The current winter palace was built with. Royal palaces

The Winter Palace is without a doubt one of the most famous landmarks of St. Petersburg

The Winter Palace that we see today is actually the fifth building built on this site. Its construction lasted from 1754 to 1762. Today it reminds us of the splendor of the once popular Elizabethan Baroque and is, apparently, the crowning achievement of Rastrelli himself.

As I already said, there were a total of five Winter Palaces on this site, but the entire period of change was invested in a modest 46 years between 1708, when the first was erected, and 1754, when construction began on the fifth

The first Winter Palace was a small Dutch-style house built by Peter the Great for himself and his family.

In 1711, the wooden building was rebuilt into a stone one, and this event was timed to coincide with the wedding of Peter I and Catherine. In 1720, Peter I and his family moved from summer residence in winter, in 1723 the Senate was located in the palace, and in 1725 the life of the great emperor was cut short here

The new empress, Anna Ioannovna, considered that the Winter Palace was too small for the imperial person, and entrusted its reconstruction to Rastrelli. The architect proposed to buy the houses nearby and demolish them, which was done, and on the site of the old palace and demolished buildings, a new, third Winter Palace soon grew up, the construction of which was finally completed by 1735. On July 2, 1739, the solemn betrothal of Princess Anna Leopoldovna to Prince Anton-Ulrich took place in this palace, and after the death of the empress, the young Emperor John Antonovich was transported here, who lived here until November 25, 1741, when Elizabeth Petrovna took power into her own hands. The new empress was also dissatisfied with the appearance of the palace, so on January 1, 1752, a couple more houses near the residence were purchased, and Rastrelli added a couple of new buildings to the palace. At the end of 1752, the Empress decided that it would be a good idea to increase the height of the palace from 14 to 22 meters. Rastrelli proposed to build the palace in another place, but Elizabeth refused, so the palace was again completely dismantled, and on June 16, 1754, construction of a new one began in its place. Winter Palace

The fourth Winter Palace was temporary: Rastrelli built it in 1755 on the corner of Nevsky Prospect and the Moika River embankment while the fifth was being built. The fourth palace was demolished in 1762, when the construction of the Winter Palace, which we are accustomed to seeing on St. Petersburg Palace Square today, was completed. The Fifth Winter Palace became the most tall building in the city, but the empress never lived to see the complete completion of construction - on April 6, 1762, Peter III admired the almost finished palace, although he did not live to see the completion of the interior finishing work. The Emperor was killed in 1762, and the construction of the Winter Palace was finally completed under Catherine II. The Empress removed Rastrelli from work, and instead hired Betsky, under whose leadership a Throne Hall appeared on the side of Palace Square, in front of which a waiting room was built - the White Hall, behind which a dining room was located. The Bright Study was adjacent to the dining room, and behind it was the State Bedchamber, which later became the Diamond Chamber. In addition, Catherine II took care of creating a library, an imperial study, a boudoir, two bedrooms and a restroom in the palace, in which the empress built a toilet seat from the throne of one of her lovers, the Polish king Poniatowski =) By the way, it was under Catherine II that the Winter Palace appeared the famous winter garden, Romanov Gallery and St. George's Hall

In 1837, the Winter Palace experienced a serious test - a major fire, which took more than three days to extinguish. At this time, all palace property was taken out and piled around the Alexander Column

Another incident in the palace occurred on February 5, 1880, when Khalturin detonated a bomb to kill Alexander II, but as a result only the guards were injured - 8 people died, and 45 were injured of varying degrees of severity.

On January 9, 1905, a famous event occurred that turned the tide of history: a peaceful workers’ demonstration was shot in front of the Winter Palace, which served as the beginning of the Revolution of 1905-1907. The walls of the palace never again saw persons of imperial blood - during the First World War there was a military hospital here, during the February Revolution the building was occupied by troops who went over to the side of the rebels, and in July 1917 the Winter Palace was occupied by the Provisional Government. During the October Revolution, on the night of October 25-26, 1917, the Red Guard, revolutionary soldiers and sailors surrounded the Winter Palace, guarded by a garrison of cadets and a women's battalion, and by 2:10 a.m. on October 26, after the famous salvo from the cruiser "Aurora" , stormed the palace and arrested the Provisional Government - the troops guarding the palace surrendered without a fight

In 1918, part of the Winter Palace, and in 1922 the rest of the building was transferred to the State Hermitage.

and Palace Square with the Alexander Column and the General Staff building form one of the most beautiful and amazing ensembles in the entire post-Soviet space The Winter Palace is designed in the shape of a square, the facades of which overlook the Neva, the Admiralty and Palace Square

, and in the center of the main facade there is a front arch

Winter Garden in the Winter Palace)

In the southeast of the second floor is the legacy of the fourth Winter Palace - the Great Church, built under the leadership of Rastrelli

Today the Winter Palace has at its disposal more than a thousand different rooms, the design of which is amazing and creates an impression of unforgettable solemnity and splendor. The exterior design of the Winter Palace should, according to Rastrelli's plan, architecturally connect it with the ensemble

Northern capital

The elegance of the palace is emphasized by vases and sculptures installed along the entire perimeter of the building above the cornice, once carved from stone, which were later, at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries, replaced with metal analogues

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

Winter Palace: description of the building

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

Many tourists took photos of the winter palace as a souvenir. This extraordinary beauty mesmerizing. The palace is gorgeous both outside and inside. More on this later.

History of the Grand Palace

Back in 1712, during the reign of Peter I, land It was forbidden to give it to ordinary people. Such land zones were intended for upper-class sailors. Peter took this plot for himself.

At first, a wooden, ordinary house was built. Closer to the cold weather, a ditch was dug in front of the front of the house, which was called the Winter. This is where the name of the palace later came from.

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

In 1735, the eminent architect Francesco Rastrelli got down to business. He suggested that Anna Ioanovna, who was in power, buy nearby plots of land with houses and carry out a total reconstruction. This is how the current Winter Palace was built, which after some time acquired a slightly different appearance.

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

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

Palace architecture

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

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

The facades are decorated very elegantly, the main one is cut through by an arch. Solemnity and splendor are created by Rastrelli’s unusual architectural solutions: projections of risalits, uneven distribution of columns, varied layout of facades, accents on the stepped corners of the building.

The Winter Palace consists of 1084 different rooms with a total of 1945 windows. There are 117 staircases. For world practice of that time, this building was unusual in that it was constructed using great amount metal

The color scheme of the palace is such that it corresponds to sandy shades. This move was conceived by the architect Rastrelli. Local authorities, after all sorts of color choices, came to the conclusion that it was necessary to recreate the color scheme that was thought out and executed by Rastrelli.

Winter Palace from the inside

Unfortunately, that original splendor created by the great architect, in modern times No. The reason for this was a fire in 1837. Only load-bearing walls and semi-columns on the ground floor could be preserved, in contrast to the decoration of all the halls.

The Winter Palace has the following halls:

Field Marshals' Hall (it is decorated with portraits of 6 field marshals; according to tradition, the 7th niche is empty);
Jordan Gallery (made in the Russian Baroque style, named after the religious procession from the Great Church of the Winter Palace through this room);
Petrovsky/Small Throne Hall (dedicated to the memory of Peter I);
The Armorial Hall (after a fire, it was restored by V.P. Stasov in the style of Russian late classicism, it was intended for receiving gentlemen, has the coats of arms of Russian provinces);
St. George's/Great Throne Hall (located is the white marble bas-relief “St. George the Victorious Slaying the Dragon”);
Military gallery (dedicated to the war with Napoleon and the victory over him);
Picket/New Hall (dedicated to the history of the Russian army);
Large church (a belfry with 5 bells was built, made in the Baroque style);
Chambers of Empress Maria Alexandrovna (consist of the Golden Living Room, Dance Hall, Blue Bedroom, Boudoir, Crimson Study);
Alexander Hall (currently houses a collection of silver of Western European origin);
Antechambers of the Neva Front Enfilade (consists of a concert hall, Antechamber, Nikolaevsky Hall);
White dining room (features a variety of interiors, designed in the Rococo style);
Malachite living room (125 pounds of malachite were used for decoration, the entire living room is framed in it).

Conclusion

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

Fragment of the facade of the Winter Palace from the Neva.

The architectural and compositional center of St. Petersburg opens from the water surface of the Neva with the immensity of the Winter Palace with its elegant and solemn decoration. This is an outstanding example of Russian Baroque among the highest achievements of world architecture of the 18th century. The grandiose palace, which became the main residence of Russian emperors since the 1760s, heads the ensemble of the city's main square, Dvortsovaya, on the creation of which several generations of architects worked for more than two centuries.

Window casing

The winter residence of the sovereign's court in St. Petersburg was rebuilt several times over a relatively short period of time - 51 years.

The first Winter Palace of Peter I, the so-called Wedding Chambers, was built by the architect D. Trezzini in 1711. “A small house of Dutch architecture” was a gift from the Governor of St. Petersburg A.D. Menshikov for the wedding of Peter I and Ekaterina Alekseevna.

The Second Winter Palace was erected in 1719-1721 according to the design of the architect G. I. Mattarnovi on the site where the Hermitage Theater is now located. The building was remodeled and expanded in 1726-1727 with the participation of F.B. Rastrelli, who with this project marked the beginning of the construction of the ceremonial chambers of the Russian emperors.

The construction of the third Winter Palace was carried out by father and son Rastrelli in 1732-1735 for Anna Ioannovna, who considered Peter the Great's palace too small. A new spacious building rose next to the Admiralty and included the houses of the neighboring courtyards. Almost immediately after the completion of the work, in 1736, utility rooms appeared along the “meadow side” (on the territory of modern Palace Square).

Under Elizaveta Petrovna, the addition of services continued. As a result, by 1750 the palace “presented a motley, dirty appearance, unworthy of the place it occupied, and the most strange thing imperial palace, one wing adjacent to the Admiralty, and the other, on the opposite side, to the dilapidated chambers of Raguzinsky, could not be pleasing to the empress.” In January 1752, the Empress decided to expand the Winter Palace. According to Rastrelli

Plan of the middle floor of the palace. Lithograph from the mid-19th century. It is estimated that the Winter Palace has 1,786 doors, 1,945 windows, 1,500 rooms and 117 staircases. The length of the main facade is 150 meters and the height is 30.

It is noteworthy that all the stucco decorations on the facades of the Winter Palace were not created according to templates. The dough-like mass (a mixture of crushed brick and lime mortar) was processed manually by molders with an approximate orientation to the presented sample. Therefore, on the facades of the Winter Palace there are not at least two absolutely identical sculptural decorations; the project was supposed to attach new buildings to the existing ones and decorate them in the same style. A year later, Elizaveta Petrovna wished to increase the height of the palace from 14 to 22 meters. However, the architect was forced to offer her to move the residence to another place, since it was not possible to remodel the existing one. The Empress refused, and as a result, the architect decided to rebuild the entire building. The design of the Winter Palace was signed by the Empress on June 16, 1754. During the construction of a large residence in 1755, Rastrelli erected a temporary Winter Palace on the embankment of the Moika River, which was dismantled in 1762 as unnecessary.

The construction of the fourth, now existing, Winter Palace was carried out by Rastrelli from 1754 to 1762. He created a monumental building, far superior to its predecessors in size and grandeur.

copy of the architectural decoration. The architect was faced with the task of not only pleasing the ruler, but also of erecting a palace that, in its significance and architecture, would become dominant in the ensemble of the capital, symbolizing the glory and greatness of the Russian Empire.

In plan, the building looks like a huge rectangle with a vast internal front courtyard, typical of the architecture of Western European palaces. The northern façade of the Winter Palace faces the Neva, the western façade faces the Admiralty, and the southern facade faces the Palace Square, which had formed by that time, in the center of which the architect intended to place an equestrian statue of Peter I.

Palace interiors

The powerful volume of the palace corresponded to the role of each of its facades in the city ensemble. From the Neva side, the architect somewhat highlighted the outer parts of the building by indenting the middle, the center of which he marked with an entrance, thus emphasizing in the façade its longitudinal direction along the river embankment. On the opposite side, he used the reverse technique of stepping forward the powerful center of the façade, which corresponded to the dominant role of this part of the palace in the ensemble of the new square. In the center of this façade is the main entrance to the internal front courtyard, cut through by three entrance arches. In the center of the northern building, opposite the entrance gate, was the main entrance to the palace. The facade from the Admiralty side, formed by the protruding corner parts of the palace and the recessed middle part, emphasizes and shades the powerful front of the two main facades.

The detailing of the building was done with exceptional pomp and variety. There are 12 types of window openings and 22 options for their frames. The abundance of decor increases from bottom to top, and at the same time the palace is characterized by clarity and regularity. The facades of the palace are divided into two tiers: the lower, more squat, and the upper, lighter and ceremonial. They are decorated with columns of the composite order - the most complex in execution and exquisitely subtle in perception. The columns of the upper tier unite the second, front, and third floors, corresponding to the location of the main palace premises. The complex rhythm of the columns, the richness and variety of forms of the platbands, the abundance of stucco details, the many decorative vases and statues located above the parapet and above the numerous pediments create the decorative decoration of the building, which is exceptional in its pomp and splendor. According to Rastrelli's original plan, the Winter Palace had a very light, warm ocher color, highlighting the order system and plastic decoration with white lime paint.

Rastrelli often repeated that he was building the palace “for all-Russian glory alone,” where “everything will be decorated with the greatest splendor.”

Composite order is an architectural composition and a specific system for constructing an artistically designed building structure, consisting of a pedestal, a column (includes a base and a capital) and an entablature (includes a frieze and cornice). The composite order was developed by ancient Roman architects based on the Ionic and Corinthian orders.

Pavilion hall.

The planning structure of the Winter Palace was organized from the main entrance to the building (from the courtyard), leading to the ceremonial Ambassadorial (later Jordan) staircase in the north-eastern corner of the house, from where the largest main halls began. They were located in an enfilade in the northern building and led to the Great Throne Hall - St. George's, located in the corner ledge. In the opposite, southwestern, ledge there was the palace theater "Opera House". Kitchens and other services occupied the north-eastern wing, and in the south-eastern part there was a gallery between the living quarters and the Great Church built in the eastern courtyard.

Military gallery of 1812

Elizaveta Petrovna did not live to see the completion of construction. By the time of her death, the decoration of the facades had been completed, but many of the interior spaces were not yet ready. The palace was completed on April 6, 1762 under Peter III, who was already overthrown from the throne in the summer of 1762. Catherine II, who replaced Peter, removed Rastrelli from the work, and entrusted the interior decoration to his assistants, S. I. Chevakinsky and Yu. M. Felten. Soon they were joined by J.-B. Vallin-Delamot and A. Rinaldi, who made a number of changes to the original layout and decoration of the palace. The reconstruction of baroque interiors they began was continued in the 1780-1790s by D. Quarenghi and I. E. Starov. At the same time, the theater and the Throne Hall were destroyed and a new suite of halls was created. In the 1820s, K. I. Rossi created the famous Military Gallery of 1812 in the palace. In the early 1830s, O. Montferrand changed a number of state halls: Feldmarshalsky, Petrovsky, and built a rotunda to connect two enfilades at an angle.

A strong fire, which began on December 17 and was extinguished only on December 19, 1837, completely destroyed all the magnificent decoration of the Winter Palace. Only the walls and vaults, as well as details on the facades, survived. In 1838-1839, the palace was restored according to new designs by V. P. Stasov and K. P. Bryullov, under their leadership.

Despite the reconstruction and many innovations, the basic layout of the building retained Rastrelli's ideas. Since 1922, the Winter Palace has become part of the State Hermitage.

Winter Palace in St. Petersburg. How many were there in total and where were they located? Who created the projects and why did not all emperors like to live in the apartments of the Winter Palace? The most famous halls and pearls of collections, that is, simply: why are we going, - in the material of the site

The main and largest residence of the Russian tsars, is the creation of the architect Bartolomeo Francesco Rastrelli (1700 - 1771). An Italian Parisian who gave St. Petersburg such a recognizable ceremonial appearance.

An impressive building, one of its facades reflected in the smooth surface of the Neva, and the other facing the huge one, inspires awe with its gigantic scale - while Russians, when looking at it, feel legitimate pride in their Motherland. The square along the embankment stretches 210 meters - its width is 175 meters!

Short description

The Winter Palace was built in the mid-18th century in the Baroque architectural style, characterized by splendor and richness of details. The initial interiors were decorated in exactly the same style: pretentious and not very suitable for everyday life. But already in the 70s of the century, rooms began to appear inside, first in the transitional to classical, and then classical styles - they were created by the architects Ivan Yegorovich Starov and Giacomo Quarenghi.

Interestingly, during restoration after the fire of 1837, the palace (built of brick and plastered) was repainted from the historical greenish-white color to sand-ocher. White columns and architectural decor initially stood out against the background of the walls, but later everything was painted over to look like sandstone.

The famous architect Karl Ivanovich Rossi at one time, during the construction of the General Staff Building, proposed painting all the buildings on Palace Square in a strict gray color with the decoration and columns highlighted in white. It was supposed to be extremely solemn... but the project was not approved.

Today the Winter Palace has been restored to its historical color: turquoise walls with white columns and yellow architectural decor

The exact number of internal halls is not reported anywhere: there are approximately 1,100 of them. Do not think that this is no match for, say, Madrid royal palace- simply the area and height (2 floors) of the state halls of the royal residence has no precedents in Europe... and the world.

The total area of the premises is approximately 60,000 m2.

The Winter Palace, as well as the Small, Old and New Hermitages added to it a little later, and the Hermitage Theater today house one of the largest collections in the world.

In addition to a huge collection of paintings and sculptures, tapestries and vases, jewelry and the Egyptian collection, visitors can see the original decoration of the ceremonial and residential enfilades, halls for receptions and balls, chamber rooms for work and everyday life of royalty, their relatives and guests.

The collection contains more than 3 million storage units!

History and architecture

Initially, on the site where the Winter Palace is located today, there was a mansion of Peter I’s closest associate, Admiral Fyodor Matveevich Apraksin. Which is quite logical, because the Admiralty, which built the first Russian fleet, is nearby.

According to the memoirs of contemporaries, the palace was the largest and most beautiful in all of St. Petersburg. After the death of the naval commander, the building and land were given to the young Emperor Peter II, since the Apraksins were relatives of the Romanovs.

The first Winter Palace of Peter I in St. Petersburg was erected in the depths of the site between the Neva and Millionnaya Street. In 1712, the wooden two-story building was rebuilt in stone - it was presented to the Tsar by the Governor-General of St. Petersburg, Alexander Danilovich Menshikov, as a wedding gift.

In 1716-1720, the residence was rebuilt and expanded according to the design of the architect Georg Mattarnovi; construction was carried out, among other things, on the embankment territory reclaimed from the Neva. He is considered to be second on the list.

The Second Winter Theater was located where the Hermitage Theater stands today; it was organically included in the latter in 1783-1787. It is interesting that at that time the personal chambers of Peter I and Ekaterina Alekseevna on the first floor were preserved.

Peter moved here from his house in Summer Garden in 1720. And here in 1725 the first emperor of Russia died (28.01 -8.02 according to the new style).

In 1732-1735, the third palace was built for Empress Anna Ioannovna - according to the design of Bartolomeo Francesco Rastrelli's father, Carlo Bartolomeo. He occupied where more space and was located on the other side of the Winter Canal, closer to the Admiralty.

Under Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, outbuildings and service buildings were added, the complex grew beyond any general plan and looked more and more like an Asian rather than a European residence. In the end they decided it was unworthy great empire and began building a new palace.

The complex that has survived to this day was built according to the design of the architect Rastrelli the Son. It was founded under Empress Elizabeth Petrovna (1754) and basically completed (1762) only under Catherine II.

It is considered the fifth Winter Palace. Because during the construction of the huge complex, a fourth one was built for Elizaveta Petrovna: on Nevsky Prospekt between Moika and Malaya Morskaya Street.

The construction of the temporary residence was carried out in the spring and summer of 1755 from wood and was largely completed by November, when the Empress solemnly moved into her temporary residence.

Elizabeth Petrovna’s personal chambers were located along the Moika River, with windows overlooking the Stroganov Palace, which was (and is today) on the other side of the river. The outbuilding in which the heir to the throne, the future Peter III, lived with his wife Ekaterina Alekseevna (the future Catherine II) stood along Malaya Morskaya Street.

In 1764, Catherine II bought a collection of paintings, which laid the foundation for world-famous collections. Initially, the paintings were placed in the private chambers of the palace and were not available for inspection, and the entire collection received the name Hermitage from the French l’Ermitage, that is, “secluded.”

Completion, reconstruction (Catherine did not favor the “golden” splendor of her predecessor) and expansion of the palace continued throughout the reign of Catherine the Great (1762-1796)

Unfortunately, little remains from the time of this empress - under Nicholas I, the interiors were rebuilt. The preferences and tastes of the brilliant Catherine’s era are evidenced only by the magnificent Loggias of Raphael, created from exact copies that arrived from Papal Palace in the Vatican, and the luxurious Great Palace Church, exactly recreated by Stasov after the fire of 1837.

A special building for the Loggias along the Winter Canal was built by the architect Giacomo Quarenghi in the then popular classicism style.

Elizabeth moved into her new winter residence long before finishing was completed, but the building was already taken over by the heir, Emperor Peter III, who settled here in April 1762.

The enfilade of state halls, as today, occupied the entire length of the northern, Nevsky façade of the palace. And in the northeastern risalit there was the Ambassadorial or Jordan Staircase - opposite it on the Neva on Epiphany they cut an ice hole in which the water was blessed.

Empress Catherine II did not really like the residence: the huge spaces, perfect for showing off dust and balls, were not conducive to home comfort. Rastrelli was immediately relieved of his duties upon the accession of the Empress to the throne, and the work was entrusted to the architect Jean-Baptiste Vallin-Delamote.

In 1764-1775, he, in collaboration with Yuri Matveyevich Felten, created the Small Hermitage, where Catherine hosted private evenings and kept art collections. The Hanging Garden was also built for the empress.

The luxurious Pavilion Hall at the end of the building overlooking the Neva was created later, in the mid-19th century, according to the design of Andrei Ivanovich Stackenschneider. Today it houses the famous peacock clock and a unique ancient Roman mosaic.

Paul I was forced to live in the Winter Palace while his own residence, Mikhailovsky Castle, was being built, but the two subsequent emperors: Alexander I and Nicholas I, saw nothing wrong with living here.

The first loved to travel and therefore did not see much of a difference where he lived in the capital, while the second literally personified himself with the power of Russia and could not afford to live in any other, smaller palace. Most of the surviving ceremonial and residential interiors date back specifically to the reign of Nicholas I and his wife Alexandra Feodorovna.

It is interesting that until the second half of the 19th century, no buildings were built in St. Petersburg that were taller than the Winter Palace, that is, 23.5 meters!

In the first third of the 19th century, the famous Military Gallery and a number of other premises were created according to the design of the architect Karl Ivanovich Rossi.

By the way, it was under Nicholas I, in 1837, that there was a huge fire in the Winter Palace, after which it had to be rebuilt literally from scratch. Literally on Christmas Day, on the evening of December 17 (29 New Style), the building burned down due to a faulty chimney - only the walls of the first floor survived.

During the restoration, the first stage of which was completed by the spring of 1839, construction solutions that were innovative for that time were used: in particular, iron beams in the ceilings and new chimney systems. And perhaps that’s why the palace, after that renovation, has reached our time in an unchanged appearance - the ceremonial interiors turned out to be too luxurious...

Over 8 thousand people worked at the construction site every day.

The restoration work was led by: Vasily Petrovich Stasov and Alexander Pavlovich Bryullov. By the way, the brother of the famous painter who wrote the epic “The Last Day of Pompeii”.

Most of the halls received a different decoration in the style of mature or even jaded classicism, the Russian Empire style. The interiors are much more luxurious than before.

Under Alexander II, the inside of the Winter Palace was once again thoroughly remodeled, and the residential interiors were decorated according to the fashion of that time.

The next two kings chose not to live here. Alexander III and his family lived outside the city for security reasons. And when he left the Great Gatchina Palace, he stopped at Anichkov on Nevsky Prospekt. His eldest son, Nicholas II, mainly used the Winter Palace for luxurious balls, although the personal apartments of the last emperor can be seen on the second floor today.

Foreign sovereigns visiting St. Petersburg usually lived here as if in a hotel: entire suites of halls were allocated for their needs. The grand dukes also lived in the imperial residence - there was enough space for everyone.

Winter Palace: halls

The interiors were often rebuilt in accordance with the wishes of the new kings, but the main halls, the main purpose of which was to show off foreign sovereigns and envoys, as well as their own subjects, remained unchanged.

The Jordan Staircase, recreated on the site of Ambassador Rastrelli, received a luxurious design: a marble balustrade, giant double columns of Serdobol granite on the second floor, a picturesque “Olympus” lampshade with an area of 200 m2 on the ceiling by the Italian painter Gasparo Diziani...

Nevskaya front suite The Nikolaevsky antechamber begins, followed by the stately and austere Great Nikolaevsky Hall. This is the largest room in the palace, its area is 1103 m2! Today the premises are used mainly for exhibitions.

They're coming for Nikolaevsky Concert hall and (with windows on the Neva) the famous Malachite living room. The interior, decorated with 125 pounds of Ural malachite, was created by the architect Alexander Bryullov, who once opened the personal suite of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, wife of Nicholas I.

Alexandra Feodorovna, the bride of Nicholas II, was also dressed here for her wedding. Festive family breakfasts were also held here before the family moved to the Alexander Palace.

The following rooms were subsequently used as living rooms by Nicholas II - the apartments of the last emperor were located on the second floor opposite the Admiralty building.

The front rooms of the Eastern Enfilade (from the Jordan Stairs perpendicular to the Neva) are opened by the Field Marshal's Hall, created before the fire of 1837 according to the design of Auguste Montferrand (the author of St. Isaac's Cathedral). It is decorated with portraits of great Russian commanders: Suvorov, Rumyantsev, Kutuzov.

Next comes the Petrovsky or Small Throne Hall, and behind it the majestic Armorial Hall, created by Stasov in 1837. On the left are: the Military Gallery of 1812 and the luxurious St. George or Great Throne Hall, all lined with Carrara marble.

Opening hours, how to get there

Address: Russia, St. Petersburg, Dvortsovaya embankment 32
Open: 10:30 - 18:00: Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday, 10:30 - 21:00: Wednesday, Friday. Monday - day off
Ticket prices: 600 rubles - adult ticket (400 - for citizens of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus), children, students and pensioners of the Russian Federation are admitted free of charge!
Official website: www.hermitagemuseum.org

You can get to the Winter Palace on foot from the Admiralteyskaya or Nevsky Prospekt metro stations: 5-10 minutes:

A very beautiful and also the largest palace in St. Petersburg is Winter Palace. This is his fourth building, leaving far behind all the previous ones in terms of scale and luxurious decoration. Construction of the palace began in 1754, and the construction was completed eight years later, in 1762.

The author of the project was the famous architect B. Rastrelli. In fact, the Winter Palace is an outstanding example of late St. Petersburg Baroque. Layout of the Winter Palace, differs in that in plan it is a clear, regular quadrangle with a fairly wide courtyard. It is clear that the architect wanted to give this building grandeur and scale, because this is the future palace of the Russian autocrats, and he succeeded.

The naked eye can see that the colossal palace dominates the entire nearby territory and buildings. And for all the enormity of the building, it is difficult to detect monotony here. Rastrelli planned all the facades individually, taking into account their location and purpose. For example, the façade on the north side faces the Neva; it was built in the form of a straight wall without any special protrusions. And the southern facade is a completely different matter, it faces Palace Square, three entrance arches were built here and this facade is the main one in the entire complex. Behind it is the front yard.

As for the eastern and western facades, it would be worthwhile to dwell in more detail on the western one; it faces the Admiralty and the square where the famous Rastrelli planned to install the statue of Peter I on a horse, created by his father. When talking about the Winter Palace, one cannot remain silent about Hermitage. Moreover, in light of the events of the last century, it has become much more popular than the palace itself. After all, all that remains behind the palace is that the rulers of great Russia were there. And the Hermitage is interesting every hour, every minute, because masterpieces of great masters of the brush are collected here. This is what attracts visitors here. Because the desire for beauty exists forever.

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