Empress Elizabeth, wishing to surpass the luxury of the palaces of European monarchs, ordered the chief architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli to build a grandiose building in the center of St. Petersburg. In 1754, the project of the Winter Palace, designed in a magnificent baroque style, was approved. Later, some changes were made to it, bringing Baroque liberties closer to the strict standards of classicism. Large-scale construction was not completed during the reign of Elizabeth, and only Catherine II became the first sovereign mistress of the Winter Palace. Under her, work continued on the arrangement of the interior. So, the Great Throne Hall, known as St. George's, was decorated. Since 1764, Catherine began to collect a collection of paintings from the Hermitage and commission architects to build additional buildings in the immediate vicinity of the Winter Palace. In the future, they will be united by a system of transitions into a palace complex.
Under Nicholas I, work on the interiors of the Winter Palace was continued. In 1837, due to a malfunction of the chimney, a terrible fire broke out in the building, which destroyed the historical decoration of the halls - the projects of Quarenghi, Rossi, Montferrand. In addition, it was necessary to equip the southwestern wing of the second floor with chambers for the heir to the throne, Alexander II, who was about to marry. Most of the works of this period were made by Vasily Stasov and Alexander Bryulov.
In 1904, under Nicholas II, Winter Palace ceded the right to be called the imperial residence to the Alexander Palace in Tsarskoye Selo. The building continued to be used for museum purposes. With the outbreak of the First World War, part of the collections was taken to Moscow, and the spacious halls were given over to hospitals. After the February Revolution, the Winter Palace became the meeting place of the Provisional Government. It was here, in the Small Dining Room on the second floor, that his ministers were arrested during the October Revolution. A week later, all collections were declared state property and the Winter Palace officially became part of the Hermitage museum complex. During World War II, all collections were evacuated to the Urals. Since the autumn of 1945, the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg has been receiving visitors as usual. Archaeological collections, works of artists and sculptors, works of arts and crafts of Asian countries, England and France are now stored here.
Facade facing the Neva
Architectural features of the building
By the time Rastrelli received the order, two Winter Palaces had already been erected in St. Petersburg, but their size and decoration of the halls did not correspond to the high status of the imperial residence. The new building, at the request of Elizabeth, was distinguished by the height of the ceilings and the splendor of the decoration characteristic of the Baroque - stucco, sculptures, gilding, draperies from expensive fabrics. The facade of the Winter Palace was decorated with two tiers of snow-white columns with gold stucco. The distances between the columns are different - so the architect, skillfully using the play of light and shadow, created a complex rhythmic pattern. Places on the roof were occupied by patinated antique statues, vases, symbols were also placed here. Russian statehood. By the way, greenish-blue facades have become only in our time. Historically, the walls were yellowish sand, later they were painted in richer yellows and browns.
Dimensions of the Winter Palace
Elizabeth insisted that the height of the Winter Palace should be 22 m, an unprecedented size for St. Petersburg. As a result, the building exceeded the set bar by another 1.5 m. The facade facing the Neva was extended by 210 m, the Admiralty side was slightly shorter - 175 m. Subsequently, Nicholas I made sure that there were no competitors to the palace in the capital, limiting the height of new buildings.
In total, the Winter Palace had more than 1,000 rooms - for official ceremonies, for storing collections, the private quarters of the emperor and the heirs to the throne and their retinue, and a huge number of utility rooms to serve the needs of the people living here.
Tours of the Winter Palace
It is extremely difficult to see all the halls of the Winter Palace at one time, so tourists should think over routes in advance. On the ground floor, archeological collections collected from all over the former Soviet Union are presented. From an architectural point of view, the apartments of the daughters of Nicholas I, located in the wing overlooking the Neva, are interesting. On the second floor there are halls that have become the hallmark of the Winter Palace: Throne, Bolshoi, Petrovsky - and private rooms of members of the imperial family, in which objects of Western European art are exhibited. The third floor is dedicated to Asia.
First floor halls
The lower floor is not as popular among visitors as the second, however, even here, each hall contains unique exhibits obtained by archaeologists.
Private quarters of the emperor's daughters
The former apartments of the daughters of Nicholas I in the Winter Palace were given over to the archaeological collection. In the front there are finds from the Paleolithic era, in a bright Gothic living room with lancet arches and medieval plant reliefs Neolithic and Early Bronze Age. The decor of the "Living Room with Cupids" appeared in the 50s of the XIX century. The architect Stackenschneider did not stint on fat-cheeked cupids: babies with wings hid in the arches, reliefs with their images adorned the ceiling. Now these scenery houses a collection of antiquities from the Bronze Age. In the study of Olga Nikolaevna, the future Queen of Württemberg, the architect acted much more delicately: thin golden curves in the upper part of the ceiling vaults set off artifacts bronze age. Nearby are simple rooms without decor, given over to Scythian archaeological collections of weapons, ceramics, and jewelry.
Guardhouse premises
From the “female” wing, the Kutuzovsky corridor with modest columns leads the guests of the Winter Palace past the former guardhouse, now given over to the halls of art of the peoples of Altai and other regions of Siberia. The world's oldest pile carpet, woven in the 4th-3rd centuries, is stored here. BC e. In the middle, the corridor leads to the vestibule of the Saltykovsky entrance, designed in the same style, from which doors lead to the halls of ancient Altai and Tuvan art, nomadic tribes of Southern Siberia.
Collection of Central Asian and Caucasian Antiquities
The Kutuzovsky corridor leads visitors to the southwestern wing, dedicated to the art of Central Asia of the pre-Islamic period. Buddhist shrines, fragments of wall paintings, fabrics, household items, silver, stone statues, decorative elements of buildings from Sogdiana and Khorezm are collected here. At the other end of the wing there are halls dedicated to the culture of the Caucasus. The artifacts left over from the state of Urartu are of the greatest value. They were found under the guidance of Academician Boris Piotrovsky, former director Museum, the father of the current, Mikhail Piotrovsky. Nearby, perfectly preserved precious fabrics from the Ossetian Moshcheva Balka, an important Caucasian point of the Silk Road, are exhibited. Dagestan halls showcase fine bronze cauldrons, weapons and copper thread embroidery made in the 19th century. Volga Bulgaria, the state of the "Golden Horde" on the territory of the modern Volga region, is represented in the Winter Palace with silver and gold jewelry and weapons, painted underglaze ceramics. In the Transcaucasian halls one can see Georgian medieval weapons, objects of religious worship, Armenian book miniatures and fragments of architectural structures.
Middle East and North Africa
In the opposite wing is the Hall of Culture of Palmyra, an ancient Syrian city whose ruins were severely damaged during the recent hostilities in that country. In the collection of the Hermitage there are funerary stelae, customs documentation carved on stone. In the hall of Mesopotamia, you can see authentic cuneiform tablets from Assyria and Babylon. The vaulted Egyptian Hall, converted in 1940 from the Main Canteen of the Winter Palace, is located in front of the passage to the building of the Small Hermitage. Among the masterpieces of the collection is a stone statue of King Amenechmet III, created almost 4,000 years ago.
Second floor of the Winter Palace
The northeast wing of the second floor is temporarily closed - its collections have moved to the General Staff building. Next to it is the Grand Throne, or St. George's Hall of the Winter Palace, designed by Giacomo Quarenghi and remodeled after the fire by Vasily Stasov. Carrara marble, a unique parquet made of 16 types of wood, an abundance of columns with bronze gilding, mirrors and powerful lamps are designed to draw attention to the throne standing on a dais, ordered in England for the Empress Anna Ioannovna. The huge room turns into the relatively small Apollo Hall, which connects the Winter Palace with the Small Hermitage.
Military gallery of the Winter Palace
Large front suite
You can get to the Throne Room through the Military Gallery of 1812, which contains the works of George Dow and the artists of his studio - more than 300 portraits of Russian generals, participants in the Napoleonic Wars. The gallery was designed by the architect Carlo Rossi. On the other side of the gallery is a suite of state rooms. The Armorial Hall of the Winter Palace, designed by Stasov, contains the symbols of the Russian provinces and solid stone bowls made of aventurine. The Petrovsky, or Small Throne Room, conceived by Montferrand and restored by Stasov, is dedicated to Peter I. Its walls are decorated with burgundy Lyon velvet embroidered with gold, the ceiling is covered with gold reliefs. The throne was commissioned for the imperial family at the end of the 18th century. The White Field Marshal's Hall houses Western European porcelain and sculpture.
A. Ladurner. The Armorial Hall of the Winter Palace. 1834
Neva enfilade
The anteroom is the first in a series of ceremonial rooms overlooking the Neva. Its main attraction - a French rotunda with 8 malachite columns supporting a gilded bronze dome - was placed here in the middle of the last century. Through the Anteroom opens the entrance to the largest room of the Winter Palace - the Nicholas Hall, with Corinthian columns and a monochrome painting of the ceiling. It does not have a permanent exhibition, only temporary exhibitions are organized. On the opposite side of the Nikolaevsky Hall - snow-white Concert hall with paired Corinthian columns and antique reliefs. Adjacent to the Neva Enfilade is the Romanov Portrait Gallery, which contains portraits of members of the imperial family, starting with Peter I.
Part of the northwestern wing is temporarily closed, including the Arapsky Hall with Greek decor that served as a dining room. The Rotunda is waiting for guests - a spacious round hall with rectangular and round Corinthian columns, a simple circular balcony in the second tier, a ceiling with recesses-caissons decorated with reliefs. Particularly effective is the floor with circular inlays of valuable wood species. The small halls leading from the Neva Enfilade to the apartments of the heir to the throne, overlooking the Dark Corridor, were given over to objects of art of the 18th century.
Private quarters of the emperor and empress
Emperor Nicholas I did not spare money for interiors, so each room of private quarters is a real masterpiece of design art. Alexandra Fedorovna's malachite living room is decorated with emerald green vases, columns, and a fireplace. The richly ornamented floor and carved ceiling are in perfect harmony with the exhibition - objects of arts and crafts. Nearby is the Small Dining Room, decorated in the Rococo style. Gambs furniture, the best craftsman of this era, was chosen for the Empress's study. Sketches of furniture for the adjacent room were made by the architect Carlo Rossi. The emperor's smoking room impresses with its oriental splendor and bright colors. Not many halls are associated with the name of Nicholas II in the Winter Palace - the last emperor preferred other residences. His library has been preserved with high windows in the English Gothic style and a carved fireplace, imitating a medieval book depository.
Interiors of Russian houses in the Winter Palace
In the imperial wing, rooms are equipped that reproduce the interiors of urban wealthy houses of the 19th - early 20th centuries. The neo-Russian style is represented by pieces of furniture from the 1900s with fabulous folk motifs. In the former Adjutantskaya there is an original ash suite in the Art Nouveau style. The austere neoclassical interior is enlivened by a bright portrait of Princess Yusupova. The "second" rococo of the middle of the 19th century is no less magnificent than the samples of a hundred years ago. The “Pompeian dining room” with Gambs furniture refers the viewer to archaeological finds. The Gothic office is decorated with furniture from the Golitsyn-Stroganov estate, reproducing the forms of the European knightly Middle Ages - carved backs and armrests of chairs, gloomy wood tones. Boudoir - the former dressing room of Alexandra Feodorovna with brightly painted furniture of the 40-50s. XIX century. The living room of the manor house with white columns demonstrates a strict classic interior.
The chambers of the future Emperor Alexander II and his wife
In the southwestern part of the second floor of the Winter Palace are the chambers of Alexander II, equipped in those days when he was the heir to the throne and was preparing for the wedding. From an architectural point of view, the rooms occupied by the future Empress Maria Alexandrovna are noteworthy: the Green Dining Room with lush rococo decor, the White Hall with many reliefs and sculptures, the Golden Living Room with complex stucco ornamentation, parquet and jasper fireplace, the Crimson Cabinet with textile wallpaper, the Blue bedroom with golden columns.
Collection of Western European Art
In the wing of the heir to the throne and in the enfilade dedicated to the victory in the war of 1812, paintings and works of decorative art from Great Britain and France are kept: works by Reynolds, Gainsborough, Watteau, Boucher, Grez, Fragonard, Lorrain, the famous bust of Voltaire, made by Houdon. The southeast wing houses the Alexander Hall, designed in noble white and blue tones, combining elements of Gothic and classicism with a collection of silver items. Next to it is the Great Church, designed by Rastrelli in the Baroque style. The picket hall, where the palace guard was bred, is temporarily closed.
Third floor
The functioning halls on the third floor of the Winter Palace are dedicated to the Islamic art of the Middle East, Byzantium, the state of the Huns, India, China, and Japan. Among the most valuable exhibits are finds from the Cave of 1000 Buddhas, ancient Chinese furniture and ceramics, Buddhist relics, treasures of Tibet.
Information for tourists
How to get there
The official address of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg: Palace Square, 2. The nearest metro station is Admiralteyskaya, from which you need to walk a little more than 100 meters to the north. The bus stop "Palace Embankment" is located to the west of Zimny. Inside the palace there are lifts for wheelchair users and elevators. You must enter the museum through the main turnstile.
Ticket prices and opening hours
A visit to the entire Hermitage complex, including the Winter Palace, costs 600 rubles, on the first Thursday of the month you can go for free. If you want to visit only the Winter Palace, then a ticket for 300 rubles will suffice. Tickets are recommended to be purchased in advance via the Internet, so as not to stand in line at the box office or at the terminal. This can be done on the official website www.hermitagemuseum.org. Children and students, Russian pensioners are a privileged category, receiving free tickets. The day off is Monday, access to tourists is open from 10:30 to 18:00, on Wednesday and Friday - until 21:00. The Winter Palace is closed New Year and 9 May.
Where did the tradition of dividing the houses of monarchs into winter and summer ones come from? The roots of this phenomenon can be found in the times of the Muscovite kingdom. It was then that the tsars first began to leave the walls of the Kremlin for the summer and go to breathe the air in Izmailovskoye or Kolomenskoye. This tradition was carried over by Peter the Great to the new capital. The Emperor's Winter Palace stood where the modern building is, and the Summer Palace can be found in the Summer Garden. It was built under the direction of Trezzini and is, in fact, a small two-story house with 14 rooms.
From house to palace
The history of the creation of the Winter Palace is no secret to anyone: Empress Elizaveta Petrovna, a great lover of luxury, in 1752 ordered the architect Rastrelli to build for herself the most beautiful palace in Russia. But it was not built in an empty place: before that, on the territory where the Hermitage Theater is now located, there was a small winter palace of Peter I. wooden palace Anna Ioannovna, which was built under the direction of Trezzini. But the building was not luxurious enough, so the empress, who returned the status of the capital to St. Petersburg, chose a new architect - Rastrelli. It was Rastrelli Sr., the father of the famous Francesco Bartolomeo. For almost 20 years, the new palace became the residence of the imperial family. And then came the very Winter, which we know today - the fourth in a row.
Source: wikipedia.org
The tallest building in St. Petersburg
When Elizaveta Petrovna wished to build a new palace, the architect, in order to save money, planned to use the previous building for the foundation. But the empress demanded to increase the height of the palace from 14 to 22 two meters. Rastrelli redid the building project several times, and Elizabeth did not want to move the construction site, so the architect had to simply demolish the old palace and build a new one in its place. Only in 1754 did the empress approve the project.
It is interesting that for a long time the Winter Palace remained the most tall building In Petersburg. In 1762, even a decree was issued prohibiting the construction of buildings in the capital higher than the imperial residence. It was because of this decree that the Singer company at the beginning of the 20th century had to abandon its idea to build a skyscraper for itself on Nevsky Prospekt, like in New York. As a result, a tower was built over six floors with an attic and decorated with a globe, creating the impression of height.
Elizabethan Baroque
The palace was built in the style of the so-called Elizabethan Baroque. It is a quadrilateral with a large courtyard. The building is decorated with columns, architraves, and the roof balustrade is lined with dozens of luxurious vases and statues. But the building was rebuilt several times, Quarenghi, Montferrand, Rossi worked on the interior decoration at the end of the 18th century, and after the infamous fire of 1837, Stasov and Bryullov, so baroque elements were not preserved everywhere. Details of the magnificent style remained in the interior of the famous front Jordan Stairs. It got its name from the Jordanian passage, which was nearby. Through it, on the feast of the Epiphany of the Lord, the imperial family and the higher clergy went out to the ice hole in the Neva. Such a ceremony was traditionally called "the march to the Jordan." Baroque details are also preserved in the decoration of the Great Church. But the church was ruined, and now only a large ceiling by Fontebasso with the image of the Resurrection of Christ reminds of its purpose.
Source: wikipedia.org
In 1762, Catherine II ascended the throne, who did not like the pompous style of Rastrelli. The architect was dismissed, and new masters took up the interior decoration. They destroyed the Throne Hall and erected a new Neva enfilade. Under the leadership of Quarenghi, the Georgievsky, or Great Throne Room, was created. For him, a small extension had to be made to the eastern facade of the palace. IN late XIX century, the Red Boudoir, the Golden Living Room and the library of Nicholas II appeared.
Difficult days of the Revolution
In the early days of the Revolution of 1917, sailors and workers stole a huge amount of treasures from the Winter Palace. Only a few days later the Soviet government guessed to take the building under guard. A year later, the palace was given over to the Museum of the Revolution, so some of the interiors were rebuilt. For example, the Romanov Gallery was destroyed, where there were portraits of all the emperors and members of their families, and films began to be shown in the Nicholas Hall. In 1922, part of the building went to the Hermitage, and only by 1946 did the entire Winter Palace become part of the museum.
During the Great Patriotic War, the palace building was damaged by air raids and shelling. With the outbreak of war, most of the exhibits exhibited in Zimny were sent for storage to the Ipatiev Mansion, the same one where the family of Emperor Nicholas II was shot. About 2,000 people lived in the Hermitage bomb shelters. They did their best to preserve the exhibits that remained within the walls of the palace. Sometimes they had to fish out china and chandeliers floating in flooded cellars.
furry guards
Not only water threatened to spoil the art, but also voracious rats. For the first time, a mustachioed army for the Winter Palace was sent from Kazan in 1745. Catherine II did not like cats, but she left the striped defenders at court in the status of "guards of art galleries." During the blockade, all the cats in the city died, which is why the rats bred and began to spoil the interiors of the palace. After the war, 5 thousand cats were brought to the Hermitage, which quickly dealt with tailed pests.
The history of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, like many other buildings in this city, begins during the reign of Tsar Peter I. In 1711, something like a winter residence was built for the Tsar, which was called the Winter Palace. It was tiny with a tiled roof and a high porch with steps. The history of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg is quite multi-stage and interesting. Well, it's time to start this historic voyage.
Second Winter Palace
Years passed, the city grew rapidly, and more and more people close to the emperor (that is, the king) began to build their own estates in St. Petersburg. of course, he also wanted a splendid holiday home. This is how the famous Winter Palaces of St. Petersburg appeared. The second palace was built right next to the first one according to the project of the architect I. Matarnovi. The palace was only a little larger than the first, but it was built of stone, but its greatest notability is that it was here that Tsar Peter I died in 1725. Information about the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg has been preserved so reliably that any tourist can personally look at the place where the king died.
Third Winter Palace
The architect D. Trezzini took up the modernization of the second Winter Palace almost immediately after the death of the king. The building turned out to be really big and majestic. The second Winter Palace became the western wing, and the Hermitage Theater is now located on the site of the main premises of the third. A lot can be said about the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, and this is only a small part of the whole great story.
fourth palace
Historians associate the fourth palace with Ioannovna. The fastidious Empress was unhappy that some Admiral Apraksin's palace was larger and richer than hers... However, it was not big enough and beautiful enough for Her Majesty. The architect F. Rastrelli solved this problem in the following way: he added a long building to the existing third palace. This building was called the Fourth Winter Palace in St. Petersburg. A brief description of the structure is as follows: a grandiose palace with two beautiful facades. Rastrelli was a truly talented architect.
Fifth and sixth milestone
The Fifth Palace was just a temporary, not very lush wooden haven, which, moreover, was located far from it. But the Sixth Palace was truly indescribably grandiose. In general, all the Winter Palaces in St. Petersburg were innovative for their time. This time, the chief architect faced an almost invincible task: to develop a project for the palace and bring it to life in two years! Such was the whim of the then Empress Elizabeth!
Thousands of artisans, painters, foundry workers and many others worked on the sixth palace. Huge areas and resources were allocated for the needs of construction. But the chief engineer F. Rastrelli understood that he could not manage in two years, and constantly asked for an extension of the term. In the end, with great difficulty, he managed to obtain from the Empress an extension for a year.
The creative genius of F. Rastrelli
In the end, a full-fledged Winter Palace in St. Petersburg turned out. A brief description of it is as follows: the gigantic dimensions of the Palace had two facades: one overlooked the square, the other - to the Neva. In the warm seasons, the palace is reflected in the waters of the river, which greatly increases the effect.
The ingenious F. Rastrelli perfectly thought out the internal layout of the palace. It consisted of three floors. On the first one were service premises, on the second - front halls and two temples, and the third floor was allocated entirely for the courtiers. In general, there were 460 different rooms in the palace, which were distinguished by stunning decoration. Perhaps it is thanks to the creative research of F. Rastrelli that we can safely say that the key attraction of St. Petersburg is the Winter Palace.
The death of the empress and the new owner of the palace
Empress Elizabeth, apparently, subconsciously felt the impending death, so she wanted the project of her palace to be completed as quickly as possible. However, she died in the temporary fifth wooden palace without ever seeing her Winter Palace.
In 1761, the palace was “captured” by Tsar Peter III. He was extremely pleased with such a work of architectural art and decided to honor F. Rastrelli with the rank of major general. However, Catherine II, who ascended the throne in 1962, ruined the career of the great architect, and he had to emigrate to Italy, where he also continued to work in his specialty.
A little about the construction process
As mentioned above, thousands of serfs were involved in the construction. Only a tiny fraction of them were given the right to spend the night and live in the premises of the Winter Palace, while the majority were located in huts right on the Admiralty meadows. The sellers in that part of the city, seeing all this excitement, inflated the prices of food, and deducted the payment for food from the salaries of the workers. It often happened that a worker remained indebted to his employer after paying his salary. They say that some masons even starved to death, the conditions were so brutal. The winter palaces of St. Petersburg, like the Great Wall of China, demanded a fair share of the state's resources. At that time, Russia was at war with Prussia, there was no one to forge tools, because most of the blacksmiths were involved in the construction of the Winter Palace.
The construction of the Winter Palace cost about 2.5 million rubles, and in those days the ruble was a very valuable currency.
Fire in the Winter Palace
In 1837, a terrible bad weather happened - the beautiful Winter Palace flared up! The cause of the disaster was a broken chimney. The scale of the fire was truly colossal - for 30 hours it was put out by several battalions of guards regiments, two companies of palace firefighters, a company of palace grenadiers and hundreds more "combat units". In an attempt to save the property of the palace, the soldiers desperately blocked the doors with bricks, trying to stop the fire, dismantled the roof in parts to be able to pour water from above, but this did not bring any actual benefit.
Palace restoration
When the fire finally subsided, only the walls and vaults of the first floor could be recognized - everything else was deformed beyond recognition. In 1837, they were started, which ended only three years later (recall that during the same time the Winter Palace was built from scratch). And this despite the fact that 10 thousand workers participated in the work every day. A huge amount of time has passed since the initial design of the palace, a significant part of the drawings was lost, and the then architects had to improvise. As a result, the winter palaces of St. Petersburg have been significantly transformed, acquiring the features of modern architecture. So, in fact, the "seventh version" of the palace appeared. The description of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg is as follows: a white-green appearance with a huge number of columns and occasional gold ornaments.
Electrification and internal modernization
In the time period of 1869-1888, the palaces were modernized in every possible way: they installed telephones, electrified, gasified, and installed water pipes. By the way, for the electrification of the Winter Palace, a power plant was built on its second floor, which for 15 years was considered the largest in Europe.
Under the influence of various fashions, the palace was repeatedly subjected to modernization of the interior and painting of the walls. There is no such color on the spectrum of the rainbow that the Winter Palace was not painted in its time. For example, during the Second World War, the palace had a martial rich red color.
Winter Palace today
This is where the story of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg comes to an end. Now it exists in alliance with the theaters adjacent to it and together with them forms a single complex "State Hermitage Museum". This is the last, eighth version. The idle and incredibly refined view gives the right to confidently declare that the key attraction of St. Petersburg is the Winter Palace.
Now the magnificent Winter Palace is open for visits and historical tours. The description of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg from the lips of an experienced historian is truly fascinating. Tourists have the right to admire the beautifully finished St. George's Throne Hall, the Golden Living Room or the elegant Boudoir, replete with a huge number of mirrors and gold ornaments. Also worth seeing is the Malachite Living Room with rich green columns and the majestic concert hall. It also has an art gallery with many original works.
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Plan of the Winter Palace. 1. Jordan Gallery /ground floor/ 2. Main (Jordanian) staircase 3. Field Marshal's Hall 4. Petrovsky (Small Throne) Hall 5. St. George's (Large Throne) Hall 6. Military Gallery of 1812 7. Armorial Hall 8. Big Church 9 Alexander Hall 10. Halls of military paintings 11. Large living room 12. White Hall 13. October staircase 14. Golden living room 15. Crimson study 16. Boudoir 17. Study room 18. Bedroom 19. Rotunda 20. Library of Nicholas II 21. Malaya ( White) dining room 22. Malachite living room 23. Large Arapskaya dining room 24. Concert hall 25. Portrait gallery of the Romanovs' house 26. Big (Nikolaev) hall 27. Entrance hall
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History pages. The Winter Palace is a grand building, which is the oldest building on Palace Square, built in the Baroque style. Like any building in St. Petersburg, the Winter Palace is shrouded in stories and myths. Officially, the construction of the Winter Palace, designed by B.F. Rastrelli, began in 1754 and ended in 1762, but the history of its creation dates back much earlier. On the site now occupied by the palace in 1712 under Peter the Great, it was forbidden to give plots of land to persons who did not belong to the naval ranks. Peter the Great, wishing to build a palace for himself on this site, received permission to build Peter Alekseev as a shipbuilder and built a residential "small house of Dutch architecture" there. In front of its side facade, in 1718, a canal was dug, named after the palace as the Winter Canal. In 1711, specifically for the wedding of Peter I and Catherine, the architect Matornovi, by order of the tsar, began to rebuild the wooden palace into a stone one. But in the process of work, the architect G. Matornovi was removed from business and the construction was headed by Trezzini. In 1720, Peter I and his entire family moved from their summer residence to their winter residence. In 1723, the Senate was transferred to the Winter Palace.
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Winter Palace in the 18th century. (Portrait of Anna Ivanovna) When the reign of Anna Ivanovna came, Count Bartolomeo Francesco Rastrelli, a brilliant architect of that time, offered her his project for the reconstruction of the Winter Palace. According to his project, it was required to purchase houses that stood at that time on the site occupied by the current palace and belonged to Count Apraksin, the Naval Academy, Raguzinsky and Chernyshev. Anna Ioanovna approved the project, the houses were bought up, and construction began. In 1735, the construction of the palace was completed, and Anna Ioannovna moved into it to live. The palace looked a little different than it currently exists. According to Elizabeth Petrovna, who ascended the throne, he did not meet the requirements official residence Russian empress. By her order in 1754, Count Rastrelli was to draw up a new project for the Winter Palace. Rastrelli, in accordance with the wishes of Elizabeth Petrovna, tried to create a palace that the Russian capital could be proud of. The palace was given the appearance that has been preserved to this day. 859,555 rubles were allocated for the work, which at that time was an extremely modest amount for such a project. And, nevertheless, the author and his assistants managed to emphasize the richness and diversity of the decoration of the Winter Palace. About four thousand people worked on its construction. It was possible to gather the best masters from all over the country. Now the Palace Square and the Alexander Garden were covered with huts in which the workers lived. The palace turned out as planned, not like the others.
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Winter Palace in the 18th century. Its facades are decorated with the variety inherent in Rastrelli, each of which the architect gave a peculiar interpretation. Strongly protruding wings of the western facade facing the Admiralty form the main courtyard. The architects gave the same architectural solution to the eastern end of the palace, hidden by the building of the Small Hermitage. North facade, facing the Neva, is richly decorated with two-tiered white columns, creating a spectacular play of chiaroscuro. The main one - the southern facade, oriented to the Palace Square, is cut through by three entrance arches. The light green color of the walls contrasts favorably with the whiteness of the columns. The decorativeness of the building is enhanced by the whimsical curves of the complex cornices and the diverse window frames. Their composition includes the heads of cupids, lion masks, whimsical curls, characteristic of the Baroque style. 176 sculptural figures on the roof, alternating with vases, enliven the silhouette of the palace, emphasizing the dynamics of its forms. The building is striking in its scale. Inside it there are 1050 front and residential halls with an area of 46 thousand square meters, 1945 windows, 1786 doors, 117 stairs, 329 chimneys. The total length of the main cornice that borders the building is almost two kilometers. The whole system of external decorations was designed to emphasize the unprecedented height of the building at that time. This impression was reinforced by the columns arranged in two tiers. But Elizabeth did not have to live in this magnificent creation of architecture.
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Winter Palace in the 18th century. Portrait of Peter III. In 1762, the work was completed, and on April 6 of the same year, Emperor Peter III moved to live in the Winter Palace. He watches with pleasure from the window of the palace, as the city dwellers take away the rubbish left after construction work, thereby clearing the area in front of the palace, which seemed incredible. This simple decision was prompted to Peter III by General-Police Chief N.A. Korf. But Peter III did not have long to enjoy the beauty of the Winter Palace. In 1763, Catherine II was already entering it, having returned from Moscow after the coronation. By her arrival, the decorations of all the interior of the palace with all the decorations available in it were completed. By the end of the XVIII century. in the palace there were up to 1500 rooms, among which, according to the special luxurious decoration and the works of art collected here, it is necessary to single out such halls as: the Romanov gallery containing a collection of portraits of the Sovereigns of the Romanov dynasty, starting with Mikhail Fedorovich. St. George's Hall, in which there is a golden throne, with a large imperial coat of arms embroidered in gold on a red velvet background. The hall is decorated with marble columns and six magnificent chandeliers, and many other halls. A winter garden was also created in the palace, with large trees - tropical and northern.
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Winter Palace in the 19th century. The Winter Palace acquired its completion during the reign of Emperor Nicholas I (1825-1855). The grandson of the great Catherine II and the younger brother of Tsar Alexander I, Nicholas ascended the throne, brutally suppressing the uprising on December 14, 1825 - the first organized uprising against tsarism. All further policy of his reign was aimed at strengthening the power and authority of autocratic power. Having become the owner of the Winter Palace, Nicholas, in order to raise the prestige of the main imperial residence, gives orders to expand the front part of the palace. First of all, he implements the idea, conceived by Alexander I, of creating a portrait gallery in the palace in memory of the victory over Napoleon. Back in 1819, the painter George Doe was invited from England, who was instructed to paint portraits of all Russian generals who participated in the campaigns of 1812-1815. Dow, who was assisted by the Russian painters A.V. Polyakov and V.A. Golike, painted 332 portraits of those who were still alive, and those who were no longer alive and whom he painted from the preserved lifetime images. In 1826, the famous St. Petersburg architect K. Rossi (1775/77-1849) built a 55 m long gallery in the Winter Palace, where painted portraits were placed. Thus, a unique monument of military glory of Russia was created - the Military Gallery of 1812.
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Romanov Gallery The gallery displays portraits of representatives of the Romanov dynasty - from the founder of the Russian Empire, Peter the Great, to the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II. The gallery, then called Pompeii, was created after the fire of 1837 by V.P. Stasov, who placed next to it, above the Embassy entrance overlooking the courtyard, the Winter Garden with a glazed ceiling. In 1886, it was decided to place paintings in the gallery, in connection with which, according to the project of the palace architect N.A. Gornostaev, its decoration was changed. In the exhibition hall, arranged after the Great Patriotic War on the site of the garden, there is an exposition "Russian culture of the 17th century."
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George Hall. The St. George (Large Throne) Hall, for which a special building was built, from the side of the Grand Palace, was created in 1787-1795 under Catherine II according to the project of Giacomo Quarenghi (1744-1817). The new throne room was designed in strict classical forms. The huge double-height room made a stunning impression. But Quarenghi's masterpiece was destroyed in a fire in 1837. Emperor Nicholas I ordered "to try to make the St. George Hall ... all of white marble." White Carrara marble, which gave extraordinary solemnity to the Throne Hall, was delivered from Italy. The ceiling was decorated with gilded ornaments, the pattern of which was repeated in the parquet pattern of 16 types of colored wood. Above the throne place is a marble bas-relief "George the Victorious slaying the dragon with a spear". The St. George Hall was completed later than the other rooms of the palace due to the laboriousness of the marble cladding, and consecrated in 1841. The entire official history of the Russian royal house is associated with this hall. The majestic and solemn decoration of the hall corresponds to its purpose: official ceremonies and receptions were held here.
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Military gallery in 1812. The military gallery of 1812 - the most famous of the memorial premises of the palace - was built according to the project of the outstanding architect of Russian classicism K.I. Rossi (1775/77-1849) and solemnly opened on December 25, 1826, on the anniversary of the expulsion of Napoleon's army from Russia. 332 portraits of the generals of the Russian army, participants in the war of 1812 and the foreign campaign of 1813-1814 were placed here. Places were left in the Gallery for 13 portraits of the dead, whose images could not be found. The portraits were commissioned by Alexander I to the artist George Doe. The meeting of the Russian emperor and a fashionable English portrait painter took place in German city Aachen, where in the autumn of 1818 the first congress of the Holy Union of the countries - the winners of the Napoleonic army took place. At the back of the hall, on the end wall, there is a ceremonial portrait of Emperor Alexander I (made by Franz Kruger). Nearby are ceremonial portraits of the monarchs of the allied states - Prussia and Austria. Portraits of Field Marshal M.I. Kutuzov and M.B. Barclay de Tolly are on the sides of the door leading to the St. George (Large Throne) Hall. During the fire of 1837, all the portraits were saved and returned to their places in the hall restored by V.P. Stasov.
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Fire in the Winter Palace in 1837. In 1828, O.R. Montferrand (1786-1858), a French architect invited to Russia by Alexander I in 1816, was involved in the work in the Winter Palace. While working on the construction of St. Isaac's Cathedral, which was destined to become one of the grandest buildings of the mid-19th century, Montferrand simultaneously created new apartments in the royal residence. In 1833-1834, next to the Main Palace Staircase, he built two halls that completed the formation of the main suite of state rooms of the Winter Palace - Field Marshal's and Petrovsky, dedicated to the memory of Peter the Great. Three years later, everything created by Montferrand and his predecessors in the Winter Palace perished in the fire of an unprecedented fire in December 1837. Fires in those days happened in St. Petersburg often, mainly due to stove heating, which was also in royal palace. On the first floor, under the Field Marshal and Petrovsky halls, there was a palace pharmacy, in which the stove was heated around the clock. On the evening of December 17, 1837, wisps of smoke began to seep out of the air vent in the Field Marshal's Hall. The alarmed staff on duty called the fire brigade. After examining the air vent, the attic and basement, the firefighters found smoky matting and abundantly filled everything with water from the brinesboys. However, the cause of the fire, which after a few minutes broke out from behind the collapsed wooden partition of the hall, was different ...
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Fire in the Winter Palace. A strong flame instantly engulfed the floors: the palace blazed from above. It was impossible to save him. The fire spread rapidly along the walls, along the carved wood of gilded ornaments, picturesque plafonds, and waxed parquets. Today it is obvious that the constructive mistake of the architect O.R.Montferrand, who placed the air vent in a narrow space fenced off by a partition, and the use of wood as the main building material led to tragic consequences. An eyewitness to the incident, A.P. Bashutsky, colorfully described the finale of a grandiose fire that raged for more than thirty hours. "They were solemnly sad last hours phoenix-buildings ... We saw through the broken windows how the fire walked victoriously in the desert expanse, illuminating wide passages, it either stabbed and collapsed marble columns, then boldly blackened precious gilding, then poured crystal and bronze chandeliers of artistic work into ugly piles, then he would tear off luxurious brocades and damasks from the walls ... ". When it became obvious to Nicholas I, who returned from the theater, that it was impossible to stop the raging elements, a decision was made: urgently take out everything that was possible from the palace. Furniture, dishes, crystal, chests with clothes, paintings, carpets, books, albums and other utensils - everything was piled right on the snow of Palace Square. To prevent the fire from spreading to the Hermitage, the passages between it and the palace were broken, and the walls behind which priceless artistic treasures were kept were kept under water pressure. The fire raged for three days. By the evening of December 19, only a giant charred skeleton remained from the Winter Palace.
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Field Marshal's Hall. The hall opens the Grand ceremonial suite of the Winter Palace. The interior was restored after a fire in 1837 by V.P. Stasov close to the original project of O. de Montferrand (1833 - 1834). The entrances to the hall, designed in a strict classical style, are punctuated by portals. The longitudinal walls are decorated with double pilasters, on which lies the entablature supporting the choirs. In the decor of gilded bronze chandeliers and grisaille paintings of the hall, motifs of military glory are used. Before the revolution, ceremonial portraits of Russian field marshals were placed in the niches of the hall, which explains its name. The hall presents monuments of Western European and Russian sculpture, as well as artistic porcelain from the Imperial Factory, created in the first half of the 19th century.
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Petrovsky Hall. The Petrovsky (Small Throne) Hall commemorates the founder of the Russian Empire, Peter I. The hall was created in 1833 according to the project of O.-R. Montferrand (1786-1858) and restored after a fire by V.P. Stasov almost unchanged. The decoration of the hall was the composition with the allegorical painting "Peter I with Minerva" by G. Amikoni. Elements of imperial paraphernalia - the monograms of Peter the Great, crowns, double-headed eagles - occupy a special place in the decoration of the hall. Picturesque images of the famous battles of the Northern War - the Poltava battle and the Battle of Lesnaya - allowed contemporaries to perceive this room as a "palladium of Russian greatness and glory." In the hall of Peter I there is a historical relic - the throne of Empress Anna Ioannovna, made by master N. Clausen in London in 1731. The wooden base of the throne is framed in massive gilded silver, the state emblem of Russia is embroidered in silver on the back.
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Winter Palace. 1853. An unprecedented fire completely destroyed the magnificent decoration of the royal residence, erasing an entire era in the history of the palace. It seemed that it would not be possible to revive the palace. However, the consequences of the fire were eliminated in an unprecedentedly short time: during 1838-1839. And in the spring of 1839, a large solemn reception dedicated to the resumption of the Winter Palace was held in the newly decorated state rooms. It can be argued that in terms of scale and complexity, this was an unprecedented restoration for its time, which the practice of world architecture did not know.
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Revival of the Winter Palace. The revival of the Winter Palace after the fire of 1837 is, first of all, the merit of two outstanding Russian architects of the 19th century - V.P. Stasov (1769-1848) and A.P. Bryullov (1798-1877). V.P. Stasov restored the front part of the palace and supervised the general construction work. The task before him was very difficult. In a short time, the architect had to not only restore the palace to its former splendor, but also give all the front halls a look that met the artistic tastes and views of the Nikolaev era - the time of the highest power of the Russian Empire, which became a great European power after the victory over Napoleon. This ideological side was especially insisted on by Tsar Nicholas I, who personally drew up a thematic program for the decoration of the restored halls. Finally, it was necessary to provide for all measures to forever exclude the possibility of a new fire. Stasov brilliantly solved this problem by creating a monumental complex of ceremonial halls united by the nobility of the classical style and the idea of the greatness of the Russian Empire.
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Revival of the Winter Palace. This idea found its expression in the grandeur of the halls, in the splendor and at the same time strict thoughtfulness and rationality of decorations, in the richness of the materials used, in the motifs and subjects of wall paintings, stucco, paintings, sculptures, decorative objects, and finally, in the solemn rhythm in which the halls, following one after another, they line up in magnificent enfilades. All the main official palace ceremonies were held here: solemn receptions, high-society balls, the highest exits. The halls along the Neva and the Grand ceremonial suite, going deep into the Winter Palace to the Great Throne Hall, are connected by the Main Staircase. Immediately behind the Main Staircase was the first hall of the Grand Enfilade - the Field Marshal's. Here, officers of the palace guards were usually located and the palace guards were divorced. Decorated with portraits of Russian field marshals, the hall was supposed to remind of the military glory and power of the Russian Empire. Stasov recreated the Field Marshal's Hall the way Montferrand built it. In addition, in accordance with the plan of his predecessor, he restored the adjacent Petrovsky (Small Throne) Hall.
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Revival of the Winter Palace. The Armorial Hall next to Petrovsky was designed by the architect Stasov according to his own design. He significantly increased the length of the hall, and the area of the Armorial Hall (the second largest in the Winter Palace) now amounted to 1000 sq.m. Using the composition of the columned hall, characteristic of Russian classicism, the architect achieved the solemn imposingness of the heavy, entirely gilded columns of the luxurious Corinthian order, the upper galleries lying on them and the porticos framing the entrances. On both sides of the entrances there were sculptural groups - Russian knights with spears, on which shields with the coats of arms of the Russian provinces were fixed. (Now they are fortified along the edges of the gilded bronze chandeliers decorating the hall.) The coats of arms gave the name to the hall, which personified the unity of the empire and the emperor: the sovereign's receptions were held here for representatives of cities, provincial nobility, and estates. Today, the Armorial Hall, like many other halls of the Winter Palace, is an exhibition space. The Armorial Hall exhibits the richest collection of Western European silver of the 17th-18th centuries.
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Armorial hall. Each subsequent hall of the Enfilade became another link in the complex picture of symbols glorifying the Fatherland. The Armorial Hall of the Winter Palace, intended for solemn ceremonies, was created by V.P. Stasov in the late 1830s. in the style of late Russian classicism. Images of coats of arms of Russian provinces are placed on gilded bronze chandeliers. The entrances to the hall are flanked by sculptural groups of ancient Russian warriors. A slender colonnade carrying a balcony with a balustrade, a frieze with an ornament of acanthus leaves, and a combination of gold and white create an impression of grandeur and solemnity.
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Gallery of the Patriotic War of 1812. The Gallery of the Patriotic War of 1812 adjoins the Armorial Hall. All the portraits of the gallery during the fire were taken out of the fire and saved by the soldiers of the Guards regiments. Stasov was given the opportunity to restore the gallery to its original form. However, the architect made some changes to Rossi's plan, which gave the gallery a finished, solemnly austere and imposing appearance: the length of the first gallery was increased by almost 6 m, the choirs were placed above the cornice - a bypass gallery connected with the same galleries of neighboring halls. This was done not only to enhance the decorative effect, but also for firefighting purposes. Through the glazed covers built into the vaults, daylight now passed into the gallery, the wooden rafters of the ceilings were replaced with iron ones.
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The widespread use of metal in the restoration of the palace was an innovation in the building practice of that time. Many metal structures, complex elements of the new heating system that replaced the stove, water pipes, metal parts of architectural decorations were made for the palace at the St. Petersburg Alexander Plant. The talented engineer M.E. Clark, who headed it, using the latest achievements of modern technical thought, brilliantly solved a number of complex technical problems that have arisen in the course of work. He developed and for the first time applied in the Winter Palace a system of unsupported ceilings using metal trusses and beams, to which ceilings made of copper sheets were hung. This system made it possible to create ceilings in such large halls as the Armorial and Great Throne Rooms.
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The Great Throne Hall (Georgievsky) The Great Throne Hall, the main hall of the Winter Palace, completes the Grand Front Enfilade. The Throne Hall that existed here before the fire was created by the architect Quarenghi during the reign of Catherine II and consecrated on November 26, 1795 on the day of St. George the Victorious - the patron saint of the Russian state and army. Hence the second name of the hall - Georgievsky. His decoration was completely destroyed in the fire. Stasov redesigned the hall in a strict and majestic classical style: the grandiose space (the area of the hall is 800 square meters), rows of snow-white columns, the brilliance and heaviness of gilded bronze create a feeling of solemnity and splendor. Here, in the presence of the sovereign and the highest dignitaries of the Court, the most important state acts were performed, the main official ceremonies took place. The main theme of the design of the grand residence of the Russian emperors - the greatness and power of the empire, the Russian state - found its highest expression in the artistic design of the Great Throne Hall.
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Malachite living room. Finishing and artistic decoration of the residential half of the palace after the fire of 1837 were entrusted to A.P. Bryullov, who created a complex of residential halves located on all three floors of the western part of the Winter Palace. With special luxury and sophistication, he decorated the rooms of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna - an enfilade with windows overlooking the Neva and the Admiralty. An outstanding talented architect, erudite, connoisseur of historical styles, in his projects he skillfully, with taste and tact used the techniques and traditions of the architecture of ancient classics, the European Middle Ages, the East. The decoration of the interiors in the half of Alexandra Fedorovna has not been preserved, but their appearance was brought to us by watercolors. Such was the order made by Nicholas I: he ordered the interiors of the Winter Palace and the Hermitage to be recorded in watercolors. Executed in the 1850s-1860s by the artists K.A. Ukhtomsky, E.P. Gaui L. Premazzi, watercolors are now invaluable documents that give an accurate and at the same time artistic representation of the imperial residence of the 19th century. The only hall, the decoration of which has been completely preserved to this day, is the Malachite Drawing Room. The hall owes its truly fabulous luxury to the famous Ural malachite, a rare and extremely valuable green stone. In 1835, a large deposit of malachite was found in the Ural mines in the possession of the Demidovs. More than two tons of malachite was donated by Demidov to the Tsar to decorate the living room in the palace. The malachite living room served as a link between the front halls of the palace and the rooms of the empress. Behind the Malachite Living Room, a number of personal chambers of Alexandra Feodorovna opened up: the Dining Room, painted based on the frescoes excavated in Pompeii, Italy, the elegant Living Rooms, the Bedroom, the cozy Boudoir, the romantic Winter Garden with a babbling fountain and exotic plants, the exquisite and luxurious Bathroom, decorated in Moorish style, as if filled with spicy aromas of the East.
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Bedroom. The emperor's rooms were located on the third floor. And only the study of Nicholas I was downstairs, on the ground floor. Every evening, the inhabitants of the capital could see the light in the window of the emperor's office and his figure leaning over the table. Here was his camp folding bed, on which he was destined to die in 1855. Behind the wall of the office were the rooms of the daughters of Nicholas I - Olga and Alexandra. This small enfilade of simply but elegantly decorated premises continued to be the prince's "children's half" even after the marriage of the grand duchesses.
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Library of Nicholas II Special apartments of the palace were intended for the heir - the Tsarevich, the future Emperor Alexander II. This Enfilade of chambers with windows overlooking the Admiralty was created by the architect Quarenghi during the time of Catherine the Great especially for Alexander I, then still the Grand Duke. Following the instructions of Nicholas I, Bryullov did everything to recreate the decoration of Quarenghi in the Grand Duke's half. And in 1839, in connection with the upcoming marriage of the heir to the princess of Hesse-Darmstadt (future Empress Maria Alexandrovna), A.P. Bryullov was entrusted with the registration of a new half of the heir. This Enfilade began from the Stairs of Her Imperial Majesty, the current October Staircase, going from the Oktyabrsky entrance from the side of Palace Square. Bryullov retained the classically restrained and elegant decoration of the staircase, created by Montferrand before the fire. A series of luxuriously decorated halls followed from the stairs: the front White Hall (one of the best works of Bryullov in the Winter Palace), Living Rooms, Bedroom, Boudoir. These were the private quarters of the heir's wife, adjoining his own rooms. In the mid-1850s, a number of Maria Alexandrovna's rooms were re-decorated by well-known architects of that time: A.I. Shtakenshneider (1802-1865), who worked a lot in those years in the imperial residence, and Yu.A. Bosse. An outstanding master of historicist architecture, a subtle stylist, Stackenschneider created the most elegant rooms for Maria Alexandrovna - the Green Dining Room and the Raspberry Study. The whole life of Empress Maria Alexandrovna was spent in these apartments. She loved music and painting. Raspberry office, on the damask of which it was no coincidence that images of various musical instruments served as a venue for home concerts. Paintings hung on the walls of the study, which were often purchased especially for the Empress, and later became a valuable asset of the Hermitage.
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Following the instructions of Nicholas I, Bryullov did everything to recreate the decoration of Quarenghi in the Grand Duke's quarter after a fire in 1837. In connection with the upcoming marriage of the heir in 1839 with the princess of Hesse-Darmstadt (future Empress Maria Alexandrovna), A.P. Bryullov was entrusted with the design of some of the halls of the heir. The enfilade, which began from the Stairs of Her Imperial Majesty, the current October, included the Crimson Cabinet. This hall was decorated by A.P. Bryullov in 1841 and was used as an office and dining room for Maria Alexandrovna. In the mid-1850s, a number of rooms of the wife of the future Emperor Alexander II were re-decorated by the famous architect of that time - A.I. Shtakenshneider, who worked a lot in those years in the imperial residence. An outstanding master of historicist architecture, a subtle stylist, Stackenschneider created the most elegant rooms for Maria Alexandrovna. In 1858 Stackenschneider changed the design of the Crimson Room. The vaults were removed and the ceiling redone; the upholstery was replaced, but its color remained the same - dark red. A considerable part of Maria Alexandrovna's life was spent in these apartments. She loved music and painting. The raspberry cabinet, on the damask of which it was no coincidence that images of various musical instruments were woven, served as a place for home concerts. Paintings hung on the walls of the study, which were often purchased especially for the Empress.
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White Hall. The White Hall was created by A.P. Bryullov for the wedding of the future Emperor Alexander II in 1841. This interior, kept in white tones, is distinguished by a rich plastic decor: stucco ornaments cover the vault and pilasters, the frieze ribbon is decorated with putti figurines indulging in games. In the central part of the hall, above the images of armor, there are bas-relief figures of ancient Roman gods; columns with magnificent Corinthian capitals are crowned with figures personifying the arts. The interior harmoniously looks picturesque panels of the French landscape painter of the 18th century. G. Robert. In the hall there is an exposition of furniture by D. Roentgen, the famous master of the era of classicism. During the reign of Emperor Alexander II, the hall had its own purpose: the festive receptions that took place then were held not in the northern part of the palace, as under Nicholas I, but in its southern section, where the personal rooms of the emperor and empress were located.
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October staircase. This main staircase was restored after the fire of 1837 by A.P. Bryullov, who kept the project of O. de Montferrand (early 1830s) almost unchanged. architectural solution stairs, adjoining the private apartments, is characterized by rigor and clarity, characteristic of the style of classicism. The theme of glory clearly sounds in the decor: a bas-relief located above the windows depicts a triumphal procession; the lunettes feature allegorical compositions of female figures bowed before a double-headed eagle; the niches contain statues of ancient deities. The interior is richly decorated with grisly paintings. In the center of the vault painting there is a medallion depicting Apollo's chariot. The name "October" stairs was given in memory of the revolutionary events of October 1917, when the assault troops entered the Winter Palace along it. The captured ministers of the Provisional Government were led out along the October stairs at 3 o'clock on the night of October 25-26, 1917.
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The Winter Palace from 1917 to 1925 The revolutionary upheavals of 1917 had a dramatic effect on the fate of the Winter Palace. In July, it was made its residence by the Provisional Government, which was located in the former chambers of Nicholas II. Anticipating the revolutionary events in the country, valuable palace property and Hermitage collections are sent to Moscow to be preserved in the Kremlin. After the capture of the Winter Palace by storm on the night of October 25-26, 1917, soldiers and sailors rioted in the royal apartments for three days, plundering the interior. Only a few days later, on October 30, 1917, the Winter Palace was declared the State Museum in the name of the Russian Soviet Republic by the new government. In 1925-1926, according to the design of the architect of the State Hermitage A.V. Sivkov, the reconstruction of numerous office premises began with the aim of using them for the expanding expositions of the Hermitage. The mezzanine floors that distorted the Rastrelli and other galleries, as well as corridors, a number of internal stairs, kitchens, service rooms, and later partitions were destroyed. A great achievement of the Winter Palace restorers was the reconstruction in 1938 of one of the few surviving Rastrelli interiors - the Rastrelli Gallery. On the third floor along the eastern facade of the palace, where sixty-four maid of honor rooms used to be, after the reconstruction of the original layout, seventeen bright halls were formed.
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Winter Palace before the war. Simultaneously with the reconstruction, the current restoration of the Armorial, Alexander and White Halls, the Great Church, the Gallery of 1812 was carried out. Unfortunately, during the alteration and adaptation of the former apartments of the royal family to accommodate art collections, fireplaces and stoves, which were of artistic value, were dismantled. In the 1930s, the Ammos heating system was liquidated, and the Winter Palace was connected to the city heating network. In 1939, a commission, which included representatives of the Department for the Protection of Monuments, the chief architect of the Hermitage, and other engineering and technical workers, drew up an act on the technical condition of the Winter Palace and determined a list of repair and restoration work. On May 10, 1941, the Leningrad City Executive Committee considered the issue of repairing and painting buildings overlooking Palace Square. But all the planned work was interrupted by the war ...
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Alexander Hall. In 1834, A.P. Bryullov drafted a memorial hall in honor of Alexander I, which was completed only after the fire. The architect found a brilliant spatial solution for a huge double-height room. The original ceilings of the Alexander Hall - fan vaults bearing gently sloping domes - became its main architectural and artistic accent. The abundance of air, the grandiosity of the spaces under the dome allowed contemporaries to characterize the hall as made in the "Byzantine taste". The hall perpetuated the memory of Alexander I: on the end wall was placed a portrait of the emperor by J. Doe, above it was a bas-relief with a profile image of Alexander “in the form of the Slavic deity Radomysl”, personifying wisdom and courage. The frieze was decorated with enlarged copies of the models of F.P. Tolstoy, telling about the events of the Patriotic War of 1812, and the symbolic figures of Slavs. The memorial character of the hall was emphasized by four huge battle paintings by G.P. Villevalde.
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Big church. The interior of the Great Church, designed by F. B. Rastrelli, was one of the most magnificent in the Winter Palace. Restoring the church after the fire of 1837, V.P. Stasov sought to recreate its original appearance. The space is divided into three volumes, two of which - the one closest to the entrance and the altar part - are double-height. central part topped with a dome and punctuated by pylons with double fluted columns of the Corinthian order. The walls are decorated with pilasters of the same order, which alternate with arched window openings that illuminate the church from two sides. A heavily profiled and unraveled cornice separates the first tier from the top row of windows. The main role in the artistic decoration of the church is played by a gilded stucco ornament made of papier-mâché, and painting: the ceiling "Ascension of Christ" by P.V. Basin in the vestibule and images of the four evangelists on sails, created by F.A. Bruni. The interior decoration was complemented by crimson draperies and gilded lamps.
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The Winter Palace during the war years of 1941-1945 In the first days of the Great Patriotic War, many valuables of the Hermitage were urgently evacuated, some of them were hidden in the cellars. To prevent fires in the museum buildings, the windows were bricked up or closed with shutters. In some rooms, the parquets were covered with a layer of sand. The Winter Palace was a big target. A large number of bombs and shells exploded near him, and several hit the building itself. So, on December 29, 1941, a shell crashed into the southern wing of the Winter Palace overlooking the kitchen yard, damaging the iron rafters and the roof over an area of three hundred square meters, destroying the fire-fighting water supply installation located in the attic. The attic vaulted ceiling with an area of about six square meters was broken through. Another shell that hit the podium in front of the Winter Palace damaged the water main.
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Winter Palace during the war. Despite the difficult situation that existed in the besieged city, on May 4, 1942, the Leningrad City Executive Committee ordered construction trust No. 16 to carry out priority restoration work in the Hermitage, in which emergency repair workshops took part. In the summer of 1942, the roof was blocked in places where it was damaged by shells, the formwork was partially repaired, installed in broken skylights or iron sheets, the destroyed metal rafters were replaced with temporary wooden ones, and the plumbing system was repaired.
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Winter Palace during the war. On May 12, 1943, an air bomb hit the building of the Winter Palace, partially destroying the roof over the St. George Hall and metal truss structures, and damaging the brickwork of the wall in the pantry of the Department of the History of Russian Culture. In the summer of 1943, despite the shelling, they continued to seal the roof and ceilings with tarred plywood, skylights. On January 2, 1944, another shell hit the Armorial Hall, severely damaging the finish and destroying two ceilings. The shell also pierced the ceiling of the Nicholas Hall. But already in August 1944, the Soviet government decided to restore all the buildings of the museum. Restoration work required huge efforts and stretched out for many years. But, despite all the losses, the Winter Palace remains an outstanding monument of baroque architecture.
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Winter Palace at present. The Winter Palace together with the buildings of the Small, Large and New Hermitages and the Hermitage Theater form a single palace complex, which has few equals in world architecture. In artistic and urban planning terms, it belongs to the highest achievements of Russian architecture of the 8th-11th centuries. Now all the halls of this palace ensemble, built over many years, are occupied by the State Hermitage Museum. It is the largest museum in the world with huge art collections.
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Winter Palace at present. Today's Winter Palace keeps the memory of different eras: the works of Rastrelli amaze with the quirkiness of architectural fantasies; the appearance of the front rooms is reminiscent of official ceremonies; decoration of living quarters of the second half of XIX century demonstrates a huge range of architectural prototypes.
The history of the Winter Palace begins with the reign of Peter I.
The very first, then still the Winter House, was built for Peter I in 1711 on the banks of the Neva. The first Winter Palace was two-storey, with a tiled roof and a high porch. In 1719-1721, the architect Georg Mattornovi built a new palace for Peter I.
Empress Anna Ioannovna considered the Winter Palace too small and did not want to settle in it. She commissioned the construction of the new Winter Palace to the architect Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli. For new construction, the houses of Count Apraksin, Raguzinsky and Chernyshev, located on the embankment of the Neva River, as well as the building of the Naval Academy, were purchased. They were demolished, and by 1735 a new Winter Palace was built in their place. At the end of the 18th century, the Hermitage Theater was erected on the site of the old palace.
Empress Elizaveta Petrovna also wished to remake the imperial residence to her taste. The construction of the new palace was entrusted to the architect Rastrelli. The Winter Palace project created by the architect was signed by Elizaveta Petrovna on June 16, 1754.
In the summer of 1754, Elizaveta Petrovna issued a nominal decree on the beginning of the construction of the palace. The required amount - about 900 thousand rubles - was withdrawn from the "tavern" money (collection from the drinking trade). The previous palace was demolished. During construction, the yard moved to a temporary wooden palace built by Rastrelli on the corner of Nevsky and Moika.
The palace was notable for its incredible size for those times, magnificent exterior decoration and luxurious interior decoration.
The Winter Palace is a three-storey rectangular building with a huge front yard inside. The main facades of the palace face the embankment and the square that was formed later.
Creating the Winter Palace, Rastrelli designed each facade differently, based on specific conditions. The northern façade, facing the Neva, stretches like a more or less even wall, without noticeable ledges. From the side of the river, it is perceived as an endless two-tiered colonnade. The southern façade, overlooking the Palace Square and having seven articulations, is the main one. Its center is highlighted by a wide, richly decorated risalit cut through by three entrance arches. Behind them is the main courtyard, where in the middle of the northern building was the main entrance to the palace.
Along the perimeter of the roof of the palace there is a balustrade with vases and statues (originally made of stone in 1892-1894 were replaced by a brass knockout).
The length of the palace (along the Neva) is 210 meters, width - 175 meters, height - 22 meters. total area Palace - 60 thousand square meters, it has more than 1000 rooms, 117 different staircases.
There were two chains of ceremonial halls in the palace: along the Neva and in the center of the building. In addition to the ceremonial halls, on the second floor there were living quarters of members of the imperial family. The first floor was occupied by utility and service premises. The apartments of the courtiers were mainly located on the upper floor.
About four thousand employees lived here, even had its own army - palace grenadiers and guards from the guards regiments. The palace had two churches, a theater, a museum, a library, a garden, an office, and a pharmacy. The halls of the palace were decorated with gilded carvings, luxurious mirrors, chandeliers, candelabra, patterned parquet.
Under Catherine II, a winter garden was organized in the Palace, where both northern plants and plants brought from the south grew, the Romanov Gallery; at the same time, the formation of St. George's Hall was completed. Under Nicholas I, a gallery was organized in 1812, where 332 portraits of participants in the Patriotic War were placed. The architect Auguste Montferrand added the Petrovsky and Field Marshal's Halls to the palace.
In 1837, a fire broke out in the Winter Palace. Many things were saved, but the building itself was badly damaged. But thanks to the architects Vasily Stasov and Alexander Bryullov, the building was restored two years later.
In 1869, instead of candlelight, gas lighting appeared in the palace. Since 1882, the installation of telephones in the premises began. In the 1880s, a water pipe was built in the Winter Palace. At Christmas 1884-1885, electric lighting was tested in the halls of the Winter Palace; from 1888, gas lighting was gradually replaced by electric lighting. For this, a power plant was built in the second hall of the Hermitage, which for 15 years was the largest in Europe.
In 1904, Emperor Nicholas II moved from the Winter Palace to the Alexander Palace in Tsarskoye Selo. The Winter Palace became a place for ceremonial receptions, ceremonial dinners, and the seat of the king during short visits to the city.
Throughout the history of the Winter Palace as an imperial residence, the interiors were redesigned in accordance with fashion trends. The building itself changed the color of its walls several times. The Winter Palace was painted in red, pink, yellow colors. Before the First World War, the palace was painted red-brick.
During the First World War, there was an infirmary in the building of the Winter Palace. After the February Revolution of 1917, the Provisional Government worked in the Winter Palace. In the post-revolutionary years, various departments and institutions were located in the building of the Winter Palace. In 1922, part of the building was transferred to the Hermitage Museum.
In 1925 - 1926 the building was rebuilt again, now for the needs of the museum.
During the Great Patriotic War, the Winter Palace suffered from air raids and shelling. In the cellars of the palace there was a dispensary for scientists and cultural figures who suffered from dystrophy. In 1945-1946, restoration work was carried out, at the same time the entire Winter Palace became part of the Hermitage.
At present, the Winter Palace, together with the Hermitage Theatre, the Small, New and Large Hermitage, forms a single museum complex "The State Hermitage".
