Panorama of the Winter Palace

The Winter Palace in St. Petersburg is in the past the main imperial palace of Russia, located at the address: Palace Square, 2 / Palace Embankment, 38. The current building of the palace (fifth) was built in 1754-1762 by the Italian architect B. F. Rastrelli in the style of a magnificent Elizabethan baroque with elements of French rococo in the interiors. Since Soviet times, the main exposition of the State Hermitage has been located within the walls of the palace.

From the moment construction was completed in 1762 to 1904, it was used as the official winter residence of Russian emperors. In 1904, Nicholas II moved his permanent residence to the Alexander Palace in Tsarskoe Selo. From October 1915 to November 1917, a hospital named after Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich worked in the palace. From July to November 1917, the palace housed the Provisional Government. In January 1920, the State Museum of the Revolution was opened in the palace, which shared the building with the State Hermitage until 1941.

The Winter Palace and Palace Square form the most beautiful architectural ensemble of the modern city and are one of the main objects of domestic and international tourism.
In total, five winter palaces were built in the city during the period 1711-1764. Initially, Peter I settled in a one-story house built in 1703 not far from the Peter and Paul Fortress.

First Winter Palace - Wedding Chambers of Peter I

Peter the Great owned a plot between the Neva and Millionnaya Street (on the site of the present Hermitage Theatre). In 1708, here, in the depths of the site, a wooden "Winter House" was built - a small two-story house with a high porch and a tiled roof.

In 1712, the stone Wedding Chambers of Peter I were built. This palace was a gift from the Governor of St. Petersburg Alexander Danilovich Menshikov for the wedding of Peter I and Ekaterina Alekseevna.

The Second Winter Palace - the palace of Peter I at the Winter Canal

In 1716, the architect Georg Mattarnovi, on the orders of the tsar, began the construction of a new Winter Palace, on the corner of the Neva and the Winter Canal (which was then called the "Winter Canal"). In 1720, Peter I and his entire family moved from their summer residence to their winter residence. In 1725, Peter died in this palace.

Third Winter Palace - Palace of Anna Ioannovna

Later, Empress Anna Ioannovna considered the Winter Palace too small and in 1731 entrusted its reconstruction to F. B. Rastrelli, who offered her his project for the reconstruction of the Winter Palace. According to his project, it was required to purchase the houses that stood at that time on the site occupied by the current palace and belonged to Count Apraksin, the Naval Academy, Raguzinsky and Chernyshev. Anna Ioannovna approved the project, the houses were bought up, demolished and construction began in the spring of 1732. The facades of this palace were facing the Neva, the Admiralty and the "meadow side", that is, the palace square. In 1735, the construction of the palace was completed, and Anna Ioannovna moved into it to live. The four-story building included about 70 ceremonial halls, more than 100 bedrooms, a gallery, a theater, a large chapel, many stairs, service and guard rooms, as well as palace office rooms. Almost immediately, the palace began to be rebuilt, an extension began to be added along the meadow side of technical buildings, sheds and stables.

Here, on July 2, 1739, Princess Anna Leopoldovna was betrothed to Prince Anton-Ulrich. After the death of Anna Ioannovna, the young emperor John Antonovich was brought here, who stayed here until November 25, 1741, when Elizaveta Petrovna took power into her own hands. Under Elizabeth, the addition to the palace of office premises continued, as a result, by 1750 it “represented a motley, dirty, unworthy view of the place he occupied and the very strangeness of the imperial palace, one wing adjoining the Admiralty, and the other on the opposite side, to the dilapidated chambers of Raguzinsky, not could be pleasing to the empress. On January 1, 1752, the Empress decided to expand the Winter Palace, after which the neighboring plots of Raguzinsky and Yaguzhinsky were bought out. At the new location, Rastrelli built new buildings. According to the project he drew up, these buildings were to be attached to the existing ones and be decorated with them in the same style. In December 1752, the Empress wished to increase the height of the Winter Palace from 14 to 22 meters. Rastrelli was forced to redo the design of the building, after which he decided to build it in a new location. But Elizaveta Petrovna refused to move the new Winter Palace. As a result, the architect decides to rebuild the entire building, the new project was signed by Elizaveta Petrovna on June 16 (June 27), 1754:

"Because in St. Petersburg, our Winter Palace is not only for receiving foreign ministers and attending the Court on the appointed days of festive rites, due to the greatness of our imperial dignity, but also cannot be satisfied with the accommodation we need with the necessary servants and things, for which we We set out to rebuild our Winter Palace with a large space in length, width and height, for which the restructuring, according to the estimate, will require up to 900,000 rubles, what amount, spreading it over two years, it is impossible to take from our salt money. to imagine from what income it is possible to take such an amount of 430 or 450 thousand rubles a year for that business, counting from the beginning of this 1754 and the next 1755, and that this be done immediately, so as not to miss the current winter route for preparing supplies for that building "

Fourth (temporary) Winter Palace

It was built in 1755. It was built by Rastrelli at the corner of Nevsky Prospekt and the embankment of the river. Washers. It was demolished in 1762.

Fifth (existing) Winter Palace

From 1754 to 1762, the construction of the existing and currently existing palace building was underway, which at that time became the tallest residential building in St. Petersburg. The building included about 1500 rooms. The total area of ​​the palace is about 60,000 m². Elizaveta Petrovna did not live to see the completion of construction, Peter III took the job on April 6, 1762. By this time, the decoration of the facades was completed, but many of the interior spaces were not yet ready. In the summer of 1762, Peter III was overthrown from the throne, the construction of the Winter Palace was completed under Catherine II.

First of all, the Empress removed Rastrelli from work. The interior decoration of the palace was carried out by the architects Yu. M. Felten, J. B. Vallin-Delamot and A. Rinaldi under the guidance of Betsky.

Initially, the color of the palace had yellow shades, like those of Versailles and Schönbrunn


In the middle of the 19th century, red shades appeared in the color of the palace.

According to the original layout of the palace, made by Rastrelli, the largest front rooms were on the 2nd floor and overlooked the Neva. As conceived by the architect, the path to the huge “Throne” Hall (which occupied the entire space of the northwestern wing) began from the east - from the “Jordanian” or, as it was formerly called, the “Ambassadorial” stairs and ran through a suite of five anterooms ( of these, three middle halls subsequently made up the current Nicholas Hall). Rastrelli placed the palace theater "Opera House" in the southwestern wing. Kitchens and other services occupied the northeastern wing, and in the southeastern part, between the living quarters and the “Great Church” arranged in the eastern courtyard, a gallery was thrown.

In 1763, the empress moved her chambers to the southeastern part of the palace, under her rooms she ordered the chambers of her favorite G. G. Orlov to be placed (in 1764-1766, the Southern Pavilion of the Small Hermitage will be erected for Orlov, connected to Catherine’s chambers by a gallery on the arch ). In the northwestern risalit, the “Throne Hall” was equipped; a waiting room appeared in front of it - the “White Hall”. A dining room was placed behind the White Hall. Adjacent to it was the "Light Cabinet". The dining room was followed by the “Front Bedchamber”, which became the “Diamond Peace” a year later. In addition, the Empress ordered to equip a library, an office, a boudoir, two bedrooms and a lavatory for herself.

M. Zichy. Ball in the Concert Hall of the Winter Palace during the official visit of Shah Nasir ad-Din in May 1873

In 1764, Catherine II was transferred from Berlin 317 valuable paintings with a total value of 183 thousand thalers from the private collection of paintings by Johann Ernst Gotzkowsky (Johann Ernst Gotzkowsky, 1710-1775) on account of his debt to Prince Vladimir Sergeyevich Dolgorukov. Of these 317 paintings (it is generally believed that there were only 225 of them), mainly of the Dutch-Flemish school of the first half of the 17th century, transferred to Russia in 1764 and laid the foundation for the Hermitage collections, at least 96 canvases have survived here today. The paintings were placed in secluded apartments of the palace, which received the French name "Hermitage" (a place of solitude); from 1767 to 1775 a special building was built for them to the east of the palace. In the 1780s-1790s, work on the decoration of palace interiors was continued by I.E. Starov and G. Quarenghi.

In 1783, by decree of Catherine, the palace theater was demolished.

In the 1790s, by decree of Catherine II, who considered it inappropriate for the public to enter the Hermitage through her own chambers, a gallery-link with the Winter Palace was created - the “Apollo Hall”, with the help of which visitors could bypass the royal apartments. At the same time, Quarenghi also erected a new “Throne (Georgievsky)” hall, opened in 1795. The old throne room was converted into a series of rooms provided for the quarters of the newly married Grand Duke Alexander. The "Marble Gallery" (of three halls) was also created.

In 1826, according to the project of K. I. Rossi, the Military Gallery was built in front of St. George's Hall, which housed 330 portraits of generals who participated in the war of 1812, painted over almost 10 years by D. Dow. In the early 1830s, in the eastern building of the palace, O. Montferrand designed the Field Marshal's, Petrovsky and Armorial Halls.

After the fire of 1837, when all the interiors were destroyed, the restoration work in the Winter Palace was led by architects V.P. Stasov, A.P. Bryullov and A.E. Shtaubert.

The modern three-story building has the shape of a square of 4 wings with a courtyard and facades facing the Neva, the Admiralty and Palace Square. The splendor of the building is given by the magnificent decoration of the facades and rooms. The main façade, facing Palace Square, is cut through by the front passage arch, which was created by Rastrelli after his renovation of the palace in Strelna, probably under the influence of Michetti's magnificent architectural design (forerunner of which was Leblon). Differently arranged facades, strong ledges of risalits, accentuation of stepped corners, changeable rhythm of the columns (changing the intervals between the columns, Rastrelli either collects them in bunches, or exposes the plane of the wall) create an impression of restlessness, unforgettable solemnity and magnificence.

Hermitage. Winter Palace

Hermitage. Museum tour.

The Hermitage is not only the greatest art museum, but also the main imperial residence for many years. Today I propose to inspect the interiors of the palace, including those that served the royal family.

The palace, first of all, is a baroque masterpiece by the famous Rastrelli.

In front of it is the main square of the city - Palace.


For a long time, this was the main flagpole of the country.


The roof of the palace is lined with numerous sculptures and vases.

In addition to the Winter Palace, the museum includes several buildings. There is even a covered passage above the canal - to the Hermitage Theatre.


The arch was thrown over the Winter Canal.


Yard facades are not inferior to the front

First of all, from the entrance we get to the main staircase, called the Jordanian.

It got its name from the Feast of Epiphany, when a procession to the Neva descended along it to plunge into the wormwood - Jordan


Originally built by Rastrelli, the staircase burned down in 1837 and was restored by the architect Stasov.


The staircase ceiling looks great as a backdrop for fresh flowers.


In general, when walking around the Hermitage, you need to constantly look up.


Absolutely everywhere the vaults are covered with different, but always magnificent ornaments.

Throwing back their heads, they imperceptibly reached the White Hall.


It was created by A.P. Bryullov for the wedding of the future Emperor Alexander II in 1841 on the site of three living rooms ..

The loggias are located in the building of the New Hermitage, not far from the main staircase.


The New Hermitage was built in 1842-1852 according to the design of the German architect Leon Klenze.


Next, we will examine a number of rooms in the Old Hermitage, decorated with interiors of the 19th century..


Furniture, carpets, paintings, etc. are presented in the unfinished halls.


But the window frames and many glasses in them are original, still from tsarist times ..


The interiors are decorated in different styles.


Strict classic..

Lush Baroque

Imperial style of Alexander I.

Gothic.

Address: Palace Square, 2 / Palace Embankment, 38. How to get there: metro stations "Admiralteiskaya" or "Nevsky Prospekt". Opening hours: from 10:30 to 18:00 (the box office is open until 17:00), Monday is a day off. The cost varies depending on the exhibitions visited (a complex ticket is about 600 rubles).

Winter Palace- a building of great size and beauty. Its rich appearance enchants, and it seems that the palace hides many secrets. In combination with Palace Square, a unique architectural ensemble is formed, which is of great importance for connoisseurs of world tourism sites.

Historical stages of construction of the Winter Palace

The history of the Winter Palace is multifaceted and long - over the centuries of its existence, more than one ruler of the state has changed. The building of the palace was completely rebuilt several times. But first things first.
The first building ("Winter House") was erected for Peter I in 1708. The building was erected on a land plot located on Militsionnaya Street near the Neva. Of course, its appearance was very far from modern. It was a wooden house with two floors. A porch and a roof made of tiled material became a peculiar decoration of it. In 1712, the Wedding Chambers were built, presented to Peter by the governor of St. Petersburg.
The second Winter Palace was built by decree of Peter I in 1716, at the intersection of the Neva and the Zimnedomny Canal. A few years later, the whole family of the king moved here to live. It was in this building that Peter the Great died in 1725.
After his death, it was decided to complete the construction of the palace, to build a third one. Anna Ioannovna was not satisfied with the size of the building, considering it too small for royal people to live. She approved the restructuring project presented by the already well-known and talented architect F.B. Rastrelli. However, the construction plan included the acquisition of several houses in neighboring territories. This was done very quickly, the houses of noble personalities were bought, demolished, after which the construction of a huge royal palace began. The construction was completed at an accelerated pace in a few years. In 1735, Anna Ioannovna was already able to move to a permanent place of residence in a new 4-story building. The construction was indeed very large-scale, it contained not only 70 front rooms, more than a hundred bedrooms with dissimilar interiors, but also the premises of a theater and a gallery. There were also a lot of office premises - some of them were assigned to the palace office, some - to the attendants, the guard service. The facades of the building overlooked several sides: the Neva, the Admiralty building, the main Palace Square. A little later, they began to add a few more office premises from the meadow area.
After the death of Anna Ioannovna, the leadership of the restructuring of the palace was taken over by Elizaveta Petrovna. According to her decision, in 1752 the construction of new extensions began. The territory chosen for them belonged to two wealthy gentlemen, from whom the land was quickly purchased. The construction was carried out under the leadership of Rastrelli, who considered it appropriate to build extensions in the same style with the appearance of the entire palace. At the end of 1752, the Empress had another idea - to change the size of the palace, making them more impressive. The architect considered that it was easier to rebuild the palace in another place than to fulfill the wishes of Elizabeth. At first glance, this is not entirely logical, but there is an explanation for this decision. Elizaveta Petrovna once looked at the palace from the side and saw that it had become like a chicken coop - disfigured by outbuildings built here and there. According to the empress, the main purpose of the palace is to demonstrate the power of the state, this was not feasible with the existing design. Therefore, a project was signed, according to which it was supposed to demolish the existing palace and build a new one on the same site.
In 1755, another palace was erected, which was built for a while. It was necessary for the residence of the imperial court during the period while construction work was underway on the banks of the Neva. A temporary building appeared at the intersection of Nevsky Prospekt and the embankment of the Moika River. After 7 years it was dismantled.
The modern palace on the banks of the Neva is the fifth Winter Palace. Its construction began in 1754. The dimensions are very impressive. Its area was more than 60 thousand square meters. meters, inside there were one and a half thousand rooms and halls. During the construction, several rulers changed on the throne: it began under Elizabeth, continued under Peter III, and ended under Catherine II.
The palace was consecrated on the feast of Easter, in 1762. During the Easter week, it became the main seat of the imperial court.
Having entered the throne, Empress Catherine freed Rastrelli from further work, appointing Betsky as the chief architect. It was he who supervised the interior decoration.
In 1837 there was a major fire that could destroy the unique values ​​that are in abundance here. With great difficulty, they managed to put out the fire and carry out the royal property. Repair work continued for about two years.
Until 1904, the main purpose of the palace was to use it as a winter residence for the first persons of the state. Nicholas II changed this rule, using the Alexander Palace in Tsarskoye Selo. In 1914, the bulk of the exhibits were moved to Moscow. Only the Art Gallery remained intact. Around the same period, a military hospital was placed in the palace, and during the October Revolution it became the place of deployment of the rebel troops.
In 1920 Winter Palace and the Hermitage were named the State Museum of the Revolution. Since 1941, bomb shelters were equipped in the basements of the building, museum valuables from all over the Leningrad region were hidden, which could not be taken to Moscow. Partially damaged halls were restored for a long time, and the best-preserved part of the palace was opened to the public already in 1944.
Today Winter Palace- one of the best museums in the world. A huge number of valuable works of art are stored here, the number of exhibits reaches three million units.

Architecture of the Winter Palace

Winter Palace- a building that is a prominent representative of the traditional Russian baroque. Elegant in appearance, it is perceived with all the solemnity inherent in such buildings - both at a distance and near. The architects faced an important task - to complete the construction of a unique structure that would dominate the ensemble of the central part of the northern capital. Rastrelli proposed a project for a building that has the shape of a rectangle with an open interior space - a courtyard.
Each of the four facades played its role. From the side of the Neva embankment, the wall gives the impression of an endless, longitudinal colonnade due to the separation of the extreme parts from the middle. The entrance, located in the center of the wall, does not particularly stand out, thus emphasizing the scale of the structure.
The opposite, southern facade looks different. Here the architect mainly highlights the entrance - the arch, which is the main entrance to the palace. The columns located between the three arches visually increase their height and give a certain grandeur, emphasize solemnity. The facade on the side of the Admiralty is slightly deepened, which makes it a link between the two main facades. From the east, along Millionnaya Street, a large courtyard is formed by the facade.

Outwardly, the facades are skillfully decorated with all kinds of pediments, vases, statues. The windows are framed with architraves of various shapes, each of which is unique. All stucco work was done by hand, right on the spot. The distance between the columns is different everywhere. This was done in order to give "vitality" to the facades, then visually lengthening them, then shortening them.
Graceful sculptures and vases are placed around the entire perimeter of the palace. Initially, they were made of stone, and at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries they were replaced by metal copies.
The interior work had not been completed at the time construction was completed. Rastrelli planned such an elegant decoration of the premises that there were no masters capable of performing it. For example, 27 patterns of printed floors, which, according to the plan of the architect, were supposed to decorate 95 rooms, suggested the use of many types of valuable wood, and it was not possible to find them. With the coming to power of Catherine the Great, Rastrelli was freed from the design of the interior of the palace.
The layout has undergone some changes since its construction, but the main idea of ​​F.B. Rastrelli saved. In the palace, along with the main three floors, there is a semi-basement and mezzanine. Initially, the floors were wooden, however, during the period of reconstruction after the fire, they were replaced with metal ones. For that time, it was nonsense to use metal in such huge quantities in the construction industry. The roof is tinned.
The color of the facades has changed many times, but it has always been bright and eye-catching. In 1934, the first time the facades were painted with oil paint, but this caused damage to the stone, and the entire layer had to be removed. Emerald hue with white trim facades acquired in the post-war years. It is worth talking about the interior of the palace separately - it is luxurious, flashy, telling about the power of the Russian state.

Premises and halls

Unfortunately, most of the original interiors were lost in 1837 as a result of a fire. Among the surviving are only the Rastrelli and Jordan semi-columns on the ground floor, bearing brick walls.

jordan gallery

Initially, it was called the main one, because. it was through it that all the guests went to the Parade. entered the palace. It is famous for the fact that through it at Epiphany the believers went in procession to the bath - Jordan. The path lay along the Jordan stairs to the Neva. Now it does not exist - the creation of Rastrelli completely burned out in a fire. Today, in its place is a completely different one, in the style of classicism. The color, sculptures and statues decorating it have been changed.

Field Marshal's Hall

This is the result of the creative work of Auguste Montferrand. In 1834, after the completion of work on the interior composition, which consisted of portrait niches, they were filled. Russian field marshals of different eras look at the tourists from the portraits, as if alive. However, one of the niches remained empty. It is empty now, after the restoration of 2012.

Armorial hall

The main purpose is to hold solemn ceremonies. The dominant decor is bronze chandeliers with images of the coats of arms of the provinces. At the entrance there are sculptures of ancient warriors. In their hands they hold banners with shields on which you can see the coats of arms of Russian provinces.

Military gallery of 1812

It was created in memory of the victory of the Russian people over Napoleon. The grand opening took place a year after the landmark event. The reception was attended not only by the first persons of the state, but also by the entire military elite, from generals to ordinary soldiers who became heroes of the war. The gallery is unique - on its walls there are 332 portraits of Russian military leaders who heroically proved themselves in the battles and campaigns of 1812-1814.

Grand Throne (Georgievsky) Hall

Since 1795, all solemn events, ceremonies, receptions have been held here. The author of the project is Giacomo Quarnegi. By order of Nicholas I, during the restoration work, the hall was decorated with Italian white marble. Above the throne, a marble bas-relief depicting George the Victorious, who dealt with the dragon, was installed. During the years of Soviet power, the throne was removed, and in its place a unique map of precious stones (45 thousand units) appeared with the image of the republics of the Soviet Union. Now it is in the mining museum, and a throne place was again installed in the hall.

Court Cathedral of the Savior Not Made by Hands

Located in the southeast corner of the palace. First, in 1761, the church was consecrated in honor of the Resurrection of Christ, and a year later - in the name of the Image of the Savior Not Made by Hands. The interior of the church was richly decorated with stucco, a three-tiered iconostasis, and paintings depicting biblical scenes. At the end of the 19th century, the roof was renovated - a belfry appeared here, 5 bells rang from it. Today, little remains of the original decoration of the church.

picket hall

In place of this hall, there were originally 2 small rooms and a landing. A picket was held here (the so-called internal guard). After the fire, the rooms were combined to form a hall that tells the history of the Russian army. Its design permeates the military theme. On the reliefs of the walls there are contours of all kinds of military symbols - medallions, armor, tools. At the end of the 20th century, the hall was closed and used as a warehouse for exhibits, and in 2004 visitors were again welcomed here.

Alexander Hall

The project was carried out by A. Bryullov, it was supposed to decorate the interior in memory of Emperor Alexander I. Today, an exposition of silver from Western Europe of the 17th - 18th century is exhibited here. Large cabinets completely distort and spoil the impression of the room's decor. Initially, a huge full-length portrait of the emperor was installed on the north side. The portrait was framed by a beautiful gilded stretcher set against a background of crimson cloth embroidered with the image of a double-headed eagle.

golden living room

It was designed for Maria Alexandrovna when she was still a princess. The author of the project is A.P. Bryullov. The decoration was not completed immediately, but only after 20 years by A. Stackenschneider. Here, furniture specially made for the living room has been preserved to this day. Wall panels have lost the gloss they were originally finished with. Now the bas-reliefs have solid gilding, but earlier their design was more complex, located on a white marble background. It was in this room that the fate of reforms in the country by Emperor Alexander II was decided.

Boudoir

A very original room, similar to an elegant snuffbox. The architects who designed the room (in different years it was A.P. Bryullov and Harald Bosse) tried to stylize it in the Rococo style, adding luxury with mirrors, bas-reliefs, patterns, textile elements and original furniture.

Nicholas Hall

Very impressive in size, it appeared at the end of the 17th century instead of the three halls of Rastrelli. Its area is more than 1100 square meters. After the death of Nicholas I, his portrait was installed here, decorated with a large frame with a double-headed eagle. Where the portrait went in 1930 is unknown. Unfortunately, now it is rare to enjoy the magnificence of the interior: since the Soviet era, it has been used for temporary and traveling exhibitions, which causes damage to the external appearance. In addition, the hall is often closed to visitors; sometimes it is impossible to see its decoration behind plywood racks and partitions with exhibits.

Concert hall

It was built according to the project of the architect V.P. Stasov during the period of restoration after the fire. Decorated in the theme of art: the walls are decorated with many statuettes of muses and goddesses of the ancient period. Today, there are the most valuable exhibits of traditional Russian silver, including the famous silver shrine of Alexander Nevsky.

Malachite living room

It was the favorite room of the wife of Nicholas I. The name speaks for itself - the interior is decorated with natural malachite. After the fire, reconstruction was carried out, as a result of which the columns were moved from the center of the room closer to the walls, which served to visually increase the space. During the magnificent ceremonies and balls in the Nicholas Hall, from here the emperor and his entourage came out to the guests. In 1917, the Provisional Government met here.

In 1754, on the left bank of the Neva near the Admiralty, according to the project of F. B. Rastrelli, the construction of the Winter Palace began, which is now the most important building both in the panorama of the Neva and in the ensemble of the main Palace Square in the city, the modern look of which was formed by the middle of the 19th century.
The Winter Palace is one of the outstanding monuments of the Baroque. According to the architect, he built it "for the united glory of all Russia."
The new building replaced the palace complex, in the restructuring of which Rastrelli also took part. Creating a new palace, the architect primarily proceeded from the fact that the building was to become the dominant feature of the central district of the capital.
In the architecture of the Winter Palace, the compositional scheme of the block house, first used in the construction of the Stroganov Palace, was developed. Four huge angular massive volumes, which housed the main premises (the Throne Room, the theater, the main staircase and the church), are connected by galleries (with a suite of state rooms on the second floor), forming a front courtyard in the center of the cruciform shape.
The facades of the building are divided into two horizontal belts. The lower one consists of the basement and first floors, united by Ionic columns, above which is placed a tier of columns of a more magnificent composite order, which emphasizes the great importance of the two upper floors. The rhythm of the columns changes all the time: either they are assembled in bunches at the corners, or they divide the walls evenly, or they are grouped in different combinations, emphasizing the middle parts of the risalits. Ornamental vases and statues mounted on the roof balustrade complicate the silhouette of the building. Initially, they were made of Pudost stone by Russian craftsmen. The hollow statues that now exist were made of stamped copper in 1892 according to the models of M.P. Popov.
An important role in the decorative design of the facades is played by intricately curving cornices and window frames of various shapes, of which there are about two thousand in the palace. There are numerous variants of architraves, decorated with lion masks, heads of angels, bizarre curls, pediments of different patterns. Since some of the stucco work was done by hand, the master sculptors contributed something of their own to the interpretation of each sample. Therefore, it was hardly possible to find two identical window frames. The impression of festivity created by the architecture of the majestic palace is enhanced by the intense coloring of the sections of the walls free from decor, the bright whiteness of the columns and the gilding of some stucco details.
Realizing that the Winter Palace, which occupied a colossal area, would be well visible from all sides and from different distances, Rastrelli designed each of its facades taking into account the specific environment. The northern facade facing the Neva is given a calm, solemn character. Like the buildings of the time of Peter the Great that once stood nearby, the palace does not have strong ledges here. From a distance, it resembles a two-tiered colonnade. The southern façade, equal in length to it, which used to be separated from the urban development by a vast green meadow, on the contrary, is strongly dissected. In it, the dynamics of plastic forms increases towards the center, highlighted by a wide, richly decorated risalit with three arches of the main entrance. Two lateral risalits are inferior to it in size and are not so strongly advanced forward. The western and eastern facades are similar in composition: they are flanked by powerful ledges - entrances were located between them.
As indicated, the main entrance to the palace was from the side of a huge meadow. Having passed under the arches, passing the front courtyard, eminent persons fell under the high vaults of that part of the palace that faces the Neva, and headed for the magnificent Jordan stairs. It is still located in the northeast building. Her solemn marches led to the main northern enfilade, which consisted of five spacious rooms, the so-called anti-chambers, from which they got into the Great Throne Room, located in the northwestern risalit.
In the south direction from the front staircase, another chain of front halls stretched - the Big Enfilade, to which the church adjoins from the southeast. Its decoration, which has survived to this day, differed little from the decoration of other halls of the palace. The magnificent plafond was painted by the artist F. Fontebasso, who also created the plafond of the main staircase. Masterfully executed, stucco, elegant design, a light floral ornament, covered with gilding, adorns the walls. In the past, only the presence of an iconostasis indicated the purpose of the premises.
In addition to the main halls, on the second floor there were living quarters. The first floor was reserved for utility and office space. Most of the upper floor was occupied by the apartments of the courtiers.
The construction of a huge palace was expensive, required a colossal amount of materials and a huge number of craftsmen of various specialties, and therefore could not move quickly. By 1762, when Catherine II became the owner of the palace, the facade work was completed, but most of the rooms had no decoration. The Empress removed Rastrelli from directing the work, as the creative manner of the architect did not meet new tastes. Architects Yu. M. Felten, J.-B. Wallen-Delamot and A. Rinaldi, who worked in a style called classicism. In the 1780s-1790s, many of the rooms located in the northern and western parts of the palace were decorated according to the designs of I.E. Starov and D. Quarenghi. Some parts of the building have been remodeled. On the site of the throne room and the theater, Staroe created living quarters located around light courtyards. Quarenghi designed the Neva enfilade, combining three middle anti-chambers into a huge hall, the perspective of which was organized by its rhythm of two symmetrical rows of columns. The anti-chamber, originally adjoining the throne room, was turned into a Concert Hall.
Quarenghi created a new, grandiose Throne Hall, for which a special building was attached to the center of the eastern facade of the palace. In the design of this hall, called Georgievsky, colored marble and gilded bronze were widely used.
The largest architects of the first half of the 19th century were also involved in the work in the palace. In 1826, according to the project of K. I. Rossi, a Military Gallery was built near the Throne Hall, which became a kind of monument to the heroes of the Patriotic War of 1812. Numerous portraits of war veterans adorning its walls were painted by the English artist D. Dow. The same theme was reflected in the decoration of the Alexander Hall, carried out according to the drawings of A.P. Bryullov in 1839.
O. Montferrand was engaged in restructuring in the eastern building of the palace, where he designed the Field Marshal, Petrovsky and Armorial Halls.
On December 17, 1837, a fire broke out in the Winter Palace, as a result of which only charred walls remained from the creation of Rastrelli. True, the works of art that adorned the premises, furniture and other valuable property were saved.
They were able to restore the palace in a very short time - in just two years. Work went on day and night. They were led by architects V.P. Stasov and A.P. Bryullov. Some interiors, such as the main Jordan Stairs, the Concert Hall, the church, were renewed, while others received a new design, which was later partially replaced.
In the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries, some of the chambers were redone in accordance with the tastes of the changing owners. It was during this period that the stylistic unity of the interiors was broken by the appearance of rooms decorated in the techniques of different architectural styles. Projects that were distinguished by the breadth of conception, rigor, grandeur and bright individuality were no longer created; there are compositions overloaded with crushed details. Such, for example, are the surviving interiors in the half of Empress Maria Alexandrovna, made according to the drawings of G. A. Bosse (Red Boudoir), V. A. Schreiber (Golden Drawing Room), or the library of Nicholas II (author A. F. Krasovsky).
At the same time, changes were made to the appearance of the palace. The proportions of the western façade were greatly distorted due to the elevation of the soil by more than a meter for the garden. In 1901, a fence around it was created according to the drawings of R. F. Meltzer. Heavy iron links were mounted on a high plinth of polished red granite. Previously, according to the templates of the same architect, lattices overloaded with ornaments for entrance arches and entrance ramps were made.
In the 1900s, the owners' interest in the palace faded. Frightened by the rapid growth of the revolutionary movement, Nicholas II left the capital's residence in 1904 and settled in the Alexander Palace of Tsarskoye Selo. Since that time, the Winter Palace has become only a place for official receptions and ceremonies. The fears of the Romanovs were not in vain. The cup of people's patience overflowed. The number of strikes and demonstrations in the capital grew every day. The tsarist government dealt cruelly with their participants. On January 9, 1905, a peaceful demonstration of workers was shot at the walls of the palace. After the February bourgeois revolution, the Provisional Government was located in the Winter Palace. On the night of October 25-26, 1917, detachments of revolutionary sailors, soldiers and St. Petersburg workers, led by the Bolshevik Party led by V. I. Lenin, stormed Zimny.
Today the Winter Palace is the most important part of the world famous museum complex of the State Hermitage.

© Architectural and artistic monuments of Leningrad, Art, L., 1982

Where did the tradition of dividing the houses of monarchs into winter and summer ones come from? The roots of this phenomenon can be found in the times of the Muscovite kingdom. It was then that the tsars first began to leave the walls of the Kremlin for the summer and go to breathe the air in Izmailovskoye or Kolomenskoye. This tradition was carried over by Peter the Great to the new capital. The Emperor's Winter Palace stood where the modern building is, and the Summer Palace can be found in the Summer Garden. It was built under the direction of Trezzini and is, in fact, a small two-story house with 14 rooms.

Source: wikipedia.org

From house to palace

The history of the creation of the Winter Palace is no secret to anyone: Empress Elizaveta Petrovna, a great lover of luxury, in 1752 ordered the architect Rastrelli to build for herself the most beautiful palace in Russia. But it was not built in an empty place: before that, on the territory where the Hermitage Theater is now located, there was a small winter palace of Peter I. The wooden palace of Anna Ioannovna, which was built under the direction of Trezzini, replaced the house of the Great. But the building was not luxurious enough, so the empress, who returned the status of the capital to St. Petersburg, chose a new architect - Rastrelli. It was Rastrelli Sr., the father of the famous Francesco Bartolomeo. For almost 20 years, the new palace became the residence of the imperial family. And then came the very Winter, which we know today - the fourth in a row.

Source: wikipedia.org

The tallest building in St. Petersburg

When Elizaveta Petrovna wished to build a new palace, the architect, in order to save money, planned to use the previous building for the foundation. But the empress demanded to increase the height of the palace from 14 to 22 two meters. Rastrelli redid the building project several times, and Elizabeth did not want to move the construction site, so the architect had to simply demolish the old palace and build a new one in its place. Only in 1754 did the empress approve the project.

Interestingly, for a long time the Winter Palace remained the tallest building in St. Petersburg. In 1762, even a decree was issued prohibiting the construction of buildings in the capital higher than the imperial residence. It was because of this decree that the Singer company at the beginning of the 20th century had to abandon its idea to build a skyscraper for itself on Nevsky Prospekt, like in New York. As a result, a tower was built over six floors with an attic and decorated with a globe, creating the impression of height.

Elizabethan Baroque

The palace was built in the style of the so-called Elizabethan Baroque. It is a quadrilateral with a large courtyard. The building is decorated with columns, architraves, and the roof balustrade is lined with dozens of luxurious vases and statues. But the building was rebuilt several times, Quarenghi, Montferrand, Rossi worked on the interior decoration at the end of the 18th century, and after the infamous fire of 1837, Stasov and Bryullov, so baroque elements were not preserved everywhere. Details of the magnificent style remained in the interior of the famous front Jordan Stairs. It got its name from the Jordanian passage, which was nearby. Through it, on the feast of the Epiphany of the Lord, the imperial family and the higher clergy went out to the ice hole in the Neva. Such a ceremony was traditionally called "the march to the Jordan." Baroque details are also preserved in the decoration of the Great Church. But the church was ruined, and now only a large ceiling by Fontebasso with the image of the Resurrection of Christ reminds of its purpose.

Source: wikipedia.org

In 1762, Catherine II ascended the throne, who did not like the pompous style of Rastrelli. The architect was dismissed, and new masters took up the interior decoration. They destroyed the Throne Hall and erected a new Neva enfilade. Under the leadership of Quarenghi, the Georgievsky, or Great Throne Room, was created. For him, a small extension had to be made to the eastern facade of the palace. At the end of the 19th century, the Red Boudoir, the Golden Living Room and the library of Nicholas II appeared.

Difficult days of the Revolution

In the early days of the Revolution of 1917, sailors and workers stole a huge amount of treasures from the Winter Palace. Only a few days later the Soviet government guessed to take the building under guard. A year later, the palace was given over to the Museum of the Revolution, so some of the interiors were rebuilt. For example, the Romanov Gallery was destroyed, where there were portraits of all the emperors and members of their families, and films began to be shown in the Nicholas Hall. In 1922, part of the building went to the Hermitage, and only by 1946 did the entire Winter Palace become part of the museum.

During the Great Patriotic War, the palace building was damaged by air raids and shelling. With the outbreak of war, most of the exhibits exhibited in Zimny ​​were sent for storage to the Ipatiev Mansion, the same one where the family of Emperor Nicholas II was shot. About 2,000 people lived in the Hermitage bomb shelters. They did their best to preserve the exhibits that remained within the walls of the palace. Sometimes they had to fish out china and chandeliers floating in flooded cellars.

furry guards

Not only water threatened to spoil the art, but also voracious rats. For the first time, a mustachioed army for the Winter Palace was sent from Kazan in 1745. Catherine II did not like cats, but she left the striped defenders at court in the status of "guards of art galleries." During the blockade, all the cats in the city died, which is why the rats bred and began to spoil the interiors of the palace. After the war, 5 thousand cats were brought to the Hermitage, which quickly dealt with tailed pests.

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 red lead 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, it is hardly possible to 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.