Description of the attraction
On the Palace Embankment of St. Petersburg at number 4 is the Saltykov House (in our time - the University of Culture) - an object of cultural heritage of the Russian Federation, an architectural monument protected by the state.
The building was built in 1788 by the architect Quarenghi. Almost immediately after the construction, the Saltykov House was rebuilt and reconstructed several times. Famous architects Rossi, Lorentzen, Bosse were invited to work on the interior decoration at different times.
The plot of land on which the Saltykov House is now located was allocated for the arrangement of the State Secretary of Empress Catherine II P. A. Soimonov, who refused it for various reasons. The land passed to the merchant F. I. Grotenu, who invited the architect Quarnegi to design and build a mansion for him. Construction work began in 1784 and was completed in 1788.
During the four years construction was underway, the owners changed several times.
In 1796, the house and the adjacent land were acquired by Empress Catherine II as a gift for Field Marshal Nikolai Ivanovich Saltykov, who was the tutor of the Grand Dukes Paul (Paul I), Alexander (Alexander I) and his brother Constantine, until 1802 he headed the Military Collegium. and from 1812 to 1816 he was the chairman of the State Council and the Committee of Ministers.
Until 1818, a garden was adjacent to the Saltykov House. In its place, according to the project of K. Rossi, the Suvorovskaya Square was laid out. At the same time, the facade overlooking it was changed, a large porch was built.
The Saltykov family owned the mansion until the October Revolution, but the owners themselves did not live in it, but rented it out. For almost a century, the House of Saltykovs hosted foreign embassies: from 1829 to 1855 - the Austrian embassy, which was headed by Count K. L. Fiquelmont, at about the same time the 3rd and 4th floors belonged to the Danish Embassy and its head, Baron O. Plessen, from 1863 to 1918 - the British Embassy was located in the building.
Until 1818 in the House of Saltykov there was a house church of the Resurrection of Christ. In September 1797, it was consecrated by Archpriest Pavel Ozeretskovsky. However, it was moved in connection with the next reconstruction. Then she was returned to the house and was consecrated again in April 1823. In 1828, the church was finally closed.
A lot of elements of the original interior of the Saltykov House have survived to this day: the White Hall, the main staircase, the vestibule - although the descendants of Field Marshal Saltykov have reconstructed the house many times. For example, in 1843-1844 the mansion was rebuilt according to the project of Bosse, the White Hall was repaired, in 1881 - Lorentzen expanded the building towards Millionnaya Street. Almost in its original form, the facade facing the Palace Embankment has reached us.
After the revolution in 1925, the Saltykovs' House housed the N. K. Krupskaya, since 1941 - the Library Institute, later - the Institute of Culture and the Academy of Culture, which is now called the University of Culture and Art.
In 1799, a monument to P. A. Rumyantsev, in 1801 on Tsaritsyno Meadow, near the Moika - a monument to A. V. Suvorov, the work of the sculptor M. I. Kozlovsky. In 1818, both monuments were moved: Suvorov - to Suvorovskaya Square, and Rumyantsev - to Vasilievsky Island. There are two memorial plaques near the house: in memory of the employees of the Academy of Culture (1970-1971) who died in the Great Patriotic War and the inscription “1767” carved into the granite of the facing.
