the budget of the townspeople. Known as the All-American City, Saranac Lake in New York also features ice palaces during the annual Winter Carnival.
Once upon a time the people of this region used to get quite bored due to continuous winters. Then they started thinking how to make winter fun. From that thought, they have this festival since the 19th century. Around this festival, they build an ice palace. In April 2004, the ruler of Turkmenistan, Saparmurat Nyozov, ordered the construction of several ice palaces near the capital, Agabat. In addition, every year another palace is recreated in St. Petersburg, Russia, modeled after the ice palace. It is being done since 2005. Source: Dainik Yugantar.
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