Description of the attraction
In St. Petersburg, many buildings are associated with famous people of the Russian Empire. One of these houses is located at 43 Bolshaya Morskaya Street. The first building here dates back to the 1830s. A two-story house was built here, and then another floor was added. Initially, the house was owned by the Essen family (a dynasty of naval commanders), in February 1836 the house was sold for almost a quarter of a million rubles. The new owner was the owner of the factories, state councilor - Pavel Nikolaevich Demidov. The former owners began to live in house # 38, and at the end of February P. N. Demidov, in order to expand his site, also acquired a house at number 45. After that, a grandiose reconstruction of the house began, under the leadership of the famous architect O. Montferrand, who built the St. Isaac's Cathedral.
Pavel Nikolaevich was going to ask the hand of the most beautiful woman in Petersburg, Aurora Shernaval (maid of honor of the imperial court). He wanted to impress this woman and therefore pinned special hopes on rebuilding the house. The upper part of the facade was decorated with a sculptural group in the form of winged figures holding a heraldic shield depicting the coat of arms of the Demidov family. The author of this sculptural group called "Glory" is T. Jacques, a famous sculptor in his time (1840-1850). The courtyard could be accessed by passing the gates, balcony, fountains and niches grouped together. Contemporaries were amazed at the luxury with which the premises of the house and the facade were decorated. Montferrand used gilded bronze and various types of marble for his work.
The hall decorated with malachite, which was called the Malachite Hall, gave a special flavor to the mansion. The use of malachite was a revolutionary step in interior decoration, until that moment it was not used as such. The fireplace and columns were faced with malachite. The use of a large amount of decorative stone gives the interior a bit of weight, which has been repeatedly noted by critics.
Subsequently, interior decoration with malachite began to be widely used. After the house of the Demidovs, the malachite hall was also equipped in the residence of the royal family - the Winter Palace, and malachite was also used to decorate the iconostasis in St. Isaac's Cathedral.
After the death of Pavel Nikolaevich in 1840, his wife became the mistress of the house. A few years later, she got married a second time. Her husband was Andrei Nikolaevich Karamzin, the son of a famous writer and historian. For two years, in the period from 1848 to 1850, the architect G. A. Bosse performed minor redevelopment and cosmetic work on the decoration of the premises.
Then the house passed into the possession of Pavel Pavlovich Demidov, the son of PN Demidov and Aurora Shernaval, who rented the house for the needs of the Italian embassy in 1864 for a period of nine years. The annual rent was ten thousand rubles (a large sum for that time). At the end of the lease term, in 1874, the Most Serene Princess Natalya Fedorovna Lieven became the owner of the mansion. She was the granddaughter of the military governor of St. Petersburg - P. A. von der Palenu, who went down in history because of his participation in the assassination of Paul I. After buying the house, NF Lieven decided to rebuild it in accordance with the spirit of the times. The stoves were dismantled, heaters were installed in the basement, water heating was installed, water supply and gas supply were installed.
After the renovation, a Protestant Baptist prayer house was set up in the house. There were no more receptions and balls in the house. The Malachite Hall became a place for spiritual meetings and conversations about being and God, the entrance to these meetings was free and open to all citizens.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, the house changed hands again. It was bought by the Italian ambassador, and the Italian embassy was reopened in it. The Italian coat of arms replaced the Demidovs coat of arms. And this is not the only loss, 15 years later, in 1925, the unique malachite finish was removed and taken to Italy.
Now the former house of the Demidovs houses the Baltic Bank.
Description added:
Anton 2017-26-08
At the moment, Baltiyskiy Bank is no longer a lessee. The mansion hosts guided tours, exhibitions and other events.
