Description of the attraction
Perhaps the most visited attraction in the northern capital of Russia is the Winter Palace. The building was built in the middle of the 18th century, its project was developed by the graph Francesco Rastrelli … The palace was built in accordance with the canons of the Russian baroque during the empress's time Elizaveta Petrovna … The style of the building's interiors is somewhat different - certain elements of Rococo (French) are used here.
Until the beginning of the 20th century, the palace was an imperial residence. In the pre-revolutionary period, the building housed a hospital. After the revolutionary events, members of The provisional government … Later, the building housed museum expositions.
Background
Before the baroque building, which today adorns the Palace Square, was erected, there were other winter imperial residences. There were four such buildings (or even five, if we count the one-story house of Peter I).
The first two were built at the beginning of the 18th century, during the Petrine era. The third building was built for Anna Ioannovna, for which the Peter's residence seemed too cramped. More precisely, it was not the construction of a new building, but a restructuring and significant expansion of the old one. The rebuilt palace had about a hundred bedrooms, about seven dozen halls, a theater and many other rooms. Interestingly, almost immediately after the completion of construction, it was decided to rebuild (expand) this building, which was soon implemented.
At Elizaveta Petrovna the expansion of the building was continued. More and more office premises were added to it, which did not in any way benefit the architectural appearance of the palace. As a result, the building looked so strange that it aroused the displeasure of the empress and negative reviews of her contemporaries. The building was expanded again (this time in such a way that its appearance was pleasing to the eye). But when the empress decided to increase the palace not only in length and width, but also in height, the architect decided to simply rebuild it. This decision was approved by the Empress. In the meantime, the construction work was going on, the empress was in the temporary palace (fourth). It was dismantled in the 60s of the 18th century.
Palace erection and interior decoration
The construction of the building, which today is one of the main architectural landmarks of St. Petersburg, took approximately seven years. In the middle of the 18th century, the palace was the tallest building in the city (here we are talking about residential buildings). It had almost fifteen hundred rooms.
The customer of the building (Elizaveta Petrovna) did not live to see the end of construction work. They ended already during the reign Catherine II … In the mid-1860s, several hundred paintings were transferred to her from abroad, most of the authors of which belonged to the Dutch-Flemish school. It was these canvases that laid the foundation for the exposition that can be seen today in the palace. Less than a hundred of these paintings have survived to this day. By the way, the name of the famous museum is hermitage Museum - comes from the name of those palace chambers in which the paintings were originally placed.
In the 30s of the XIX century, the building happened big firethat destroyed almost all of its interiors. The flame raged for almost three days, it was not possible to extinguish it. The fire killed thirteen people (firefighters and soldiers). There is a version that in fact there were more victims, but official sources concealed this fact. After the fire in the palace, serious restoration work was carried out. They lasted for about two years and demanded tremendous efforts from architects and builders.
In the 80s of the XIX century in the palace thundered explosion - it was an attempt to assassinate the emperor, carried out by a terrorist organization. Many soldiers on guard were wounded, several people were killed. The emperor was not hurt.
The first years of the XX century were marked by two significant events in the history of the palace - this is a grandiose costume ball and, two years later, shooting a peaceful demonstration (unarmed workers walked across the square to the palace to convey a petition to the emperor).
In the post-revolutionary period, the palace was declared state museum … Soon the first exhibition was opened there. Until the beginning of the 40s of the XX century, two state museums, the Hermitage and the Museum of the Revolution, coexisted in the building.
During the war years, the palace cellars were converted into bomb shelters, but in the end they were used as living quarters: about two thousand people permanently lived in them. The halls of the palace housed the collections of several museums: the exposition of the Hermitage itself was hidden there (more precisely, part of it, since the rest was evacuated), as well as the values of a number of other city museums. Works of art from other palaces (located in the suburbs) were also hidden in the building.
During wartime, the building was badly damaged by bombs and artillery shelling. After the war, its restoration continued for many years.
Architectural features and color
The palace is built in the shape of a square. It is formed by wings, facades and a courtyard. All rooms and facades are luxuriously decorated. Main facade facing the square, it is decorated arch … The rhythm of the palace columns is characterized by variability, the risalits protrude strongly forward - these and other features of the building create the impression of dynamics, and also give the palace even more solemnity and majesty.
As mentioned above, in the middle of the 18th century, the palace was the tallest building in the city (among residential buildings). In the 40s of the XIX century, an imperial decree was issued prohibiting the construction of houses that would exceed the imperial residence in height. More precisely, the decree established a “height limit” for buildings - about twenty-three and a half meters (eleven fathoms). This is the height of the palace. One of the consequences of this decree turned out to be the following: from any of the roofs of the old (central) part of the city, almost the entire northern capital of Russia is visible today.
Separately, a few words must be said about the color scheme of the palace. During its long history, it has changed several times. The current appearance of the building, although it has already become familiar to the townspeople, does not correspond to the original plan of the architect. Some contemporary art historians and architects are in favor of returning the building to its original coloristic appearance.
Palace halls
Each palace hall is actually an independent masterpiece (although the original interiors have hardly survived), it is worthy of attention in itself and at the same time enhances the overall impression of splendor. Let's talk about some of these halls:
- The entrance hall was created at the end of the 18th century. During the balls it was used as a ceremonial pantry: here gentlemen and ladies drank champagne. Pay attention to the plafond: this is a work of an Italian master; it refers to the small number of decorative elements that miraculously survived during a three-day fire.
- Nikolaevsky hall (also called the Bolshoi) was also created at the end of the 18th century. In the old days, it was illuminated by lanterns made of blue glass. Blue rays fell on the colored marble that adorns the columns and walls, creating an amazing, unforgettable effect. The hall area is over a thousand square meters. In terms of size, this is the most impressive hall in the palace. In pre-revolutionary times, banquets and balls were held here (except for the time when the hospital was opened in the building). Temporary exhibitions are currently held in the hall.
- Concert hall decorated with sculptures of ancient Greek goddesses and muses. Here you can also see a magnificent collection of antique Russian silver.
- Another pearl of the palace - Malachite living room … More than one hundred and twenty poods of malachite were used to decorate it. The room was finished with green stone after the fire; before that it was called Yashmova, and its finish corresponded to the name.
- Another interesting hall - White dining room (also called Minor). Members of the Provisional Government were arrested here. This happened at three o'clock in the morning - at which time the clock on the fireplace was stopped. Recently - on the centenary of the revolution - this watch was restarted.
Cats of the Winter Palace
In the 18th century, from Kazan to St. Petersburg was brought thirty cats … They were entrusted with an important mission - to rid the winter imperial residence of mice (the building was literally swarming with them). The descendants of these animals are engaged in the same noble cause at the present time: their task is to destroy mice in the basements and halls of the palace, thereby protecting the interiors and the museum exposition. About fifty cats carry out such a service today in the palace. Once a year (on the first day of April), a big holiday is usually arranged for them, where they can treat themselves to all kinds of delicacies as much as they want.
On a note
- Location: St. Petersburg, Palace Square, 2 / Palace Embankment, 38. Phones: (812) 710-90-79; (812) 710-96-25; (812) 571-84-46.
- The nearest metro station is Admiralteyskaya.
- Official website:
- Opening hours: from 10:30 to 18:00. Wednesdays and Fridays - until 21:00. Ticket offices close one hour before the museum closes. The day off is Monday. Also, the museum is closed on the first day of the year and on May 9.
- Tickets: from 250 to 700 rubles (the price depends on whether you plan to inspect isolated objects or only the main exhibition). Children, pensioners, disabled people, students can visit the museum for free. On the third Thursday of any month, admission to the museum is free for everyone. Those who want to visit the museum without paying should also remember the following numbers: March 8, May 18 and December 7. On these days, all visitors can view the exposition free of charge.
