History of the Winter Palace. Reference. Winter Palace Where is the Winter Palace located?
St. Petersburg is the northern capital of vast Russia, accustomed to surprising us with its special individuality, originality of tastes and ambition. Hundreds of magnificent attractions attract the attention of many tourists and local residents every year. One of them is the Winter Palace, which is an invaluable monument of history and architecture of past years.
Description
Like many buildings, the structure is distinguished by pomp, which is successfully combined with the special style and handwriting of the author, which we will talk about later. St. Petersburg Winter Palace is cultural heritage Russia, one of the main attractions of the country, which contains interesting historical events and facts. There are many legends and myths surrounding the Palace, some of which can be fully justified by historical facts.
Thanks to the splendor of the structure, being next to it or inside it, you can fully experience the imperial spirit and features of several centuries ago. You can also enjoy the magnificent architectural solutions, which to this day are considered the standard of beauty and sophistication. The design of the Winter Palace has changed more than once over these centuries, so we can observe the building not in its original form, which, however, does not make it less significant and worthy of attention, since all the main features conceived by the author of the project, Francesco Rastrelli, were carefully preserved and passed on by architects of different times. This majestic building is located on Palace Square northern city and reconnects beautifully with the surrounding landscape.
History of the creation and development of the palace
The building is made in a style called Since the times of the USSR, its territory is equipped with the main part In earlier times Winter Palace has always been the main residence of the emperors of Russia. To fully appreciate the grandeur of this place, you need to look at the history of its creation.
Under the government of Peter I, in 1712, according to the law, it was impossible to give land to the disposal ordinary people. Similar territories were kept for sailors belonging to upper class society. The site where the Winter Palace is located today was taken under the control of Peter I himself.
From the very beginning, the emperor built a small and cozy house here, near which, closer to winter, they dug a small ditch and gave it the name Winter. Actually, this is where the further name of the palace came from.
For many years, the Russian emperor convened various architects to reconstruct his house, and now, years later, from an ordinary wooden house, the structure turned into Grand Palace made of stone.
Who built the Winter Palace? In 1735, Francesco Rastrelli was appointed chief architect working on the building, who came up with the idea of buying out neighboring plots of land and expanding the palace structure, which he told Anna Ioannovna, the ruler of Russia at that time.
The task assigned to the architect
It was this architect who became the creator of the image of the Winter Palace that we are all accustomed to seeing. However, it is worth remembering that some features of the building have changed over time, but still the main ideas and works of Francesco Rastrelli have remained unchanged to this day.
The Winter Palace acquired its modern appearance with the accession of Elizabeth Petrovna to the imperial throne. As the ruler considered, the building does not look like a Palace worthy of Russian emperors staying in it. Therefore, Rastrelli received a task - to modernize the structure and design of the structure, which is why it acquired a new look.
During the construction of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, the hands of 4 thousand workers were used, many of whom Rastrelli personally invited to collaborate. Every detail that differs from other elements of the structure was thought out by the great architect personally and successfully brought to life.
About the architecture of the building
The architectural component of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg is truly multifaceted. The great height of the structure is emphasized by weighty double columns. The chosen Baroque style itself brings notes of splendor and aristocracy. According to the plan, the Palace occupies a square-shaped area, which includes 4 wings. The building itself is three-story, the doors of which open onto the courtyard.
The main facade of the palace is cut through by an arch, the remaining sides of the building are made in an elegant style, which is expressed in Rastrelli’s unique sense of taste and his unusual solutions, which can be seen everywhere. These include the extraordinary layout of the facades, differences in the design of the facades, noticeable projections, uneven construction of columns, and the author’s special emphasis on the stepped corners of the building attracts attention.
The Winter Palace, photos of which are presented to your attention in the article, has 1084 rooms, with a total of 1945 window structures. According to the plan, there are 117 stairs. Also among the unusual and memorable facts is that at that time it was a building with a very large, by European standards, amount of metal in its structures.
The color of the building is heterogeneous and is made mainly in sandy shades, which are Rastrelli’s personal decision. After several reconstructions, the color scheme of the palace changed, but today the authorities of St. Petersburg have come to the conclusion that the best solution is to recreate the appearance of the palace exactly as originally conceived by the great architect.
A few words about the architect
Francesco Rastrelli was born in the capital of France in 1700. His father was a talented Italian sculptor, who had no difficulty recognizing a future skilled architect in his son. After finishing his studies in 1716, he and his father came to live in Russia.
Until 1722, Francesco worked only as an assistant to his father, but by 1722 he was ready to start an independent career, which at first did not work out very well in a country that was very inhospitable for him. Rastrelli Jr. spent 8 years traveling around Europe, where most of the time he did not work, but gained new knowledge in Germany, Italy, France and other countries. By 1730, he had formed his own vision of the Baroque style, which was reflected in his grandiose project- Winter Palace.
The architect worked more than once on the creation and reconstruction of buildings in Russia. His main work occurred in the period from 1732 to 1755.
Exclusive facts about the Winter Palace
The building is the richest structure in St. Petersburg, and the value of its exhibits still cannot be accurately calculated. The Winter Palace has many secrets and interesting stories, from which the following can be distinguished:
- During the war with the German invaders, the color of the palace was red. The building acquired its current white and green color only after the war in 1946.
- At the end of the construction work, so much construction waste had accumulated in the square in front of the Palace that it could take weeks to clean it up. However, it occurred to the king interesting idea: he allowed absolutely anyone to take any item from these building materials left over after work. The area in front of the building was cleared in no time.
Fire
In 1837, all the efforts of Francesco Rastrelli and other architects were practically reduced to nothing. A terrible event occurred: a large fire broke out in the palace due to a faulty chimney, and 2 companies of specialists were called in to extinguish it. For 30 hours, firefighters tried to reduce the flames by blocking windows and other openings with bricks, but this did not bring any results. The fire subsided only a day after the fire began, incinerating almost all the beauty of the structure. All that remained of the former palace were the walls and columns, which were scorched by the high temperature.
Restoration work
Restoration work began immediately and lasted 3 years. Unfortunately, from the first buildings, the craftsmen of that time did not have any drawings, so they had to include improvisation and come up with a new style literally on the fly. As a result, the “seventh version” of the palace appeared with a predominance of light green and white shades and gilding inside.
Along with the new look, electrification also came to the palace. The largest power plant in all of Europe (considered such for 15 years) was installed on the 2nd floor and provided electricity to the entire building.
Not only the fire was knocking on the doors of the Winter Palace with bad news. Thus, this building at one time survived both the assault and the assassination attempt of Alexander II, and numerous bombings during the Great Patriotic War.
For modern tourists
Today you can walk through the halls of the Winter Palace by booking one of the many excursions, individual or in a group. The museum's doors are open to visitors from 10:00 to 18:00 and close only on Monday - an official holiday.
You can purchase tickets for a tour of the Winter Palace directly at the museum box office, or by ordering them from a tour operator. They are not always available due to the high popularity of the building, especially during tourist season. Therefore, it is better to buy tickets in advance.
On June 7, 1732, the Winter Palace was founded for Empress Anna Ioannovna. Officially, it became the third, but many historians call it the first, since the previous Winter Palaces, built under Peter I, were more like ordinary houses. From this time until 1904, the Winter Palace was the main royal residence. Currently, it is one of the most beautiful and famous buildings in St. Petersburg and is part of the State Hermitage Museum.
Above all
The Winter Palace became the tallest residential building in St. Petersburg. To maintain this advantage, in 1844 Emperor Nicholas I even issued a decree prohibiting the construction of buildings higher than the Winter Palace: all buildings had to be at least one fathom below the eaves of the royal residence. The ban was in effect until 1905.
Thousands of workers
More than 4,000 masons, plasterers, marble makers, painters and parquet floor workers worked on the construction of the Winter Palace. They built the main palace of the state from morning to night, and lived in huts pitched right on the square in front of the palace. After the fire in 1837, Zimny was rebuilt by even more workers - about 6,000. The structure was restored in just 15 months.
Thousands of workers worked on the construction of the Winter Palace. Photo: Museum of Printing and Publishing
Main Palace of the State
The winter one is striking in its size. Its space contains 1057 rooms, 1786 doors, 1945 windows and 117 staircases. The parapet of the palace is decorated with 176 sculptures, and the total length of the main cornice bordering the building is almost 2 km. In the 18th century, Winter became the most big palace Russian Empire. The area of the modern Winter Palace is 60 thousand square meters. meters.
From yellow to red
Over several centuries, the walls of the Winter Palace were painted in a wide variety of colors. The building was originally pale yellow. Paul I made this color bright and saturated; by order of Alexander I, the palace was repainted in pearl color, and in the era of Nicholas I, the walls of the Winter Palace were ivory. Under Nicholas II, the Winter Palace acquired the most incredible colors: it was pink, red, and brown. Only after the end of the Great Patriotic War was the palace painted in white and green: this is how modern St. Petersburg residents are accustomed to seeing it.
Cunning Emperor
When the construction of the Winter Palace was completed, the entire area in front of it was littered with mountains of construction debris. It would have taken the workers weeks to clean it up, but Emperor Peter III did not want to wait that long: it was no good imperial palace standing among piles of rubbish. Then Peter III thought and found a way out of the situation. He issued a decree allowing every resident of St. Petersburg to take whatever they wanted from the square. The very next day there was not even a sliver left in the square.
St. Petersburg residents cleared the entire area of construction waste in one day. Photo: AiF/ Yana Khvatova
The museum is not for everyone
When Catherine II began purchasing works of art for the Winter Palace, only the empress herself and her entourage could admire them. The Winter Palace became accessible to the general public only in 1852. It was then that Nicholas I opened the first art museum in Russia - the Imperial Museum - in the palace. Despite this, the other part of the Winter Palace remained the royal apartments. Getting into the “museum” was not easy: the number of tickets was limited, and only noble and wealthy people could afford to purchase them.
Box of complaints and suggestions
At the end of the 18th century, a box for complaints and suggestions hung near one of the windows on the ground floor. Emperor Paul I himself ordered it to be attached to the Winter Palace: in this way, the autocrat wanted to be closer to the people and know what the population needed. All notes arriving in the box were read by the monarch personally. However, the box did not hang on the wall of the palace for long: instead of complaints and suggestions, the residents of St. Petersburg dropped satirical poems and caricatures of Paul into it. The emperor did not like this and ordered the box to be removed.
Palace of Arts
In 1918, the Bolsheviks renamed the Winter Palace to the “Palace of Arts”. Its halls hosted rallies, film screenings and theatrical performances. The building houses the People's Commissariat of Education. The new name did not take root among the population, and city residents continued to call the palace the Winter Palace.
Grand opening of the State Duma and State Council. Winter Palace. April 27, 1906. Photo: Public Domain / K. E. von Gann
Withstood shelling
During the Great Patriotic War, 12 bomb shelters for the population were equipped in the basements of the Winter Palace. During the war years, the palace was heavily damaged by enemy shelling: the building was hit by 2 aerial bombs and 17 artillery shells. Despite this, the palace was restored in record time, and already in November 1945, some halls were opened to visitors.
Set
In 2001, the Winter Palace became a real film set: director Alexander Sokurov filmed his film “Russian Ark” within the walls of the palace. From the beginning to the end of filming, only 1 hour and 27 minutes passed. The film was shot in one shot and became the first full-length feature film without editing.
At the same time, this is already the sixth residence of Russian emperors in the Northern capital, and the history of the Winter Palaces began under Peter the Great, 50 years before the appearance of the magnificent structure on Palace Square.
In 1711, on the banks of the Neva, the architect Domenico Trezzini built a small house for Peter, consisting of a central portal and two side wings; it was a “small house of Dutch architecture” for the shipwright Peter Alekseev, as the tsar called himself.
The building was two-story with a high porch, a tiled roof, and the only thing that decorated it were pilasters (protrusions) in the corners and platbands on the windows. This building was often called the Wedding Chambers, since the house built was a gift from the Governor of St. Petersburg, Alexander Menshikov, for the wedding of Peter and Catherine. It was here that the wedding feast took place, and this is confirmed by the legend that has come down to us.
According to legend, 12 years after the wedding, when Peter learned about his wife’s betrayal, he led her to the mirror of the hall where the wedding was celebrated and said: “This mirror Venetian glass made of simple materials, but can turn into the same nonentity.” Then he hit the mirror with his cane. The former maid and laundress Marta Skavronskaya understood the hint, but was not taken aback and asked: “Has your house become more beautiful now?”
Second Winter Palace for Peter
Peter's first house, overlooking the ditch, turned out to be cramped and in 1716 the architect Georg Mattarnovi created a project for a new home for the royal family. The emperor himself chose the place for it - closer to the Neva, from where it opens beautiful view to the Spit of Vasilyevsky Island and the expanses of the Neva. The house, built in the autumn of 1723, had a ceremonial appearance, its facades and halls were lavishly decorated.
It should be noted that Peter was an advanced person and all the technical innovations that appeared in Europe were implemented in his house. The palace had central heating and flowing sewerage; hot and cold water was supplied through lead pipes. Only 12 orderlies served the tsar, and he chose them according to their intelligence and efficiency, and if they deserved it, he brought them into the public eye.
The Winter Palace of Peter I, in which the founder of St. Petersburg lived and died, is a unique monument of the early 18th century, which you can visit with a tour or on your own. The entrance to the museum is located at Palace Embankment 32. Administratively belongs to the Hermitage Museum. Among other things, there is a wax figure of Peter on display, made by Carlo Rastrelli, dressed in an original suit and shoes, and on the head you can see the king's original hair.
During the Persian campaign in 1722, it was hot and Peter cut his hair, from which he made a wig. Rastrelli used it for the wax persona of the king.
Third Winter Palace
After the death of Peter the Great, Catherine I ordered Trezzini to expand the palace along Millionnaya Street and thus the structure took the form of a huge square.
The Fourth Winter Palace for Anna Ioannovna
Anna Ioanovna, who ascended the throne, ordered Francesco Rastrelli to build a new palace for her. For construction, they also chose a place on the left side of the Neva, on the site of the Apraksin Admiralty House. The building, built between 1733 and 1735, was spacious, with 70 rooms and a theater, but the layout of the rooms was confusing and inconvenient.
Temporary Winter Palace for Elizabeth Petrovna
Having ascended the throne, Elizaveta Petrovna considered that the old building did not correspond to her status and ordered Rastrelli to prepare a design for a new palace. During construction, a wooden structure was erected beautiful building, consisting of 100 rooms, on the corner of Nevsky Prospekt and the Moika River embankment. Elizaveta Petrovna died in this house in 1761, and the building, which stood for 10 years, was dismantled after the death of the Empress.
Sixth Winter Palace
The Winter Palace was built from 1754 to 1762, but Elizaveta Petrovna died without seeing it completed. The monumental building on the Neva embankment was erected in the Baroque style, with an abundance of columns and decorative stucco details. This was Rastrelli's last and greatest creation.
The interior design was completed under Peter III, and when he was overthrown, Catherine II, who seized power, removed Rastrelli from work, giving him leave.
The architect went to Italy for a year, but upon his return the situation did not change. Rastrelli was the most prominent representative of the Baroque style, which at that time went out of fashion. He was not given important tasks, he had no customers left, and he was soon dismissed “due to old age and poor health” with a pension of one thousand rubles a year.
It is interesting that the architect worked for 46 years under many emperors, but only PeterIIIfor faithful service, he was awarded the rank of major general and the Order of St. Anne.
For more than 100 years in St. Petersburg it was forbidden to build houses higher than the Winter Palace. In order to increase the number of floors, but not break the law, cunning builders found a way out - they made a canopy and built on top 1-2 floors of attics, the construction of which was not prohibited by law.
A fire that occurred in 1837 damaged the interiors created by the great masters Rastrelli and Quarenghi, Rossi and Moferann. It took two years to restore the building.
We are accustomed to the light green tone of the building's facades, but meanwhile, before the First World War, the building was painted red brick.
One of the legends explains this curiosity by saying that the German Emperor Wilhelm sent a whole train of red lead cars to Russia to paint ships, but officials rejected the paint and decided to use it to paint the facades of the city, and the first victim of this idea was the Winter Palace.
The Winter Palace on Palace Square is the sixth and last residence of representatives of the Romanov family. It was he who was stormed during the October Revolution in 1917, although, according to historians, this is a myth and there was no assault. After all, the blank shots of the Aurora can hardly be called an assault, after which the armed people broke into the palace without losses, and the main concern of the women’s battalion and the cadets defending the building was to prevent the theft of valuables.
"Winter Palace? -Where is the Hermitage? - Are the Hermitage and the Winter Palace the same thing? Is the Hermitage the name of the museum located in the Winter Palace? - such questions can often be heard from both Russian and foreign tourists. To figure out what's what, let's start the story about the most famous building of St. Petersburg from afar, from the founding of the city on the Neva...
The first Winter Palaces
For those who know the history of St. Petersburg, it is no secret that Peter I initially did not plan to establish a city center on Admiralty Island. The first buildings of St. Petersburg were erected on St. Petersburg Island, around the current Trinity Square. Then, the tsar hatched plans for the construction of a city center in Kronstadt, on Vasilyevsky Island, but not on the left bank of the Neva. The emergence of the current historical center Contributed by chance, or rather the royal hobby. Peter I loved to work with a hatchet. And not only personally chop off the heads of the dissatisfied, but also build ships.
After the founding of the Main Admiralty in 1705-1706, the sovereign builder of St. Petersburg was faced with a problem that was well known to many inhabitants of our residential areas. It was difficult and long to get from Petersburg Island to the Admiralty, even taking into account the absence of traffic jams at that time. So the sovereign wished to have housing near his place of work. In 1708, on the site between the Neva and present-day Millionnaya Street, a wooden two-story “Winter House” was built for Peter. This building was located on the site of the current Hermitage Theater, and is considered to be the first Winter Palace.
Now Peter has the opportunity to run to the shipyard every morning. Soon around the royal
houses of the sovereign's servants and hangers-on appeared in the chambers, and the “industrial outskirts” suddenly became the political and aristocratic center of St. Petersburg.
In 1712, the “Winter House” was expanded by adding the so-called “Wedding Chambers” to it, but Peter Alekseevich, who had settled in the new place, began to think about a more representative residence. In 1716, according to the design of the architect Georg Mattarnovi, construction began on the new Winter Palace, located on the site of the previous building. Subsequently, researchers noted the successful choice of location for the main royal residence: “... the palace is located so that from it one can see most of the city, the fortress, the house of Prince Menshikov, and especially the open sea across the river branch.”
The construction of Peter the Great's Winter Palace was completed in 1723. This event was celebrated with a solemn feast, but Peter I did not live long in the new building. On January 28, 1725, the emperor died in Great hall Winter Palace from the consequences of untreated gonorrhea.
Second Winter Palace of Peter I
After the death of Peter, his widow, Catherine I, lived for some time in the Winter Palace. Under Anna Ioannovna, the court settled in the neighboring Apraksin mansion, located on the site of the current Winter Palace. Peter's "Winter House" was used by various palace services, and then was abandoned. Under Catherine II, the Hermitage Theater building was built in its place.
In the 1970-1980s, Leningrad scientists discovered to their surprise that many elements of the Peter the Great Winter Palace have survived to this day. The architect Giacomo Quarneghi, who erected the theater building, used the walls and load-bearing structures of the old building, thanks to which today we can see the rooms where Peter I spent the last two years of his life. Today they are partially restored and excursions are held in them.
Under Empress Anna Ioannovna, construction of a new Winter Palace, the third in a row, began on the site of the houses of Apraksin, Chernyshev, Raguzinsky and the Maritime Academy. Work continued from 1732 to 1735. The new four-story building had about 70 state rooms, more than 100 bedrooms, a theater, a chapel, an office, service and guard rooms.
Winter Palace of Anna Ioannovna
Subsequently, this Winter Palace was rebuilt and completed more than once, until Empress Elizaveta Petrovna discovered that the palace began to resemble not a ceremonial residence designed to demonstrate the power of the Russian state, but a chicken coop. Appearance the buildings were spoiled by countless stables, technical outbuildings and barns, built mainly on the side of the Admiralty Meadow (present-day Palace Square). The question of rebuilding the palace again arose, but it turned out that it would be easier to demolish the old building and build a new palace in its place. The corresponding decree was signed by Elizaveta Petrovna on June 16, 1754:
“In St. Petersburg, our Winter Palace is not only for receiving foreign ministers and performing ceremonies at the Court on special days, due to the greatness of our imperial dignity, but also for accommodating us with the necessary servants and things, it cannot be satisfied, for which we They set out to rebuild our Winter Palace with a large space in length, width and height, for which the reconstruction, according to the estimate, will require up to 900,000 rubles, which amount, allocated for two years, is impossible to take from our salt money. Therefore, we command our Senate to find and present to us from what income it is possible to take such a sum of 430 or 450 thousand rubles per year for this matter, counting from the beginning of this year 1754 and the next year 1755, and that this be done immediately, so as not to miss the present winter journey to prepare supplies for that building..."
Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli, (1750-1760s)
Construction of the palace
The construction of the new Winter Palace was supervised by the court architect of Elizabeth Petrovna, Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli. The architect understood that he had been given a task of enormous political importance and began to zealously justify the high trust placed in him, because the palace was being built “for the common glory of all Russia.”
According to the master's plan, the Winter Palace was supposed to be a huge quadrangle with a courtyard. The façade and interiors were decorated in the Baroque style, of which Rusterli was an unsurpassed master. Each of the palace facades was individual. The main façade was considered to be the Southern one, facing Palace Square. He was the most magnificent. In its center there were three arches leading to the front courtyard. The façade facing the Neva resembled an endless colonnade. The western facade also had a ceremonial appearance, facing Razvodnaya Square, where Rasterli planned to erect a monument to Peter I, the work of his father, Carlo Bartolomeo.
Inside the Winter Palace, according to Rasterli’s project, it was planned to arrange 1050 state and residential halls with an area of 46 thousand square meters, 1945 windows, 1786 doors, 117 staircases, 329 chimneys.
The Winter Palace was conceived as the architectural dominant of the center of St. Petersburg and the tallest secular building in the city. Before the decree of Nicholas I, the construction of buildings higher than the Winter Palace in the center of the Northern capital was prohibited. The entire system of external decor, columns installed in two rows, statues, was designed to emphasize the enormous (four-story!) height of the building.
About four thousand people worked on the construction of the Winter Palace, including the best craftsmen from all over Russia. The territory of the present Palace Square and the Alexander Garden was covered with huts in which workers lived. The courtyard also had to change its place of residence. For him, Rastrelli built a temporary wooden Winter Palace, located on the site of Chicherin’s modern house, on the corner of Nevsky Prospect and the Moika River.
Elizaveta Petrovna really wanted to move to a new residence as soon as possible, but this did not happen. On January 25, 1761, the Empress died. And on April 6, 1762, the court moved to the Winter Palace built by Rasterlli. Tradition says that after the completion of the work, Palace Square was a garbage dump. The cunning Chief of Police of St. Petersburg, Baron N.A. Korf proposed to announce through the heralds that every citizen is free to take from the former construction site whatever he needs. The next day, in front of the Winter Palace it was possible to iron clothes... Poor St. Petersburg residents even stole piles of lime.
The Winter Palace becomes the Winter Palace
Before the fresh lime that covered the walls of the Winter Palace had time to dry, they began to rebuild the building. The new Empress Catherine II, who ascended the throne after the short but memorable reign of Peter III, was not a fan of the Baroque. Rastrelli was forced to resign and leave St. Petersburg, and a new team of architects was invited to rebuild the Winter Palace: Y.M. Felten, J.B. Wallen-Delamot and A. Rinaldi.
The interiors of the palace designed by Rastrelli were almost completely destroyed. Today, all that remains of them is the luxurious Jordan Staircase, along which thousands of tourists pass every day to inspect the treasures of the State Hermitage. On the site of the old Throne Hall and Theater, a new Nevsky Enfilade arose, which included the Antechamber, the Great Hall and the Concert Hall.
The true decoration of the palace was the Great Throne or St. George's Hall created by Giacomo Quarneghi. Its central object was a large throne, executed by P. Azhi. To decorate the interior of this main state hall of the Winter Palace, colored marble and gilded bronze were used.
Under Catherine II, the Winter Palace became the center of secular and cultural life Northern Palmyra, the venue for pompous court festivities and balls.
The Englishman W. Cox, who attended a ball in the Winter Palace in 1778, described what he saw in the following words: “The wealth and splendor of the Russian court surpass the most elaborate descriptions. Traces of ancient Asian splendor mingle with European sophistication..., the splendor of court attire and abundance precious stones leave behind the splendor of others European countries" About eight thousand people attended the ball. True, this crowd of nobles, rich merchants and respected artisans did not mingle with the aristocrats who danced behind the low barrier that separated the courtiers from the other guests.
Work on the decoration of the Winter Palace continued in subsequent reigns. With the exception of Paul I, who preferred the Mikhailovsky Castle to the Winter Palace, each emperor sought to add something of his own to the decoration of the main palace of the Russian Empire.
Particularly large-scale work was carried out after 1812, when the need arose to demonstrate to the whole world the new status of Russia - the conqueror of Napoleon, the leader of a united Europe in the struggle for the bright ideals of dedicated absolutism.
Military gallery of the Winter Palace. G.G. Chernetsov
In 1826, Karl Rossi built a Military Gallery in front of St. George's Hall, the walls of which were decorated with 330 portraits of generals who took part in the Patriotic War of 1812. The paintings for this room were written by the English artist D. Doe. It was to her that A.S. Pushkin dedicated his lines:
The Russian Tsar has a chamber in his palace:
She is not rich in gold or velvet...
The artist placed the crowd in a crowd
Here are the leaders of our people's forces,
Covered with the glory of a wonderful campaign
And the eternal memory of the twelfth year.
Auguste Montferrand also took part in the reconstruction of the Winter Palace. He built the staircase of the Empress's entrance, decorating it with high reliefs, statues and columns, and designed the Field Marshal's, Peter's and Armorial halls. V.A. Zhukovsky wrote with delight to the royal residence:
“The Winter Palace as a building, as a royal dwelling, perhaps did not have anything like it in all of Europe. With its enormity, its architecture, it depicted a powerful people who had so recently entered the midst of educated nations, and with its inner splendor it reminded of the inexhaustible life that boils in the interior of Russia... The Winter Palace was for us a representative of everything domestic, Russian, ours...”
What about the Hermitage?
A tourist visiting the suburbs of St. Petersburg will easily discover that both Pushkin and Peterhof have their own “Hermitage”. This word is translated from French means "Secluded Corner". Nobles and kings of the 18th century loved to set up secluded pavilions in their gardens and parks for intimate pastimes. And Catherine II set up her “secluded corner” right in the center of St. Petersburg.
For this purpose, in 1764-1775, a building was added to the Winter Palace, which is known today as the Small Hermitage. In it, Catherine II spent time with a select audience in an informal setting. Outsiders were not allowed into the Hermitage. Even the tables in this room were set in advance, after which the servants left the “secluded corner” and left.
In general, the atmosphere of the Hermitage was reminiscent of modern corporate ones. Formally, guests left ranks and conventions at the door. Those who said nonsense should have drunk a glass of cold water or read a page from Tredyakovsky’s Telemachiad.
In order for evenings in the Hermitage to become a cultural pastime, Catherine II decided to decorate the premises with an appropriate collection of paintings. The Hermitage collection began in 1764, when the German merchant Gotzkowski gave Russia his collection of 225 paintings as a debt. The Empress also ordered the purchase abroad of all valuable works of art that appeared at auctions.
Works by Rubens and Van Dyck were purchased in England. Russian Ambassador in Paris, Count D.A. Golitsyn, thanks to his connections with D. Diderot and other representatives of French culture, was able to acquire such world-famous masterpieces as “The Return of the Prodigal Son” by Rembrandt, two “Danaes” by Titian and Rembrandt, “Bacchus” by Rubens, “Judith” by Giorgione, etc.
By the end of the reign of Catherine II, the Hermitage collection of paintings amounted to four thousand canvases. The Small Hermitage could no longer accommodate all the masterpieces. A special building had to be built for the collection, called the Old Hermitage.
It wasn’t just paintings that came to the Hermitage. Catherine's agents also purchased engravings, drawings, ancient antiquities, works of decorative and applied art, ancient coins, weapons, medals and books.
The tradition of replenishing the Hermitage collection continued in the 19th century. Under Alexander I, paintings by Rembrandt and Rubens “The Descent from the Cross”, “Potter’s Farm”, paintings by Claude Lorrain, “A Glass of Lemonade” by Terborch and “Breakfast” by Metsu were acquired. During this period, the Hermitage gradually transformed from the emperor’s personal collection of paintings into a museum. True, this was by no means a public gallery. To visit the Hermitage you need to take a special pass signed by the head of the court office. Even A.S. Pushkin received such a document only thanks to the patronage of the teacher of the royal children V.A. Zhukovsky.
Interiors of the New Hermitage in a watercolor by K. Ukhtomsky, 1856
An important turning point in the “democratization” of access to the Hermitage was the construction of the New Hermitage building, which was completed in 1856. This was the first purpose-built museum building in Russia. Already in 1852, the exhibition of the New Hermitage received its first visitors, and in 1866 access to the museum became open and... free. The cost of tickets was reimbursed by the Ministry of the Imperial Household. Of course, only the “European-style” public was allowed inside, which in itself closed access for representatives of the poor strata of society.
After the revolution, the Hermitage Museum received valuable acquisitions, but at the same time suffered serious losses. The main museum of the country brought valuables expropriated from the private collections of Russian aristocrats and industrialists. At the same time, in the late 1920s, some of the Hermitage paintings were sold abroad to finance industrialization. And the collection of Russian paintings was transferred to the Russian Museum.
In the 1920s, the concepts of the Hermitage and the Winter Palace gradually became a single whole, as the museum received almost all the premises of the former royal residence to house its exhibitions.
After the Great Patriotic War, the collections and storerooms of the Hermitage were replenished with captured works of art taken from Germany as compensation for masterpieces destroyed by Nazi troops in Russia.
The legend of the gunsmith Tarasyuk
There are many interesting tales regarding the Winter Palace. The most banal of them are stories about the ghosts of Peter I, Nicholas I and Nicholas II regularly walking through the night halls of the Hermitage. There are legends about the underground passages of the Hermitage, which lead either to the Manege or to the Marble Palace.
Of all these legends, only one story is distinguished by its original content and dramatic plot. Allegedly, in the early 80s, the First Secretary of the Leningrad City Committee of the CPSU Grigory Romanov, a fierce enemy of the freedom-loving intelligentsia, planned to celebrate his daughter’s wedding in the Tauride Palace. To do this, the satrap demanded that the management of the Hermitage give him the ceremonial service of Catherine II for one hundred and forty-four persons. The director of the Hermitage, Boris Borisovich Piotrovsky, stated that the service could only be taken over his corpse, but when the KGB leadership reported that this could, in principle, be organized, Boris Borisovich went home and called in sick.
Employees of the city committee went to the Hermitage to pick up the service, and only one person stood in their way. It was an employee of the museum Tarasyuk. Dressed in medieval armor, he picked up a sword and menacingly advanced towards the uninvited guests. The cowardly agents of tyranny retreated in panic, but then one extremely sad event occurred for all honest museologists. Just at this time, at night, vicious dogs were released into the halls of the Hermitage. Tarasyuk was a weapons expert, but the armor he wore was intended for riding. When the scientist was already celebrating his victory, the evil dogs bit into his most vulnerable spot, unprotected by armor... Tarasyuk lost his courage, and the jubilant City Committee members took the service.
The further fate of the masterpiece was sad. When they shouted “Bitter!” at the wedding, the partycrats began to smash the precious dishes on the floor... However, Romanov did not get away with it. Because of this story, he was not made General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, instead of Mikhail Gorbachev.
Tarasyuk was fired from the Hermitage and left for Israel, where his traces were lost.
Fire in the Winter Palace K.Zh. Vernet
From fire to war
A symbolic milestone in the history of the Winter Palace was the catastrophic fire of 1837. Subsequently, the cause of the fire was identified as “an vent left unsealed during the last alteration of the large Field Marshal’s Hall”; vent "was in chimney, held between the choirs and the wooden vault of the Peter the Great Hall, located side-by-side with the Field Marshal's, and adjoined very close to the boards of the rear partition. On the day of the accident, it was thrown out of the chimney, after which the flame communicated through this vent to the boards of the choir and the vault of the Peter the Great Hall; wooden partitions provided him with abundant food in this place; along them the fire spread to the rafters. These huge rafters and supports, dried for 80 years by hot air under the iron roof heated by the summer heat, ignited instantly.”
The smell of smoke was noticed on the morning of December 17, but since no one could detect the source of the fire for a long time, taking the necessary measures was postponed until the evening. By that time, the interior ceilings of the Winter Palace were already on fire, and when firefighters broke open the walls, the flames burst out...
The Winter Palace burned for three days. During this time, all its interiors burned out. It was one of the largest fires in the history of St. Petersburg. The glow from the fire was visible several kilometers from the city. Only through the heroic efforts of soldiers and servants was it possible to save almost all of the palace furnishings and paintings. They were taken out into the street and stacked near the Alexander Column.
Immediately after the disaster, the Winter Palace began renovation work, led by architects V.P. Stasov and A.P. Bryullov. Emperor Nicholas I ordered them to “restore to their previous form” all the interiors of the palace. Let us immediately note that the architects coped with the responsible government task perfectly. The appearance of the former Winter Palace was restored in just two years.
In some halls, changes were nevertheless made with the consent of the sovereign. So Stasov increased the Armorial Hall to a thousand square meters and seriously changed its decoration.
After this renovation, the ceremonial interiors of the Winter Palace have survived to this day without significant changes. This really cannot be said about the living quarters of the palace. Only Alexandrovsky and White halls, the staircase of the entrance to “Her Imperial Majesty”, the Rotunda, the Arapsky and Malachite halls, have been preserved to us in the form as A.P. conceived them. Bryullov. Other living rooms of the palace were repeatedly rebuilt in accordance with the tastes of their owners. Of course, we can’t talk about any kind of artistic unity here, although the interiors of some of the private chambers are very interesting in themselves. Among them, it is worth noting the “Red Boudoir” of Empress Maria Alexandrovna, the “Golden Living Room” created by V.A. Schreiber and the personal library of Nicholas II (author A.F. Krasovsky).
Until the revolution itself, the Winter Palace continued to serve as a venue for the most important political events of Tsarist Russia. Receptions of foreign ambassadors, gala balls, receptions of loyal delegations, and opening ceremonies of the State Duma were held here. In difficult or solemn moments, crowds of loyal subjects rushed to this building. On January 9, 1905, columns of St. Petersburg workers moved to the Winter Palace, to the Tsar, asking for mercy and intercession. Unfortunately, there was no dialogue between the authorities and the people that day... But on August 1, 1914, a column of patriotic intelligentsia nevertheless reached Palace Square and fell to its knees in front of the adored monarch, who appeared on the balcony of the Winter Palace.
In the 19th century, once a year the doors of the Winter Palace opened to the residents of the capital. On January 1, a New Year's masquerade was held there. Moreover, not only nobles, but also “merchants, townspeople, shopkeepers, artisans of all kinds, even simple bearded peasants and serfs, decently dressed, could come to the royal house. All this was crowded and jostled along with the top ranks of the court, representatives of diplomacy and high society. Dressed up ladies, in diamonds and pearls, military and civilian star-bearers, and mixed with them tailcoats, frock coats and caftans. The sovereign and the royal family, with their numerous retinue, walking from one hall to another, sometimes could hardly pass through the crowd.” For many, this was a wonderful opportunity to refresh themselves: “In the halls there were many buffets with gold and silver dishes, with soft drinks of all kinds, excellent wines, beer, honey, kvass, with an abundance of dishes of all kinds, from the most refined to the common... A crowd around the buffets gave way to a crowd as they emptied and filled up again. At such annual holidays, sometimes from 25 to 30 thousand people came to the Winter Palace. Foreigners could not marvel at the order and decorum of the crowd, and the trust of the sovereign in his subjects, who crowded around him with love, devotion and a sense of self-satisfaction for 5 or 6 hours. Not the slightest etiquette was observed here, and at the same time no one abused their proximity to the royal person.”
But as a royal residence, the Winter Palace was used less and less. It turned out that in the new historical realities, the huge building does not meet safety requirements well. And not only fire protection. On February 5, 1880, Narodnaya Volya member Stepan Khalturin, carrying 30 kilograms of dynamite into the Winter Palace, caused an explosion under the dining room where Emperor Alexander II was supposed to have lunch. The Emperor miraculously was not injured. 11 soldiers of the Life Guards of the Finnish Regiment were killed.
After the People's Volunteers finally killed Alexander II in 1881, the new tsar, Alexander III, chose to live in the safety of Gatchina, and visit the Winter Palace on a rotational basis. Only when Nicholas II ascended the throne, the august family returned to the banks of the Neva again. True, after the start of the 1905 revolution, the Winter Palace looked more like a fortified camp. In addition to the Tsar, some key figures of the regime also lived there - for example, Prime Minister Stolypin. Only there could they feel safe. Nicholas II himself, following the example of his father, spent more and more time in Pushkin’s Alexander Palace.
With the outbreak of the First World War, life in the Winter Palace underwent new changes. The imperial family appeared within the old walls less and less often. In 1915, a number of palace halls were allocated for a hospital.
Winter Palace in the 20th century
After the February Revolution of 1917, the Extraordinary Commission of the Provisional Government to investigate the crimes of tsarism worked for some time in the premises of the Winter Palace, and from the summer of 1917, the Provisional Government itself “moved in” to the former royal chambers. Newspapers wrote malicious articles about A.F. Kerensky blissfully in the bed of Nicholas II. All palace valuables and Hermitage collections were sent to Moscow and hidden in the building Historical Museum.
On the night of October 25-26, 1917, the Winter Palace became the scene of historical events. The forces of the military-revolutionary committee, the Petrograd Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies, after a series of short skirmishes, captured the former royal residence and arrested the ministers of the Provisional Government. The tabloid press was filled with chilling articles about the destruction of the palace interiors by wild crowds of workers and peasants and the sad fate of the women's shock battalion, whose fighters faced a fate worse than death. However, it should be noted that the scientific literature does not confirm this information.
Three days after the arrest of the Provisional Government, the new Soviet authorities took the Winter Palace under protection as a cultural monument. However, at first it was used for a variety of purposes. The huge building housed the Museum of the Revolution, a reception center for prisoners of war of the old army, a headquarters for organizing mass celebrations, and even a cinema. Only in 1922 did all the premises of the Winter Palace begin to be gradually transferred to the Hermitage.
At the same time, work began on the redevelopment of the former residential and service rooms of the Hermitage. On the ground floor, the Rastrelli Gallery was restored; instead of 65 rooms of the maid of honor, 17 original halls were recreated.
Vegetable gardens on the territory of the Winter Palace during the siege
During the Great Patriotic War, the Winter Palace was seriously damaged. German bombs and shells damaged the Jordan Stairs, the Small Throne (Peter's) Hall, and the Armorial Hall. The restoration of these objects took a long time after the war. The most valuable exhibits were evacuated to Sverdlovsk. In the courtyard of the Winter Palace there was a vegetable garden where vegetables were grown.
In subsequent decades, the Winter Palace-Hermitage became one of the largest museums on the planet. It houses up to three million unique works of art. Every year the Winter Palace is visited by millions of tourists and St. Petersburg residents.
6The Winter Palace on Palace Square in St. Petersburg is the main attraction of the northern capital, which served as the official winter residence of the Russian emperors from 1762 to 1904. In terms of the richness and variety of architectural and sculptural decoration, the palace has no equal in St. Petersburg.
To get around all the exhibits in the Hermitage, you will need to spend 11 years of your life and walk 22 kilometers. All St. Petersburg residents know well: in the main museum of the city on the first floor there is the Egyptian Hall, on the third floor there are the Impressionists. City guests are also aware.
How will we surprise you? You can try with facts:
1. The Hermitage is huge. Of course, the Tsar, the autocrat of all Rus', ruled from this palace a territory occupying more than 22 million square kilometers and 150 million people. 1057 rooms, 117 staircases, 1945 windows. The total length of the main cornice bordering the building is almost 2 km.
2. The total number of sculptures installed on the Winter Palace parapet is 176 pieces. You can count the number of vases yourself.
3. The main palace of the Russian Empire was built by more than 4,000 masons and plasterers, marble makers and stucco makers, parquet floorers and painters. Receiving an insignificant payment for their work, they huddled in miserable shacks, many lived here, on the square, in huts.
4. From 1754 to 1762, construction of the palace building took place, which at that time became the tallest residential building in St. Petersburg. For a long time... Empress Elizaveta Petrovna died without settling into the new mansions. Peter III accepted 60,000 square meters of new housing.
5. After the completion of the Winter Palace, the entire area in front of it was littered with construction debris. Emperor Peter III decided to get rid of it in an original way - he ordered it to be announced to the people that anyone could take anything they wanted from the square, for free. After a few hours, all the debris was cleared.
6. The garbage was removed - a new problem. In 1837 the palace burned down. The entire imperial family was left homeless. However, 6,000 unknown workers saved the situation, working day and night, and within 15 months the palace was completely restored. True, the price of a labor feat is several hundred ordinary workers...
7. The Winter Palace was constantly repainted in different colors. It was both red and pink. It acquired its original pale green color in 1946.
8. The Winter Palace is an absolutely monumental building. It was intended to reflect the power and greatness of the Russian Empire. It is estimated that there are 1,786 doors, 1,945 windows and 117 staircases. The length of the main facade is 150 meters and the height is 30.
