Description of the attraction
One of the decorations of the northern Russian capital is the Mikhailovsky Castle. Another name for this castle is Engineering. It was erected at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, completing a whole period in St. Petersburg architecture. The building was ordered by Pavel I. Later he was killed by conspirators in this castle.
The building was built in accordance with the canons of classicism. The project was developed by Vasily Bazhenov and Vincenzo Brenna.
Castle history
Before talking about the construction of the castle, I need to say a few words about its name. The castle was chapel consecrated in honor of the Archangel Michael, the building owes its name to it. Some memoirists of the emperor claim that on the place where the castle was later built, the Archangel himself appeared to one of the soldiers. It should be noted that the name of a secular structure in honor of the saint is an unprecedented case in the entire history of Russian architecture.
But why exactly the "castle"? Why not a "palace" (as similar buildings of that time were usually called)? The reason is simple: it was a whim of the emperor, who was a member of one of the ancient orders of knighthood.
As mentioned above, the castle has another name - Engineering … It appeared later, when the building housed a school that trains engineering personnel.
The history of the castle began in mid 80s of the 18th century … It was then that work began on the building project. The design took about twelve years. The future emperor himself acted as an architect Pavel Petrovich (at that time still the Grand Duke). He prepared thirteen versions of the project.
Ascending the throne Paul I gave the order to start construction work. He commissioned professional architects to develop the final version of the project and manage the construction work. In order for the construction to progress faster, used building materials transferred from other construction sites … Several Tsarskoye Selo pavilions and one palace near the northern capital were dismantled, all the building materials received were used for the construction of the castle. The work was carried out around the clock. In the dark the construction site was illuminated by numerous lanterns and torches … Six thousand workers worked on the construction of the building.
At the beginning of the 19th century, the castle was completed. The emperor lived in it for only forty days … In this castle, he was killed. Soon after, the building fell into disrepair. Later, his marble was used in the construction of the New Hermitage.
Eighteen years after the murder of the owner of the castle, a new stage began in the history of the building: it was turned into engineering school … The room where the emperor was killed was turned into a church.
It should be noted that the building was originally surrounded by a water barrier (canals). In the 20s of the XIX century, the canals disappeared: they were filled up. The area around the castle was also deprived of its drawbridges. The building itself was also rebuilt. Its original appearance has been lost.
At different times, the castle housed various scientific and educational institutions … Only in the 90s of the XX century the restoration of the building began. At the beginning of the XXI century, restoration work was completed. Some of the original interiors have been restored. Also, now in the territory surrounding the castle, you can see fragments of one of the canals and the drawbridge.
The castle is currently branch of the Russian Museum … There you can see several interesting exhibitions, one of which is dedicated to the history of the building.
Emperor's residence
Let us dwell in more detail on those forty days when its first owner, Paul I, lived in the castle. planned to hold here ceremonies and meetings of the knightly order to which he belonged, this is reflected in the design of some rooms. In fact, in one of these halls, an audience was given to a foreign ambassador, after which no events of this magnitude under the emperor took place here.
The ceremonial move of the emperor and his family to the castle took place in winter. The walls of the building were not yet dry, the rooms were full of fog, which could not be dispelled even by the fire of numerous candles. In places the walls of the rooms were covered with ice, although bright flames blazed in the fireplaces. But, despite this, the very next day after the move, the damp and cold walls of the building received many guests - participants of the colorful and bright masquerade.
In the castle passed concerts … The last of them took place about a day before the assassination of the emperor. At this concert, the famous French singer at that time sang, about whom there were rumors that she was one of the favorites of the monarch. Having lived in the castle for a little over a month, the emperor was killed by conspirators: he was strangled with a scarf in his bedroom.
There is ample evidence that the monarch had a premonition of his death. There were various omens … In particular, they say that a certain holy fool appeared in the city, predicting the imminent death of the monarch. At that time, the castle was decorated with an inscription, which is a modified quote from the Bible; this inscription had forty-seven letters. The holy fool claimed that the emperor would live exactly as many years as there were letters in this inscription. The monarch was killed in the forty-seventh year of his life. The inscription adorned one of the castle gates for a long time, but at the beginning of the 20th century it disappeared. Only dark dots remained in the places where the letters were attached. Nowadays, the inscription can be seen again: relatively recently it was restored.
Another omen of tragic events in the life of the monarch is directly related to the interiors of the castle: in the evening, shortly before his death, in one of the mirrors the emperor saw himself “with his neck to the side”. This mirror had a defect, so that everything in it was reflected somewhat distorted. About an hour and a half after the episode involving the distorting glass, the emperor was strangled by the conspiracy. His son ascended the throne.
There are several stories that in the middle of the 19th century and later, the building was seen ghost the slain emperor - for example, in the form of a luminous silhouette in a window opening.
The legend of the glove
There is a legend that the walls of the castle were painted in the color of the gloves of the emperor's favorite … These gloves were of an unusual shade - either yellow or orange. According to legend, at one of the balls during a dance, the emperor's favorite dropped one of the gloves. The monarch picked it up, handed it to the lady and suddenly thought, and then ordered to send the glove to the man who supervised the construction of the castle.
After the walls of the building were painted in this unusual color, it became fashionable for a while. Some of the city's palaces were repainted orange-yellow. Women of fashion sometimes chose it as the color of their clothes. It is known that one of the supposed favorites of the emperor once appeared in front of him in an orange and yellow dress - which, probably, captivated his heart.
In the 20th century, before the restoration of the building began, its walls were red. The townspeople have long been accustomed to it and considered it the original. But under the layer of this paint, a completely different color was revealed: it was exactly the same as the legend tells.
Premises and interiors
Let's talk in more detail about some of the rooms of the castle and about the interiors that were here at the beginning of the 19th century.
One of the most striking interior details Common dining room there were two huge chandeliers, on each of them there were fifty candles. The hall was one of the state rooms of the Empress. During the period when the school was located in the building, the hall was divided into several relatively small rooms. During the restoration, the hall was returned to its original volume. Today, two huge, brightly colored chandeliers are re-illuminating its luxurious interiors.
Walls Throne room, which belonged to the wife of the emperor, was decorated with crimson velvet. In this room, as its name implies, a throne was established; the empress sat on it. One of the main decorations of the room was a plafond painted by a famous German painter at that time. The images on this plafond were an allegorical glorification of the empress's beauty. The plafond was surrounded by painted moldings, part of which was covered with gold. In the middle of the 19th century, one of the walls of the room was greatly changed - an arch appeared in it. This was exactly the wall opposite which the throne used to be. At the beginning of the 21st century, the room was restored. It should be noted that the castle had five throne rooms. Two of them belonged to the emperor, one to the empress, and two more to the heir to the throne and his brother.
The interior was heavily changed in the middle of the 19th century St. George Hall … The premises itself was rebuilt. It should be noted that originally the hall was intended for the knights of the order. In the middle of the 20th century, during the restoration work, its original appearance was partially restored.
Speaking about the premises of the castle, it is necessary to mention about Marble gallery … It was built specifically for holding meetings of the knights of the order of knights, to which the emperor belonged.
On a note
- Location: Sadovaya street, building 2.
- The nearest metro stations are Nevsky Prospekt, Gostiny Dvor.
- Official website:
- Opening hours: from 10:00 to 18:00; the exception is Thursday, when the museum is open until 21:00. Ticket sales stop half an hour before the end of the museum's working day. The day off is Tuesday.
- Tickets: 300 rubles. For pensioners, schoolchildren, veterans, war invalids and representatives of the student body, the ticket price is half as much. Some categories of visitors are entitled to a free inspection of the exposition (these are, for example, large families and people under the age of sixteen).
