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The Summer Palace of Peter I is considered one of the oldest buildings in St. Petersburg. The house is in a very beautiful place called the Summer Garden. This park was laid out at the beginning of the 18th century, when northern capital just started building up. To work on his summer residence, Peter I invited eminent architects and garden masters. The king dreamed of building a Versailles-style garden here. Looking ahead, let's say that he succeeded and until now the Summer Garden remains one of the favorite places for tourists and residents of the city to relax.

The Summer Palace of Peter I in St. Petersburg is not splendid. This is a very modest building in the Baroque style, quite unlike the royal mansions.

The place for Summer Palace Peter chose between the Neva and the Fontanka (in those years - Nameless Yerik), just where the estate of the Swedish major Erich von Konow was located. It was here that a small two-story stone house was built according to the project of the architect Domenico Trezzini. True, initially Peter made the plan of the house on his own, and Trezzini only corrected it. It should be noted that the Summer Palace of Peter I is not distinguished by pomp. This is a very modest building in the Baroque style, quite unlike the royal mansions. The layout of both floors is exactly the same. There are only 14 rooms, 2 kitchens and 2 internal corridors. On the first floor there were rooms of the king, on the second - his wife Catherine. The owners used this house only in the warm season - from May to October. That is why the Summer Palace of Peter I has thin walls and single frames in the windows. The facade of the palace is decorated with 28 bas-reliefs depicting the events of the Northern War.

On the roof of the Summer Palace of Peter I there is a copper weather vane in the form of St. George the Victorious slaying a snake. The weather vane sets in motion the mechanism of the wind device located inside the house. The wind direction and strength were indicated on a special instrument panel. This device, unusual for that time, Peter I ordered in Dresden from the court mechanic.

Despite the external simplicity, the Summer Palace of Peter I had everything that was required for the needs of the sovereign. In the waiting room, he read letters, dealt with complaints, and occasionally received visitors. In the neighborhood there was a lathe and a machine tool, for which Peter worked, a bedroom, a dressing room, a kitchen, a dining room and a large assembly room. For the guilty, a punishment cell was provided. The interior decoration of the palace in allegorical form glorified the victory of Russia over the Swedes in the Northern War. On the second floor were Catherine's bedroom, a nursery, a room for ladies-in-waiting and a separate room for dancing.

Interestingly, in the Summer Palace of Peter I, a sewage system was equipped - the very first in all of St. Petersburg. The building was washed from three sides with water, which entered the house with the help of pumps. The flow of the Fontanka River served as the driving force behind the sewage system.

Next to the palace is another building - Human chambers. Here was located the famous Amber Room, a huge library and numerous collections of various things that Peter collected. For example, the anatomical collection of the Dutch scientist Ruysch was kept in the Human Chambers. In fact, this house housed a large museum: here the king brought various curiosities, mechanisms, many compasses, astronomical instruments, stones with inscriptions, household items of different peoples and much, much more.

The Summer Palace performed its main function as a country residence of the tsar until the middle of the 18th century. Then officials began to use it. For some time the palace even stood abandoned. This is what saved it from restructuring. In 1934, the historical and art museum was located here. The building was damaged during the Great Patriotic War. But a large-scale reconstruction in the mid-50s of the 20th century helped to completely restore the palace. Today the residence of the tsar is part of the Russian Museum, anyone can go inside and find out how Peter I lived.

Practical Information

Address of the Summer Garden: St. Petersburg, Kutuzova Embankment, 2. The nearest metro station is Gostiny Dvor. Entrance to the garden is free, opening hours - from 10.00 to 20.00. Day off - Tuesday.

Summer Palace of Peter I

Until 1703, here, near the Neva and Fontanka, there was the estate of the Swedish officer Konau. After the founding of St. Petersburg, in 1704, the summer residence of Peter I was located on the site of the estate, which began to be called summer garden. At the same time, a wooden house was built here for him. This house was built on the very corner, in the place where the Fontanka flows out of the river. From the Fontanka, next to the Summer House of Peter I, a small harbor was dug, thus surrounding it with water from three sides. The water came up to the very porch of the building.




Cabinet
The Summer Palace of Peter I is the name of the residence of Peter I that has survived to this day in its original form. It is located in the Summer Garden (St. Petersburg).


On August 18, 1710, the architect Domenico Trezzini began to build a new stone Summer Palace of Peter I on the site of a wooden one. This house was built in the Dutch style, as Peter I loved. It became one of the first stone residential buildings in St. Petersburg, along with the Menshikov Palace, Golovkin's house. The construction of the Summer Palace of Peter the Great took four years






Lower kitchen
On the first floor of the Summer Palace were the chambers of Peter, on the second - his wife Catherine and children. On the ground floor was the reception room of the king. Here he received written requests and oral complaints. Next to the reception room, a punishment cell was equipped, where Peter personally stuffed the guilty and then released them himself. From the reception room one could get into a large "assembly" room.


Writing instrument of Peter I



Staircase to the chambers of Empress Catherine I.


Upper kitchen




Green Cabinet






Chinese living room


Children's




Bedroom of Catherine I






Throne






Reception of Catherine I
Peter I lived in this house only from May to October. Because the palace is called the Summer Palace, it has rather thin walls. There are 14 rooms, two kitchens and two corridors. Ceiling height - only 3.3 meters. One of Peter I's favorite rooms in the Summer Palace was the lathe. The well-known mechanic Andrey Nartov was in charge of her household.


Turnery

The first sewerage system in St. Petersburg appeared in the Summer Palace. Water was supplied to the house by pumps, went to the Fontanka. The work of the flowing sewage was facilitated by the fact that the building was washed by water from three sides, the Fontanka current was the driving force. After the flood of 1777, Havanets was covered with water, and the sewerage system ceased to function.




Dining room
In the lobby of the Summer Palace, an attempt was made on the life of Peter I by one of the schismatics. After that, his co-religionists were ordered to wear a piece of red and yellow cloth on their clothes in order to distinguish them from other people.


Since 1934, a historical and household museum has been operating in the Summer Palace. The decoration of the premises was created by the artists A. Zakharov, I. Zavarzin, F. Matveev.


Painting "Summer Palace of Peter I". Series "Views of St. Petersburg". Paper, watercolor, ink. State Hermitage. Gift of the artist to Emperor Alexander I (1810) Andrey Efimovich Martynov

The Summer Palace was built in the Baroque style. It is one of the oldest buildings in the city. The two-story palace is quite modest and consists of only fourteen rooms and two kitchens.






The facade of the palace is decorated with 29 bas-reliefs depicting the events of the Northern War in allegorical form. The bas-reliefs were made by the German architect and sculptor Andreas Schlüter.


Peter moved into the partially finished palace in 1712 and lived there in the summer until his death (1725). He occupied the lower floor, and the premises of the second floor were intended for Catherine. After Peter's death, until the middle of the 19th century, the palace was used as a summer residence for dignitaries and courtiers.


Navigational instruments from the time of Peter I are still in operation
In 1934, a historical and household museum was opened in the palace building.




During the Great Patriotic War, the building was damaged: the frames were torn out, the plaster on the ceilings of the rooms and on the facade crumbled, the roof was damaged by shell fragments. The restoration of the palace began in 1946. In 1947 the museum was reopened to the public. In the 1950s-1960s, a full-scale restoration was carried out in order to restore the original appearance of the palace, including the floors were replaced, the heating system was changed, the molding, the ceiling pattern were restored, and the upholstery of the walls with fabric was returned.


Currently, the museum is a branch of the Russian Museum.
Address - Summer Garden, 3
Photo - S.N. Kudas
Winter Palace Peter I
I enter the Palace, where there is silence,
Light candlelight like at that time
And the spirit of the era of Peter meets me,
And history is a long burden.
Leonid Counter

An unknown Italian (?) artist, after a drawing by M.I. Makhaev. View of the Winter Palace. Fragment The Winter Palace of Peter I - the personal residence of Emperor Peter I, erected on the Neva embankment near the Winter Canal, an architectural and memorial architectural monument of the early 18th century, partially preserved and located in the building of the Hermitage Theater, is included in the museum complex of the State Hermitage Museum.


Arcade front
On the site of the Admiralteysky Island, adjacent to the courtyard of the shipbuilder Theodosius Sklyaev, between the current Millionnaya Street and the Neva embankment, in 1712, the Wedding Chambers of Peter I were built, located on the Upper Embankment, which was then held approximately in the middle of the block.
However, after 4 years, the Winter Court of Peter I expanded significantly to the north: they broke piles in the shallow water of the river and built a new embankment that still exists today: “... when the Millionnaya line embankment began to be built with stone chambers, then this line leaned into the Neva River for several sazhen, then the aforementioned tents of the former structure remained in the yard "

G. Mattarnovi. facade project. 1716
Peter I conceived the new Winter House on the newly organized embankment as a personal residence, fully in line with his lifestyle and tastes. In 1716, the architect Georg Mattarnovi creates a project and starts construction. The royal family remains to live in the old palace - the Wedding Chambers.
Location Features
It would seem that the casual position of the palace among the ordinary ordinary buildings of philistine houses was in fact surprisingly well chosen by Peter I himself. It is from here that the most impressive panoramas of the Neva in front of the Strelka are still being revealed Vasilyevsky Island, gave the banks of the Bolshaya Neva and the expanse of the Malaya Neva leaving to the sea: "... the palace is located so that most of the city, the fortress, the house of Prince Menshikov and especially the open sea are visible from it"
- Description capital city Petersburg // White Nights. L., 1975. S. 213.


The main façade overlooking the Neva was far from the ceremonial representativeness of the palaces of St. Petersburg nobles, resembling a solid burgher dwelling. The central risalit with four windows on the first floor is rusticated, and on the second floor it is decorated with Doric pilasters.
In the triangular pediment, two allegorical figures supported a cartouche for the coat of arms topped with a crown. The side parts of the facade with wide blades between the windows are decorated with panels with garlands. The roof is of the Dutch type (with a fracture), above the risalit - in the form of a tent with a decorative vase. The rooms did not exceed 18 square meters. m, and only in the front facing the Neva building Big hall had an area of ​​75 sq. m, and the corner to the Winter Canal - 41 sq. m. Pay attention to the L-shaped corridor separating the rooms of the king.


The front yard and the sleigh of Peter I
Returning in March 1718 after a trip to Europe, Peter I makes adjustments to the project of the new palace, ordering "to make ... eight chambers of the upper housing" in "small tents
According to Mattarnovi's sketches, the palace was magnificently finished with red marble on the walls of the Great Hall, plaster reliefs, oak doors and window frames. The palace had four oak staircases and floors - "French style with frames". In February 1720 the palace was ready.


The palace complex, isolated from neighboring buildings (including the Wedding Tents), also included an office building with a gallery, a boathouse for storing and repairing the sailboat of Peter I.


Basement in the central part of the palace
Between the boathouse and the living quarters of the palace, a Havanese (7.5x16 m) was placed and a tiny (16x19 m) parterre flower garden with a fountain at the intersection of diagonal paths was arranged. The patio was lined with Dutch yellow brick.


Small tents of the Winter House of Peter I. Architect G. Mattarnovi, 1716
The architect Georg Johann Mattarnovi died suddenly on November 2, 1719, when the palace was in the midst of construction. Whether N. F. Gerbel or B. F. Rastrelli were among his successors is not documented.

Garden carriage of Peter I
In the period from 1719 to 1722, the central and eastern parts of the front building of the ceremonial halls overlooking the Neva were built. Matarnovi refused any separation of the intermediate parts connecting the three risalits, and made them extremely small - only three windows. However, visually they seem larger due to two more windows, compositionally related to the side ledges. The western part of the palace, built earlier and already representing a single whole, organically entered the new extended and generally solemn facade. To achieve unity, Mattarnovi repeats this western "burgher" facade of the Winter House as an eastern risalit.


VIEW OF THE OLD WINTER PALACE IN WHICH PETER I DIED. Engraving by E. Vinogradov from a drawing by M. Makhaev. 1753.
The architect concentrated the entire effect of the royal residence in the center with a repetition of the well-known effect of the three-span triumphal arch of the Roman Caesars. Powerful columns of the Corinthian order on high pedestals adjoin paired pilasters and form a baroque portico directed upwards of four pillars, bearing a strongly loosened entablature.


The main plastic element is an attic with a spectacular finish. Tall, complex with numerous protrusions and wests, emphasized by panels, it also bears three magnificent baroque cartouches on the continuation of the window axes. The central cartouche, decorated with figures and a large crown rising on a pedestal, has complicated outlines typical of German art. On the axes of the columns, on the attic, there are four statues with attributes characteristic of the allegories of the time of Peter the Great.



With the construction of the Winter Palace of Peter I, the era of modest royal dwellings ends - this palace becomes the most solemn in St. Petersburg. At the same time, with all its divisions, scale, window sizes and the height of the cornice, the palace is organically connected with the surrounding buildings along the Neva embankment, which gives reason to talk about laying the foundations of ensemble architecture, characteristic of St. Petersburg architecture of the next era.

By the autumn of 1723 new part the palace was ready. On November 24, here, in the new Cavalier Hall, a great feast took place, ending with a beautiful fireworks display on the ice of the Neva. And on December 9, in the Great Palace Hall, in the presence of the entire court and many close associates, the Duke of Holstein was betrothed to the eldest daughter of Peter I, Anna. The Great Hall was very large - 17.95 by 11.56 meters, height - 6.69 meters. The walls were completed by a frieze and a cornice, which were crowned with a paduga. Five large chandeliers hung from a rectangular panel on the ceiling. It was this hall that became the "Sad" or "Funeral fat" of Peter the Great.
In 1725, Peter I died in this palace.

After the death of the tsar in 1726 - 1727, at the direction of Catherine I, the palace was expanded by Domenico Trezzini towards Bolshaya Nemetskaya Street. Also, squares of service buildings are being built along the perimeter of the site, and Havanese is covered. Instead of numerous, multi-temporal and diverse buildings located on the site, it was necessary to create a two-story building of considerable length with rhythmically segmented modest facades overlooking the canal and Bolshaya Nemetskaya Street, where it was planned to build an arch to enter the large front yard. Everything was done with incredible "haste".

Some work continued after the death of Catherine I, interiors were created for Peter II. Last changes external appearance date back to 1731 in connection with the return of the court to St. Petersburg from Moscow. However, Anna Ioannovna settled in Apraksin's house, which stood on the same Upper Embankment, but closer to the Admiralty. Subsequently, the Old Winter Palace was used for various needs of the imperial court, and under Elizabeth Petrovna, a Life Campanian company was placed in it, with the help of which the daughter of Peter I took the royal throne. At the end of the 18th century, the Hermitage Theater was built on this site.


Small tents of the Winter House of Petra
It seemed that the Winter Palace of Peter was lost and forever buried under the new theater building of the architect Giacomo Quarenghi. The research undertaken by Nicholas I, oddly enough, did not produce results, and our ancestors for a long time forgot about the palace that once existed.

The first architectural studies were carried out by the chief architect of the Hermitage V. P. Lukin and a researcher in his department E. M. Bazhenova in 1976, 1979 and 1981. A series of soundings laid on the building of the Hermitage Theater made it possible to reveal the boundaries of the old walls of the Petrovsky Palace, the so-called "Small Tents". Subsequent disclosures and field surveys carried out in 1985-1987 made it possible to make a graphic reconstruction and, using extensive documentary material, to determine the stages of construction of the Winter House of Peter I. The group of researchers included architects G. V. Mikhailov, V. K. Galochkin, I. V. Burkovskaya, V. V. Efimov.

Painting by Paul Delaroche (Paul Delaroche) "Peter the Great"
Research carried out by architects showed that during the construction of the Hermitage Theater (1783-1789), Quarenghi retained separate walls of the basement and first floors of the Petrine Palace, as well as entire groups of premises for various purposes. In the space under the stage of the theater, a part of the main courtyard was found, surrounded on both sides by arcades of bypass galleries and enfilades of rooms of the Winter Palace.

The plot of land adjacent to the facade, during the reconstruction, was lined with clinker bricks, as was the case under Peter I, and in the higher part of the courtyard - with cobblestones (mid-18th century). On the surface of the walls, which retained elements of architectural decoration - rustication and medallions, under the layers of plaster of a later time, particles of paint were found, in accordance with the color of which the walls were painted in our time.

Several rooms on the first floor of the "Small tents" of Peter I have also been preserved. In three of them, historical interiors have been recreated, and the decoration of the rooms has been restored in accordance with the documents describing the work carried out in them: wall panels made of Dutch tiles, type-setting parquets, oak shutters and window bindings. In the study of Peter I, a stove and a fireplace have been preserved, the tiled decoration of which was also restored “in the Dutch manner”. The furnishings are made up of items that belonged to Peter I, which are kept in the Hermitage collection.

In addition, on two floors of the theater along the Winter Canal, twelve living quarters of the “Newly Built Chambers” of Empress Catherine I, created by Domenico Trezzini in 1726-1727, have been preserved. In the restored premises of the palace in 1992, a permanent exhibition. Entrance for visitors from the side Palace embankment(house number 32). Opening hours: Tuesday - Saturday 10.30 - 17.00; Sunday 10.30 - 16.00; day off - Monday. Among the opened and restored interiors, the following expositions should be noted:
Cabinet


Interior decorate map Baltic Sea and paintings: “View of the New Bridge in Paris” (H. Mommers) and “Portrait of Peter I” (Peter van der Werf). The desk of Peter I was made in England according to the drawing of the king. On it you can see a spotting scope, a sun and mechanical clock, an inkwell, a sandbox, as well as an amber box presented to Peter I by the Prussian king Friedrich Wilhelm I.
Dining room



The interior is decorated with a Flemish tapestry and paintings by Dutch artists of the 17th century. On the table is a Chinese porcelain dish, a Dutch-made crystal goblet with an engraving, a refrigerator-bucket from Augsburg with a bottle of wine found here, during excavations of the central part of the palace. Between the windows there is an English watch with a miniature portrait.
Turning




The main attraction is the lathe.
front yard

Here you can see the carnival sleigh garden carriage of Peter I - the rarest example of a pleasure carriage from the beginning of the 18th century

Wax person of Peter I
Under the once-existing "Funeral Fat", where Peter the Great was buried, the premises of the palace guardhouse (guardroom) have been preserved, in which it was decided to exhibit the "Wax Person". Peter I died on January 29, 1725 in the "Kontorka" - an office located in the western part of the palace. Immediately after the death of the emperor, K. B. Rastrelli removed a plaster mask from his face and made casts from his hands and feet. Based on these casts and a mask, in 1725 he created "Person"

Before the founding of St. Petersburg in 1703, the banks of the Neva were by no means deserted.

Upstream, life was seething in the city of Nyen, and in the place where the Fontanka River branched from the Neva, there was a rich estate of a Swedish major who served in the Nyenschanz fortress.

The estate was called the Konau manor, and the Russians called it "Konon's estate".

On this place, after the founding of the city, the summer residence of Peter was built.

• It should not be assumed that the banks of the Neva were inhabited by the Swedes, who were expelled by Tsar Peter as a result of the war. Almost next to Konon's estate stood a completely Russian village "Usadishchi".

Unlike the surrounding swampy area, the territory of the estate was landscaped not only in terms of noble amenities, but also quite utilitarian: the field was plowed up, fertilized and had a good vegetable garden.

On the basis of this garden (when the need for it disappeared), from 1706 around the palace they began to plant the Summer Garden, which became famous throughout the country.

At first, the building of the royal house was wooden, a canal was dug from the Fontanka River to it, thus, for safety, the estate was surrounded on three sides by water.

Since the main events of the beginning of the construction of St. Petersburg unfolded on the other side of the Neva, a small mooring bay was organized in front of the Summer Palace, which was called Gavanets.

In 1710, according to the project of the architect Domenico Trezzini, the stone Summer Palace was built.

The facade of the new building was decorated by the architect Schluter with bas-reliefs depicting the events of the Northern War.

Peter ordered the same architect to equip the interior of the palace, but Schluter died, having devoted only a year of his life to the palace.

Peter's wife and children lived on the second floor, and the king's chambers were located on the first. There was also a reception room, where he received petitions, and a punishment cell, where the tsar himself planted the guilty, and from where he himself let them out.

It was in the vestibule of the Summer Palace that the first attempt on Peter's life was made by schismatics.

And Peter's favorite room in the palace was a turning workshop.

The palace was called "Summer" because the royal family moved here in May and lived until October.

The walls were quite thin and there was no heating. On the other hand, the first sewerage system in St. Petersburg was installed in the Summer Palace.

It was flowing, this was facilitated by the strength of the flow of the Fontanka River. Water was pumped into the house.

In 1777, a flood destroyed the canals around the palace, and the sewerage system ceased to function.

After the death of the king and his wife, no one lived in the palace, it was used for meetings of the Privy Council and for the rest of the court emperors. And after the construction of a new large Summer Palace for Empress Elizabeth Petrovna on the banks of the Moika (where the Mikhailovsky Castle now stands), this one was completely abandoned.

This saved the house from alterations and rebuilding and retained its original appearance to this day.

After the revolution, it was transferred to the Russian Museum, in 1934 it was given the status of an independent Historical Museum, but then returned back.

Today the Summer Palace of Peter the Great is a branch of the Russian Museum.

In the 60s of the 20th century, a complete restoration of the palace was carried out, thanks to which many of the original elements were restored.

Until now, the Summer Palace has retained a cozy homely atmosphere. In the exposition of the museum you can see the personal belongings of the tsar, his wife Catherine, their courtiers and the maid of honor of the empress.

Price entrance ticket:

• adults - 80 rubles
• children and students - 30 rubles

Opening hours:

• The palace is open from June to October from 10.00 to 18.00
• Day off - Tuesday and last Monday of the month
• Important! The opening hours of the museum are subject to weather conditions.

Official site

• St. Petersburg, Summer Garden, Kutuzov Embankment, 2

How to get there:

The nearest metro station is Gostiny Dvor.

Coming out of the subway underground passage We get to the other side of Nevsky Prospekt. This is an intersection with Sadovaya Street.

You need to go along Sadovaya without turning anywhere.

We pass the Mikhailovsky Palace, cross the Moika River, go along the Swan Canal (on the other side of which is the Summer Garden). The road rests on the Palace embankment.

Here you need to turn left, cross the Upper Swan Bridge and, having reached the middle of the lattice of the Summer Garden, go inside. Turn left at the first alley.

The alley goes to the Fontanka embankment, where the Palace of Peter the Great is located.

Until 1703, here, near the Neva and Fontanka, there was the estate of the Swedish officer Konau. Immediately after the founding of St. Petersburg, the summer residence of Peter I was located on this site, which began to be called the Summer Garden.

According to the historian K. V. Malinovsky, the Konau house was moved closer to the Neva for its reorganization into the summer residence of the king. From the autumn of 1706 to the spring of 1707, the draftsman of the artillery order, Ivan Matveyevich Ugryumov, was engaged in this. The death of Ugryumov in 1707 slowed down the work, which is confirmed by Kikin's report to Peter I in February 1708: " Mansions are now being made in your majesty's house, which are ordered to be moved, and will be ready in the coming month."[Quoted from: 3, p. 39]. On March 12, Kikin again wrote to the tsar:" There are mansions in your house, which are postponed during the week, although not all, but the kitchen and others will be ready"[Quoted from: 3, pp. 39, 40].

Near the Summer House of Peter I, by that time, a small Havanese had already been dug. It is known that in 1706 Ugryumov was deepening it. Thus, the water surrounded the building on three sides and approached the very porch.

In January 1711, Peter I ordered the wooden building to be moved to another place "near the Kalinkin bridge". On the vacated site in May, they began to build the foundation for the stone Summer Palace of Peter I. This house was built in the Dutch style, as Peter I liked. The Tsar personally drafted the building, after which it was corrected by the architect Domenico Trezzini. It became one of the first stone residential buildings in St. Petersburg, on par with the Menshikov Palace, Golovkin's home. The construction of the Summer Palace of Peter the Great took four years.

The facade of the building is decorated with 28 bas-reliefs by the architect Andreas Schlüter, which depict the events of the Great Northern War. Above the door is the figure of Minerva (the goddess of wisdom) surrounded by victorious banners and war trophies. Schluter came to Russia in 1713 and lived in the Summer Palace even before its construction was completed.

In 1714, a weather vane was fixed on the roof of the Summer Palace, showing not only the direction of the wind, but also its strength. The weather vane was mechanically connected to a device that showed these parameters on a kind of scoreboard inside the building. This device was ordered by Peter I in Dresden from the court mechanic. The weather vane was decorated with a gilded figure of George the Victorious.

On the first floor of the Summer Palace were the chambers of Peter, on the second - his wife Catherine and children. On the ground floor was the reception room of the king. Here he received written requests and oral complaints. Next to the reception room, a punishment cell was equipped, where Peter personally stuffed the guilty and then released them himself. From the reception room one could get into the large "Assembly" room. On the second floor there was a reception room for the Empress, a throne room and a kitchen with an oven, in which Catherine I baked pies for her husband.

The first sewerage system in St. Petersburg appeared in the Summer Palace. Water was supplied to the house by pumps, went to the Fontanka. The work of the flowing sewage was facilitated by the fact that the building was washed by water from three sides, the Fontanka current was the driving force. After the flood of 1777, Havanets was covered with water, and the sewerage system ceased to function.

There were no utility rooms, except for cooks, in the Summer Palace. For them, another building was built along the Fontanka, known as the People's Chambers. It was in these rooms that the famous Amber Cabinet, the anatomical collection of Ruysch, the library of Peter I were located. A special gallery connected the Summer Palace with people's chambers.

Peter I lived in this house only from May to October. Because the palace is called the Summer Palace, it has rather thin walls. There are 14 rooms, two kitchens and two corridors. Ceiling height - only 3.3 meters. One of Peter I's favorite rooms in the Summer Palace was the lathe. The well-known mechanic Andrei Nartov was in charge of her household.

The Summer Palace served as a place for Peter I to receive visitors with their written requests. It also held state meetings of ministers under the leadership of the emperor. After one of these meetings in the lobby of the Summer Palace, an attempt was made on the life of Peter I by one of the schismatics. After that, his co-religionists were ordered to wear a piece of red and yellow cloth on their clothes in order to distinguish them from other people.

The Summer Palace in the form of a royal residence existed until the middle of the 18th century. Then they began to adapt it to the needs of officials. Corresponding repair work made changes in the appearance of the historic building. In 1815, the Minister of War Prince Gorchakov lived here, the next year - the Minister of Justice, Prince Lobanov-Rostovsky, in 1822 - a military general, governor Count Miloradovich, after him - the Minister of Finance Kankrin.

During the St. Petersburg flood of 1824, the Summer Palace was flooded to the middle of the first floor windows. This event is reminiscent of an old bronze plaque showing the level of water rise.

Since 1934, a historical and household museum has been operating in the Summer Palace.

The Summer Palace of Peter I in St. Petersburg was built in 1711–1712. designed by architect Domenico Trezzini. Architects and sculptors from Western Europe Cast: Andreas Schluter, Georg-Johann Mattarnovi, Jean-Baptiste-Alexandre Leblon.

The Summer Palace of Peter I has a happy fate: after the death of Peter the palace never rebuilt, although there were some losses in the interior decoration. To this day, the layout and appearance of the building, the picturesque ceiling lamps of allegorical content, pine wardrobes, tiled stoves and wall decoration with painted Dutch tiles, wood paneling of the ground floor rooms, interior decoration of the Lower and Upper Cooking Rooms and the Green Cabinet have been preserved unchanged. The unique wind instrument in the Cabinet of Peter I still shows the direction and strength of the wind, as well as the time. On the second floor there is a Danzig closet, in which, according to legend, Peter I kept his underwear and over the knee boots.

The Summer Palace is valuable not only as one of the early architectural monuments of St. Petersburg, but also as evidence of the tastes, interests, aspirations of Peter the Great, which were reflected in the architectural features of the monument.

For the arrangement of his residence, Peter I chose a habitable and advantageously located manor on a cape between the Neva and Bezymyanny Erik (now the Fontanka River), where the estate of the Swedish major Erich Berndt von Konow (Konau) was located - a small house with a utility yard and a garden. At first, Peter could use Konau's house for living, but, perhaps, even then he built his own house for him. Ivan Matveev (Ugryumov), who from 1705 to 1707 supervised all engineering and construction work on the former Swedish manor. It was this building that I saw in 1710–1711. the author of "Description of St. Petersburg and Kronshlot": "Right by the river," he writes, "is the royal residence, that is, a small house in the garden of the Dutch facade, colorfully painted with gilded window frames and lead ornaments."

At the direction of Peter, a stone building was built on the site of his former house according to the project of the architect D. Trezzini. On April 17, 1712, Peter had already moved to live in the Summer Palace, and a year later the royal residence was visited by "overseas" guests: c.) they approached me, that is, to my very chambers .... "

After the death of Peter I, the Summer Palace lost its significance as a royal dwelling. For some time court servants lived here. . During the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna, Peter's daughter, who honored the memory of her father, "dilapidated" things were repaired, and in the first half of the 19th century the former royal residence began to be used as a summer residence for prominent dignitaries of that time.

On the occasion of the 200th anniversary of St. Petersburg, an exhibition of monuments of the Petrine era was held in the Summer Palace. From the imperial palaces, the Hermitage, the State Archives, portraits and engravings, banners, military weapons, pieces of furniture and applied art, books, drawings were delivered. The bed of Peter I from the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, presented at the exhibition, is still on display at the palace.

After 1917, the palace was preserved as a historical and architectural monument, but did not yet have the status of a museum. In 1925, the palace was transferred to the jurisdiction of the historical department of the State Russian Museum, and exhibitions were held in it that were not related to the historical past of the palace.

Since 1934, the Summer Palace of Peter I has become an independent museum of a memorial, historical and artistic nature. At the exposition of the museum you can see the clothes of Peter I, furniture, paintings and engravings, objects of applied art of Peter the Great's time.

During the Great Patriotic War, the Summer Palace was hit by an explosive wave, but the damage was eliminated already in 1946, and the following year the palace-museum was opened to visitors. In the 1960s the palace underwent a comprehensive restoration under the guidance of the architect A. E. Gessen.

Since 2004, the Summer Palace has become part of the State Russian Museum. In 2015–2017 the complex restoration was carried out in the palace, which was preceded by the painstaking work of historians and art historians. During the restoration process, the atmosphere of the royal dwelling of the beginning of the 18th century was restored in the palace.

Of particular note is the restoration of the picturesque plafonds in seven rooms of the Summer Palace, after which the darkened unique painting was brought closer to its original color. There was a feeling of air and soaring allegorical figures.

In the Green Cabinet, where Peter's rarities were placed in special showcases, which marked the beginning of the history of the Kunstkamera in St. Petersburg, the unique wall painting on wood of the early 18th century was cleaned and strengthened. The oak doors and shutters have been restored in the palace, and the parquet floor and fabrics on the walls have been updated in accordance with historical materials. 19th century window frames have been replaced.

Particular attention was paid to the famous wind instrument (anemometer), which was ordered by Peter I in Dresden and installed in the Summer Palace in 1714. The device combines three dials: one of them is an hour, the other two are indicators of the direction and speed of the wind. The arrows of the right and left dials are connected to the weather vane located on the roof through a shaft cut through the wall. The device is an integral part of the Summer Palace, its most unique rarity. The wind instrument has a carved frame, on which mythological characters are represented: the lord of the winds Eol, the lord of the seas Neptune and sea emblems - ship rudders, oars, tridents and a crown of rosters crowning the frame - the prows of ships.

Experts carefully approached the restoration of the Lower and Upper Cooks, finished with painted Dutch tiles. In Nizhnyaya Povarna, a black marble shell is presented, which is part of the water supply system of the time of Peter the Great. Under the building of the palace, a brick vaulted tunnel has been preserved, which provided the operation of a flow-flushing sewer - the first in St. Petersburg.

A renewed gilded weather vane shone on the roof of the palace.