In May 2009, I already wrote about this palace. Then I had a series of posts about Pokrovskoe-Rubtsovo.
Late yesterday evening with Zina and Lesha we were driving by and I realized that they did not remember about him.
So I repeat the post.
The palace is located on the street. Gastello 44 http://maps.yandex.ru/-/CZHEbkC
And at the time of the beautiful Elizabeth and earlier it was the royal village of Pokrovskoe-Rubtsovo.
In Pokrovskoe in her youth lived the daughter of Peter I, Elizabeth. Removed from the courtyard by Anna Ioannovna, she built a new-fangled palace in the estate, indulged in carefree amusements here, arranging holidays with friends, forcing the Pokrovsky peasants to dance on them. The Moscow historian and writer IK Kondratyev writes that "being by nature a cheerful character, the princess took part here in festive round dances composed of Pokrovsky maidens and young women, dressing in their beautiful costume: in a colored satin sarafan and kokoshnik, or in a brocade kiku with pearl beads and with a braid, or just girlishly, weaving his Yaroslavl ribbon into a tubular braid ... Since then, I suppose, they sang a song:
In the village, the village of Pokrovskoe,
In the middle of the big street,
Played out, danced
The soul maiden is red. "
Although after accession to the throne, Elizaveta Petrovna did not forget Pokrovskoye, which was dear to her heart, she ordered the architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli to make the palace even more magnificent - but still she does not go there so often.
The village calms down, but sometimes there were still celebrations here: visitors were having fun on carousels and swings, and sledges or carriages rolled down from a huge, almost 400 meters long roller coaster. This mountain was deliberately made for the arrival of Catherine II in 1763, but even in her absence she allowed "katatza in summer and winter to the nobility and merchants and any rank of people, except the vile ones." Visitors were also expected "a tavern and in it food, tea, cheka-lad, coffee, Gdansk and French vodka, grape drink, half beer and mead". From about the second half of the 18th century. the village becomes an ordinary suburb of the city, and then a part of it, in which intensive construction of factories and plants begins.
Well, now in order.
St. Gastello 44. The former Pokrovsky Palace of the "beautiful Elisabeth" has a long and largely unexplained history. It is known that here on the banks of a large pond there were wooden mansions intended for the stay of the royal family. So, in 1713, Princess Maria Alekseevna, later the future Empress Elizaveta Petrovna, lived in them together with the relatives of the Skavronsky and Gendrikovs. It is possible that in the mid-1730s stone chambers were built instead of wooden ones, arch. M.G. Zemtsov.
In the great Moscow fire in May 1737, the palace burned down completely.
In 1742 - 1743. it was rebuilt into an elegant baroque palace by the architect F.B. Rastrelli.
This is according to S.K. Romanyuk.
And I. Kondratyev in 1893 in his "Gray antiquity of Moscow" wrote that in 1742 a wooden palace was built here, which is listed in all old Moscow guidebooks. It burned down and in 1753 a stone one was built in its place.
In the mezzanine of the central part there was a house church, its head still standing without a cross we today take for a belvedere.
The palace stands on a hillock, in front of it there was a small courdener that went down to the pond, which was formed from the dammed Rybinka River, which flows into the Yauza not far from the palace. A beautiful wooden bridge was built from the palace to the middle of the pond, where there was an island and a wooden Church of the Resurrection stood.
Now, on the site of the pond and all this beauty, a residential building in the style of the Stalinist Empire was built, Rybinka was enclosed in a pipe ... and the palace is shaking from the trains that pass right in front of it along the Kursk line railroad, built by the industrialist P. von Dervies.
But about him, or rather about his traces in Pokrovskaya-Rubtsovo will be the next post.
And definitely a symbol Summer garden and one of the symbols of St. Petersburg is the fence overlooking the embankment of the Neva, built in 1770-1784 by the architect YM Felton. But few people know that this very place once stood Summer palace Anna Ioannovna, which amazed his contemporaries with its magnificence.
Neva embankment near the Summer Garden. It was here that the Summer Palace of Anna Ioannovna once stood
The history of the construction of the palace of Anna Ioannovna
Initially, under Empress Catherine I, the "Hall for Glorious Celebrations" was built here, which was a wooden gallery and a hall with 11 windows on the facade. On May 21, 1725, the wedding of the Grand Duchess Anna Petrovna (1708-1728) with the Duke of Holstein (Karl Friedrich Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp, 1700-1738) took place there. From this marriage Karl Peter Ulrich, the future Russian emperor Peter III (1728-1762), was born.
In 1731, by order of Empress Anna Ioannovna (1693-1740, reigned 1730-1740), the "Hall" was broken, and in just 6 weeks in 1732 a luxurious wooden palace was erected. Its architect was Francesco Rastrelli, and his father, Bartolomeo Rastrelli, also took part in the work. On June 1, 1732, the Empress solemnly entered the new Summer Palace. In the following years, she lived here from early May to late September.
Empress Anna Ioannovna, from engraving by I. Sokolov, 1740
The palace was a one-story, elongated room. The central part of the facade was highlighted; slopes to the Neva extended from the side wings. A balustrade ran along the roof, decorated with carvings and sculptures. Frequent mirrored windows were rare for the time; through them one could see the interior decoration. The palace had 28 rooms, 10 of which were occupied by Biron. When Anna Ioannovna lived in the Summer Palace, four yachts were moored on the Neva, which gave fireworks during festivities and feasts.
Drawings of Anna Ioannovna's Summer Palace by F.-B. Rastrelli
(function (w, d, n, s, t) (w [n] \u003d w [n] ||; w [n] .push (function () (Ya.Context.AdvManager.render ((blockId: "RA -143470-6 ", renderTo:" yandex_rtb_R-A-143470-6 ", async: true));)); t \u003d d.getElementsByTagName (" script "); s \u003d d.createElement (" script "); s .type \u003d "text / javascript"; s.src \u003d "//an.yandex.ru/system/context.js"; s.async \u003d true; t.parentNode.insertBefore (s, t);)) (this , this.document, "yandexContextAsyncCallbacks");
The mysterious death of the empress
The Empress died in the Summer Palace, and a farewell ceremony was held here. Strange events preceded her death. Another 5 (16) October 1740 during lunch with Biron, Anna Ioannovna lost consciousness. Doctors recognized the disease as fatal. MI Pylyaev in his book "Old Petersburg", referring to the maid of honor Bludov, writes the following (grammar and punctuation are preserved):
A few days before the death of Anna Ioannovna, a guard stood in a room near the throne room, a sentry was at the open door. The Empress has already retired to inner chambers; it was past midnight, and the officer sat down to take a nap. Suddenly the sentry calls to the guard, the soldiers lined up, the officer took out his sword to salute. Everyone sees - the empress walks back and forth across the throne room, bowing her head thoughtfully, not paying attention to anyone. The whole platoon is waiting, but, finally, the strangeness of the night walk through the throne room begins to confuse everyone. The officer, seeing that the empress does not want to leave the hall, finally decides to go another way and ask if anyone knows the empress's intentions. Then he meets Biron and reports to him. “It can't be,” says Biron: “I’m from the empress now, she went into the bedroom to go to bed. - Look for yourself, she's in the throne room. - Biron goes and sees her too. “This is something wrong, there’s either a conspiracy or a deception in order to act on the soldiers,” he says, runs to the empress and persuades her to come out in order to expose an impostor in the eyes of the guard who uses some resemblance to her to fool people. The Empress decides to go out, as she was in the pudermantel. Biron goes with her. They see a woman strikingly similar to the empress, who is not in the least embarrassed. - Daring! - says Biron, and calls the entire guard; the soldiers and all those present see "two Anna Ioannovna", of which the real and the ghost could be distinguished only by the dress and by the fact that she came with Biron. The Empress, standing for a moment in surprise, approaches her, saying: “Who are you? Why did you come? " Without answering a word, the ghost backs away, without taking his eyes off the empress, to the throne, ascends it, and on the steps, turning his eyes once more to the empress, disappears. The Empress turns to Biron and says: This is my death - and leaves to her.
There are many incomprehensible things in this story. Even as a child, to Anna Ioannovna, a certain holy fool predicted that she would die after seeing her reflection without a mirror. In 1721, during a feast on the occasion of the proclamation of Peter I as emperor, the jester announced that the women of the royal house would face death in female guise. One could believe in mysticism, but ... The day after the death of Anna Ioannovna, near the Green Bridge near the Moika River, a woman's corpse was discovered, strikingly similar to the late empress. Was she that ghost?
By the will of Anna Ioannovna, signed the day after the appearance of the double, the throne passed to the 10-month-old Ioann Antonovich, with Biron as regent. However, he did not have to rule for long. On the night of November 8, Biron was arrested by Minich and exiled to. The infant emperor was taken from the Summer Palace to the Winter Palace, and from there - also to Shlisselburg.
The further fate of the palace
In 1748, already during the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna, the Summer Palace was dismantled and transported to Yekateringof, serving building material for two outbuildings that expanded the main palace. And after the revolution, in 1926, after several fires, the Yekateringof Palace was finally dismantled. So the Summer Palace of Anna Ioannovna ceased to exist.
© Site, 2009-2020. Copying and reprinting any materials and photos from the site site in electronic publications and print media are prohibited.
In Pokrovskoe in her youth lived the daughter of Peter I, Elizabeth. Removed from the courtyard by Anna Ioannovna, she built a new-fangled palace in the estate, indulged in carefree amusements here, arranging holidays with friends, forcing the Pokrovsky peasants to dance on them. The Moscow historian and writer IK Kondratyev writes that "being by nature a cheerful character, the princess took part here in festive round dances composed of Pokrovsky maidens and young women, dressing in their beautiful costume: in a colored satin sarafan and kokoshnik, or in a brocade kiku with pearl beads and with a braid, or just girlishly, weaving his Yaroslavl ribbon into a tubular braid ... Since then, I suppose, they sang a song:
In the village, the village of Pokrovskoe,
In the middle of the big street,
Played out, danced
The soul maiden is red. "
Although after accession to the throne, Elizaveta Petrovna did not forget Pokrovskoye, which was dear to her heart, she ordered the architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli to make the palace even more magnificent - but still she does not go there so often.
The village calms down, but sometimes there were still celebrations here: visitors were having fun on carousels and swings, and sledges or carriages rolled down from a huge, almost 400 meters long roller coaster. This mountain was deliberately made for the arrival of Catherine II in 1763, but even in her absence she allowed "katatza in summer and winter to the nobility and merchants and any rank of people, except the vile ones." Visitors were also expected "a tavern and in it food, tea, cheka-lad, coffee, Gdansk and French vodka, grape drink, half beer and mead". From about the second half of the 18th century. the village becomes an ordinary suburb of the city, and then a part of it, in which intensive construction of factories and plants begins.
Well, now in order.
St. Gastello 44. The former Pokrovsky Palace of the "beautiful Elisabeth" has a long and largely unexplained history. It is known that here on the banks of a large pond there were wooden mansions intended for the stay of the royal family. So, in 1713, Princess Maria Alekseevna, later the future Empress Elizaveta Petrovna, lived in them together with the relatives of the Skavronsky and Gendrikovs. It is possible that in the mid-1730s stone chambers were built instead of wooden ones, arch. M.G. Zemtsov.
In the great Moscow fire in May 1737, the palace burned down completely.
In 1742 - 1743. it was rebuilt into an elegant baroque palace by the architect F.B. Rastrelli.
Catherine did not like the palace and almost never visited it in the beginning. In the 19th century, it fell into disrepair.
The palace survived until the 70s. XIX century.
At this time, it was given to the Intercession Community of Sisters of Mercy, and the architect A.P. Popov rebuilt it into a sister building in the spirit of the elegant architectural decoration of the 17th century.
In Soviet times, the palace was one large communal apartment, where 4 nuns lived out their days in the basement cells by the grace of God.
In the 1970s, the palace was restored and given to the State Scientific Research Institute of Restoration (GOSNIIR), which still occupies it.
The palace looks like the letter "Ш"
Its central part is richly decorated
On both sides there are porches in the old Russian style.
richly decorated windows
In the mezzanine of the central part there was a house church, its head still standing without a cross we today take for a belvedere.
The palace stands on a hillock, in front of it there was a small courdener that went down to the pond, which was formed from the dammed Rybinka River, which flows into the Yauza not far from the palace. A beautiful wooden bridge was built from the palace to the middle of the pond, where there was an island and a wooden Church of the Resurrection stood.
Now, on the site of the pond and all this beauty, a residential building has been built in the style of the Stalinist Empire, Rybinka was enclosed in a pipe ... and the palace is shaking from the trains that pass right in front of it along the line of the Kursk railway, which was built by the industrialist P. von Derviz.
But about him, or rather about his traces in Pokrovskaya-Rubtsovo will be the next post.
With the death of Empress Anna Ioannovna, which followed in 1740, Biron became regent under the minor emperor Ioann Antonovich, who was 2 months old at that time. However, his regency was short-lived. Biron was arrested for abuse and exiled. The reign of the mother of the young emperor Anna Leopoldovna, who was appointed regent under him, was also short-lived. On November 25, 1741, as a result of a palace coup, the daughter of Emperor Peter I, Elizaveta Petrovna, ascended the throne. The time of her reign was the time of the powerful rise of St. Petersburg architecture. She herself loved pomp and splendor, Elizaveta Petrovna wanted to see her father's brainchild decorated beautiful buildings and therefore was very concerned about the ceremonial construction in St. Petersburg and its suburbs. Having ascended the throne, Elizaveta Petrovna mainly lived in the Summer Palace on the site of the current Mikhailovsky Castle, which soon became small for the sprawling imperial court. During her reign, the Naval Cathedral of St. Nicholas and the Winter Palace were built, the Smolny Monastery ensemble was built, Tuchkov and Sampsonievsky bridges were erected, and, finally, Moscow University, the Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg and the Page Corps were opened. She invited the best architects of Europe to Petersburg, and among them the brightest was Bartolomeo Rastrelli. He built the best buildings in St. Petersburg. These are the Winter Palace, twice rebuilt by him, Anichkov, Vorontsov, Stroganov palaces; The Great Peterhof Palace, Tsarskoselsky (Catherine) Palace, Smolny Monastery and other buildings. Looking at the cathedral of the Smolny Monastery, Quarenghi, who did not like the architecture of the Elizabethan Baroque, with the words: "Well, the church!" - took off his hat.
Upon arrival in St. Petersburg, Elizaveta Petrovna ordered to build two palaces for herself at once, one temporary, wooden near the Police Bridge, the other stone on the embankment of the Neva. Both palaces were built according to the project of B. Rastrelli. The wooden palace, although it was built as a temporary one, was decorated with great luxury.
By that time, Nevsky Prospect had become the best street in the city. Elizabeth monitored its improvement. Decrees were issued prohibiting the construction of wooden buildings on the main street of the city. Only stone houses were built on the avenue. But they were not like the current ones. As a rule, these were two-story buildings with an obligatory front garden in front of the facade, fenced off with a patterned cast-iron lattice. In 1755, the reconstruction of the Gostiny Dvor began. Rastrelli's plan, distinguished by the great splendor of the decoration of the building, was not implemented due to lack of funding. Now we see a building Gostiny Dvor, designed by the architect Valen-Delamot, who retained the Rastrelli layout, but carried out the construction of the building in the style of early classicism.
Elizaveta Petrovna, according to her contemporaries, was very beautiful, lively and flirtatious. Her palaces were lined with mirrors in which she constantly saw her repeated reflection. For her, the most expensive outfits were bought in Europe in large quantities. After her death, the empress's wardrobe contained 15,000 dresses, some of which were never worn. She herself never wore the same dress twice. And she demanded the same from the courtiers, for appearance whom she followed very closely, issuing one by one decrees regulating the appearance of her entourage. For example, a decree was issued prohibiting court ladies from wearing dark dresses, a decree that 
to go to the masquerade only in a good dress, and not "in a vile one." And in the winter of 1747, a "hair regulation" was issued, which ordered all the ladies of the court to have their hair cut bald, and cover their heads with "black tousled wigs", which she herself gave out. The reason for such a strict establishment was that the powder did not want to leave the empress's hair, the empress decided to dye her hair black, but for some reason this did not work out and then she had to be the first to cut her hair and put on a black wig. And she did not like anyone to surpass her in beauty and perfection. Well, how could you not publish the "hairline"?
The time of Elizabeth was a time when the Baroque style reigned in art, which matched the cheerful character of the Empress with her whims and love of luxury. The architectural masterpieces of Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli, which still amaze us with grace, luxury and splendor, are a monument to that time. And one of them is the Smolny Monastery, which was built by the Empress for herself. At one time she had a desire to abdicate and go to a monastery. Thousands of soldiers and artisans were rounded up to build the monastery. It was built on a grand scale. And after a few years he was outwardly ready. But then the seven-year war began, and construction stopped due to a lack of money. Soon, Elizabeth also lost her desire to go to a monastery. 
GR Derzhavin called the reign of Elizabeth "the century of songs." Elizaveta Petrovna really loved music and she herself had extraordinary musical abilities: she played many instruments and composed songs. Thanks to her, Russia got acquainted with the guitar, mandolin, harp and other instruments. Opera, ballet, and drama theater, which she loved very much, flourished with her. Shakespeare, Moliere and, of course, plays by the first Russian tragedian Alexander Sumarokov were played on the stage of Russian theaters. In 1750, Fyodor Grigorievich Volkov created a theater in Yaroslavl, the performances of which were a great success. Having learned about the "Yaroslavl comedies", the Empress, by a special decree, summoned Volkov and the troupe to Petersburg. On the initiative of Sumarokov and Volkov in 1756, the Russian theater for the presentation of tragedies and comedies was officially established, which marked the beginning of the creation of the Imperial theaters of Russia. At first, the theater was located in the Menshikov Palace, in which in 1732 the Gentry Cadet Corps for young nobles was opened. The first Russian tragedy "Khorev" was staged here, and the actors of Fyodor Volkov's troupe were placed here in 1752.
With the active social life that Elizabeth led, sometimes she simply did not get her hands on governing the state. The ministers ran after her for months so that she could sign a document between dressing up for a ball or masquerade. Fortunately, the bureaucratic machine, once launched by Peter, continued its work, and things went on as usual. In addition, she had wonderful assistants. She could well rely on P. I. Shuvalov in domestic policy, A. P. Bestuzhev-Ryumin in foreign policy, and I. I. Shuvalov in the field of education. .jpg)
Balls and masquerades followed each other, competing among themselves in splendor and splendor. But against the background of this seemingly endless holiday, important events took place in St. Petersburg. Petersburg of this time is the Petersburg of Lomonosov, the founder of Russian science and poetry, it is the Petersburg of important geographical research and discoveries. In 1743, the eleven-year Second Kamchatka Expedition ended, and two years later the Academic Atlas was published with maps of the vast territory from Lake Baikal to Anadyr and northwestern America.
In his time creating the Academy of Sciences, Peter I thought of it as the center of higher education in Russia. This can be seen from the draft "Provisions of the Academy of Sciences and Arts", in which it was said that the members of the Academy, working "on the perfection of arts and sciences", had to "teach those arts and sciences publicly," that is, teach. That is, Peter thought of the Academy as a university. In 1745, MV Lomonosov became a professor at this Academic (or Petrovsky) University, who insisted that not only nobles could study at the university: “No one is prohibited from studying at universities, whoever he is, and at the university that student is more honorable who has learned more. " Such an attitude of the professor of the first higher educational institution in Russia, the founder of Russian science, opened the way to education for many talented young people. Among the first "natural Russians" who graduated from Petrovsky University were Antioch Kantemir, Ivan Magnitsky, Peter Remizov. Poetic "Satires" by Antiochus Cantemir were very popular at that time and went from hand to hand on the lists.
The growing interest in culture and education was also promoted by the cultural needs and interests of the Empress and the court, proximity to Europe, the very spirit of the city, which from its very birth was intended to be a “window to Europe”. Gymnasiums, both public and private, appeared in the city. In 1757, the Academy of the Three Noble Arts was formed in St. Petersburg - painting, architecture and sculpture. The construction of the building for the Academy of Arts on Universitetskaya embankment will begin only in 1764, and from the moment of its foundation until that time it was located in the house of the initiator of its creation, I.I. Shuvalov, in the Shuvalov Palace on Sadovaya Street, between Nevsky Prospect and Italyanskaya Street. Her first students were Ivan Starov, Fyodor Rokotov, Vasily Bazhenov. As a mosaic artist M.V. Lomonosov became an honorary member of the Academy. The mosaic panel by MV Lomonosov "The Battle of Poltava" is now in the building of the Academy of Sciences.
In 1751, on the Nikolaevskaya embankment of the Neva, the present embankment of Lieutenant Schmidt, the Marine gentry cadet corps was opened, which later became the Naval Academy. All outstanding Russian navigators and admirals left the pier where the monument to Kruzenstern stands. 
St. Petersburg, noisy Elizabethan times, no longer resembled the modest Petrine "Paradise". By this time, the city had a favorable environment for economic development. He no longer demanded exceptional measures to attract the population and finance. The ever-growing needs of the new capital have transformed this whole region for many kilometers around. Carts with building materials, food, various products of local crafts were pulled in thousands from the Novgorod, Pskov, Olonets provinces. Ships from Europe, barges, boats, rafts were looking for hundreds of places to moor at the marinas of the city.
During her twenty-year reign, Elizaveta Petrovna did not sign a single death sentence. And maybe that is why the internal life of the country as a whole during this period was stable - there were no riots or bitterness in the country. Some cruel amusements were forbidden: in Moscow and St. Petersburg it was forbidden to have bears, to shoot from guns. In the field of foreign policy, this time was also a time of rest: out of 20 years of Elizabeth's reign, 15 years were peaceful. And the four years of Russia's participation in the Seven Years War (1756-1760) revealed the fighting efficiency of the Russian army, which defeated the invincible troops of Frederick the Great. And this is with the eternal Russian confusion, theft in the rear, ill-considered strategic plans.
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 on history. For eight years, Anna Ioannovna's Summer Palace 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. In the walls of this palace in 1740 the empress finished her life, and here her will was announced. Here Biron's regency 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 Neva embankment 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, significantly 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 windows, often decorated with platbands, 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 premises, 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, a writing office; 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 interior 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 visible 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 suite 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 theatrical performances... Obviously, this very large hall in the eastern part of the building served as "Comedy". The garden suite consisted of smaller rooms. Perhaps there were living quarters here; they are grouped by apartments, separated by hallways and access to the garden. Since there was a ceremonial bedchamber in the Nevsky suite, it can be assumed that the Garden suite contained 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 message of Lieutenant Colonel Manstein, who arrested the duke.
Anna Ioannovna first moved to her Summer residence immediately after the wedding of his favorite brother, Gustav Biron, to Princess Menshikova, celebrated in the Winter Palace on the first day of the summer of 1732.
Anna Ioannovna lived in the Summer Palace according to the 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 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
Large Catherine Palace in Tsarskoe Selo - the favorite residence of Elizabeth Petrovna and Catherine II. Catherine Palace - compositional center Catherine Park and one of its main decorations. 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 in the early 18th century. In 1724, the construction of the palace was completed. In honor of this, a grand 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 the construction was headed by the chief architect of the imperial court Francesco Bartolomeo Rastreli at the end of 1748. 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 figures of Atlanteans. 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. And above the southern wing, a gilded dome with a multi-pointed star on the spire shone. 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. More than a hundred paintings by Western European painting masters of the 17th - early 18th centuries of various national schools are presented in the Picture Hall. 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, who was fascinated by antique art, wished to decorate her apartments in accordance with fashionable tastes and entrusted their finishing to the Scottish architect, connoisseur of antique architecture, Charles 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 their refined beauty, strict decorative design and special elegance of decoration. Unfortunately, these halls were destroyed 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 Freilinsky house was built, and on the right bank a place was reserved 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 a 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 been abandoned for a long time ... the land they owned near Oranienbaum itself ... They willingly gave it to me. I began to draw plans and lay out the garden, and since the first time I was engaged in plans and buildings, everything turned out huge and awkward for me. "
Ekaterina Alekseevna was able to start implementing her plan only five years later, with her 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 Right Reverend 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, Grand Dukes Alexander and Constantine. Since 1796, Oranienbaum belonged to 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 pearl haze - all this creates an atmosphere of delicacy and comfort. This 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 keep 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 by 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, sahardan (brown wood), amaranth and others. Parquets, which do not repeat in any room, amaze with their complex patterns and exquisite colors.
Glass bead study, Damask Bedchamber, Hall of the Muses, Blue and Pink drawing rooms ... These names themselves speak of the exclusiveness 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 the premises extend along the northern facade 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 workmanship of the restorers only emphasized their highest artistic merit.
