augusta brunswick
Augusta Frederica of Great Britain

Under the protection of Catherine the Great – Augusta of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel

Augusta of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel was born on 3 December 1764 to Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick and Princess Augusta of Great Britain. Her younger sister Caroline married George IV of the United Kingdom. To her family, Augusta was known as Zelmira. On 15 October 1780, she married Prince Frederick of Württemberg. He was heir presumptive [read more]

russian ark
Catherine the Great

Russian Ark Movie Review

Last week I saw an announcement from my local art house movie theatre advertising the movie “Russian Ark” by Alexander Sokurov. Supposedly about 300 years of history of the Hermitage shot in a single one and half hour take. Sounds pretty amazing, right? I’m not quite sure what I expected but not this. The narrator [read more]