Template:POTD/2019-05-26

Picture of the day

The Field of Mars is a large park in central Saint-Petersburg, Russia, named after Mars, the Roman god of war. The park's history goes back to the eighteenth century, when it was converted from bogland and named the Grand Meadow. In the early nineteenth century it was the setting for celebrations to mark Russia's victory over Sweden in the Great Northern War. Its next name – Tsaritsin Meadow – appears after the royal family commissioned Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli to build the Summer Palace for Empress Elizabeth. It became the Field of Mars during the reign of Paul I. But towards the end of the 18th century Tsarina's Meadow became a military drill ground where they erected monuments commemorating the victories of the Russian Army and where parades and military exercises took place regularly.Photograph credit: Godot13

See also

• Template:POTD_protected/2019-05-26