How Emperor Nicholas II and his family had fun

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Nicholas II was an enthusiastic and very active person. He enjoyed spending time in sports, adored cycling, playing tennis, swimming in the sea and kayaking. The emperor managed to make the summer eventful and cheerful, despite the busyness and various difficulties in life. This is an example of a positive attitude in life, the ability to use warm days for your pleasure and improve your health. Read how Nicholas II and his family spent the summer, how many bison were shot by the emperor and what bike he rode.

Passion for a bicycle and the first royal model for almost 250 rubles

Nicholas II loved cycling. In 1895, he purchased an American-made Dayfon bicycle. At that time, the cost of the model was very high - as much as 243 rubles. In addition, a flashlight was purchased for 9 rubles and a bicycle horn, which cost 1 ruble. The Pobeda trading house supplied bicycles for the emperor.

The models purchased for the daughters of Nicholas II were carefully selected so that the girls could ride comfortably. For example, they had closed chains so that the petticoat would not get tangled in them while riding. Tsarevich Alexei could not join the sisters. Since he was sick with hemophilia, then any, even a small scratch was a great danger. But so that the boy did not feel deprived, a special seat was fixed above the front wheel of the bicycle, where the Tsarevich sat. And the sailor Andrey Derevenko, his tutor, acted as the driver.

Lawn tennis, and how even maids of honor got addicted to it

In the mid-seventies of the 19th century, a passion for tennis came to the imperial family. The game became popular with the light hand of Alexander III, who was overweight and was looking for ways to lose it. As for Nicholas II, he first became closely acquainted with lawn tennis in England. This happened in the mid-nineties, and at that time the emperor only watched the game, but did not participate himself. The first time Nicholas II picked up a racket in June 1896 in the village of Ilyinskoye.

The emperor's sports partners were officers of the yacht "Shtandart" and security units. Sometimes the grand dukes also took part in the game. Nicholas II was so carried away by tennis that soon the entire courtyard became infected with this game. The tennis courts were never empty, you could see the daughters of Nicholas II and the maid of honor Alexandra Feodorovna.

The participants in the game changed into sports uniforms. The emperor went out in white trousers, light boots and a shirt, on the pocket of which an embroidered two-headed eagle flaunted.

Hunting: 40 bison per year

Nicholas II went hunting since childhood. First with his father, Alexander III, then independently. A special service (Directorate of the Imperial Hunt) organized this entertainment. The office was located in Gatchina, and the staff consisted of at least 70 gamekeepers, equestrians, stewards, foresters, and so on.

When hunting was carried out very widely, local peasants acted as beaters, sailors and soldiers were involved. The Emperor's favorite hunting grounds were the beautiful suburbs of St. Petersburg and Gatchina. He also visited Belovezhskaya Pushcha and hunted in the Finnish land. The Imperial Hunting Department kept statistics, recorded the number of killed game: bears, birds, bison, elk. According to the records, in 1900 alone, Nicholas II killed an incredible number of bison - 41 animals.

Kayak from 13 years old until abdication

Nicholas II began to get involved in such a sport as canoeing as a child, when he visited the residence of Alexander III in Gatchina and admired the huge ponds. When the future emperor celebrated his thirteenth birthday (May 1881), he received a kayak as a gift from his parents. It cost 245 rubles, and the manufacturer was the Boat Workshop of the St. Petersburg River Yacht Club. Since then, kayaking has become Nikolai's favorite sporting hobby.

He carried his love for this sport throughout his life. The daughters of the emperor also took a great interest in rowing. They gladly swam in water bodies on boats and kayaks, took pictures, and rested. March 1917 was marked by the abdication of the emperor from the throne. Despite this, he left a note in his diary dated May 13, 1917, where it was said that that day he was kayaking.

Bathing: Peterhof Baths, Livadia and the Gulf of Finland

The family of the emperor experienced the summer heat in the chic Peterhof, where a beautiful bathhouse was built on the Menazheri pond by the order of Catherine II. The building was very beautiful: painted walls, comfortable changing rooms. As decorations were created two fountains bearing the poetic names "Sun" and "Dolphins". In 1925, the bathhouse was dismantled, that is, it has delighted visitors for over 150 years.

Initially, the imperial family bathed either in underwear or naked. By the end of the 19th century, bathing suits began to be made. When in the summer of 1909 the emperor and his family were vacationing on the Black Sea in Livadia, his daughters were already sporting bathing suits, they had special shoes on their feet, and swimming caps on their heads. It is interesting that a small strip was chosen as the color, that is, the vest familiar today.

Unlike the Peterhof Baths, in Livadia everything was much simpler. In order to change clothes, a tent was used, which was located right on the shore. And so that you could go out of it into the water, they put a special rope mat. To make bathing safe, a rope was pulled, which acted as a handrail. At home, the imperial family visited the so-called North Sea - they swam in the Gulf of Finland. In his diary, Nicholas II wrote down the dates of swimming, for example, on June 6, 1905, a note appeared that he and his family went to the sea, where the children flopped in the water, and that the water was cold, but refreshing well. By the way, the emperor was not afraid of the cold and even bathed in very cool water.

Many seriously say that the Romanov family was cursed. And that's why these events happened to the brothers of the king.