Description of the attraction
The house of the lady of state Buturlina Elizaveta Mikhailovna, at 10 Tchaikovskogo Street, is one of the most prominent representatives of the neo-baroque style.
The first owner of the site on which the house was located was V. D. Korchmin. It is with his name that one of the Petersburg legends associates the name of Vasilievsky Island. Presumably, Korchmin Vasily Dmitrievich, who commanded the battery on the spit of Vasilyevsky Island, addressed his notes to Peter I to “Vasily on the Island”.
In 1733, the site passed to the Kamortsalmeister's assistant M. Bedrin. Bedrin rented out premises, and did not live here himself. After him, this land belonged to the Vyndomsky family, the founder of the family of which served even under Ivan the Terrible, and one of his descendants served as governor of Moscow. Up to the 40s. 19th century on this site there was a wooden one-story house with services.
The plot passed into the possession of Buturlina in 1844. The mansion on this site was erected in 1857-1860. Its construction was carried out by the architect Harold Ernestovich Bosse. The Buturlina house is one of the best works of the architect in terms of the sense of style, general composition, execution of decorative elements of the facade. While working on the project, Bossé widely applied the architectural compositional principles of the city's palace buildings in the mid-18th century.
The construction of the house was completed in 1860. At that time, the street was called Sergievskaya. Only in 1923 did she become Tchaikovsky. But even after changing the address, the mansion did not change outwardly: the splendor and brightness of the architectural forms adorned both Sergievskaya Street and Tchaikovsky Street.
With its appearance, the building was extremely attractive to hirers, as it looked more like a palace than an apartment building. Vivid neo-baroque forms created the feeling of a constant holiday. House Buturlina, as it were, challenges the traditional Baroque style with its pretentiousness and theatricality. Neo-Baroque is based on the use of materials advanced at that time - colored glass, tiles, printed fabrics. An integral attribute of this style is the abundance of silver and gold in details. In general, the building has retained its appearance to this day.
The three-storey building has a central projection in three axes, which is crowned with an arched pediment. Two side risalits with their facades overlook the red line of the street, and the middle part of the building's facade recedes slightly inward. On the second floor, between the risalits, there is a wide open terrace, which is fenced by a lattice consisting of five lace metal links. The curbstones of the fence were decorated with statues and vases. Above the arch of the gate, which led to the courtyard of the building, was the coat of arms of the mistress of the house. But, unfortunately, this decoration was lost.
The architect made extensive use of sculptural elements in the decorative design of the facade of the building, namely, in the window frames. Beausset placed three-quarter columns and pilasters along the facade of the third floor. Figured vases stood on pedestals above the main cornice. The main facade of the building with its distinctive strong plasticity completes the perspective of Mokhovaya Street.
The interior of the building is also rich in its decoration, but restrained in details. The main decoration of the rooms is chair-chairs a la Louis 16. The space of the rooms is illuminated by huge chandeliers.
The house is famous for the fact that in 1868 the family of Sophia Kovalevskaya rented a room in it, who went down in the history of Russia as an outstanding mathematician, the first woman to become a corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences of St. Petersburg.
Since the 60s. 19th century and up to 1917 this building housed the Austro-Hungarian embassy. Immediately after the outbreak of the First World War, the embassy was destroyed by a crowd, which threw stones at it and set it on fire. The firefighters who arrived were more trying to prevent fire on the nearby buildings, and not to save the mansion.
After 1917, prisoners of war soldiers lived in this building. They used furniture to heat the premises. By the 20s. 20th century the house was already dilapidated and in need of renovation. In 1924-1925. Buturlina's house was taken under state protection as an architectural monument. In the 30s. it was renovated and turned into an apartment building, which it still is. In 1940, the famous chess player M. M. Botvinnik.
