Description of the attraction
At the beginning of the nineteenth century, new buildings of the Horse Guards Regiment were built on the banks of the canal separating the Admiralty from the "New Holland". This complex also includes an arena, one of the last creations of the great Giacomo Quarenghi. In terms of the arena, it is an elongated rectangle. In the past, almost all of its volume was one large hall, in which the soldiers of the Life Guards Cavalry Regiment, considered privileged and enjoying the exclusive attention of members of the imperial family, practiced horseback riding in the autumn and winter seasons. Parades and other festive events were also held here. There were also rumors that the Manezh was connected by an underground passage to the Winter Palace, and this passage was so high that it was possible to ride a horse along it.
The interior decoration of the arena hall was military-style simple and laconic. The side facades are also modestly designed by the architect. But the main facade, overlooking the square, is decorated in a complex and rich manner: a majestic and austere portico, crowned with a pediment. In its central part, the double colonnade forms a strong play of chiaroscuro, which complements the monumentality of the short front facade of the building.
There are also bas-reliefs, made with great skill by an unknown author, depicting dynamic and intense scenes of equestrian competitions taking place at the Roman hippodrome. In front of the portico there are small copies of antique marble sculptures by the Dioscuri brothers, commissioned by Giacomo Quarenghi in Italy, whose originals can be seen in Rome in front of the Quirinal Palace. The Carrara marble sculptures depicting a scene of the taming of a horse by a man, sculpted by Paolo Triscorni in 1810, are among the most striking in the collection of masterpieces of the city's monumental plastics.
After the revolution, the building was converted into an NKVD garage. A second floor and ramps leading to it were added to it. During the Great Patriotic War, the building was badly damaged. Since November 1977, the Manezh Central Exhibition Hall has been located here. The total exhibition area of the hall is 4.5 thousand square meters, which makes it the largest exhibition hall in St. Petersburg.
The main types of work of the Central Exhibition Hall "Manezh" have become the holding of various exhibitions, where you can get acquainted with the richest artistic life not only in St. Petersburg, but also in Russia and abroad. Exhibition projects are often combined with meetings with outstanding artists, seminars on culture and art, performances, concerts of classical and contemporary music, master classes.
Today, the collection of contemporary art in St. Petersburg, which collects the Central Exhibition Hall "Manezh", has about 3,000 exhibits.
