Akhmatova poem

[Beyer, Tom]

Have you tried Baedekers Russia 1914?

Some library might have it.

Tom Beyer
Middlebury


On 6/1/12 6:00 PM, "Jack Kollmann" <kolljack at STANFORD.EDU> wrote:

O, wise colleagues:

In Akhmatova's 1913 poem, "Stikhi o Peterburge," #2, she refers to the "Galernaia arka in verse #1:
Serdtse b'etsia rovno, merno.
Chto mne dolgie goda!
Ved' pod arkoi na Galernoi
Nashi teni navsegda.

Is the "Galernaia Arch" (1) the one on Palace Square in the middle of Rossi's General Staff Bldg.; or (2) the one between Rossi's Senate/Synod Bldgs., the street behind which is Galernaia ulitsa; or (3) some other arch?  I'm guessing #2 because of the street name, although Roberta Reeder ("Anna Akhmatova: Poet and Prophet," St. Martin's, 1994) says #1 (p. 71).  In any case, why "Galernaia"?  Meaning "galley, a type of boat" (extensively used at least during Peter's time), right?, and not "gallery"?

I can't find reference to the origin and first use of the street name "Galernaia ulitsa," much less the arch, although I'm sure it's explained somewhere.  Can you suggest good reference works, either online or printed, re: street/place names in Petersburg?  I have a couple of books on origins of street and place names in Moscow, but not a comparable one for Petersburg.

Many thanks.

Jack Kollmann
CREEES, Stanford University


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