Summer palace Elizaveta Petrovna is an unpreserved imperial residence in St. Petersburg, built by B.F.Rastrelli in 1741-1744 on the site where the Mikhailovsky (Engineering) castle is now located. Demolished in 1796.
Summer Palace of Elizabeth Petrovna (built in 1741, demolished in 1797).
M.I. Makhaev 1756
In 1712 on south coast Sinks where the pavilion of the Mikhailovsky Garden is now, a small manor house was built for Ekaterina Alekseevna, completed with a turret with a gilded spire, which bore the pretentious name "Golden Mansions". According to it, the Big Meadow (the future Field of Mars) on the opposite bank received the name Tsaritsyn Meadow: it will be used most often in the 18th, and even at the beginning of the 19th century. The territory near the palace is called the 3rd Summer Garden. The chamberlain of the Duke of Holstein Berchholz on July 11, 1721, having examined the estate, wrote:
“The garden has been planted recently and therefore there is nothing in it yet, except for the already rather large fruit trees. Five nearby ponds were dug here to keep live fish brought to the tsar's table. "
In the queen's greenhouses, the gardener Eckliban grew fruits rare for northern latitudes: pineapples, bananas, etc.
Even then, the idea arose to close the alley of the Summer Garden opposite the Karpiev Pond with a palace building. This is evidenced by the project of 1716-1717, preserved in the archives. Possible author JB Leblond. It depicts a small nine-axis palace, the elevated center of which is completed by a four-sided dome. Wide one-story galleries embrace the courdoner with a magnificent figured parterre facing the Moika. Behind there is a garden with numerous bosquets of various shapes. Fruit plantations have been preserved on the territory of the present Mikhailovsky Garden.
However, the matter did not go beyond the intentions.
MAKHAEV Mikhail Ivanovich
Summer Palace of Elizaveta Petrovna and the front yard in front of it. View from the south. B. g. Ink, pen, brush
Under Anna Ioannovna, the 3rd Summer Garden turns into a "yagd-garten" - a garden for "chasing and shooting deer, wild boars, hares, as well as a gallery for hunters and stone walls to prevent bullets and shots from flying." At the same time, the "vegetable garden" was moved to Liteinaya Street, where the Mariinsky Hospital would later be built.
In the early 1740s. B.F.Rastrelli began the construction of one of the most remarkable buildings of the developed Russian Baroque - the Summer Palace in the 3rd Summer garden for the ruler Anna Leopoldovna.
Ivan ARGUNOV (1727 (29) -1802). Portrait of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna.
However, while the construction was in progress, a coup took place, and Elizaveta Petrovna became the owner of the building. By 1744, the wooden palace on stone cellars was roughly finished. The architect, in the description of the buildings he created, spoke of him like this:
“This building had over 160 apartments, including a church, hall and galleries. Everything was adorned with mirrors and rich sculpture, as was the new garden, decorated with beautiful fountains, with the Hermitage built on the ground floor level, surrounded by rich trellises, all decorations of which were gilded. "
Summer Palace.
Fragment of "Axonometric plan of St. Petersburg 1765-1773. P. de Saint-Hilaire".
Despite its location within the city limits, the building was designed according to the manor scheme. The plan was created under the clear influence of Versailles, which is especially noticeable on the part of the courtier: the successively narrowing spaces intensified the effect of the baroque perspective of the courtyard, fenced off from the driveway by a lattice of magnificent design with state emblems.
The one-storey outbuildings along the perimeter of the courdonneur emphasize the traditional Baroque seclusion of the ensemble. The rather flat decor of light pink facades (mezzanine pilasters with Corinthian capitals and corresponding rusticated blades of a stone base, curly window frames) were compensated by a rich play of volumes.
Complex in plan, highly developed lateral wings included courtyards with small flower parterres. Lush access porticos led into stairwells, as usual for Rastrelli, shifted from the central axis. From the main staircase, a series of drawing rooms decorated with gilded carvings led to the most representative hall of the palace - the Throne Hall. Its double-height volume accentuated the center of the building.
Outside, figured staircases led to it, supplemented by ramps from the side of the garden. Completing the look of the palace, giving it baroque splendor, were numerous statues and vases on the pediments and balustrade crowning the building.
Rastrelli decorated the area up to the Moika with flower parterres with three fountain pools of complex outlines.
Summer Palace of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna in St. Petersburg.
thin L.F.Bonstedt. (after the drawing of M.I.Makhaev. 1753). 1847.
As is often the case with the architect's creations, over time, the logical and harmonious initial plan changes to please momentary requirements.
In 1744, in order for the Empress to go to the 2nd Summer Garden across the Moika River, he built a one-story covered gallery, decorated with paintings hung on the walls. Here, in 1747, at the north-western projection, he creates a terrace hanging garden on the mezzanine level with the Hermitage pavilion and a fountain in the center of the parterre.
Along its contour, they are fenced with a lush gilded trellis lattice, they arrange multi-march gatherings to the garden. Later, a palace church was added to the northeastern projection, expanding it with an additional row of premises from the side of the Fontanka.
Bay windows-lanterns appear on the western facade.
On the territory adjacent to the palace, a decorative park was laid out with a huge complex green labyrinth, bosquets, trellis pavilions and two trapezoidal ponds with semicircular protrusions (which have survived to this day, they acquired free outlines during the reconstruction of the park into a grand ducal residence). Rastrelli reports of his work in the park in 1745:
“On the banks of the Moika, in a new garden, I built large building baths with a round salon and a fountain in several jets, with ceremonial lounges. "
In the center of the park there were swings, slides, carousels. The arrangement of the latter is unusual: revolving benches were placed around a large tree, and a gazebo was hidden in the crown, into which one climbed a spiral staircase.
Alexey Grekov. View of the Summer Palace of Empress Elizabeth
Another building located in the immediate vicinity of the northeastern corner of the palace is associated with the name of the architect: the water supply system for the fountains of the Summer Garden, made in the 1720s. no longer gave sufficient pressure, and did not correspond to the splendor and grandeur of the imperial residence.
In the mid-1740s. Rastrelli builds water towers with an aqueduct across the Fontanka.
Complicated in technically, a purely utilitarian structure made of wood was decorated with palatial luxury: the wall painting imitated lush baroque molding.
Despite the fact that the palace was a ceremonial imperial residence, there was no direct connection with the Nevskaya prospect: the road that ran among unpresentable random buildings (glaciers, greenhouses, workshops and the Elephant Dvor stood on the bank of the Fontanka) turned onto Italianskaya Street, and only bypassing the palace I I. Shuvalov, built by Savva Chevakinsky, the carriages through Malaya Sadovaya got to the central transport artery of the city.
Direct communication will appear only in the next century thanks to the works of K. Rossi.
Elizaveta Petrovna was very fond of the Summer Palace. At the end of April - beginning of May (as the weather permitted), the Empress's ceremonial move from the winter residence was formalized with a magnificent ceremony with the participation of the court, the orchestra, and the guard regiments under the artillery salute of the cannon at Winter Palace and guns Peter and Paul Fortress and the Admiralty.
In parallel, the imperial yachts, anchored in the roadstead opposite Apraksin's house, sailed to the Summer Garden. V Return trip the queen departed in the last days of September with the same ceremonies.
On September 20, 1754, the future emperor Paul I was born within the walls of the palace. After the death of the queen, the palace is still in use: the conclusion of peace with Prussia is celebrated here.
In the throne room, Catherine II receives congratulations from foreign ambassadors on the occasion of her accession to the throne. However, over time, the owner begins to give preference to others. summer residences, especially Tsarskoe Selo, and the building is dilapidated.
First, he was assigned as a residence to G. Orlova, then to G. Potemkin. A catastrophic flood in September 1777 destroyed the Summer Garden fountain system. The fashion for regular parks passed, and the water cannons were not restored, the unnecessary Rastrelli aqueduct was dismantled.
Mikhailovsky Castle from the side of the emb. Fontanka.
Benjamin Patersen.
At the end of the 1770s. the palace was dismantled by order of Paul I for the construction of the Mikhailovsky Castle, the foundation of which took place on February 28, 1797.
There are two legends about the founding of the Mikhailovsky Castle: according to one, Paul I said: "I want to die where I was born," according to the other, the soldier who stood at the clock in the Summer Palace, when he dozed off, the Archangel Michael dreamed and ordered to tell the king to build a church on this place ...
K.P. Beggrov
View of the Engineering Castle from the Summer Garden. 1830s
Be that as it may, in February 1796 the Elizabethan dwelling was demolished due to its dilapidation and the construction of a new imperial stronghold began. And today, only the three-dimensional construction of the castle's facade facing the Summer Garden (possibly at the request of the monarch) and the magnificent drawings of M. I. Makhaev remind of the disappeared building.
***
Saint Petersburg and suburbs
It is difficult to name another building that would have existed on the territory of the Imperial Summer Garden for such a short period - only fifteen years - and left such a bright mark in history. For eight years, the Summer Palace of Anna Ioannovna remained the imperial residence, where the political pulse of the entire Russian Empire beat.
The Summer Wooden Palace of Anna Ioannovna is part of the group of buildings that have not survived in the Summer Garden. Within the walls of this palace in 1740 the empress finished her life, and here her will was announced. Here the regency of Biron was proclaimed, and high dignitaries and guards swore allegiance to the young emperor John Antonovich. One of the most dramatic pages of our history is connected with the beloved palace of Anna Ioannovna - the arrest of the Duke of Courland Biron, the former favorite of the Empress. It is not surprising that the imperial residence, which received such gloomy fame, was dismantled eight years later.
The summer palace of Anna Ioannovna was erected in 1732 on the embankment of the Neva on the site of the Hall for Glorious Celebrations, dismantled for this occasion. The architect was Francesco Rastrelli with the participation of his father, Bartolomeo Rastrelli.
It was a one-story palace, considerably elongated in length. The summer wooden palace differed sharply from the palace of Peter I, which stood on the banks of the Fontanka. Rastrelli singled out central part buildings, and from the side wings arranged descents to the water. An elegant balustrade ran along the edge of the roof, the monotonous rhythm of which was interrupted by carved ornaments and decorative sculptures. Columns and often located windows decorated with platbands have significantly enriched the facades of the palace, giving it the character of a Baroque structure. After the completion of the construction of the palace, the new residence of the Empress acquired the function of a kind of "Nevsky facade" through which one could go to the Summer Garden.
According to Rastrelli, the palace had twenty-eight apartments. From other sources it is known that in 1741 - after the death of the empress - the following chambers were in the palace: "Anticamora", where ambassadors were received; "Comedy"; the chief-marshal's quarters, the empress's bedroom, the large imperial hall, ten chambers of the Duke of Biron, four chambers occupied by his son Peter. In addition, the palace housed the maids of honor, the office for writing; treasury chambers, where ward dresses were kept, and armory chambers. It is also mentioned that Biron's bedroom was covered with carpets. Exactly this detailed description internal apartments of the Summer Palace, which we have today.
On the plan of the wooden palace of Anna Ioannovna, made from a copy of the drawing of 1732, it is clearly seen that the building consisted of two enfilade halls. The premises of the northern suite overlooked the Neva, and the southern suite overlooked the garden. The Neva enfilade consisted of large halls - this was the front part of the palace. Apparently, the throne room was located along the axis of the building, in which the throne place is shown on the plan of the palace. Further to the west, through three rooms, was the ceremonial bedchamber. In the eastern building of the palace, highlighted by the projection, there was the largest hall of the palace. Judging by the description, the palace housed "Comedy", that is, a hall for theater performances... Obviously, this very large hall in the eastern building of the building served as the "Comedy". The garden suite was made up of smaller rooms. Perhaps there were living quarters here; they are grouped by apartments, separated by hallways and opening onto the garden. Since there was a ceremonial bedchamber in the Nevsky suite, it can be assumed that the Garden suite was an everyday bedchamber in which the empress died. Biron's apartments also overlooked the garden and adjoined the imperial ones: this is confirmed by the report of Lieutenant Colonel Manstein, who arrested the duke.
Anna Ioannovna first moved to her Summer Residence immediately after the wedding of her favorite brother, Gustav Biron, to Princess Menshikova, which was celebrated in the Winter Palace on the first day of summer 1732.
Anna Ioannovna lived in the Summer Palace according to a precisely established order - from the beginning of May to the end of September (excluding several weeks in June and July, spent in Peterhof). The imperial court always moved with special splendor to the Summer Palace. Anna Ioannovna sailed along the Neva to the thunder of cannon shots on a sixteen-oared yacht decorated with gold, with a magnificent cabin in the form of a room, decorated with green velvet.
2 Pokrovsky Palace of Elizabeth Petrovna
Empress Elizaveta Petrovna was one of those rare post-Peter Romanovs who loved Moscow. Her sympathy extended to the village of Pokrovskoye-Rubtsovo, which belonged to her, on the banks of the now defunct Rybinka river, which flows into the Yauza. The village itself with a wooden "entertainment" palace, the Church of the Intercession, a pond and a garden has been known since the 16th century. Its first owner was Protasiy Vasilyevich Yuriev, from whom the Romanovs got it in difficult ways. The property was large.
Under Anna Ioannovna, far from the courtyard, Elizaveta Petrovna lived in Pokrovsky-Rubtsovo. According to legend, it is fun, arranging holidays, dances and festivities. In 1737 the wooden palace burned down. In 1739, Elizabeth built a new one on the bank of the pond: one-story, on a high basement, with a central two-story hall. The interiors of the palace have not survived, but it is known that they were decorated in Japanese and Chinese styles. Luxurious park with a roller coaster and carousels was built in 1752 by the architect B.-F. Rastrelli. He also made a project for a new palace, which was not implemented.
On the other side of the pond, the Church of the Resurrection of Christ was built, connected to the palace by a passage and a bridge. It was abolished in 1790.
After the death of Elizabeth, the palace was practically not used. In 1872, the territory was given to the Intercession Community of Sisters of Mercy. The community made alterations according to the project of P.P.Skomoroshenko: they built on the second floor, built the side wings, revived the Resurrection Church, but in the central hall, changed the facade decor to the existing decor.
The community was closed in the 1920s, creating huge communal apartments in the former palace, which existed here until the 1980s. The pond was filled up, and the current street Gastello was laid in front of the palace. Currently, the palace houses the State Research Institute of Restoration.
3 Great Catherine Palace
Big Catherine Palace in Tsarskoye Selo - the favorite residence of Elizabeth Petrovna and Catherine II. Catherine Palace - compositional center Catherine Park and one of its main adornments. The majestic building occupies the central part of Tsarskoye Selo.
The history of the palace begins in 1717 with the construction of the "Stone Chambers" for the wife of Peter the Great, Catherine the First. According to Braunstein's design, it was a modest two-story building, the architecture of which was typical of similar buildings in Russia at the beginning of the 18th century. In 1724, the construction of the palace was completed. In honor of this, a grandiose celebration was held in the new palace.
The first reconstruction of the "Stone Chambers" began after her accession to the throne in 1741, Elizabeth the First. Several architects changed before, at the end of 1748, the construction was headed by the chief architect of the imperial court, Francesco Bartolomeo Rastreli. And by the end of July 1756, instead of a modest building, the empress and her guests were presented with a chic baroque palace, striking in its beauty and size. The azure façade was adorned with white columns, moldings, and Atlantean figures. The gilded ornament made the palace look even more solemn. Outbuildings, connected by covered galleries, departed from the central part of the palace. The gilded domes of the five-domed palace church rose above the northern wing. A gilded dome with a multi-pointed star on a spire shone above the southern wing. The facades of the palace are 300 meters long, and almost 100 kilograms of pure gold were spent on the gilding of the external and internal decorations.
The interior layout and decoration have also been modified. The ceremonial rooms were located along the entire length of the building, forming the ceremonial golden enfilade. The Picture Hall and the famous Amber Room appeared. V Picture room more than a hundred paintings by Western European painting masters of the 17th - early 18th centuries of various national schools are presented. The best craftsmen from different countries have been working on the creation of the Amber Room for more than five years.
The next stage in the design of the ceremonial and residential halls of the palace dates back to the 1770s. The new mistress of the residence, Empress Catherine II, fascinated by antique art, wished to decorate her apartments in accordance with fashionable tastes and entrusted the finishing of them to the Scottish architect, connoisseur of antique architecture C. Cameron.
The interiors he created - the Arabesque and Lyons drawing rooms, the Chinese hall, the Dome dining room, the Silver cabinet, the Blue cabinet (Snuffbox) and the Bedchamber - were distinguished by refined beauty, strict decorative design and special elegance of decoration. Unfortunately, these halls perished during the Great Patriotic War and have not yet been restored.
4 Chinese palace in Oranienbaum
The Chinese Palace is part of the grandiose palace and park complex "Own Dacha" of Empress Catherine II. The palace was built by the architect Antonio Rinaldi. According to his project, a large rectangular pond was dug in front of the southern facade of the Chinese Palace, on the left bank of which the Freilin house was built, and on the right bank a place was allocated for a coffee house (the project of this building was never implemented). A Kitchen building was built at the eastern facade of the palace, already outside the own dacha.
The Chinese Palace, a brilliant example of the Rococo style in Russia, is rightfully considered the pearl of the Oranienbaum palace and park ensemble. Absolute authenticity makes this multifaceted suburb unique, making it stand out from all the imperial residences that frame the Northern Capital with a splendid necklace.
Catherine II, while still the Grand Duchess, chose a “cherished” corner for herself in Oranienbaum. In her “Notes” she recalls 1757: “I had a fantasy to plant a garden for myself ... but I knew that the Grand Duke would not give me a single piece of land for this, and therefore I asked the Golitsyn princes to sell or give me 100 dessiatines that had long been abandoned ... the land they owned near Oranienbaum itself ... They willingly gave it to me. I began to draw plans and lay out a garden, and since the first time I was engaged in plans and buildings, it all came out huge and awkward for me. "
Ekaterina Alekseevna was able to begin to implement her plan only five years later, with the accession to the Russian throne. In 1762, the construction of the Own dacha began, and, first of all, the “stone house and the mountain”. All work was carried out "under the supervision" of A. Rinaldi and according to his drawings. Catherine II sometimes came to Oranienbaum, overseeing the construction of the Dutch House, or the Chinese Palace. The empress celebrated her housewarming in the Chinese Palace on July 27, 1768. This Sunday was celebrated with divine liturgy in the church of St. Panteleimon, and then a ceremonial meal was held in honor of the completion of the construction of the palace: the bishops, archimandrites, together with the nobles, dined and "drank to Her Imperial Majesty's health."
In the 1770s, the Empress often visits Oranienbaum and receives distinguished guests here: not only "foreign" ministers arrive on visits, but also royal persons - King Gustav III of Sweden, Austrian Emperor Joseph II. On July 17, 1780, Catherine II first showed the palace to her grandchildren, the Grand Dukes Alexander and Constantine. Since 1796, Oranienbaum belonged to the Grand Duke Alexander Pavlovich (future Emperor Alexander I), and in 1831 the residence passed into the sole possession of his brother Mikhail Pavlovich. Later, the wife of Mikhail Pavlovich, Elena Pavlovna, became the mistress of the estate, and then their daughter Ekaterina Mikhailovna, who married Duke Georg Mecklenburg-Strelitzky; their children - Georgy, Mikhail and Elena - owned Oranienbaum until 1917.
The summer amusement palace was named Chinese for the luxurious decoration of the four rooms, in the spirit of the ideas of the time about the art of the East. There are also other names: "House in the Upper Garden", "Small House, Her Imperial Majesty's own." Indeed, it is least of all suited to the loud definition of "palace" - it rather resembles a park pavilion, standing on a low stylobate that forms a terrace.
Outwardly modest, the palace amazes with its interior decoration. Gilding and mirrors, ornaments from shells, flower garlands, curls, fancifully curved frames, stucco patterns whimsically running along the walls, fences and ceilings, exquisite paintings, shaded with a pearl haze - all this creates an atmosphere of delicacy and comfort. Such is the Rococo style, which existed for a short time in the 18th century, but left a bright mark in Russia - the exquisite and chamber Chinese Palace in Oranienbaum. Stylized oriental motives of decorative decoration and many original works of art from China and Japan give a special sophistication to the Rococo interiors.
The interiors of the Chinese Palace preserve the original furnishings of the 18th century: a rare collection of paintings by Italian artists, fine examples of Eastern and Western European porcelain, furniture by Russian and European masters. One of the main attractions of the palace is the unique parquet floors, made according to Rinaldi's drawings; they are unmatched in Russian arts and crafts. The original floors in the palace were made of reconstituted marble. In the 1770s, they were replaced with inlaid parquets made of various types of wood (there are up to 36 of them) - oak, maple, birch, rosewood, boxwood, mahogany and ebony, Persian walnut, sachardan (brown wood), amaranth and others. Parquets, which do not repeat in any room, amaze with their complex patterns and exquisite colors.
The glass-bead study, the Shtofnaya Bedchamber, the Hall of the Muses, the Blue and Pink drawing rooms ... These names themselves speak of the uniqueness of the palace premises, their enduring artistic and historical value. In the design of the interiors, Rinaldi used the richest arsenal of decorative forms inherent in the Rococo style, achieving a harmonious relationship between the decoration of the palace and its architecture.
The center of the symmetrical composition of the Chinese Palace is Big hall, from which along the northern façade there are premises in both directions ceremonial suite... Two wings adjoin the main volume of the building from the south at right angles, including small enfilades; the western suite housed the private chambers of Empress Catherine II, the eastern suite - the rooms of her son, Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich.
The Chinese Palace is located in the southwestern part of the Upper Park. In front of the palace there is a meadow with flower beds, and century-old oaks serve as side curtains and a background for it. In the 18th century, the park was designed in a regular French style, and a pool of regular geometric shape was "inscribed" into its composition. By the middle of the 19th century, the nature of the parkland had changed: the layout became free, and the Upper Park acquired a romantic look. The reservoir turned into a pond, and its banks took on a softer shape.
As a museum, the Chinese Palace opened in 1922. During the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945, Soviet troops defended the "Oranienbaum Piglet", which did not allow German army occupy Oranienbaum. The damage caused by the war did not distort the appearance of its monuments, and the skillful skill of the restorers only emphasized their highest artistic merit.
In the 18th century, women often came to power in Russia, and naturally there were favorites in their lives. They were endowed immensely with titles and estates, and often had enormous political influence. Some received real palaces as gifts. Who was awarded this honor, and which of these palaces have survived in St. Petersburg to our time?
Anichkov Palace (Nevsky prospect, 39)
Anichkov Palace is the first palace to appear on Nevsky Prospect. So it was named after a few years, when the famous Anichkov Bridge appeared next to it.
Elizaveta Petrovna, daughter of Peter I, ascended the throne in 1741 as a result of a palace coup, in honor of her triumph, ordered to build a palace.
Although it was officially announced that the palace was being built for the new empress, everyone understood that in fact it was intended for Count Alexei Grigorievich Razumovsky, who at that time was her favorite. Razumovsky was famous for his beauty and good nature, and although he had great power at court, he never really used it.
The construction of the palace began immediately after the coronation, the architect Mikhail Zemtsov began to build it, and was completed by Bartolomeo Rastrelli. The building was located in such a way that its main entrance and main facade were facing the Fontanka embankment and not Nevsky Prospect. At that time, Nevsky Prospekt was not yet the central street of the city and, in addition, many guests got to this palace along the Fontanka, along which the border of St. Petersburg passed then.
In 1771, Razumovsky died, and Catherine II, having bought the palace from the Razumovsky family, donated it to her new favorite, Grigory Potemkin. He decided to rebuild the palace in a more classical style, which he did. In the future, the palace more than once changed its owners, and more than once was seriously rebuilt.
Shuvalov Palace (Italianskaya st., 25)
The mansion belonged to the young favorite of Elizaveta Petrovna, Ivan Shuvalov, a very versatile person who was interested in politics and art. Largely thanks to his efforts, the Moscow University and the Academy of Arts were opened.
Instead of building new mansion"from scratch", it was decided, taking as a basis one of the existing buildings, thoroughly rebuild it to your liking. The architect Savva Chevakinsky was involved in the construction of the mansion, who chose the Elizabethan baroque style for him. The mansion was built very quickly - in just two years, and Shuvalov and his wife moved there.
However, later, under Empress Catherine II, Shuvalov was excommunicated from the court and was forced to leave Russia. By order of one of the subsequent owners of the palace, Prosecutor General Alexander Vyazemsky, the palace was rebuilt in the classical style.
Marble Palace (Millionnaya Street, 5/1)
This palace was built for the next favorite of Catherine II, Count Grigory Orlov. The empress made such a generous gift to the count for his courage and courage shown during the palace coup, thanks to which Catherine ascended the Russian throne.To decorate the facades and interiors of this palace, marble was used, and, moreover, the most different - 32 varieties. Therefore, this palace was called the Marble. It was also called the Palace for the Favorite.
However, the construction of the palace dragged on for 17 years and, unfortunately, Count Orlov, without waiting for the completion of the work, died. Now Marble palace transferred to the disposal of the Russian Museum.
Gatchina palace
The Gatchina Palace also belonged to Grigory Orlov. It was built in an unusual style for Russia - an English hunting castle. The project was carried out by the Italian Antonio Rinaldi. This palace was also built for a very long time - 15 years, and Orlov had a very short time to live in it - only two years.
Tauride Palace (Shpalernaya street, house 47)
This palace, one of the largest in Europe, was built by Catherine the Great for Prince Potemkin. It was under his control that the Russian army, having won the Russian-Turkish war, annexed the Crimean peninsula, then called "Taurida". After that, Potemkin began to be called Tavrichesky. But Potemkin a year later sold this palace as unnecessary and left on business to the south. Catherine bought this palace and again presented it to him - this time for the capture of the Turkish fortress of Izmail.
Coordinates: 59 ° 56'26.5 ″ s. sh. 30 ° 20'15.5 ″ in. etc. / 59.940694 ° N sh. 30.337639 ° E etc.(G) (O) (I)59.940694 , 30.337639
Summer Palace of Elizabeth Petrovna- the unpreserved imperial residence in St. Petersburg, built by B.F.Rastrelli in 1741-1744 on the site where the Mikhailovsky (Engineering) castle is now located. Demolished in 1796.
Construction history
Even then, the idea arose to close the alley of the Summer Garden opposite the Karpiev Pond with a palace building. This is evidenced by the project - gg., Preserved in the archives. Possible author JB Leblond. It depicts a small nine-axis palace, the elevated center of which is completed by a four-sided dome. Wide one-story galleries embrace the courdoner with a magnificent figured parterre facing the Moika. Behind there is a garden with numerous bosquets of various shapes. Fruit plantations have been preserved on the territory of the present Mikhailovsky Garden. However, the matter did not go beyond the intentions.
However, while the construction was in progress, a coup took place, and Elizaveta Petrovna became the owner of the building. By the time the palace, wooden on stone cellars, was roughly finished. The architect, in the description of the buildings he created, spoke of him like this:
“This building had over 160 apartments, including a church, hall and galleries. Everything was adorned with mirrors and rich sculpture, as was the new garden, decorated with beautiful fountains, with the Hermitage built on the ground floor level, surrounded by rich trellises, all decorations of which were gilded. "
Despite its location within the city limits, the building was designed according to the manor scheme. The plan was created under the clear influence of Versailles, which is especially noticeable from the courtier: the successively narrowing spaces intensified the effect of the baroque perspective of the courtyard, fenced off from the driveway by a lattice of magnificent design with state emblems. The one-storey outbuildings along the perimeter of the courdonneur emphasize the traditional Baroque seclusion of the ensemble. The rather flat decor of light pink facades (mezzanine pilasters with Corinthian capitals and corresponding rusticated blades of a stone base, curly window frames) were compensated by a rich play of volumes. Complex in plan, highly developed lateral wings included courtyards with small flower parterres. Lush access porticos led into stairwells, as usual for Rastrelli, shifted from the central axis. From the main staircase, a series of drawing rooms decorated with gilded carvings led to the most representative hall of the palace - the Throne Hall. Its double-height volume accentuated the center of the building. Outside, figured staircases led to it, supplemented by ramps from the side of the garden. Completing the look of the palace, giving it baroque splendor, were numerous statues and vases on the pediments and balustrade crowning the building. Rastrelli decorated the area up to the Moika with flower parterres with three fountain pools of complex outlines.
As is often the case with the architect's creations, over time, the logical and harmonious initial plan changes to please momentary requirements. In 1744, in order for the Empress to go to the 2nd Summer Garden across the Moika River, he built a one-story covered gallery, decorated with paintings hung on the walls. Here, near the north-western projection, he creates a hanging garden terrace at the mezzanine level with the Hermitage pavilion and a fountain in the center of the parterre. Along its contour, they are fenced with a lush gilded trellis lattice, they arrange multi-march gatherings to the garden. Later, a palace church was added to the northeastern projection, expanding it with an additional row of premises from the side of the Fontanka. Bay windows-lanterns appear on the western facade.
On the territory adjacent to the palace, a decorative park was laid out with a huge complex green labyrinth, bosquets, trellis pavilions and two trapezoidal ponds with semicircular protrusions (which have survived to this day, they acquired free outlines during the reconstruction of the park into a grand ducal residence). Rastrelli reports of his work in the park in 1745:
“On the bank of the Moika in the new garden, I built a large building of baths with a round salon and a fountain in several jets, with ceremonial rooms for relaxation.”
In the center of the park there were swings, slides, carousels. The arrangement of the latter is unusual: revolving benches were placed around a large tree, and a gazebo was hidden in the crown, into which one climbed a spiral staircase.
Another building located in the immediate vicinity of the northeastern corner of the palace is associated with the name of the architect: the water supply system for the fountains of the Summer Garden, made in the 1720s. no longer gave sufficient pressure, and did not correspond to the splendor and grandeur of the imperial residence. In the mid-1740s. Rastrelli builds water towers with an aqueduct across the Fontanka. Technically complex, a purely utilitarian structure made of wood was decorated with palatial luxury: the wall painting imitated lush baroque molding.
Despite the fact that the palace was a ceremonial imperial residence, there was no direct connection with the Nevskaya prospect: the road that ran among unpresentable random buildings (glaciers, greenhouses, workshops and the Elephant Dvor stood on the bank of the Fontanka) turned onto Italianskaya Street, and only bypassing the palace I I. Shuvalov, built by Savva Chevakinsky, the carriages through Malaya Sadovaya got to the central transport artery of the city. Direct communication will appear only in the next century thanks to the works of K. Rossi.
Elizaveta Petrovna was very fond of the Summer Palace. In late April - early May (as the weather permitted), the Empress's ceremonial move from the winter residence was formalized with a magnificent ceremony with the participation of the court, the orchestra, and the guard regiments under the artillery salute of the cannon near the Winter Palace and the guns of the Peter and Paul Fortress and the Admiralty. In parallel, the imperial yachts, anchored in the roadstead opposite Apraksin's house, sailed to the Summer Garden. On the way back, the queen set off in the last days of September with the same ceremonies.
On September 20, the future emperor Paul I was born within the walls of the palace. After the death of the queen, the palace is still in use: the conclusion of peace with Prussia is celebrated here. In the throne room, Catherine II receives congratulations from foreign ambassadors on the occasion of her accession to the throne. However, over time, the owner began to give preference to other summer residences, especially Tsarskoe Selo, and the building was dilapidated. First, he was assigned as a residence to G. Orlova, then to G. Potemkin. A catastrophic flood in September destroyed the Summer Garden fountain system. The fashion for regular parks passed, and the water cannons were not restored, the unnecessary Rastrelli aqueduct was dismantled. There are two legends about the founding of the Mikhailovsky Castle: according to one, Paul I said: "I want to die where I was born," according to the other, the soldier who stood at the clock in the Summer Palace, when he dozed off, the Archangel Michael dreamed and ordered to tell the king to build a church on this place ... Be that as it may, in February the Elizabethan dwelling was demolished due to its dilapidation and the construction of a new imperial stronghold began. And today, only the three-dimensional construction of the castle's facade facing the Summer Garden (possibly at the request of the monarch) and the magnificent drawings of M. I. Makhaev remind of the disappeared building.
Literature
The reign of Elizabeth I was marked by a new stage in the development of architecture in the state, the emergence of the Elizabethan (Russian) baroque. Built under the leadership of the chief architect of the Empress R.F. Bartolomeo's architectural monuments had a clear European influence, however, they were characterized by a Russian scale and monumentality. One of these masterpieces was the Summer Palace of Elizabeth Petrovna in St. Petersburg, which in style, lightness of architectural forms and richness of decoration was compared with the French royal palace at Versailles.
Geographical location and architectural features of the Summer Palace of Elizabeth
We can get an idea of how Elizabeth's Summer Palace looked from paintings and engravings, as well as from the memoirs of contemporaries. The imperial residence was located on the site between the street. Italian, Catherine canal, Moika and Fontanka rivers. The palace was built in the 3rd Summer Garden, where the Mikhailovsky (also known as the Engineering) castle is located today.
According to the project, the palace provided for the presence of two facades overlooking the Moika (main) and in the direction of Nevsky Prospekt. In front of the main entrance to the building, a regularly operating park with trees and figured flower beds, benches and fountains was laid out. In courtyard visitors passed through the wrought-iron gates.
Summer Palace of Elizabeth Petrovna Bartolomeo Francesco Rastrelli had a second name - Wooden Palace. Only the basement and walls of the first floor were made of stone, the second was entirely made of wood. The outer walls, in pink and gray, looked elegant and light. The interior was decorated with rich stucco with gilding, sculptures and a large number of mirrors. The luxurious and elegant palace included more than 160 rooms, including a reception hall and a gallery.
Favorite residence of Elizabeth Petrovna
The entire courtyard of Elizabeth I moved to the Summer Palace from the Winter Palace as soon as it got warmer: in April - May. The move was arranged solemnly, with a cannon salute and an orchestra, accompanied by a Guards regiment. The return to the winter residence at the end of September was no less pompous.
Elizabeth loved her Summer Palace. It regularly hosted official receptions and balls. The future Emperor Paul I was born here.
Summer Palace of Elizabeth: the history of construction
The idea of erecting a summer imperial residence appeared even under Anna Leopoldovna - regent under the young Ivan VI, to whom the throne passed after Anna Ioannovna. The architect began to develop drawings at the end of 1740, and in July 1741 they began construction works... In the same year, a coup took place and Elizaveta Petrovna, the youngest daughter of Peter the Great, came to power. The new empress approved the continuation of the construction of the palace and the work was carried out from 1741 to 1744. Historically, the construction was not carried out exactly according to the project. So, at the direction of Elizabeth through the river. A covered gallery was built for the sink to go from the palace to the 2nd Summer Garden.
After the death of Elizabeth I, the palace remained an imperial residence, celebrations were held here at the end of the seven-year war with Prussia, and Catherine II received official congratulations on the coronation from foreign ambassadors, although she spent most of her time in Tsarskoe Selo. By the decree of Paul I, the Summer Palace was destroyed in 1797 (officially - due to dilapidation), and in its place the modern Mikhailovsky Castle, which we know, was built, which became the residence of the emperor.
