Воронихин Андрей Никифорович - русский архитектор. Представитель ампира. Самые известные работы: Казанский собор, Горный институт, участвовал в строительстве архитектурных ансамблей Павловска и Петергофа.
Захаров Андреян Дмитриевич - русский архитектор. Представитель ампира. Самые известные работы: Адмиралтейства в Санкт-Петербурге, собор в Krondstadt.
Земцов Михаил Григорьевич - русский архитектор. Представитель раннего барокко. Участвовал в строительстве Летний сад в Санкт-Петербурге и дворцово-парковый ансамбль в Петергофе.
The state apartments of the Winter Palace
Состояние квартиры Зимнего дворца
The state apartments of the Winter Palace are of high value and worth special attention. There are over 1000 rooms in the Palace – absolutely unique in its design, all being decorated with great luxury: polished marble of various colours and shades, malachite, azurite, porphyry and jasper, gold, bronze and crystal, wall and ceiling paintings, carved wood, incrustation, chased metal and tapestries amaze every visitor of the Palace! One of the most striking decorations of the Palace’s interiors is the State Staircase originally called the Ambassador Staircase (foreign diplomats went upstairs to get to the audience with the Russian Emperor), later on renamed the Jordanian Staircase (on Epiphany the members of the Royal Family went downstairs to the Neva where an ice-hole was made in the river – so called Jordan).
The 1812 Gallery – is the most famous memorial hall of the Winter Palace. It was constructed to the design by an outstanding architect of Russian Classicism C. Rossi and was ceremonially opened on 25th December 1826 on the anniversary of defeating Napoleon: the soldiers passed along the portraits of their commanders placed on the walls. The walls of the Gallery are decorated with 12 moulded laurel wreaths with the names of the most significant military battles. The 332 portraits of the Generals of Russian Army, the participants of the Patriotic War of 1812 were placed in the Gallery. Vacant places were left for the 13 portraits of those died warriors whose portraits could not be found – the empty frames were filled with green taffeta. Emperor Alexander I ordered all the portraits to a famous English painter George Dawe. Deep inside the hall one can see the state equestrian portraits of Emperor Alexander I and his alley Frederick William III of Prussia by Franz Kruger, the portrait of Austrian Emperor Francis I by Peter Krafft. The portraits of Field-Marshals M. Kutuzov (full length) and M. Barclay-de-Tolley are placed on both sides of the door leading to the George (Big Throne) Hall. The portraits of their companions-in-arms Bagration, Yermolov, Rayevskiy, Davydov and many others cover the walls of the Gallery. At the time of the fire in 1837 all the portraits were removed from the flames by the guardsmen, and later on returned at their places after the Gallery reconstruction by V. Stasov.
The Field-Marshal Hall opens the state enfilade of the Winter Palace. The horrible fire set on in that very hall on 17th December and lasted for more than 30 hours. The Imperial Family together with the court moved into the Anichkov Palace. By Easter 1839 the Palace had been reconstructed. The Committee for the Palace restoration was headed by V. Stasov who was commissioned with the reconstruction of the state halls, while A. Bryullov was responsible for the apartments. The religious procession took place on December 1839 with the Royal Family participating in it. The Emperor presented the architects and everybody who had participated in the palace reconstruction with the medals Eagerness overcomes everything and With Gratitude. In the reign of Nicholas I the Winter Palace interiors got their present look – the one we can admire nowadays.
The interior of the Field-Marshal Hall was reconstructed after the fire in 1837 by V. Stasov close to the original design made by A. Montferrand in 1833 – 1834. The entrances leading to the Hall are decorated in Classicism and are featured with the portals. In the decoration of the gilt bronze chandeliers and the wall-painting motifs of war glory are used. Before the Revolution the state portraits of Russian Field-Marshals were placed there having given the Hall its name. Nowadays the Hall exhibits the objects of the Western-European and Russian sculpture as well as china sets made at the Imperial Porcelain Works in early 19th cent.
The St George (Large Throne) Hall was created in 1787 – 1795 in the reign of Catherine II to the design by G. Quarenghi in Classicism. A huge double-light premise produced striking impression. Unfortunately Quarenghi’s masterpiece died in fire. Emperor Nicholas I ordered to decorate the Hall with white Carara marble brought from Italy that made the Hall look very solemn. The ceiling was adorned with gilt ornaments the design of which was duplicated in the parquet consisting of 16 kinds of multicoloured wood. Above the throne place there is a bas-relief – St George Slaying the Dragon by Francesco del Nero after the drawing by V. Stasov. The George Hall because of its labour-output ratio was completed later than other halls of the Winter Palace and was consecrated only in 1841. The official history of the Romanov Dynasty is closely connected with this Hall: all official ceremonies and receptions took place there.
The State Apartments of the Winter Palace
Государство квартиры Зимнего дворца
The Malachite Hall was created by architect A. Bryullov in late 1830s and served as a state sitting-room of Empress Alexandra Fyodorovna, the wife of Nicholas I. In the reign of Nicholas I the tendency to separate private apartments from official halls was quite evident. There were 8 apartments in the Winter Palace that belonged to the members of the Royal Family and the Minister of Court. There were also special rooms for guests. Sons of the Emperor lived in the western wing of the second floor facing the Admiralty. The family used to gather in the appartment of Alexandra Fyodorovna to play various musical instruments (the Emperor himself skillfully played the flute), to read new books, to play cards or to celebrate some festive occasion.
The décor of the Malachite Room is absolutely unique: columns, pilasters, mantelpieces and decorative vases are executed in the technique known as Russian mosaic. The combination of bright green stone, lavish gilding and rich crimson tone of the drapery gives a festive look to the Hall. One of the walls is adorned with allegorical sculptures symbolizing Day, Night and Poetry and all the three are made by A. Vigi. The big malachite vase and the furniture made to the design by A. Montferrand were saved during the fire having been parts of the interior décor of the Jasper Chamber. Over two tonnes of malachite were used in the decoration of the room.
The Big (Nicholas) Hall of the Winter Palace was created by V. Stasov at the place of the state hall burnt in fire. The burn down Hall had been decorated by G. Quarenghi in late 1790s. The interior décor was made in white: columns and walls are faced with artificial marble. Crystal gilt chandeliers and the parquet flooring make discreet decoration of the Hall more vivid. The Hall looks especially solemn because of the huge Corinthian columns supporting the moulded entablature. After the death of Nicholas I in 1855 a state portrait of the Emperor by F. Kruger was placed there thus giving it its name. The Hall was intended for official ceremonies and court balls.
The Alexander Hall in honor of Emperor Alexander I was designed by A. Bryullov in 1834, but the design was put into practice only after the fire. The architect found a unique space decision for a huge double-lit premise. The contemporaries characterized the Hall as the one made in the Byzantine Style. The Hall commemorated the Emperor whose portrait by G. Dow decorated the flank wall; above there was a bas-relief with a profile portrait of Alexander taking the image of Slavonic god Radomysl who symbolized wisdom and courage. The frieze was decorated with enlarged copies of models by F. Tolstoy – the ones telling about the events of the Patriotic War of 1812. It was also adorned with the symbolic figures of Glories. The memorial character of the Hall was accentuated by the four huge paintings by G. Villevalde depicting battles.
The Peter (Small Throne) Hall commemorates the founder of the Russian Empire – Peter I. It was created in 1833 to the design by A. Montferrand and reconstructed after the fire by V. Stasov almost without any changes. The Hall is adorned with the allegorical canvas Peter I with Minerva by G. Amikoni. The Hall decoration is embellished with the Emperor’s attributes – monogrammes of Peter the Great, crowns and double-headed eagles. The Hall is also adorned with the pictures depicting the most famous battles of the Northern War: the Poltava Battle and the Battle at Lesnaya Village. One can see a historical relic in this Hall – the throne that once belonged to Empress Anna Ioannovna made by N. Clausen in London in 1731.
The Coat of Arms Hall intended for solemn ceremonies was created by V. Stasov in late 1830s in Russian Classicism and is full of symbols glorifying the Motherland. The 52 coat-of-arms belonging to Russian guberniyas are placed into the gilt bronze chandeliers. The entrance is adorned with the sculptures of Old Russian warriors. A beautiful colonnade, the frieze with an ornament made of leaves of acanthus and the combination of gold and snow-white colour makes the impression of glory and solemnity.
The White Hall was created by A. Bryullov on the occasion of the wedding of future Emperor Alexander II in 1841. The interior décor in white is characterized by rich plastic ornamentation. In the centre of the Hall, above the pictures of armour there are bas-relief figures of Ancient Rome gods; columns with gorgeous Corinthian capitals are crowned with figures symbolizing different kinds of art. The interior is embellished with landscapes by a French painter of 18th cent. G. Robaire. There is a suite of furniture by a famous master of Classicism – D. Rentgen.
The Crimson Drawing-Room was decorated by A. Bryullov in 1841 and was used as a study and a dining-room of Mariya Fyodorovna. In mid. 1850s some rooms belonging to Alexander II’s wife were redecorated by a famous architect of that time – A. Stakenshneider. The architect changed the design of the Crimson Drawing-Room having put away the depositories, redesigned the ceiling, and changed the drapery having left only its colour. The Empress loved music and painting, and music concerts occasionally took place in her Room. The set of office furniture was decorated with the images of various musical instruments, the walls were adorned with pictures bought specially for Mariya Fyodorovna.
The interior of the Big Church made to the design by F.-B. Rastrelli was one of the most gorgeous in the Winter Palace. Stasov reconstructing the Church after the fire tried to restore its original look. The premise is lavishly embellished with the Corinthian columns and archwayed windows that lighten the Church on both sides. The main role in the interior décor belongs to the gilt moulded ornament made of carton-pierre and painting: the bowl the Resurrection of Christ by P. Basin and the images of four Evangelists under sail by F. Bruni. The décor was accomplished with crimson draperies and gilt candlesticks.
The Peter and Paul Fortress Петропавловская крепость
The Fortress was created to protect a new capital from Sweden at the course of the Northern War. The island chosen as the plot of building a Fortress was 750 m long and 400 m wide and was called Enisaari (from Finnish – the Hare Island) or Lust-holm (from Sweden – the merry island). The Fortress erected on the island that was located at the place where the Neva branches into two big arms (the Big, the Small Neva, and the Big Nevka upstream), was to prevent the enemies from entering the city.
On 27 May 1703 the Fortress was founded thus defining the day of the city foundation. The construction work was supervised by a close friend of Peter I – Alexander Danilovich Menshikov. The drawing of the Fortress is regarded to be made by the Tsar himself, the calculations were made by a French fortificator Joseph Gaspard Lambert. The plan of the Fortress was a stretched hexagon: six curtain walls linked six massive bastions. The Fortress was built mainly by soldiers, Sweden captives and serves sent by every guberniya (a total of some 20 000 men) of wood, earth and turf.
On 1 October 1703 the Fortress made of earth was completed. The day of finishing the construction was ceremonially celebrated throughout Russia, but after a heavy flood some land walls were completely damaged. The plan of the Fortress made of stone was worked out by a German architect Kirstein. Since 1704 new lands were added to the island so that it was deepened by 30 m down to the Neva. The work was interrupted in late 1704 because of Kirstein’s departure from Saint-Petersburg and was continued only in 1706 under the supervision of D. Trezzini.
A new method of building fortifications was put into practice: the bastion walls (12 m high) were 20 m wide (5 – 6 m of a brick wall inside and outside with a brick filling in between) with about 4000 piles put underneath. Every bastion was equipped with 50 – 60 guns. The construction of bastions was supervised by Emperor Peter I himself and his comrades-in-arms in honour of whom the bastions were later called: Menshikov (1706 – 1729), Golovkin (1707 – 1730), Zotov (1707 – 1730), Trubetskoy (1708 – 1709), Naryshkin (1725 – 1728), Tsar (1717 – 1728). In the Fortress there were underground passages so called paterna. The Fortress has a hexahedron form with bastions on the corners.
In 1708 – 1709 at the north of the Fortress the Cronwork Curtain and the Gates were erected – land walls in the form of a crown to protect the Fortress from a sudden attack from the land (later rebuilt in 1762 – 1780). In 1850 they were hidden and a special building for the collection of war medals and other war relics was constructed. In 1717 – 1718 the Peter Curtain and the Gates were erected at the eastern side of the Fortress to the design by D. Trezzini.
The construction of the Fortress was completed by 1740 (since 1727 B. von Munnich was appointed the chief director of fortifications). In the reign of Anna Ioannovna masonry fortifications at the west and the east were constructed and called ravilins, named after the saints whose names had the Empress’ father and grandfather. The weastern was called in honor of Peter I’s eldest brother – Ivan Alekseyevich – St John (1731 – 1740), the eastern in honor of Alexey Mikhaylovich – St Alexey (1733 – 1740).
The main elements of the Fortress are three bastions on the south side (the Tsar, the Naryshkin and the Trubetskoy) and threee on the north (the Menshikov, the Golovkin, the Zotov) linked with the curtain walls (the St Peter, the Neva, the St Catherine, the Vasilyevskiy, the St Nicholas and the Cronwork).
In 1731 – 1732 the Flag Tower was built at the Naryshkin Bastion to the design by D. Trezzini. At first it was built in wood, later in masonry and represents an elegant octagonal pavilion with a tall roof. In 18th cent. it was used for keeping keys from all the Fortress gates; the Fortress flag was flying on the mast of the turret – during visits of the Emperor it used to be changed for the imperial standard. From the Naryshkin bastion one can hear a gun shot exactly at noon – the tradition began in Peter’s reign. At that time a cannon set up on the Tsar Bastion gave a signal for the start and the end of the working day and also warned of a rise in the level of the Neva. Paul I ordered to cease the morning and evening shots. The tradition was broken in 1934 and reanimated in 1957. The gun was originally directed to the Winter Palace but to satisfy the request of the Hermitage director Mikhail Piotrovskiy it now faces the Gulf of Finland.
In 19th cent. there was one more tradition connected with the Peter and Paul Fortress – at the courtyard of the Fortress the orchestra was playing from 11:00 a.m. till 12:00 a.m. In 2005 the piano was placed in the Flag Tower and nowadays famous musicians used to be invited for performances.
In 1761 – 1762 the Boathouse was erected, being originally wooden and than made of stone. The house was erected for Peter I’s botik – a so called Grandfather of the Russian Navy. The boat was presented to Peter by his father – Alexey Mikhaylovich – the future Emperor learned to sail on it. The house for such a relic was created by Alexander Wust; in 1891 a terracotta statue was set up on the roof of the building by David Jensen. In spring 1723 the boat was brought to Saint-Petersburg (to the sound of an artillery salute it travelled from Krondstadt) where it was ceremonially greeted by the Russian Navy. Before 1766 the boat was kept in the Tsar Bastion being brought out of the Fortress on several occasions to take part in various festivities. The guardian was always present at the entrance to the Boathouse and had to show to every visitor the interior of the construction and tell the story of the exhibit – the Boathouse became the first memorial museum in Russia. In 1931 the boat was moved to the Central Navy Museum, and nowadays there is a copy of it at the Boathouse.