The main building of the Anichkov Palace on the map. Anichkov Palace - a symbol of royal love for Russia (1) - Questions of history. Anichkov Palace: where is it and how to get there

The first baroque building in St. Petersburg was Anichkov Palace on Nevsky Prospekt 39, on which, in addition to Dmitriev and Zemtsov, the famous Rastrelli worked. The three-storey building with onion-shaped domes and two outbuildings with a main entrance is turned towards the Fontanka River. Potemkin and Razumovsky were among the owners of the building. This building was also the emperor's office, that is, the room where the property of the royal family was located. During its existence, the structure has greatly changed its internal and external appearance. All halls, except Zheltokolonny and White, are decorated in a classical style, and have survived to this day almost without any changes.

The palace performed the role of the royal residence until the nineteenth century. When the revolution ended, the museum of old St. Petersburg was opened inside, and then the Palace of Pioneers. In the early nineties of the last century, it was renamed the Palace of Youth Creativity. To find out why is it called Anichkov Palace, it is recommended to familiarize yourself with its history from beginning to end. Today, more than 20 active sections or circles for children are located inside the building.

Historical information

Located along Nevsky Prospekt between the Fontanka and Sadovaya Streets, the area today is occupied by the Anichkov Palace. Initially, these lands at the beginning of the eighteenth century belonged to the first general police chief A. M. Devier, who was sent into exile in 1727. The territory was transferred to the possession of D. L. Lukyanov. Then the land closer to the Fontanka was occupied by a regimental yard belonging to the Preobrazhensky regiment. The fate of the estate was drastically changed by the coup that took place on November 25, 1741. Meanwhile, the throne was taken by Elizabeth, who was Peter I's daughter. He was able to come to power with the help of the Preobrazhenians. As tells history of Anichkov Palace that it was built for Elizabeth, but it was no news to anyone that her favorite count named Alexei Grigoryevich Razumovsky would live there. M. G. Zemtsov worked on the project in 1741. Construction began under his own leadership. After the death of Zemtsov, which is dated 1743, the architect G.D. Dmitriev took over the construction, but he also died in 1746, having completed the building only to the cornices.

The construction work was completed by the Italian architect F. B. Rastrelli, who had the opportunity to correct the side risalits, completing them with two domes with numerous decorative vases.

Your name Anichkov Palace in St. Petersburg received from the Anichkov Bridge, located nearby. It differs from other buildings located along the avenue in that its main facade did not look at all in its direction. The chosen location suggests that for those times Nevsky Prospekt was not considered the main street of St. Petersburg. This is due to the fact that most of the guests arrived at the palace by water, so the main entrance looks exactly at the Fontanka. A Havanese was also organized here, where visitors to Elizabeth could leave their sailing and rowing vessels. According to the plan of Grigory Dmitriev, open-type galleries were also located along the Fontanka embankment.

The courtyard ensemble consisted of a three-story side and central building, inside which there were double-height halls. They connected with two-story lower volumes. This kind of architecture belongs to the baroque of the “pre-Rastrelli” period. To the baroque style, as seen from photo of Anichkov Palace in St. Petersburg, also includes the use of pilasters, while the columns decorated exclusively the main portico. However, an uncharacteristically large number of sculptures and other decorative elements were used for the Petrine Baroque. The side of the façade bordering Nevsky Prospekt is crowned with the church dome of the Resurrection of Christ. At the same time, the estate was separated from the avenue by a high stone wall with three gates.

History of the Tsarist period

The construction process dragged on for a long time, so it was completed in 1756. The next change of owner dates back to 1771, when Count Razumovsky died, and the estate passed into the possession of his brother, academic scientist Kirill Grigoryevich Razumovsky. 1775 was the time for a big masquerade for 2,500 people. For this period, the palace was rented by the St. Petersburg merchants. Little to know Where is the Anichkov Palace in order to feel the history of this place, you need to know its main owners:

1. 1776 - the estate was donated by Catherine II to Count G. A. Potemkin. He rebuilt the palace according to his own requirements. It was then that the building changed its appearance from baroque to classical. During the reconstruction, the height of the building was leveled, the Havanese was filled in, the open galleries were dismantled, and the gardens were replanned.
2. The year 1779 was the time for the creation of a gallery with tropical plants, where the prince organized masquerades, at which about a hundred musicians performed at the same time. Then this room was leased to the community of Italian musicians. Once the guests of such a masquerade were Pavel Petrovich (Grand Duke) with his wife Maria Feodorovna and Empress Catherine II.
3. 1784 - Potemkin resold the estate to the merchant Shemyakin, but already in 1985 palace near Anichkov bridge bought by Catherine II and returned to the previous owner. The Empress decided that it was not worthwhile to refuse royal gifts.
4. In 1809, the building passed into the possession of Ekaterina Pavlovna, who was the sister of Alexander I. Such a present was presented to her as a gift on the occasion of her marriage. The family also decided to rebuild the palace. L. Ruska worked on the new layout. From his works, the Great Dining Room and the Dance Hall have survived to this day.
5. After her husband's horse, dated 1812, Catherine remarried a few years later and moved, selling the estate to the state treasury. Since that time, the famous poet V. A. Zhukovsky, who was the tutor of the heir to the throne, who eventually became Emperor Alexander II, lived in the house.

If history is to be believed, Anichkov Palace address which Nevsky Prospekt 39 is oversaturated with literature. It was here that A. S. Pushkin read to Zhukovsky the recently completed poem Ruslan and Lyudmila. The next owner of the building was the future Emperor Nicholas I. He also wanted to rebuild the palace in his own way. K. Rossi was engaged in redevelopment. He rebuilt a service building and two pavilions in the garden, which also underwent changes. Carl Rossi redesigned the Dance and Music Hall, the boudoir, the sofa room, the study and the bedroom. Inside the seventeen halls, freshly painted plafonds were made, and the walls were covered with velvet, damask or satin. The walls of the remaining rooms were painted in marble. It is noteworthy that any details were made according to sketches prepared by Rossi. Full-scale construction work allowed the interiors to become a single ensemble.

Find in question Anichkov Palace on the map Nevsky prospect 39 you can in two minutes, however, due to the lack of full-fledged excursions to this place, it is recommended that you familiarize yourself with its history in more detail. For example, Prince Alexander Nikolaevich became the next owner of the building in 1841. The modernization of the building took place in 1853, when sewerage and water supply were installed here. Since 1897, cinematographic films began to be shown here, since 1899 a school was opened where the children of employees studied.

Palace of Pioneers

When the revolution ended, the palace was nationalized. Inside it is the Ministry of Food. From 1918 to 1935 the building was used as a city museum. Not Leningrad, but the city, that is, Moscow and other Russian cities. It was this circumstance that made it possible to keep Anichkov Palace on the map of St. Petersburg as it was under the last emperor. Since 1918, a branch of social and communal hygiene, as well as a city library, functioned inside the building, where the office was previously located. The closing of the museum is dated 1928. Since then, most of the property has been sold.

The Palace of Pioneers on the territory of the former estate was opened in 1937 according to the plan of S. M. Kirov. It became the largest in the territory of the former USSR. The duet architect D. L. Krichevsky and A. I. Gegello worked on the reconstruction of 1936-1937. It was they who closed the building-study in a square, their masters painted two rooms based on the motives of A. M. Gorky and A. S. Pushkin. Initially, more than a hundred children's circles worked here. The local chess section was attended by Boris Spassky, Lev Dodin, Elena Obraztsova, Sergei Yursky, and so on. 1941 was a turning point for the building. Then it was destroyed by an artillery shell, which completely destroyed the winter garden. The walls of the surviving buildings became a military hospital, which worked here for about 18 months. Despite hostilities, most sections continued their work.

Today, almost every tourist knows where he is. on the map St. Petersburg Anichkov Palace because by 1945 it had been restored. Opposite the main building also grows the famous birch, planted there by famous cosmonauts Vladimir Komarov and German Titov. The modern name of the Palace of Youth Creativity was given to the building in 1990.

At the corner of Nevsky Prospekt and the Fontanka River, it was built by decree of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna in 1741. These places were then the border of St. Petersburg, because the palace could be considered both a city residence and a country cottage. It is hard to believe that Nevsky Prospekt at that time still had the appearance of almost an ordinary forest clearing; for this reason, the Anichkov Palace was designed with a facade to the Fontanka to decorate the entrance to the city.

The practical need for it for Elizabeth Petrovna was not entirely clear, because. at the same time, the Winter Palace, palace complexes in Tsarskoye Selo and Peterhof were being built. Be that as it may, under the guidance of architect M.G. Zemtsov Palace was built by 1754. Subsequently, the architects F.I. Demertsov and F.B. Rastrelli.

This possession of the Empress was vast; the estate occupied the space between Fontanka and Sadovaya Street, that is, it reached the places where the Public Library is now located; the territory was filled with pavilions and greenhouses. When the civil husband of Elizabeth Petrovna, the singer Alexander Razumovsky, gave way to the young Ivan Shuvalov, the Anichkov Palace was left to him as a token of gratitude. Thus began a long history of his ownership of the most diverse names of St. Petersburg.

Subsequently, Catherine bought the Anichkov Palace in order to repeat the act of her august predecessor and present it as a gift to her favorite - Grigory Potemkin. Under the new owner, many premises were redone: architect I.E. Starov created facades in the style of early classicism, the stucco molding disappeared and the harbor was filled up; the center of the palace was decorated with a triangular pediment. Later, the architect G. Quarenghi rebuilt the shopping arcade in the place where the front yard was located, thus closing the view of the palace from the Fontanka and Anichkov bridge. In general, the building acquired a more austere look, which has survived to this day.

Potemkin, however, soon got rid of the gift of Catherine II, selling it to a merchant named Shemyakin (at the same time, Potemkin still had the Tauride Palace). The story took on the tone of an anecdote after the Empress bought it and presented it a second time as a gift. This did not prevent the favorite from selling the palace again in 1785 - already to the treasury. For a long time, city officials did not know how to put these large premises to good use. As a result, the Cabinet of Her Majesty was first transferred here, and later - the Directorate of the Imperial Theaters.

A series of significant reconstructions followed under the leadership of Quarenghi, the result of which was a square with an arcade overlooking the Fontanka. The new owner was the sister of Alexander I, Elena Pavlovna, who lived in the palace until her second marriage in 1817. Under her leadership, under the leadership of the architect L. Ruska, new interiors in the style of classicism appeared, for example, the Yellow Column Hall. However, the Anichkov Palace acquired its most devoted owner in the person of Tsarevich Nicholas, the future Emperor Nicholas I.

For the heir to the Russian throne, the Service Building, two additional pavilions were built and a cast-iron fence was installed, overlooking Nevsky Prospekt and the Alexandrinsky Theater at an angle. It is well known that Nicholas I preferred the Winter Palace and spent most of his time there. In particular, the balls Pushkin did not like, which so captivated his wife Natalya Nikolaevna, were held here. Here on November 23, 1836, the poet was invited to an audience with the emperor, who demanded to refrain from a duel. After the death of the monarch, the Dowager Empress Alexandra Feodorovna and Nikolai Nikolaevich lived in the palace, waiting for the completion of work on the construction of their own residence - the Nikolaevsky Palace on the current Labor Square.

The next royal inhabitant of the court was Alexander III. The unwillingness to live in Zimny, where his father died, was supplemented by fears for his life in connection with the activities of terrorists. As a result, a blank wall was built from the side of the square. Here the future Emperor Nicholas II grew up.

After the revolution, the Anichkov Palace housed the City Museum. But it was not only about the museum in St. Petersburg: Cheboksary and Rome coexisted perfectly under one roof. In the early 1930s, the rich interior decoration was sold abroad, and some of the Museum's employees ended up in Solovki. In 1937, the city authorities opened the Palace of Pioneers here - the largest in the Soviet Union. Chess players Boris Spassky, Viktor Korchnoi, theater director Lev Dodin, stage director Sergei Solovyov, opera singer Elena Obraztsova, actress Alisa Freindlikh and many others attended classes in numerous circles with wonderful teachers. Currently, the Palace of Youth Creativity is located here, which, on the one hand, is the successor to the traditions of the House of Pioneers, and on the other, is a major educational institution in St. Petersburg, known as the Anichkov Lyceum.

I already once talked about an interesting place in our northern capital, which is called "".

I hope that the story of the palace of the same name will also attract your attention. Moreover, this is one of the oldest buildings located near Nevsky Prospekt. And this palace preserves its history for you and me, starting from the distant 18th century.

But you must admit that sometimes everyone so wants to make a trip into the past with the help of a fantastic time machine, even for a moment.

So I offer you a small similar digression, the main character of which today will be this magnificent building.

Let's turn the pages of history

The hero of my story is located between the Fontanka River and Sadovaya Street.

The appearance of the first palace near Nevsky Prospekt

Initially, this place in young St. Petersburg was in the possession of a certain general A. E. Devier.

After the owner was beaten with a whip for political offenses and expelled from the northern capital to Siberia, the territory in 1727 passes to the timber merchant D. L. Lukyanov. Since 1738, the courtyard of the same Preobrazhensky regiment has been located on it, with the support of which in 1741, during a palace coup, Empress Elizabeth Petrovna ascended the throne.

It was she who decided to celebrate the event of her triumph by building a palace in this place (officially for herself, but in fact - for her favorite - Count A. G. Razumovsky). I have already hinted to you that the history of the building preserves many Petersburg secrets and legends, as you will see for yourself in the course of my story.

building a palace

The design of this imperial building in the form of the letter "H" was created by the famous architect M. G. Zemtsov.

His death in 1743 influenced the transfer of the "rein of power" first to the architect G. D. Dmitriev, and then (also after his death) to the famous F. B. Rastrelli, who made his own adjustments to the project of Mikhail Zemtsov. Rastrelli wrote that he added to the palace "a chapel with a dome, as well as a large hall with a main staircase, richly decorated with statues and sculptural ornaments" ...

The building gets its name from the one nearby. Its main entrance faces the Fontanka River. In those days, the border of the city passed along it, and Nevsky Prospekt had not yet acquired the status of the central metropolitan street. I was interested to know that at first guests could get here directly by water. By the way, a Havanese was even arranged (a small harbor in the shape of a bucket), where the townspeople left their vehicles (such a kind of parking lot for ships).

In parallel with the Fontanka, according to the plan of G. Dmitriev, open galleries were installed. The architectural solution of the palace was a composition of three-story buildings connected by two-story lintels. A similar feature of the buildings is typical for the buildings of the early Baroque.

The dome of the Church of the Resurrection towered above the building from Nevsky Prospekt, for which the iconostasis was also created by the master Rastrelli. Today this masterpiece is located in the northern capital. The illumination of the house church of the Anichkov Palace took place in March 1751. I will note one more detail: at the behest of the empress, a garden for walking was arranged between the building and Sadovaya, similar to Peterhof.

Works on its creation belonged to the "English" gardener L.K. Taper. The construction of the palace was completed in 1756.

Palace in imperial times

The appearance of the palace ensemble that has come down to us was formed under the influence of a change in “architectural fashions”, which were also preferred by the changing owners. The building itself, if you look back at its history, constantly acted as an expensive gift. And who among us would refuse such a present ?!

It was in this capacity that it most often passed from one high-society hands to others. Yes, and this gift was wonderful, because such prominent masters as I. E. Starov, L. Ruska, J. Quarenghi, K. I. Rossi, A. I. Stackenschneider and others worked on the palace at different times. And now I’ll tell you about who lived here and lived and made good. As I have already noted, the first actual owner of the Anichkov Palace was Count Razumovsky.

With him was the famous writer A.P. Sumarokov, who was in the service of "His Grace". This multi-genre writer is sometimes called the "father of the Russian theater."

After the death of the first owner, the Anichkov Palace went to his brother, and not to anyone, but to the very president of the Academy of Sciences - Count Kirill Grigoryevich Razumovsky. In 1776, the building was bought from him by Catherine II and immediately donated to her favorite, G. A. Potemkin.

The new owner, apparently, longed for change and invited the architect I. E. Starov for this purpose. The palace was transformed according to the canons of the classical style, the "Havanese parking" for ships was filled up, the galleries on the Fontanka were abolished and the garden was modernized, in which in 1779 a greenhouse with overseas plants appeared. I think that all people are greedy for curiosities, but for the nobility they, moreover, are affordable. How not to get?

In his new gallery, Potemkin threw masquerade balls, during which the ears of those present were sometimes delighted by hundreds of orchestra musicians. This tropical gallery also boasts a lot of overheard social gossip.

But we will leave the yellow tales aside, but I will mention the fact that in 1786 an unusual musical instrument, the piano, was presented here for the first time. (In general, I’ll note along the way that he appeared in 1709). The cunning Potemkin resold the palace to the merchant Shemyakin. Catherine II did not like the refusal of her gift. She redeemed it again and again handed it over to Potemkin.

I don’t know for what reasons, but he also sold it again (this time to the state treasury). After such a mess, arranged with the palace by the Empress and her favorite, here in 1794 the Imperial Cabinet was located, where at one time the works of Joseph Zalussky were preserved. It was they who served as the basis for the organization of the Public Library of Northern Venice.

It seems interesting to me to unravel historical knots and suddenly find interesting analogies for myself. Once the "father of the Russian theater" Sukhorukov lived in the Anichkov Palace, and in 1799 one of the parts of the building was given specifically for the needs of the Theater Directorate of St. Petersburg. At the beginning of the 19th century, the master Quarenghi built the Trade Rows in front of its main entrance.

And from the side of Sadovaya Street he built a room for the Public Library. As for the “gift relay race” for the transfer of the palace, it never stops.

In 1809, Emperor Alexander I presented the building to his sister, Grand Duchess Catherine, as a present for her wedding to Prince Georg of Oldenburg. For the young couple, the palace is being modernized again (architect L. Ruska). Today, the works of the master are preserved in the form of a hall for balls and a dining room.

The space of the Trade Rows was transferred for the needs of the Imperial Cabinet. Ruska attached to them the western buildings and a fence with a gate between the Cabinet and the palace. I note that at that time the famous poet Zhukovsky, the educator of the future Tsar Alexander II, lived in the palace. It was within these walls that he presented his poem "Ruslan and Lyudmila".

Soon, in 1816, the palace again passed into the hands of the treasury. Then it was presented to the future Emperor Nicholas I for the upcoming wedding. Now K. Rossi has worked on the building. According to his project, the manor merged into the architectural complex of Theater Square (today - Ostrovsky Square), from which it was separated by a cast-iron fence.

Also, the interior of the premises, redesigned according to the ideas of Russia, began to represent a single ensemble.

Nicholas I loved this palace and held many high society receptions, balls and lotteries in it. The next owner of the building, which now received the prefix to the name "His Imperial Majesty's own palace," in 1841 was the future Tsar Alexander II.

In the middle of the 19th century, the palace was equipped with water supply and sewerage. Years passed, and high-ranking owners changed with them. The wedding of Alexander III with Princess Dagmar was played here.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the palace witnessed a historic event - the wedding of the niece of Nicholas II, Grand Duchess Irina Alexandrovna, with Felix Yusupov.

It was a wedding with the same prince who participated in the murder of the well-known Grigory Rasputin.

Legend of Anichkov Palace

In the form of a woman in a white robe, it repeatedly appeared to our monarchs, who at various times lived in the palace, and even led their monologues with them. Whether this is true or fiction is not known today, since the emperors somehow did not publicly disseminate this matter. But the school for children of servants really really existed here since 1899.

After the revolution, the palace was privatized by the state. At first, the Ministry of Food was located here. Further, from 1918 to 1935, the exposition of the city museum was equipped.

I note that not specifically St. Petersburg (Petrograd-Leningrad), but cities, as such, in general. It was headed by the architect L. A. Ilyin. In the halls of the former Imperial Cabinet functioned "offices" of communal and social hygiene, as well as the library of the Museum of the city. The period of ecclesiastical repression also affected the house church of the palace. As a result, in 1926 its domes were demolished and melted down. As for the museum, in 1928 it was also closed. The property was sold and given away for other displays.

Formation of the Palace of Pioneers

And again - a historical zigzag. I already told you that the royal heirs were brought up within the walls of the Anichkov Palace, and at the end of the 19th century there was even a school for the children of employees. It seemed to mark the beginning of the grandiose Palace of Pioneers and Schoolchildren that appeared here in 1937.

For this purpose, the Anichkov Palace was remade again (according to sketches by A. I. Gegello and D. L. Krichevsky). Two rooms of the building were decorated with Palekhov painting based on the works of A. S. Pushkin and A. M. Gorky.

More than a hundred sections and circles immediately opened in the Palace.

I am sure that everyone knows the names: Viktor Korchnoi, Stanislav Zhuk, Alisa Freindlikh, Lev Lurie, Elena Obraztsova...

The professional star path of these people began precisely in this Leningrad Palace of Pioneers.

Anichkov Palace in the Great Patriotic War

I will now tell you about the fate of the palace at that tragic time for the whole country.

Already from October 1941 to May 1942, a surgical hospital worked on its territory. The Palace itself did not close its doors for children all the terrible blockade days! In spite of everything, it was here in 1942 that graduation was held for Leningrad schoolchildren. In addition, New Year trees and creative Olympiads were held here.

And the concert brigades of the art circles of the Palace of Pioneers, overcoming weakness from hunger, performed in front of soldiers in hospitals and military units.

Not without reason 70 young artists were awarded medals "For the Defense of Leningrad". By 1945, the complex of the palace, which had suffered from shelling, had already been restored.

Anichkov Palace today

It seems symbolic to me that the first palace on Nevsky Prospekt, which was owned by the most brilliant persons of Russia, the building where the adolescence of emperors passed, the poems of Pushkin and Zhukovsky sounded, today belongs to the heirs of the country - our children.

Now it is called the St. Petersburg City Palace of Youth Creativity. Here for the guys - a real kingdom of joy! I note that today every child, starting from preschool age, in the Anichkov Palace can find something to his taste in technical, creative, sports, choreographic and other circles and sections.

Competitions, conferences, seminars and festivals are held here every year. By the way, it is in these walls that the final round of the All-Russian competition for teachers of additional education “I give my heart to children” is held.

And I am glad that my friend was also among the winners as a teacher of the Art Studio.

By the way, balls, concerts and assemblies are also held here.

The Palace of Creativity is proud of its unique library, experimental site, museum, to which I invite you.

Anichkov Palace Museum

If you want to not only look at this architectural monument from the outside, but go on the excursion “The Palace of the Tsars - the Palace of Children”, then I believe that you will have 1.5 hours of fascinating immersion in the past, together with an acquaintance with the modern existence of the Anichkov Palace .

Detailed information, including the schedule of excursions, can be obtained. My advice to you is to be sure to find out about the plan for these viewing events in advance, since visiting the Palace without a guide is not provided. I note that excursions are conducted only in accordance with the specified schedule of the current month for individual visitors.

I will add that you will also visit the Living Art of Palekh exhibition, which is included in the general sightseeing tour.

An adult ticket will cost 200 rubles, and for schoolchildren and students - 80 rubles. Tickets can be purchased at the palace box office (39 Nevsky Prospekt, at the entrance to the territory of the Anichkova Estate). Shoe covers or change of shoes are required.

How to get there

As I have already noted, the building that interests us is the first palace erected near Nevsky Prospekt. Therefore, it is located in the center of the city.

The best way to get here is by metro, getting off at the Mayakovskaya or Gostiny Dvor stations. From both along Nevsky Prospekt you will walk to the Palace in just a few minutes. I do not consider other public transport, since this method is the most convenient in every sense (close to the sights, there are no traffic jams, and a walk along Nevsky Prospekt is already a small event for travelers). The exact address is Nevsky Prospekt, 39.

More about each option:

From the metro station "Gostiny Dvor" (1) to the Anichkov Palace (2) it takes only 5 minutes to walk. But even passing this short distance, you will pass the Russian National Library (5), the wonderful Catherine's Garden (3), in the center of which you can admire the magnificent monument to Empress Catherine the Great (architect David Ivanovich Grimm), behind it you will see the building of the Alexandria Theater (I advise you to visit his performances on occasion).

Opposite, across Nevsky Prospekt is the St. Petersburg Comedy Theater (6).

The second route from the Mayakovskaya metro station (1) will take you through the same Anichkov bridge (3), the name of which gave the palace its name (2).

In my opinion, in any case, you will enrich your journey with new interesting fragments.

Finally

So, with the help of a time machine that everyone has and is called imagination, we made a short trip to the famous Anichkov Palace in St. Petersburg.

We learned about the history of its appearance and listened to stories about the inhabitants of this amazing estate. I think that you also walked along the bridge, after which the Palace is named, and admired the sculptural group "Taming the Horse".

Such acquaintances with architectural monuments allow us to learn more about the past of the country itself. After all, they were created by the most talented masters for famous historical figures, without a story about the fate of which we cannot do when narrating the history of buildings.

And while we preserve our palaces-museums, the memory of the people connected with them in one way or another is also preserved. By the way, in front of the main building of the Anichkov Palace you will be met by a birch tree, which was planted by our heroes-cosmonauts German Titov and Komarov.

The Anichkov Palace is the oldest building on Nevsky Prospekt that has survived to this day, one of the ten imperial palaces of St. Petersburg. This building has a special destiny - it was often given as a gift, and this gift was either as a token of love or for a wedding.

The Anichkov Palace is located in the very center of the city, on the embankment of the Fontanka River, near the Anichkov Bridge, after which it got its name. And the name of the bridge is associated with the name of engineer-lieutenant colonel M. Anichkov, whose regiment was stationed in this area and built the crossing.

Story

The construction of the palace began in the middle of the 18th century, when a palace coup brought Empress Elizabeth to the throne. In those years, this area was the outskirts of St. Petersburg, and Nevsky Prospekt was just a clearing. Therefore, the palace, which was planned as an ornament at the entrance to the capital, was turned by the main entrance to the Fontanka River, from which a canal with a harbor was dug towards the palace, and Nevsky, insignificant at that time, remained on the side of the palace.

The baroque building was designed by Mikhail Zemtsov, and after his death, the construction of the palace was completed by Bartolomeo Rastrelli. A garden with flower beds and fountains was laid out around the palace.

Elizabeth granted the completed Anichkov Palace to her favorite Alexei Razumovsky. After his death, the building passed to his brother Cyril, but Catherine II, who ascended the throne, bought the palace and also presented it to her favorite, Count Grigory Potemkin. 100 thousand rubles were added to the gift for the arrangement of the palace. This money was used to rebuild the Anichkov Palace in the style of classicism - it acquired a more austere look, elegant stucco molding disappeared, and the harbor was covered up.

At the end of the 18th century, the palace was again bought into the possession of the royal family and the imperial office was equipped in it, and the architect Quarenghi built two separate buildings in front of the palace. In 1809, Alexander I gave the Anichkov Palace as a wedding present to his sister, Grand Duchess Ekaterina Pavlovna, and years later, after her departure, the building was again bought into the treasury to become a wedding gift to the future Emperor Nicholas I. During this period, the architect Rossi carried out a redevelopment of the palace , and also built an arched "service building", a pair of garden pavilions and a fence around the palace garden.

In 1841, the Anichkov Palace became a wedding gift to the son of Nicholas, Alexander II, and a quarter of a century later it was again presented as a wedding gift to the future Alexander III, who fenced the building with a blank wall from the side of the square, fearing terrorists. After his death, the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna lived in the palace.

After the revolution, the Museum of Old Petersburg was briefly opened in the Anichkov Palace, but already in 1925 it was closed.

St. Petersburg Palace of Youth Creativity

On February 12, 1937, the ex-imperial residence began to belong to children - the Leningrad Palace of Pioneers was located in the building (which changed its name to the Palace of Youth Creativity in 1990).

During the first blockade winter, a surgical hospital worked in the building, but then it was transferred, and already in May 1942 the Palace opened its doors again for the children under the blockade. During the years of the blockade, schoolchildren attended circles and even arranged a New Year tree.

Nowadays, the Palace has 1,300 children's clubs and sports sections, various competitions, scientific conferences, festivals and olympiads are held. The Palace of the Young is the largest institution of additional education in Russia. In the palace ceremonial halls and living rooms, festive evenings and concerts are constantly held.

Olympics

The Anichkov Palace houses the St. Petersburg Olympiad Center, and the results of students' intellectual competitions are published on the official website of the palace.

Anichkov Lyceum

Since 1989, the most gifted students can study in the senior classes within the walls of the Palace, enrolling in the Anichkov Lyceum, located in the Service Building. More than 200 children enrolled in the lyceum on a competitive basis study in the 8th grade of the lyceum.

"Carnival"

The modern theater and concert complex "Karnaval" is the main children's creative platform in St. Petersburg, which opened in 1986 on the territory of the Anichkov Palace. The complex, which is a subdivision of the Palace of Youth Creativity, includes a concert hall with 735 seats, as well as rehearsal and study rooms.

Museum of Anichkov Palace and excursions

Employees of the Museum of History conduct sightseeing tours of the palace. An independent visit to the palace is impossible, it can only be viewed as part of excursion groups.

Anichkov Palace- one of the imperial palaces of St. Petersburg, near the Anichkov Bridge on the embankment of the Fontanka River (Nevsky Prospekt, 39). The palace got its name from the Anichkov bridge. The oldest surviving building on Nevsky Prospekt.

Story

It began to be built in 1741 by decree of Empress Elizabeth, who had just ascended the throne as a result of another coup. The project of a multi-storey building in the form of an extended letter "H" was created by one of the first architects of the new capital, Mikhail Zemtsov. B. Rastrelli completed the construction in the high baroque style.

At that time, the Fontanka served as the outskirts of the city, and Nevsky Prospekt was still a clearing. Thus, the palace was supposed to decorate the entrance to the capital. A special canal was dug from the Fontanka to the palace, ending at the entrance with a small harbor. Hence the unusual position of the palace, standing sideways to Nevsky Prospekt. The built palace, reminiscent of Peterhof arranged with a garden, fountains, flower beds, Elizabeth presented to her favorite Alexei Razumovsky. Subsequently, the palace repeatedly acted as a gift, usually for a wedding. After accession to the throne, Catherine II, having bought it from Razumovsky's brother Kirill, considered it most appropriate to present it also to her favorite, Count Grigory Potemkin. 100 thousand rubles were added to the gift for the arrangement of the palace “to taste”. As a result, the palace was remodeled in 1776-1778 by the architect I. E. Starov in the classicist style, so the multi-storey structure characteristic of the Baroque was destroyed, the stucco molding disappeared, and the harbor was covered up. As a result, the palace became more strict, but also monotonous.

At the end of the 18th century, the palace was bought out to the treasury, for some time it housed the Cabinet of His Imperial Majesty, for which subsequently a separate building was built by the architect Quarenghi on the Fontanka embankment in front of the palace, which blocked the view of the palace from the Anichkov Bridge. Alexander I gave his beloved sister Grand Duchess Ekaterina Pavlovna as a dowry for the wedding with Prince George of Oldenburg. In 1817, Nikolai Pavlovich, the future Nicholas I, moved into the palace. Under him, the architect Rossi replanned some of the interiors of the palace, and also included the palace with the adjacent garden in the ensemble of the Alexandrinsky Theater Square (now Ostrovsky Square). After ascending the throne and moving to the Winter Palace, Nikolai moved here for the duration of the post, court balls were also held here. When in 1837 the Winter Palace was reconstructed after a terrible fire, the august family moved to Anichkov and lived there for some time. After the death of the emperor in 1855, the palace was renamed "Nikolaevsky", but the name did not stick. His son Alexander, the future Alexander II, was also brought up in the palace, one of his teachers was Pushkin's friend, the poet Vasily Zhukovsky, who had his own apartment in the palace. He also taught the Russian language to Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. On November 23, 1836, Alexander Pushkin was invited to an audience with the emperor, from whom Nicholas demanded to refrain from a duel.

In 1841, Nicholas gave the palace, again for the wedding, to his son Alexander, the future Alexander II, and he, a quarter of a century later, also for the wedding of his son Alexander, the future Alexander III. Fearing terrorists, Alexander III chose the palace as his residence. At this time, a blank wall was built from the side of the square.

After the revolution, the museum of the city did not exist here for long, in 1925 it was closed, and only on February 12, 1937, the Leningrad Palace of Pioneers, now the Palace of Youth Creativity and the Anichkov Lyceum, opened in the palace. During the Great Patriotic War, on October 1, 1941, a surgical hospital was opened in the Palace of Pioneers. He worked throughout the first blockade winter, taking a significant number of wounded people. In the spring of 1942, the hospital was transferred from the Palace, and in May the Palace of Pioneers was reopened for children under the siege.