Winter Palace Rastrelli year. Winter Palace. Exterior view of the Winter Palace

At the same time, this is already the sixth residence of Russian emperors in the Northern capital, and the history of the Winter Palaces began under Peter the Great, 50 years before the appearance of a magnificent building on Palace Square.

In 1711, on the banks of the Neva, the architect Domenico Trezzini built a small house for Peter, consisting of a central portal and two side wings, it was a “little house of Dutch architecture” for the shipbuilder Peter Alekseev, as the tsar called himself.

The building was a two-story building with a high porch, a tiled roof, and the only thing that adorned it was pilasters (ledges) in the corners and architraves on the windows. This building was often called the Wedding Chambers, since the built house was a gift from the Governor of St. Petersburg Alexander Menshikov for the wedding of Peter and Catherine. It was here that the wedding feast took place, and the legend that has come down to us confirms this.

According to legend, 12 years after the wedding, when Peter found out about the betrayal of his wife, he led her to the mirror of the hall where the wedding was celebrated, and said: “This Venetian glass mirror is made of simple materials, but it can turn into its former insignificance.” Then he hit the mirror with his cane. The former servant and laundress Marta Skavronskaya understood the hint, but was not at a loss and asked: “Has your house become more beautiful now?”

Second Winter Palace for Peter

The first house of Peter, overlooking the canal, turned out to be cramped and in 1716 the architect Georg Mattarnovi created a project for a new home for the royal family. The emperor himself chose a place for it - closer to the Neva, from where a beautiful view of the Spit of Vasilyevsky Island and the expanses of the Neva opens. The house, built by the autumn of 1723, had a grand appearance, its facades and halls were magnificently decorated.

It should be noted that Peter was an advanced person and all the technical innovations that appeared in Europe were implemented in his house. The palace had central heating and flood sewage, hot and cold water was supplied through lead pipes. Only 12 batmen served the king, moreover, he chose them according to their intelligence and quickness, and if they deserved, he brought them out to the people.

The Winter Palace of Peter I, where the founder of St. Petersburg lived and died, is a unique monument of the early 18th century, which you can visit with a guided tour or on your own. The entrance to the museum is located at 32 Palace Embankment. Administratively it belongs to the Hermitage Museum. Among other things, there is a wax figure of Peter, made by Carlo Rastrelli, and dressed in an authentic costume and shoes, and on his head you can see the king's real hair.

During the Persian campaign in 1722, it was hot and Peter cut his hair, from which he made a wig. It was used by Rastrelli for the wax person of the king.

Third Winter Palace

After the death of Peter the Great, Catherine I ordered Trezzini to expand the palace along Millionnaya Street and thus the building took the form of a huge square.

Fourth Winter Palace for Anna Ioannovna

Anna Ioannovna, who ascended the throne, ordered Francesco Rastrelli to build a new palace for her. For the construction, a place was also chosen on the left side of the Neva, on the site of the Apraksin Admiralty House. The building, built in 1733 - 1735, was spacious, it had 70 rooms and a theater, but the layout of the premises was confusing and inconvenient.

Temporary Winter Palace for Elizabeth Petrovna

Having ascended the throne, Elizaveta Petrovna considered that the old building did not correspond to her status and ordered Rastrelli to prepare a project for a new palace. At the time of construction, a beautiful wooden building was erected, consisting of 100 rooms, on the corner of Nevsky Prospekt and the embankment of the Moika River. In this house, in 1761, Elizaveta Petrovna died, and the building, which had stood for 10 years, was dismantled after the death of the empress.

Sixth Winter Palace

The Winter Palace was under construction from 1754 to 1762, but Elizaveta Petrovna died without seeing it completed. The monumental building on the Neva embankment was erected in the Baroque style, with an abundance of columns and decorative stucco details. It was the last and most grandiose creation of Rastrelli.

Interior decoration was completed under Peter III, and when he was overthrown, Catherine II, who seized power, removed Rastrelli from work, giving him leave.

The architect left for a year in Italy, but the situation did not change upon his return. Rastrelli was the most prominent representative of the baroque style, which at that time had gone out of fashion. He was not given important tasks, he had no customers left, and soon he was dismissed "in the argument of old age and poor health" with the appointment of a pension of a thousand rubles a year.

Interestingly, the architect worked for 46 years under many emperors, but only PeterIIIfor his faithful service he was awarded the rank of Major General and the Order of St. Anne.

For more than 100 years in St. Petersburg it was forbidden to build houses higher than the Winter Palace. In order to increase the number of floors, but not to break the law, cunning builders found a way out - they made a visor and built on top of 1-2 floors of attics, the construction of which was not prohibited by law.

A fire that happened in 1837 damaged the interiors created by the great masters Rastrelli and Quarenghi, Rossi and Moferan. It took two years to restore the building.

We are accustomed to the light green tone of the facades of the building, but meanwhile, before the First World War, the building was painted in red-brick color.

One of the legends explains this curiosity by the fact that German Emperor Wilhelm sent a whole train of minium wagons to Russia to paint ships, but the officials rejected the paint and decided to paint the facades of the city with it, and the Winter Palace became the first victim of this idea.

The Winter Palace on Palace Square is the sixth and last residence of the representatives of the Romanov family. It was he who was taken by storm during the October Revolution in 1917, although, according to historians, this is a myth and there was no storm. After all, one can hardly call the Aurora blank shots by storm, after which the armed men broke into the palace without loss, and the main concern of the women's battalion and the cadets defending the building was to prevent the theft of valuables.

"Winter Palace? - Where is the Hermitage? - Are the Hermitage and the Winter Palace one and the same? Is the Hermitage the name of the museum located in the Winter Palace? - such questions can often be heard from both Russian and foreign tourists. To figure out what's what, let's start the story about the most famous building of St. Petersburg from afar, from the moment the city was founded on the Neva ...

First Winter Palaces

For those who know the history of St. Petersburg, it is not a secret that initially Peter I did not plan the construction of the city center on Admiralteysky Island. The first buildings of St. Petersburg were erected on Petersburg Island, around the current Trinity Square. Then, the tsar hatched plans to build a city center in Kronstadt, on Vasilyevsky Island, but not on the left bank of the Neva. The emergence of the current historical center was facilitated by chance, or rather royal passion. Peter I liked to work as a hatchet. And not only personally cut off the heads of the disgruntled, but also build ships.

After the founding of the Main Admiralty in 1705-1706, the sovereign builder of St. Petersburg faced a problem well known to many inhabitants of our sleeping areas. It was difficult and long to get from Petersburg Island to the Admiralty, even taking into account the absence of traffic jams at that time. So the sovereign wished to have housing near the place of work. In 1708, on the site between the Neva and the current Millionnaya Street, a wooden two-story "Winter House" was built for Peter. This building was located on the site of the current Hermitage Theater, and it is considered to be the first Winter Palace.

Now Peter has the opportunity to run to the shipyard every morning. Soon around the royal
chambers, houses of the sovereign's servants and hangers-on appeared, and the "industrial outskirts" suddenly became the political and aristocratic center of St. Petersburg.

In 1712, the "Winter House" was expanded by adding the so-called "Wedding Chambers" to it, but Peter Alekseevich, who settled down in a new place, began to think about a more representative residence. In 1716, according to the project of the architect Georg Mattarnovi, the construction of the new Winter Palace began, located on the site of the previous building. In the future, the researchers noted the successful choice of a place for the main royal residence: “... the palace is located so that most of the city, the fortress, the house of Prince Menshikov and, in particular, the open sea is visible from it”

The construction of Peter's Winter Palace was completed in 1723. This event was celebrated with a solemn feast, but Peter I did not live long in the new building. On January 28, 1725, the emperor died in the Great Hall of the Winter Palace from the effects of untreated gonorrhea.

Second Winter Palace of Peter I

After the death of Peter, his widow, Catherine I, lived in the Winter Palace for some time. Under Anna Ioannovna, the court settled in the neighboring mansion of Apraksin, located on the site of the current Winter Palace. Petrovsky "Winter House" was used by various palace services, and then was abandoned. Under Catherine II, the building of the Hermitage Theater was built in its place.

In the 1970s-1980s, Leningrad scientists discovered to their surprise that many elements of the Petrovsky Winter Palace have survived to this day. The architect Giacomo Quarneghi, who erected the theater building, used the walls and load-bearing structures of the old building, thanks to which today we can see the premises where Peter I spent the last two years of his life. Today they have been partially restored and tours are held in them.
Under Empress Anna Ioannovna, on the site of the houses of Apraksin, Chernyshev, Raguzinsky and the Naval Academy, the construction of a new Winter Palace, the third in a row, began. Work continued from 1732 to 1735. The new four-story building had about 70 ceremonial halls, more than 100 bedrooms, a theater, a chapel, an office, service and guard rooms.

Winter Palace of Anna Ioannovna

In the future, this Winter Palace was rebuilt and completed more than once, until Empress Elizaveta Petrovna discovered that the palace began to resemble not a front residence, designed to demonstrate the power of the Russian state, but a chicken coop. The appearance of the building was spoiled by countless stables, technical outbuildings and sheds, built mainly from the side of the Admiralteysky Meadow (the current Palace Square). The question arose again of rebuilding the palace, but then it turned out that it would be easier to demolish the old building and build a new palace in its place. The corresponding decree was signed by Elizaveta Petrovna on June 16, 1754:

“Because in St. Petersburg, our Winter Palace is not only for the reception of foreign ministers and the departure at the Court on the appointed days of festive rites, due to the greatness of our imperial dignity, but also to accommodate us with the necessary servants and things cannot be satisfied, for which we they set out to rebuild our Winter Palace with a large space in length, width and height, for which, according to the estimate, it is necessary to rebuild up to 900,000 rubles, which amount, spread over two years, it is impossible to take from our salt money. For this, we order our Senate to find and present to us from what income it is possible to take such an amount of 430 or 450 thousand rubles a year for that matter, counting from the beginning of this 1754 and the next 1755, and that this should be done immediately, so as not to miss the current winter way to prepare supplies for that building ... "

Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli, (1750-1760s)

Palace construction

The construction of the new Winter Palace was supervised by the court architect of Elizabeth Petrovna Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli. The architect understood that he was given a task of great political importance and began to zealously justify the high trust placed in him, because the palace was being built "for the united glory of all Russia."

According to the plan of the master, the Winter Palace was supposed to be a huge quadrangle with a courtyard. The facade and interiors were designed in the Baroque style, the unsurpassed master of which was Russterley. Each of the facades of the palace was individual. The main facade was considered to be the South, facing the Palace Square. He was the most magnificent. In its center were three arches leading to the front yard. The facade overlooking the Neva resembled an endless colonnade. The western facade also had a grand appearance, overlooking Razvodnaya Square, where Rasterly planned to erect a monument to Peter I, the work of his father, Carlo Bartolomeo.

Inside the Winter Palace, according to the Rasterly project, it was supposed to arrange 1050 front and living rooms with an area of ​​46 thousand square meters, 1945 windows, 1786 doors, 117 stairs, 329 chimneys.

The Winter Palace was conceived as the architectural dominant of the center of St. Petersburg and the tallest secular building in the city. Prior to the decree of Nicholas I, the construction of buildings higher than the Winter Palace in the center of the Northern capital was prohibited. The whole system of external decoration, columns installed in two rows, statues, was designed to emphasize the huge (four-story!) height of the building.
About four thousand people worked on the construction of the Winter Palace, including the best craftsmen from all over Russia. The territory of the current Palace Square and the Alexander Garden was covered with huts in which workers lived. The yard also had to change its place of residence. For him, Rastrelli built a temporary wooden Winter Palace, located on the site of the modern Chicherin house, at the corner of Nevsky Prospekt and the Moika River.

Elizaveta Petrovna really wanted to move to a new residence as soon as possible, but this did not happen. On January 25, 1761, the Empress died. And on April 6, 1762, the court moved to the Winter Palace built by Rasterli. The legend says that after the completion of the work, the Palace Square was a garbage dump. The cunning police general of St. Petersburg, Baron N.A. Korf proposed to announce through the heralds that every citizen is free to take everything he needs from the place of the former construction site. The next day, in front of the Winter Palace, it was possible to iron clothes ... Poor Petersburgers even stole heaps of lime.

The Winter Palace becomes the Winter Palace

Before the fresh lime that covered the walls of the Winter Palace had dried, they began to rebuild the building. The new Empress Catherine II, who ascended the throne after the short but memorable reign of Peter III, was not a fan of the Baroque. Rastrelli was forced to resign and leave St. Petersburg, and a new team of architects was invited to rebuild the Winter Palace: Yu.M. Felten, J.B. Vallin-Delamot and A. Rinaldi.

The interiors of the palace conceived by Rastrelli were almost completely destroyed. Today, only the magnificent Jordan Stairs have survived from them, along which thousands of tourists pass every day, going to inspect the treasures of the State Hermitage. In place of the old Throne Hall and the theater, a new Neva enfilade arose, which included the Anteroom, the Bolshoi and the Concert Halls.

The true decoration of the palace was the Great Throne or St. George Hall created by Giacomo Quarnegi. Its central object was a large throne made by P. Azhi. Colored marble and gilded bronze were used to decorate the interior of this main front hall of the Winter Palace.

Under Catherine II, the Winter Palace became the center of the social and cultural life of Northern Palmyra, a venue for pompous court festivities and balls.
The Englishman W. Cox, who attended a ball in the Winter Palace in 1778, described what he saw in the following words: “The wealth and splendor of the Russian court surpass the most pretentious descriptions. Traces of ancient Asian splendor are mixed with European sophistication ..., the splendor of court dresses and an abundance of precious stones leave behind the splendor of other European states. About eight thousand people attended the ball. True, this crowd of nobles, wealthy merchants and respected artisans did not mix with the aristocrats who danced behind the low barrier that separated the courtiers from other guests.

Work on the design of the Winter Palace continued in subsequent reigns. With the exception of Paul I, who preferred the Mikhailovsky Castle to the Winter Palace, each emperor sought to add something of his own to the decoration of the main palace of the Russian Empire.
Particularly large-scale work was carried out after 1812, when it became necessary to demonstrate to the whole world the new status of Russia - the winner of Napoleon, the leader of united Europe in the struggle for the bright ideals of consecrated absolutism.

Military gallery of the Winter Palace. G.G. Chernetsov

In 1826, Karl Rossi arranged a Military Gallery in front of the St. George Hall, the walls of which were decorated with 330 portraits of generals who participated in the Patriotic War of 1812. The paintings for this room were painted by the English artist D. Dow. It was to her that A.S. Pushkin dedicated his lines:

The Russian tsar has a chamber in his halls:
She is not rich in gold, not in velvet ...
Crowd close artist placed
Here the chiefs of our people's forces,
Covered with the glory of a wonderful campaign
And the eternal memory of the twelfth year.

Auguste Montferan also took part in the reconstruction of the Winter Palace. He built the staircase of the empress' entrance, decorating it with high reliefs, statues and columns, decorated the Field Marshal's, Petrovsky's and Armorial Halls. V.A. Zhukovsky enthusiastically wrote to the royal residence:

“The Winter Palace as a building, as a royal dwelling, perhaps, did not have anything like it in the whole of Europe. With its vastness, with its architecture, it depicted a powerful people that had so recently entered the environment of educated nations, and with its inner splendor it reminded of that inexhaustible life that boils in the interior of Russia ... The Winter Palace was for us the representative of everything domestic, Russian, ours ... "

But what about the Hermitage?

A tourist who has visited the suburbs of St. Petersburg will easily find that Pushkin and Peterhof have their own “Hermitage”. This word translated from French means "Secluded corner". Nobles and kings of the 18th century liked to set up secluded pavilions in their gardens and parks for intimate pastime. And Catherine II arranged her "secluded corner" right in the center of St. Petersburg.

For this purpose, in 1764-1775, a building was added to the Winter Palace, which is known today as the Small Hermitage. In it, Catherine II spent time with a select audience in an informal setting. Outsiders were not allowed into the Hermitage. Even the tables in this room were laid in advance, after which the servants left the "secluded corner" and left.
On the whole, the atmosphere of the Hermitage was reminiscent of modern corporate parties. Formally, the guests left their ranks and conventions at the door. Those who spoke nonsense had to drink a glass of cold water or read a page from Tredyakovsky's Telemachiad.

In order for evenings in the Hermitage to become a cultural pastime, Catherine II decided to decorate the premises with a proper collection of paintings. The Hermitage collection began in 1764, when the German merchant Gotskovsky gave Russia his collection of 225 paintings as a debt. The Empress also ordered that all valuable works of art that appeared at auctions be bought abroad.

Works by Rubens and Van Dyck were bought in England. Russian ambassador in Paris, Count D.A. Golitsyn, thanks to his connections with D. Diderot and other representatives of French culture, was able to acquire such world-famous masterpieces as Rembrandt's The Return of the Prodigal Son, two Danae by Titian and Rembrandt, Rubens' Bacchus, Giorgione's Judith, etc.

By the end of the reign of Catherine II, the Hermitage collection of paintings amounted to four thousand canvases. The Small Hermitage no longer contained all the masterpieces. For the collection had to build a special building called the Old Hermitage.

The Hermitage received not only paintings. Catherine's agents also bought engravings, drawings, ancient antiquities, works of arts and crafts, ancient coins, weapons, medals and books.

The tradition of replenishing the Hermitage collection continued into the 19th century. Under Alexander I, paintings by Rembrandt and Rubens "Descent from the Cross", "Potter's Farm", paintings by Claude Lorrain, "A Glass of Lemonade" by Terborch and "Breakfast" by Metsu were acquired. During this period, the Hermitage was gradually transformed from a personal collection of paintings by the emperor into a museum. True, it was by no means a public gallery. To visit the Hermitage, you need to take a special pass signed by the head of the court office. Even A.S. Pushkin received such a document only thanks to the patronage of the educator of the royal children V.A. Zhukovsky.

Interiors of the New Hermitage on a watercolor by K. Ukhtomsky, 1856

An important turning point in the "democratization" of access to the Hermitage was the construction of the New Hermitage building, which was completed in 1856. It was the first purpose-built museum building in Russia. Already in 1852, the exposition of the New Hermitage received its first visitors, and in 1866 access to the museum became open and ... free. The cost of tickets was compensated by the Ministry of the Imperial Court. Of course, only “European-style” dressed people were allowed inside, which in itself closed access for representatives of the poor strata of society.

After the revolution, the Hermitage Museum received valuable acquisitions, but at the same time suffered serious losses. Values ​​expropriated from private collections of Russian aristocrats and industrialists were brought to the main museum of the country. At the same time, in the late 1920s, some of the Hermitage paintings were sold abroad to finance industrialization. And the collection of paintings of Russian painting was transferred to the Russian Museum.

In the 1920s, the concepts of the Hermitage and the Winter Palace gradually became a single whole, since the museum received almost all the premises of the former royal residence to house its expositions.

After the Great Patriotic War, the collections and storerooms of the Hermitage were replenished with trophy works of art taken out of Germany as compensation for the masterpieces destroyed by the Nazi troops in Russia.

The legend of the gunsmith Tarasyuk

There are many interesting tales about the Winter Palace. The most banal of them are stories about the ghosts of Peter I, Nicholas I and Nicholas II, who regularly walk through the night halls of the Hermitage. There are legends about the underground passages of the Hermitage, which lead either to the Manege or to the Marble Palace.

Of all these legends, only one story is distinguished by its original content and dramatic plot. Allegedly in the early 80s, the First Secretary of the Leningrad City Committee of the CPSU Grigory Romanov, a fierce enemy of the freedom-loving intelligentsia, decided to celebrate his daughter's wedding in the Tauride Palace. For this, the satrap demanded that the leadership of the Hermitage give him Catherine II's ceremonial service for one hundred and forty-four persons. The director of the Hermitage, Boris Borisovich Piotrovsky, said that the service could only be taken over his corpse, but when the KGB leadership said that this could be arranged in principle, Boris Borisovich went home and told the sick.

Employees of the city committee went to the Hermitage for a service, and only one person stood in their way. It was an employee of the museum Tarasyuk. Dressed in medieval armor, he picked up a sword and menacingly moved towards the uninvited guests. The cowardly agents of tyranny retreated in panic, but then one extremely sad event happened for all honest museologists. Just at this time, at night, vicious dogs were released into the halls of the Hermitage. Tarasyuk was an expert on weapons, but the armor he wore was designed for riding. When the scientist was already triumphant, the evil dogs dug into his most vulnerable spot, unprotected by armor ... Tarasyuk lost his courage, and the jubilant city committee took away the service.

The further fate of the masterpiece was sad. When they shouted “Bitter!” at the wedding, the partocrats began to beat the precious dishes on the floor ... However, Romanov did not get away with it. Because of this story, he was not made General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU, instead of Mikhail Gorbachev.

Tarasyuk was fired from the Hermitage and went to Israel, where his traces were lost.

Fire in the Winter Palace K.Zh. Vernet

From fire to war

A symbolic milestone in the history of the Winter Palace was the catastrophic fire of 1837. Later, the cause of the fire was said to be "a vent left unsealed during the last alteration of the large Field Marshal's Hall"; the air vent "was located in the chimney, held between the choir stalls and the wooden vault of the hall of Peter the Great, located side by side with the Field Marshal's, and adjoined very close to the boards of the rear partition. On the day of the accident, it was thrown out of the chimney, after which the flame communicated through this air vent to the boards of the choirs and the vault of the hall of Peter the Great; he was provided with plentiful food in this place by wooden partitions; on them the fire passed to the rafters. These huge rafters and supports, dried for 80 years in hot air under an iron roof incandescent heat in summer, ignited instantly.

The smell of smoke was noticed on the morning of December 17, but since no one could find the source of the fire for a long time, the necessary measures were postponed until the evening. By that time, the internal ceilings of the Winter Palace were already burning with might and main, and when the firemen broke down the walls, the flame burst out ...

The Winter Palace burned for three days. During this time, all of its interiors burned out. It was one of the largest fires in the history of St. Petersburg. The glow from the fire was visible for several kilometers from the city. Only the heroic efforts of the soldiers and servants managed to save almost the entire palace furnishings and paintings. They were taken out into the street and stacked at the Alexander Column.

Immediately after the disaster, repair work began in the Winter Palace, led by architects V.P. Stasov and A.P. Bryullov. Emperor Nicholas I ordered them to "restore to their original form" all the interiors of the palace. We note right away that the architects did an excellent job with the responsible government task. The appearance of the former Winter Palace was revived in just two years.

In some halls, with the consent of the sovereign, changes were nevertheless made. So the Stasov Armorial Hall was enlarged to a thousand square meters and seriously changed its decoration.

After this repair, the ceremonial interiors of the Winter Palace have survived to this day without significant changes. This truth cannot be said about the living quarters of the palace. Only the Alexander and White halls, the stairs of the entrance of "Her Imperial Majesty", the Rotunda, the Arapsky and Malachite halls have survived to us in the form in which A.P. conceived them. Bryullov. Other living rooms of the palace were repeatedly rebuilt in accordance with the tastes of their owners. Of course, one cannot speak of any artistic unity here, although the interiors of some private chambers are very interesting in themselves. Among them, it is worth noting the "Red Boudoir" of Empress Maria Alexandrovna, the "Golden Living Room" created by V.A. Schreiber and the personal library of Nicholas II (author A.F. Krasovsky).

Until the revolution, the Winter Palace continued to function as a platform for the most important political events of Tsarist Russia. Receptions of foreign ambassadors, solemn balls, receptions of loyal subjects of delegations, opening ceremonies of the State Duma were held here. In a difficult or solemn moment, crowds of loyal subjects rushed to this building. On January 9, 1905, columns of St. Petersburg workers moved to the Winter Palace, to the tsar, asking for mercy and intercession. Unfortunately, the dialogue between the authorities and the people did not work out that day ... But on August 1, 1914, a column of patriotic intelligentsia nevertheless reached Palace Square and fell to its knees in front of the adored monarch who appeared on the balcony of the Winter Palace.

In the 19th century, once a year, the doors of the Winter Palace were thrown open for the residents of the capital. On January 1, a New Year's masquerade was held in it. Moreover, not only nobles could come to the royal house, but also “merchants, philistines, shopkeepers, artisans of all kinds, even simple bearded peasants and serfs, decently dressed. All this crowded and pushed along with the first ranks of the court, representatives of diplomacy and high society. Dressed up ladies, in diamonds and pearls, military and civilian star-bearers, and interspersed with tailcoats, frock coats and caftans. The sovereign and the royal family, with a large retinue, walking from one hall to another, sometimes with difficulty could pass through the crowd. For many, this was a wonderful opportunity to refresh themselves: “In the halls there were many sideboards with gold and silver dishes, with all kinds of soft drinks, excellent wines, beer, honey, kvass, with an abundance of all kinds of food from the most refined to the most common ... The crowd around the sideboards replaced by a crowd as they emptied and refilled. At such annual holidays, sometimes from 25 to 30 thousand people came to the Winter Palace. Foreigners could not marvel at the order and decency of the crowd, and the credulity of the sovereign towards his subjects, who crowded around him with love, devotion and a sense of complacency for 5 or 6 hours. Not the slightest etiquette was observed here, at the same time, no one abused proximity to the royal person.

But as a royal residence, the Winter Palace was used less and less. It turned out that in the new historical realities, the huge building does not meet safety requirements well. And not just fire fighting. On February 5, 1880, Stepan Khalturin, a Narodnaya Volya member, carrying 30 kilograms of dynamite into the Winter Palace, set off an explosion under the dining room where Emperor Alexander II was supposed to dine. The sovereign was miraculously unharmed. 11 soldiers of the Finnish Life Guards Regiment were killed.

After the Narodnaya Volya nevertheless killed Alexander II in 1881, the new tsar, Alexander III, preferred to live in the safe Gatchina, and visit the Winter Palace on a rotational basis. Only when Nicholas II ascended the throne, the august family again returned to the banks of the Neva. True, after the start of the 1905 revolution, the Winter Palace looked more like a fortified camp. In addition to the tsar, some key figures of the regime also lived in it - for example, Prime Minister Stolypin. Only there they could feel safe. Nicholas II himself, following the example of his father, spent more and more time in Pushkin's Alexander Palace.

With the outbreak of the First World War, life in the Winter Palace underwent new changes. The imperial family appeared in the old walls less and less. In 1915, a number of palace halls were assigned to the hospital.

Winter Palace in the 20th century

After the February Revolution of 1917, the Extraordinary Commission of the Provisional Government to investigate the crimes of tsarism worked for some time in the premises of the Winter Palace, and from the summer of 1917, the Provisional Government itself "moved" into the former royal chambers. Newspapers wrote malicious articles about A.F. Kerensky blissful in the bed of Nicholas II. All palace valuables and collections of the Hermitage were sent to Moscow and hidden in the building of the Historical Museum.

On the night of October 25-26, 1917, the Winter Palace became the scene of historical events. The forces of the military revolutionary committee, the Petrograd Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies, after a series of short skirmishes, seized the former royal residence and arrested the ministers of the Provisional Government. The tabloid press was filled with chilling articles about the destruction of palace interiors by wild crowds of workers and peasants and the sad fate of the women's shock battalion, whose fighters faced a fate worse than death. True, it should be noted that the scientific literature does not confirm this information.

Three days after the arrest of the Provisional Government, the new Soviet authorities took the Winter Palace under protection as a cultural monument. However, at first it was used for a variety of purposes. The Museum of the Revolution, and the reception center for prisoners of war of the old army, and the headquarters for arranging mass celebrations, and even a cinema, operated in a huge building. Only from 1922 did all the premises of the Winter Palace begin to be gradually transferred to the Hermitage.

At the same time, work began on the redevelopment of the former living and service rooms of the Hermitage. On the first floor, the Rastrelli Gallery was restored, instead of 65 rooms of the maid of honor, 17 original rooms were recreated.

Vegetable gardens on the territory of the Winter Palace during the blockade

During the Great Patriotic War, the Winter Palace was seriously damaged. German bombs and shells damaged the Jordan Stairs, the Small Throne (Petrovsky) Hall, and the Armorial Hall. The restoration of these objects took a long time after the war. The most valuable exhibits were evacuated to Sverdlovsk. In the courtyard of the Winter Palace, a vegetable garden was laid out where vegetables were grown.

In subsequent decades, the Winter Palace-Hermitage became one of the largest museums in the world. It houses up to three million unique works of art. Every year the Winter Palace is visited by millions of tourists and Petersburgers.

I believe that the Winter Palace can rightfully be considered the main attraction of St. Petersburg. It is interesting that once, by decree of Nicholas I, it was forbidden to erect buildings higher than the Winter Palace. Everyone looked up to the residence of Russian emperors - so the Palace became the face of the city, defining the architectural fashion of St. Petersburg.

This summer I rode a segway along Palace Square, around the Alexander Pillar. It was at that moment that a bizarre cosmogonic metaphor popped into my head. If the Alexander Pillar is the sun of St. Petersburg, then the Winter Palace is the closest and hottest planet on which the life of ordinary people is hardly possible, only the luminaries of Russian history, the rulers of the empire, can live here. As I moved away from the palace, the entire panorama of the square fell into my field of view, but the palace still stood in the center of the picture. When approaching it, it forces you to focus on individual details of the building: clocks, pilasters, bas-reliefs... Such an extreme acquaintance with the Winter Palace cannot leave anyone indifferent. Grab your bikes, scooters, roller skates and go on this exciting journey. But such an acquaintance is good only on an emotional level. To understand the charm of this building, you need to delve into history. Therefore, I left my original vehicle outside the walls of the Palace and went to look at the interior decoration already in ordinary shoes, without wheels.

Mystery of the name

If you have never seen the Winter Palace or have been in it for a very long time, then I suggest you play the game! Let's check together what associations the image of the Winter Palace evokes. Does it look like the Snow Queen's castle from the Soviet cartoon? Or is it a very real building, but around the landscapes of Russian winter?

I think that all those associations that will arise in your mind will be true and one way or another will serve as the key to unlocking the mystery.

Despite the speaking name of the palace, you can visit this attraction at any time of the year, not only in winter. It is interesting to know why the Palace was named that way. Firstly, it was built in winter, and secondly, Russian emperors lived here at this time of the year. So the Winter Palace became a symbol of man's superiority over the elements, nature, over Russian frosts. In this place, you can not only hide from any storms and winds, but also look at the amazingly beautiful interiors. Inside the Palace there is a lot of gold, light, and thanks to a huge number of mirrors, the space is constantly expanding. Russian emperors did not like to lie idle, therefore, in the Winter Palace, even in severe cold, they received ambassadors from different countries. Today, the Winter Palace is not a separate object, it is part of the complex of buildings of the Hermitage Museum, which you can read more about. I will tell you about the Winter Palace.

Story

In fact, the Winter Palace was rebuilt five times. The very first version of the palace was made of wood and looked more like a hut. It did not have the chic that we see now. This wooden house was a gift to Peter from the governor of the city. The second architect was Georg Mattarnovi. Gradually the winter palace evolved. It is this architectural maturation that interests us, because through the history of a particular building one can trace how Russia itself improved: its buildings, streets, and the appearance of people changed. The third palace was built according to the project of Rastrelli in 1762. Construction took seven years. The architect himself believed that he was creating a palace for all-Russian glory.

As you know, the entire architecture of St. Petersburg is divided into two types. On the one hand, we can see the Petersburg of N.V. Gogol and F.M. Dostoevsky - a city with gloomy streets, humiliated and offended people. Such Petersburg is filled with mysticism and hopelessness of human existence. But there is another side of him that cannot be forgotten. And one of the main attractions of this "festive" and happy St. Petersburg is the Winter Palace. It exudes chic and carelessness. The breadth of the Russian soul and European orderliness, lightness and heaviness, thoughtfulness and gaiety - these contradictions give rise to harmony.

Zimny ​​was rebuilt by various architects and rulers. Thus, a whole complex has grown up, which today everyone can visit. In 1837, a fire broke out in the building, which could not be extinguished for about a day, many priceless things were lost. After the fire, a reconstruction plan was created. Stasov and Bryullov took up this matter. After 15 months, most of the palace was restored.

What is in the Winter Palace

Leads to the ceremonial halls of the Palace Embassy staircase. Ambassadors from other states could immediately get acquainted with the Russian traditions of hospitality, ascending the red carpet.

In the 19th century, the stairs began to be called the Jordanian, because during the baptismal holidays, members of the imperial family descended along it to the hole in the Neva.

The front part was restored by the architect Stasov. He tried to preserve the baroque style with its rich decoration, stucco, mirrors in heavy gilded frames.

Petrovsky hall dedicated to the memory of the first Russian Emperor the Great. Red French velvet prevails in the interior design, it is embroidered with a monogram and a floral ornament. Pictures of wars remind of the strength of Russia. The portrait of the emperor is also interesting: it depicts Peter next to the goddess of wisdom.

IN Armorial hall you can see the coats of arms of all Russian provinces. In addition, there are sculptures of Russian soldiers. Official receptions used to be held in the same hall.

Next, visitors are presented with military gallery- This is a long corridor, on the walls of which there are portraits of 322 generals. In general, the whole color of the Russian army of the XIX century: Kutuzov, Bagration, Platov, Raevsky ...

Malachite living room was created for the wife of Nicholas I. There is a lot of malachite in this room from the mines of the Demidov brothers. The sculptor faced a task of almost national importance: he had to demonstrate the power and wealth of the Russian lands, to find the natural material (mineral or stone) that would personify Russia. The green color of malachite best emphasized the status of the Russian Empire. Malachite is a symbol of life and growth.

Tickets

In order to get to the Winter Palace, you need to buy a ticket at the box office or in electronic form. The second option is the most convenient as you won't have to stand in long lines.

Prices vary from 300 to 1000 rubles. Since the Winter Palace is part of a complex of architectural structures, the ticket price also includes a combined list of places that you can visit: the Hermitage, the Menshikov Palace, the Museum of the Imperial Porcelain Factory ... Choose your fare wisely, as you can see several attractions in one day. It will be cheaper and more fruitful than separately.

There is one more good news: The first Thursday of each month is the day of free admission. And for students, schoolchildren and other beneficiaries, admission is free on ordinary days. More information about prices can be found on the Hermitage website.

How to get there

How to get there: from the metro station "Admiralteyskaya" or "Nevsky Prospekt". You need to move along Nevsky Prospekt, towards Vasilyevsky Island. After Nevsky Prospekt ends, you will exit to the Palace Square. You need to focus on a huge arch, inside which rises the Alexander Pillar. The Winter Palace is located directly opposite the Hermitage.

Address of the Winter Palace: Palace Square, 2 / Palace Embankment, 38.
Working hours: from 10:30 to 18:00 (ticket office is open until 17:00), Monday is a day off.

The question by which you can recognize a tourist on the streets of St. Petersburg: "Where is the Winter Palace?".

The history of the construction of the Winter Palace

A masterpiece of architectural architecture, made in the Baroque style, is located on the Palace Square. This is an amazing ensemble of monuments to Russian architecture. You can get to Palace Square both by metro and by land transport. It is best to walk, seeing the sights along the way, enjoying the solemn and majestic architecture of Northern Palmyra.
The building of the Winter Palace was built in the second half of the 18th century, to the order of the beloved daughter of the first Russian emperor, according to the plan of the architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli. The Winter Palace was built in the Russian Baroque style.

From the moment the construction was completed in 1762 until 1904, the building served as the residence of the royal family in the winter. After the royal family moved to Tsarskoye Selo and before the formation of the State Hermitage, the odeon housed: a hospital, the headquarters of the interim government and the museum of the revolution, which was adjacent to the Hermitage before the start of the Second World War. The modern Winter Palace is the building of one of the main expositions of the Hermitage.
The Winter Palace is a building consisting of 4 outbuildings, united among themselves in the form of a square, having a patio. The front side of the building faces the Admiralty, the river and Palace Square.

How to get to the Winter Palace?

Considering where the Winter Palace is located, the closest thing to it is to go from the Admiralteyskaya metro station, the Frunzensko-Primorskaya branch of the St. Petersburg Metro. Coming out of the metro to Kirpichny Lane, you need to turn right and after walking about 25 meters, turn onto Bolshaya Morskaya Street. Then moving straight ahead, without turning anywhere, to the carriageway of Nevsky Prospekt. The prospect must be crossed, and there it is already very close to the Arch of the General Staff, located in front of the Palace Square, the place where the Winter Palace is located.
A little further to go from the metro station "Nevsky Prospekt", the pavilion Naberezhnaya Griboyedov Canal. From the Nevsky Prospekt metro station, to get to the Winter Palace, you need to walk 4 blocks, crossing Malaya and Bolshaya Konyushennaya streets and the Moika River. After that, turn right to go out onto Bolshaya Morskaya Street. From there, you need to go to the Arch of the General Staff building in order to get to the Palace Square.
Palace Square with the Winter Palace is the most popular place for tourists to walk. That is why any passer-by can answer the question: “Where is the Winter Palace?”.
Address of the Winter Palace: Palace Square, 2, Palace Embankment, 38.

This grandiose building, located in St. Petersburg, like all the architectural creations of the city, is distinguished by its sophistication combined with pomp and pomp. The Winter Palace of St. Petersburg serves as the center of art and tourism of the Russian Federation, its great landmark. This building has a centuries-old, mysterious history, shrouded in legends and myths. The splendor of the palace captivates and makes you go back to the distant times of emperors, balls and social life of that time. The architectural solutions used in the construction are striking in their splendor. The design went through a number of changes, it reincarnated several times and came in its final form in our time. This creation is located on Palace Square, uniting with it into a single whole and recreating a grandiose landscape.

Winter Palace: building description

The style in which the building is made is Elizabethan Baroque. Since the period of Soviet times, this room has housed the main exposition of the State Hermitage. The Winter Palace has been the residence of Russian emperors throughout its history.

Many tourists created a photo of the winter palace as a keepsake. This extraordinary beauty is mesmerizing. The palace is gorgeous both outside and inside. Further on this in more detail.

The history of the grand palace

Back in 1712, during the reign of Peter I, it was forbidden to give land plots at the disposal of ordinary people. Such land zones were intended for sailors of the highest class. Peter took over this site.

First, a wooden, ordinary house was built. Closer to the cold weather, a groove was dug in front of the facade of the house, which was called Winter. This is where the name of the palace came from.

Over the years, Peter appointed many famous architects to work on the reconstruction and improvement of the house. So, from a wooden one, it turned into a stone palace.

In 1735, the eminent architect Francesco Rastrelli set to work. He suggested that Anna Ioannovna, who was in power, buy nearby land plots with houses and carry out a total reconstruction. This is how the current Winter Palace was built, which after a while acquired a slightly different look.

With the coming to power of Elizabeth Petrovna, the Winter Palace became different, the one that contemporaries can see. In her opinion, the palace did not meet the requirements that are necessary for the residence of the empress. Rastrelli created a new project.

The great architect in a short period of time made his creation truly magnificent. The best craftsmen, 4 thousand workers were involved. Francesco Rastrelli individually worked out every detail of the palace, which did not resemble each other.

Palace architecture

The architecture of the Winter Palace is striking in its versatility. The height of the building is emphasized by two-tiered columns. The Baroque style itself is an example of pomp and wealth.

This building has 3 floors, a courtyard, in terms of the shape of a square, consisting of 4 outbuildings. The facades of the palace face the Neva River, Palace Square and the Admiralty.

The facades are finished very elegantly, the main one is cut through by an arch. Solemnity and splendor are created by Rastrelli's unusual architectural solutions: ledges of risalits, uneven distribution of columns, various layouts of facades, accents on the stepped corners of the building.

The Winter Palace consists of 1084 different rooms with a total of 1945 windows. 117 stairs are provided. For the world practice of that time, this building was unusual in that a huge amount of metal was used in the construction.

The color scheme of the palace is such that it corresponds to sandy shades. Such a move was conceived by the architect Rastrelli. Local authorities, after every choice of color solutions, came to the conclusion that it was necessary to recreate the color scheme that was thought out and executed by Rastrelli.

Winter Palace from the inside

Unfortunately, that original splendor created by the great architect does not exist in modern times. The reason for this was the fire of 1837. Only load-bearing walls and semi-columns on the first floor could be preserved, in contrast to the decoration of all halls.

The Winter Palace has the following halls:

• Field Marshal's Hall (it is decorated with portraits of 6 field marshals, according to tradition, the 7th niche is empty);
• the Jordanian Gallery (made in the Russian Baroque style, named after the procession from the Great Church of the Winter Palace through this room);
• Petrovsky / Small throne room (dedicated to the memory of Peter I);
• Armorial Hall (after the fire, restored by V.P. Stasov in the style of Russian late classicism, was intended for receptions of gentlemen, has the coats of arms of Russian provinces);
• Georgievsky / Large throne room (there is a white marble bas-relief "George the Victorious slaying the dragon");
• Military gallery (dedicated to the war with Napoleon and the victory over him);
• Picket / New Hall (dedicated to the history of the Russian army);
• Large Church (a belfry with 5 bells was built, made in the Baroque style);
• The chambers of Empress Maria Alexandrovna (consist of the Golden Drawing Room, the Dance Hall, the Blue Bedroom, the Boudoir, the Raspberry Study);
• Alexander Hall (currently there is a collection of silver of Western European origin);
• Anterooms of the Neva front suite (consists of a concert hall, Anteroom, Nicholas Hall);
• White dining room (distinguished by a variety of interiors, made in the rococo style);
• Malachite living room (125 poods of malachite were used for decoration, the entire living room is framed in it).

Conclusion

The Winter Palace has always been and will be a symbol of the greatness of the Russian state. It is an unshakable leader among world-class tourist sites. For the sake of such historical beauty, many stunned tourists put the Winter Palace with its charming summer garden, broken on the banks of the Neva.