The Vorontsov Palace in Alupka is a magnificent creation of 19th-century architecture that has survived to this day. The architectural complex of this palace includes a Catholic chapel Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist

The Vorontsov Palace is a palace in the central part of St. Petersburg, located on Sadovaya Street opposite Gostiny Dvor. It was built by the architect Count Bartolomeo Francesco Rastrelli in 1749-1757 for Chancellor Mikhail Illarionovich Vorontsov. The palace is distinguished by rich, elegant decoration of facades and lavish interior decoration. There are more than 50 ceremonial halls and rooms in the palace. The palace is decorated with stucco, gilded carvings and other elements typical of the Baroque style.

The Vorontsov Palace is the main building on the estate of Count Mikhail Illarionovich Vorontsov, a nobleman, state chancellor, participant in the palace coup of 1741, which brought Empress Elizaveta Petrovna to power.

The construction of the palace was carried out according to the project of the court architect Elizabeth Petrovna - Federico Bartolomeo Rastrelli in the period from 1749 to 1757.

The estate occupied a vast territory between Sadovaya Street and the Fontanka River. Violating the traditions of urban estate building, Rastrelli placed the palace not by the river, but closer to Sadovaya, separating the building from it with a fence of artistic work.

The border of the vast courtyard-garden, spread out behind the fence, is formed by the main building of the palace and its side wings. Such a layout with the letter "P" has long been called "peace" in Russia.

The main three-story building with a quadrangular courtyard is located in the depths of the estate. Two symmetrical two-story outbuildings are brought forward and placed along the red line of the street. The central part of the main facade is decorated with double columns and pilasters, the windows are decorated with decorative architraves.

The palace was built in the opulent and ornate Baroque style. As you know, Rastrelli was a master of this style, which reached its peak in Russian architecture during the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna. This is evidenced by such names of this style of the middle of the 18th century as "Rastrelli baroque" and "Elizabeth baroque".

Behind the main building, a regular garden was laid out, stretching to the Fontanka, with numerous pools, fountains, alleys of trimmed trees, and other "futures".

Above the one-story building overlooking the park, an open terrace overlooking the river was arranged. From here there was a beautiful view of the fireworks set in the Anichkov Garden. The interiors, decorated in the same way in the traditions of the Baroque, were also distinguished by luxury. Fifty ceremonial halls were located on the enfilade principle along the main facade and in the side buildings. In the central part of the Vorontsov Palace there was a large double-height hall, in another spacious hall there was the Vorontsov library, then one of the best in St. Petersburg.

In 1763, M. I. Vorontsov was forced to cede the palace to the treasury on account of debts for 217,600 rubles, since the construction required huge investments.

After the accession to the throne of Emperor Paul I in the late 1790s, the palace was transferred to the Order of Malta, and the chapter of Russian orders was also located here. The former Vorontsov Palace was ordered to be called the "Castle of the Knights of Malta". Above the lattice gates of the palace, the order coat of arms was strengthened: on a red background, a white Maltese cross with four bifurcated rays.

Two churches were built on the estate - an Orthodox church and a Catholic chapel of the Order of the Knights of Malta (architect Giacomo Quarenghi).

Later, the Corps of Pages was located in the palace. For the needs of this educational institution, which was located in the palace from 1810 to 1918, in 1827 the premises were rebuilt according to the project of the architect Alexander Yegorovich Shtaubert; at the same time, the former baroque interior decoration was lost.

Today, organ music concerts are held in the Maltese Chapel. The decoration of the interiors of the chapel is well preserved - the colonnade of the Corinthian order, painting, stucco decoration of the walls, lined with artificial marble. The restoration of the chapel was carried out in 1927 by the architect N. P. Nikitin.

After the revolution, the First Petrograd Infantry School of the Red Army Command Staff was located here, on the basis of which in 1937 the Leningrad Infantry School named after. S. M. Kirov. In 1958, the building was completely given to the Suvorov Military School.

Under Paul I, the Order of Malta was granted a palace, after which the Russian Emperor naturally became Grand Master of the Order of Malta. Chapel of Malta - the Catholic Church of the Order of the Knights of Malta, built by order of Emperor Paul I in 1800 by the architect Giacomo Quarenghi. The chapel is part of the Vorontsov Palace. The extension on the eastern side of the building of the palace of the Catholic chapel for the Chapter of the Order of Malta dates back to 1798-1800.
The chapel was built by a worthy colleague and unwitting rival Francesco Rastrelli, one of the exponents of new architectural ideas - Giacomo Quarenghi.
The interior decoration of the chapel is a colonnade of the Corinthian order, the walls are lined with artificial marble.
The interior of the Maltese Chapel was restored for the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg.

By creating this small building next to the Rastrelli Palace, Quarenghi slightly violated his usual classical austerity. He made an attempt to soften the line of the facade by introducing rounded profiles at the junction of the new building with the old building. Without deliberate emphasis, only with these seemingly insignificant details, he sought to connect the artistic appearance of the chapel with the architecture of the Rastrelli building.
Until now, the interior decoration of the chapel has been well preserved - a colonnade of the Corinthian order, paintings, stucco decoration of walls lined with artificial marble. A thorough restoration of the chapel was carried out in 1927 by the architect N. P. Nikitin.

The hall of the Maltese chapel, as well as the church hall in the palace, acquired special value as the interiors of Quarenghi, because almost all the others of this palace complex on Sadovaya subsequently underwent significant alterations or even died.
The organ "Walker" was restored in the Chapel for the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg. Unfortunately, it was not possible to get to it - the organist had the key to the door, which was naturally absent, since the chapel no longer accepts people since 2012 - that is, it is completely closed.

Speaking about the architectural monuments of Crimea, the first thing that comes to mind is the Vorontsov Palace. It is located in the city, in a picturesque place between the rocks and the sea. Address of the Vorontsov Palace, Alupka, st. Palace Highway 18, phone for information +7 3654 722 281.

The geographical coordinates of the Vorontsov Palace on the map of Crimea are N 44.419861, E 34.055972.

Vorontsov Palace is one of the most luxurious buildings on the peninsula, its grandeur and magnificence are simply breathtaking. And the English architect Edward Blore worked on this grandiose project. It took him about a year to introduce him to Count Vorontsov, the owner of these lands. In 1828, the construction of the Vorontsov Palace began, and it acquired its final form only after two decades. For a long time this estate belonged to Count Vorontsov, later it had other owners, and in 1921 it became state property and a museum was created within the walls of the palace.

The material for the construction of the Vorontsov Palace was diabase, which was mined here in. The palace is unusual in that its facades are made in different architectural styles. For example, the northern façade is in keeping with Tudor architecture. The facade facing the sea is made in the Moorish style. In general, the whole building can be called neo-Gothic. By the way, many films were shot on the territory of the Vorontsov Palace, including those based on Shakespeare's books. This was due to the similarity of the architectural compositions of the palace with the English style of that time.

Whole Vorontsov Palace consists of five buildings, inside which there is a chapel, a library, a billiard room, a dining room, as well as a winter garden. In general, the palace has 150 rooms. Probably, every visitor to the Vorontsov Palace has a photograph with one of the white marble lions that “guard” the estate from the south side. Together they form the "Lion's Terrace". In the halls of the modern museum there are collections of paintings, furniture, porcelain. All of them have considerable historical value.

The Vorontsov Palace is certainly beautiful, but its splendor is complemented by the park, spread over 40 hectares around it. This park deserves special attention. Initially, the German gardener Karl Kebach worked on the creation of the park. He designed the park in the form of an amphitheater, and very logically placed all its attributes. More than 200 species of flora from different parts of the globe grow here.

Walking along you can see a very unusual structure called "Chaos". This name is quite justified, since the structure consists of huge pieces of diabase, and its height is more than 10 meters. "Chaos" is located within the so-called Upper Park, which is characterized by severity and rockiness. And the Lower Park includes delicate magnolias, slender cypresses, fountains, pavilions and lakes. The combination of the incongruous makes Vorontsov Park amazing and unforgettable, so visiting it and the Vorontsov Palace will be interesting for everyone.

And we continue the Golden Fleece 2017 quiz, and now we have a question - The architectural complex of this palace includes a Catholic chapel.

Answer options:

A) Stroganov
B) Tauride
C) Vorontsovsky
D) Anichkov

The correct answer to the question is C) Vorontsovsky

The Catholic chapel is part of the complex of the Vorontsov Palace in St. Petersburg. Built according to the project of the famous Rastrelli, it is distinguished by its exquisite architecture.

The Vorontsov Palace went to the treasury for debts in the second half of the 18th century. Paul, having taken patronage over the Order of Malta, handed it over to the knights. The Order included both Catholics and Orthodox. A separate Catholic Chapel was built for Catholics. For the Orthodox knights, the house church served as a Temple. And the Maltese Cross as a symbol of the Order.
Although in fact, the types of the cross is already a human fantasy. Orthodox, Catholic, Maltese - not the point. Christians worship not the form of the Cross, and not even the Cross itself, but the power of Christ crucified on the cross.

maltese chapel- Catholic Church of the Order of the Knights of Malta, built by Giacomo Quarenghi at the end of the 18th century. The chapel is part of the architectural complex of the Vorontsov Palace in St. Petersburg (attached to the main building of the palace from the side of the garden).

Story

The Vorontsov Palace was built by the architect B.F. Rastrelli in -1757 for the Chancellor Count M.I. Vorontsov. The construction and decoration of the palace required such large investments that in 1763 Count Vorontsov was forced to give it to the Russian treasury for debts. Until 1770, the building was empty, and later began to be used as a guest house. At various times the palace was occupied by Prince Heinrich of Prussia, Prince of Nassau-Siegen and Count J. A. Osterman. After the accession to the throne of Paul I and his adoption of the title of protector, and then the Grand Master of the Order of Malta, the Vorontsov Palace was granted to the Knights of Malta, who were forced to seek refuge after the capture of the island of Malta by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1798.

Chapel in the 20th and 21st century

Architecture and decoration

The temple has the shape of a rectangle with a barrel vault. Two rows of artificial marble columns divide the interior of the chapel into three naves. There are choir stalls above the side aisles. The planes of the walls are enriched with decorative arches, angel sculptures, Maltese crosses and plaster garlands. The plafond of the church consists of semicircular box vaults, covered with paintings, consisting of floral ornaments and rosettes, and plaster garlands.

The altar part is an apse with columns located close to the walls. In the center is a marble altar, behind which was the altarpiece of John the Baptist (patron saint of the Order of Malta) by A. I. Charlemagne, created by the artist in 1861. To the right of the altar, under a canopy, stood the crimson velvet chair of the Grand Master of the Order. On the left, under a marble plaque with an inscription about the founding and solemn consecration of the church, there is a bishop's chair and several stools. Here, in front of the altar barrier, there were benches for the embassy with velvet cushions. In the middle part of the hall there were 14 wooden benches with cushions covered with red cloth.

The altarpiece was in the Maltese Chapel until 1928, then it was transferred to the Museum of Religion and Atheism, and from there in 1932 it ended up in the State Russian Museum. The canvas was kept in the funds of the Russian Museum without a stretcher and a frame, wound on a drum, as a result of which it received numerous damages. In February 2006, the leadership of the Russian Museum decided to transfer the altarpiece to the Maltese Chapel for temporary storage. The restoration of the canvas was carried out in the workshops of the Military Historical Museum of Artillery, Engineer and Signal Corps. In September 2007, the image was returned to its historical place.

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An excerpt characterizing the Maltese Chapel

The conversation continued in the living room.
- Ah! chere, - said the countess, - and in my life tout n "est pas rose. Can't I see that du train, que nous allons, [not all roses. - with our way of life,] our state will not last long! And it's all a club, and its kindness. We live in the country, do we rest? Theatres, hunts, and God knows what. But what can I say about me! Well, how did you arrange all this? I often wonder at you, Annette, how it is you, at your age, ride alone in a wagon, to Moscow, to Petersburg, to all the ministers, to all the nobility, you know how to get along with everyone, I'm surprised!
- Ah, my soul! - answered Princess Anna Mikhailovna. “God forbid you find out how hard it is to be a widow without support and with a son whom you love to adoration. You will learn everything,” she continued with a certain pride. “My process taught me. If I need to see one of these aces, I write a note: “princesse une telle [princess such and such] wants to see such and such” and I myself go in a cab at least two, at least three times, at least four, until I achieve what I need. I don't care what they think of me.
- Well, what about, whom did you ask about Borenka? the countess asked. - After all, here is your officer of the guard, and Nikolushka is a cadet. Someone to bother. Whom did you ask?
- Prince Vasily. He was very nice. Now I have agreed to everything, I have reported to the sovereign,” Princess Anna Mikhailovna said with delight, completely forgetting all the humiliation through which she went through to achieve her goal.
- Why is he getting old, Prince Vasily? the countess asked. - I didn’t see him from our theaters at the Rumyantsevs. And I think he forgot about me. Il me faisait la cour, [He dragged after me,] - the countess remembered with a smile.
- Still the same, - answered Anna Mikhailovna, - amiable, crumbling. Les grandeurs ne lui ont pas touriene la tete du tout. [The high position did not turn his head at all.] “I regret that I can do too little for you, dear princess,” he tells me, “order.” No, he is a nice person and a wonderful native. But you know, Nathalieie, my love for my son. I don't know what I wouldn't do to make him happy. And my circumstances are so bad,” Anna Mikhaylovna continued sadly and lowering her voice, “so bad that I am now in the most terrible position. My unfortunate process eats up everything I have and does not move. I don't have, you can imagine, a la lettre [literally] no dime of money, and I don't know what to equip Boris with. She took out her handkerchief and wept. - I need five hundred rubles, and I have one twenty-five-ruble note. I am in such a position ... One of my hopes is now on Count Kirill Vladimirovich Bezukhov. If he does not want to support his godson - after all, he baptized Borya - and assign him something to support, then all my troubles will be lost: I will have nothing to equip him with.
The Countess shed a tear and silently pondered something.
“I often think, maybe it’s a sin,” said the princess, “but I often think: Count Kirill Vladimirovich Bezukhoy lives alone ... this is a huge fortune ... and what does he live for? Life is a burden for him, and Borya is just starting to live.
“He will probably leave something for Boris,” said the countess.
“God knows, chere amie!” [dear friend!] These rich people and nobles are so selfish. But all the same, I’ll go to him now with Boris and tell him straight out what’s the matter. Let them think what they want about me, it really doesn't matter to me when the fate of my son depends on it. The princess got up. “Now it’s two o’clock, and at four o’clock you have dinner.” I can go.
And with the manners of a Petersburg business lady who knows how to use time, Anna Mikhailovna sent for her son and went out with him into the hall.
“Farewell, my soul,” she said to the countess, who accompanied her to the door, “wish me success,” she added in a whisper from her son.
- Are you visiting Count Kirill Vladimirovich, ma chere? said the count from the dining-room, also going out into the hall. - If he is better, call Pierre to dine with me. After all, he visited me, danced with the children. Call by all means, ma chere. Well, let's see how Taras excels today. He says that Count Orlov never had such a dinner as we will have.

- Mon cher Boris, [Dear Boris,] - said Princess Anna Mikhailovna to her son, when the carriage of Countess Rostova, in which they were sitting, drove along a straw-covered street and drove into the wide courtyard of Count Kirill Vladimirovich Bezukhoy. “Mon cher Boris,” said the mother, pulling her hand out from under the old coat and placing it on her son’s hand with a timid and gentle movement, “be kind, be attentive. Count Kirill Vladimirovich is still your godfather, and your future fate depends on him. Remember this, mon cher, be nice, as you know how to be ...
“If only I knew that anything other than humiliation would come of this,” the son replied coldly. “But I promised you and I do it for you.
Despite the fact that someone's carriage was standing at the entrance, the porter, looking at the mother and son (who, without ordering to report about themselves, went straight into the glass passage between two rows of statues in niches), glancing significantly at the old coat, asked whom they whatever, princes or count, and, having learned that it was a count, he said that their excellency is now worse and their excellency does not receive anyone.
“We can leave,” the son said in French.
– Mon ami! [My friend!] - said the mother in an imploring voice, again touching her son's hand, as if this touch could calm or excite him.
Boris fell silent and, without taking off his overcoat, looked inquiringly at his mother.
“My dear,” Anna Mikhailovna said in a gentle voice, turning to the porter, “I know that Count Kirill Vladimirovich is very ill ... that’s why I came ... I’m a relative ... I won’t bother, my dear ... But I just need to see Prince Vasily Sergeyevich: because he is standing here. Report it, please.
The porter sullenly pulled the string up and turned away.
“Princess Drubetskaya to Prince Vasily Sergeevich,” he shouted to a waiter in stockings, shoes and a tailcoat who had run down and peered out from under the ledge of the stairs.
Mother smoothed out the folds of her dyed silk dress, looked into the one-piece Venetian mirror in the wall, and cheerfully in her worn-out shoes went up the carpet of the stairs.
- Mon cher, voue m "avez promis, [My friend, you promised me] - she turned again to the Son, arousing him with the touch of her hand.
The son, lowering his eyes, calmly followed her.
They entered the hall, from which one door led to the chambers allotted to Prince Vasily.
While the mother and son, going out into the middle of the room, intended to ask for directions from the old waiter who jumped up at their entrance, a bronze handle turned at one of the doors and Prince Vasily in a velvet coat, with one star, at home, went out, seeing off the handsome black-haired man. This man was the famous St. Petersburg doctor Lorrain.