Winter Palace in St. Petersburg: history and modernity. Who created the projects and built them, why didn’t all the owners like to live in the palace?
The main and largest residence of the Russian tsars, the Winter Palace, is the creation of the architect Bartolomeo Francesco Rastrelli (1700 - 1771). An Italian Parisian who gave St. Petersburg such a recognizable ceremonial appearance.
The impressive building of the palace with one façade reflected in the surface of the Neva, and the other overlooking a huge Palace Square inspires awe in its gigantic scale. When Russians look at him, they feel legitimate pride in their Motherland! The square along the embankment stretches 210 meters - its width is 175 meters!
Brief description
The surviving complex of the Winter Palace was built in the middle of the 18th century in architectural style baroque. Characterized by splendor and richness of detail. Initially, the interiors were decorated in exactly the same style. Today it looks excessively pretentious.
In the 70s, under Catherine II, more modestly decorated rooms appeared inside. But, however, more elegant and stylish - they were created by architects Ivan Yegorovich Starov and Giacomo Quarenghi.
The exact number of internal halls is not reported anywhere: there are approximately 1,100 of them. And the total area of the premises is approximately 60,000 m2!
Don’t think that this is no match for, say, Madrid royal palace. It’s just that the area and height (2 floors) of the state halls of the royal residence have no precedents in Europe... and the world. Go through them - you will learn a lot of interesting things!
Note that the palace was not always painted turquoise and white. After the fire of 1837, for example, it was repainted sandy ocher. White columns and architectural decor initially stood out against the background of the walls, but later everything was painted over to resemble sandstone.
Architect Karl Ivanovich Rossi, during the construction of the General Staff Building, proposed painting everything in a strict gray color with the decor 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.
- I wonder what's up to the second half of the 19th century centuries, no buildings were built in St. Petersburg that were taller than the Winter Palace, that is, 23.5 meters!
What to see
IN Winter Palace, as well as the Small, Old and New Hermitages, which were later added to it, house collections. And one of the largest in the world, of course. The collection contains more than 3 million storage units!
In addition to the gigantic collection of paintings and sculptures, tapestries and vases, jewelry, and the Egyptian collection, visitors can see the original decoration of the front and residential suites. As well as halls for receptions and balls, chamber spaces for work and everyday life of royalty, their relatives and guests.
- The Gold and Diamond Storerooms are visited with separate tickets and only with a guided tour!
History and architecture
Initially, on the site where the Winter Palace is located, the mansion of Admiral Fyodor Matveevich Apraksin was located. Which is quite logical, since the Admiralty, which built the Russian fleet, is located nearby.
According to the memoirs of contemporaries, the admiral's estate was the largest and most beautiful in all of St. Petersburg. After the death of the naval commander, the buildings and lands were given to the young Emperor Peter II, since the Apraksins were relatives of the Romanovs.
First Winter Palace
They were erected in the depths of the site between the Neva and Millionnaya Street. In 1712, the wooden two-story building was rebuilt in stone. Alexander Danilovich Menshikov presented it to the Tsar as a wedding gift.
The residence was rebuilt and expanded according to the design of the architect Georg Mattarnovi in 1716-1720. Construction was carried out, among other things, on embankment territory reclaimed from the Neva.
The Second Winter Palace was located where the Hermitage Theater stands today. It is interesting that during the reconstruction of 1783-1787, the personal chambers of Peter I and Ekaterina Alekseevna on the first floor were carefully preserved.
Peter moved to the winter residence from his own in 1720. And here in 1725 the first emperor of Russia died (28.01 -8.02 according to the new style).
In 1732-1735, a third palace was built for Empress Anna Ioannovna. Based on a design created by Francesco Rastrelli's father, Carlo Bartolomeo. It was much larger than Peter's residence. And it was located mainly on the other side of the Winter Canal, closer to the Admiralty.
The era of Elizabeth Petrovna
During the time of Peter's daughter, who adored luxury, outbuildings and service buildings were being added to the palazzo with might and main. The complex grew beyond any master plan. And it looked more and more like some Istanbul Topkapi than a European residence. As a result, they decided that this was unworthy of a 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.
The surviving building is considered the fifth Winter Palace. Because at the time of its construction, a fourth wooden one was built for Elizaveta Petrovna’s residence.
It was located a little further away: on Nevsky Prospekt, between Moika and Malaya Morskaya Street. Construction of the temporary residence took place in the spring and summer of 1755 and was completed by November.
The queen's private chambers were located along the Moika River. The windows looked out onto, and to this day standing 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 (future Catherine II) stretched along Malaya Morskaya Street.
Under Catherine II
In 1764, Empress Catherine II bought the collection, which laid the foundation for the world-famous Hermitage collection. Initially, the paintings were placed in the private chambers of the palace and were not available for inspection. And the name comes from the French l’Ermitage, that is, “secluded.”
- Completion, alteration (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)
Little has been preserved from the time of this empress - under Nicholas I, the interiors were thoroughly rebuilt. The preferences and tastes of Catherine’s brilliant era are evidenced only by
- the magnificent Loggias of Raphael, created from exact copies that arrived from the 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 created by Giacomo Quarenghi.
Elizabeth moved into her new winter residence long before finishing was completed. But her heir, Emperor Peter II, took the building into operation. Settled in new apartments in April 1762.
The enfilade of state halls occupied the entire length of the northern, Nevsky façade of the palace. And in the northeastern risalit there is the Ambassadorial or Jordanian staircase. Opposite her on the Neva at Epiphany, according to tradition, an ice hole was cut in which the water was blessed.
Empress Catherine II did not really like the Winter Palace, like her predecessor. Rastrelli was immediately dismissed from work, 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.
In which Catherine hosted private evenings and stored art collections. The Hanging Garden was built for the empress to take walks.
The luxurious Pavilion Hall at the end of the building facing 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.
From Paul to Nicholas II
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, lived mainly here.
The first one loved to travel and therefore did not see much difference where he lived. The second literally personified himself with the power of Russia. And he could not imagine living in any other, smaller palace. Most of the surviving ceremonial and residential interiors date back to the reign of Nicholas I.
In the first third of the 19th century, according to the design of the architect Karl Ivanovich Rossi, a Military Gallery was created in memory of the heroes of the Patriotic War, and a number of other premises.
Fire of 1837 and restoration
By the way, it was under Nicholas I, in 1837, that a grandiose fire occurred in the Winter Palace. After which the residence was restored literally from scratch. The tragic incident happened shortly before Christmas, on the evening of December 17 (29 new style). The cause is believed to have been a fire in the chimney.
During the restoration, construction solutions that were innovative for that time were used. In particular, iron beams in the ceilings, and new chimney systems. And perhaps that is why the palace remained unchanged after the renovation - the ceremonial interiors turned out to be too luxurious...
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”. Over 8 thousand people worked at the construction site every day.
Most of the halls received a different decoration in the mature Russian Empire style. The interiors are much more luxurious than before.
Under Alexander II, the residential halls of the Winter Palace were thoroughly remodeled, decorating them according to the fashion of that time.
The next two kings chose not to live here. Alexander III I went out of town with my family for safety 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 on the second floor of the western enfilade the personal apartments of the last emperor have also been preserved.
Foreign sovereigns who visited St. Petersburg usually lived here as if in a hotel. Entire suites of halls were dedicated to the needs of the next guest. 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...
Neva parade enfilade
It begins with the Nikolaevsky antechamber, 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.
Behind Nikolaevsky are the 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.
Eastern enfilade
The main premises (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.
Practical information
Address: Russia, St. Petersburg, Dvortsovaya embankment 32
Opening hours: 10:30 - 18:00: Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday; 10.30-21.00: Wednesday, Friday. Monday - day off
Ticket prices: 600 rubles - adults (400 - for citizens of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus), children under 18 years old, students and pensioners of the Russian Federation are admitted free!
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: look.
Winter Palace. People and walls [History of the imperial residence, 1762–1917] Zimin Igor Viktorovich
Chambers of Catherine II in the last years of her life
In the 1790s. Catherine II's apartments continued to occupy the eastern part of the Winter Palace from the Jordan Staircase to half of the heir Pavel Petrovich (Nos. 283 and 290). The front half of Empress Catherine II was opened by “two passage chambers” (No. 193), followed by the Arabesskaya in front of the gallery, which was adjoined from the east by the Dining Room of the Chamber-Pages and Waiters (No. 194). Behind the White Gallery (No. 195) were located: States Lady's (No. 195 – south- eastern part), In front of the State Lady (No. 197 - eastern part), Masquerade buffet (No. 196 - northern part), The Great Staircase, called the Red (No. 196 - part), Pre-Church Hall (No. 270) and the Church of the Savior, the Image Not Made by Hands ( No. 271). From the Pre-Church Hall one could go to the Dining Room (No. 269) and the Pantry, where there is a post of the Life Guards of the Reitara Horse Regiment (No. 196 - southern part). In all rooms, still in the second half of the 1760s. They laid piece, i.e., parquet floors, according to the drawings of Felten and Wallen-Delamot.
Plan of the halls of the south-eastern risalit
If at the beginning of the reign of Catherine II her half included only nine “chambers” of both a representative and purely personal nature, then by the end of her reign their number certainly changed. This is quite natural, since the Empress lived in the Winter Palace for 34 years - all the years of her reign. In archival documents there is another list of premises on the half of Empress Catherine II: 1. The main parish and the large entrance staircase; 2. Front three anti-cameras; 3. Audience (Throne Room); 4. Dining room; 5. Mundshankskaya; 6. Stairs to all floors; 7 and 8. Two walk-through rooms; 9. State bedchamber; 10. Restroom; 11. Room for valets; 12. Bedchamber; 13. Boudoir; 14. Office; 15. Library; 16. Staircase for Her Majesty's passage; 17. A room with a mezzanine, and in it there is a stove-bed; 18. Bedroom; 19 and 20. Two rooms.
Today, only a small part of Catherine II’s chambers has preserved the outlines of the 1790s. Numerous redevelopments in subsequent years distorted the appearance and “geography” of the empress’s chambers. For example, the current Alexander Hall was occupied by the ceremonial rooms: the Council, the Sergeant’s, “where the Guard Under officers are,” and the Kavalergardskaya (formerly Kavalerskaya), facing the Palace Square. Behind it was the Throne Room of Catherine II with an audience hall, the Cavalier Room with a bay window-lantern overlooking the square (No. 280) and the Diamond Room (No. 279), which we described in detail.
You could get to the personal chambers of Catherine II from Palace Square by climbing the Small Staircase. This staircase led to the Dining Room (No. 269). Today, in its place is the Commandant's Staircase.
Famous historian M.I. Pylyaev described this part of the Winter Palace as follows: “... having ascended the Small Staircase, they entered the room where, in case of speedy execution of the empress’s orders, there was a desk with an inkwell behind the screens for secretaries of state. This room had windows facing the Small Courtyard; from it there was an entrance to the restroom; The windows of the last room looked out onto Palace Square. There was a dressing table here, from here there were two doors: one to the right, into the diamond room, and the other to the left, into the bedroom, where the empress usually heard cases in recent years. From the bedroom you went straight into the inner dressing room, and to the left into an office and a mirror room, from which there was one passage to the lower chambers, and the other straight through the gallery to the so-called “Near House”; Here the empress sometimes lived in the spring...”
Behind the mentioned Pylyaev Mirror Cabinet with windows on the Small Courtyard there were two rooms of the chamber-jungfer of Catherine II Maria Savvishna Perekusikhina (No. 263–264).
Since 1763, on the mezzanine of the first floor there was the already mentioned soap shop, built under the direction of the architect J.-B. Wallen-Delamot and included three rooms. According to descriptions from the 1790s, in bath complex included: Bathhouse (No. 272); under the sacristy of the Great Church (No. 701) there was a Lavatory and directly under the altar there was an extensive Bathhouse with a pool. The bathhouse, or soaphouse, was covered with “carpentry” (linden wood panels) from floor to ceiling. One could go down a small wooden staircase from the Empress’s private chambers to the Bathhouse, upholstered in fawn cloth. These rooms also overlooked Palace Square and Millionnaya Street. Separately located were “embedded boilers for heating water” and a tank for cold water. There, on the mezzanine, there was an office with a bedroom for Count Orlov, and later his subsequent favorites also lived.
The personal chambers of Catherine II were literally riddled with small staircases. Including secret ones. The mezzanine communicated with the Library through such a secret wooden staircase (from 1764 to 1776). The secret staircase was designed under a mahogany library cabinet so that one of the cabinet doors served as a door through which one could go to the staircase and climb to the mezzanine. Note that at the beginning of the reign of Catherine II this was not a game. The secret staircase, and most likely not the only one, could be very useful in the era of palace coups.
A very important page in the life of the Winter Palace is connected with the mezzanines of Catherine II. Today it is generally accepted that the modern State Hermitage, literally “filled” with treasures of all times and peoples, “grew” from the modest mezzanine of Catherine II. These were four small rooms facing east, then they were called the Green Mezzanines. It was in these rooms that various objects arrived, the empress was fond of collecting at one time or another in her life. At first, this collection of rarities was not systematic. However, as the Empress’s collections grew, only things of oriental origin remained on the mezzanines, and the mezzanines began to be called Chinese. The Empress often used the mezzanine for dinners with close people. These rooms exquisitely combined comfort, exoticism and luxury. The Empress liked this environment.
These historical mezzanines existed until the fire of the Winter Palace in December 1837. Recognizing their historical significance, the mezzanines were then not only left untouched, but also periodically repaired. Moreover, they were renovated while preserving the historical interiors. This is evidenced by a note from the vice-president of the Gough Quartermaster's Office, Count P.I. Kutaisov, dated early 1833. Then Kutaisov wrote to Nicholas I: “Everything else was influenced by fashion, except for the Chinese mezzanines of modern times, but reminiscent of the era of the reign of Catherine II, so glorious for Russia. Being absolutely sure that the preservation of these monuments is useful both for history and for archaeology, I have the honor to present the restoration of these rooms in the present time. This seems all the more convenient to me since the Kamerzallmeisterskaya is very rich in excellent Chinese works, which have been lying there without any use for several decades and are uselessly exposed to damage...”
Nicholas I approved the proposal of P.I. Kutaisova. The restoration of the Chinese mezzanines of Catherine II continued from 1833 to 1835 under the leadership of the architect L.I. Charlemagne 2nd. However, after the fire of 1837, in which the mezzanines were destroyed, these premises were not restored.
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The development of the territory east of the Admiralty began simultaneously with the emergence of the shipyard. In 1705, a house was built on the banks of the Neva for the “Great Admiralty” - Fyodor Matveevich Apraksin. By 1711, the site of the current palace was occupied by the mansions of the nobility involved in the fleet (only naval officials could build here).
The first wooden Winter House of “Dutch architecture” according to Trezzini’s “exemplary design” under a tiled roof was built in 1711 for the Tsar, as a shipwright by master Peter Alekseev. A canal was dug in front of its façade in 1718, which later became the Winter Canal. Peter called it “his office.” Especially for the wedding of Peter and Ekaterina Alekseevna, the wooden palace was rebuilt into a modestly decorated two-story stone house with a tiled roof, which had a descent to the Neva. According to some historians, the wedding feast took place in the great hall of this first Winter Palace.
The second Winter Palace was built in 1721 according to the Mattarnovi project. Its main façade faced the Neva. Peter lived his last years in it.
The third Winter Palace appeared as a result of the reconstruction and expansion of this palace according to Trezzini's design. Parts of it later became part of the Hermitage Theater created by Quarenghi. During the restoration work, fragments of Peter the Great's palace were discovered inside the theater: the front courtyard, staircase, vestibule, rooms. Now here is essentially the Hermitage exhibition “The Winter Palace of Peter the Great”.
In 1733-1735, according to the design of Bartolomeo Rastrelli, on the site of the former palace of Fyodor Apraksin, bought for the empress, the fourth Winter Palace was built - the palace of Anna Ioannovna. Rastrelli used the walls of the luxurious chambers of Apraksin, erected in the times of Peter the Great by the architect Leblon.
The Fourth Winter Palace stood approximately in the same place where we see the current one, and was much more elegant than the previous palaces.
The Fifth Winter Palace for the temporary stay of Elizabeth Petrovna and her court was again built by Bartolomeo Francesco Rastrelli (in Russia he was often called Bartholomew Varfolomeevich). It was a huge wooden building from Moika to Malaya Morskaya and from Nevsky Prospect to Kirpichny Lane. There is no trace of him left for a long time. Many researchers of the history of the creation of the current Winter Palace do not even remember it, considering the fifth one to be the modern Winter Palace.
The current Winter Palace is the sixth in a row. It was built from 1754 to 1762 according to the design of Bartolomeo Rastrelli for Empress Elizabeth Petrovna and is a striking example of lush baroque. But Elizabeth didn’t have time to live in the palace - she died, so Catherine the Second became the first real mistress of the Winter Palace.
In 1837, the Winter Palace burned down - the fire started in the Field Marshal's Hall and lasted for three whole days, all this time the palace servants carried out works of art that decorated it. royal residence, a huge mountain of statues, paintings, precious trinkets grew around the Alexander Column... They say that nothing was missing...
The Winter Palace was restored after the fire of 1837 without any major external changes; by 1839 the work was completed, they were led by two architects: Alexander Bryullov (brother of the great Charles) and Vasily Stasov (author of the Spaso-Perobrazhensky and Trinity-Izmailovsky Cathedrals). The number of sculptures along the perimeter of its roof was only reduced.
Over the centuries, the color of the facades of the Winter Palace changed from time to time. Initially, the walls were painted with “sandy paint with the finest yellow,” and the decor was painted with white lime. Before the First World War, the palace acquired an unexpected red-brick color, giving the palace a gloomy appearance. The contrasting combination of green walls, white columns, capitals and stucco decoration appeared in 1946.
Exterior of the Winter Palace
Rastrelli was not just building a royal residence - the palace was built “for the glory of all Russia alone,” as it was said in the decree of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna to the Governing Senate. The palace is distinguished from European Baroque buildings by its brightness, cheerfulness of imagery, and festive, solemn elation. Its more than 20-meter height is emphasized by two-tiered columns. The vertical division of the palace is continued by statues and vases, leading the eye to the sky. The height of the Winter Palace became a building standard, elevated to the principle of St. Petersburg urban planning. It was not allowed to build higher than the Winter Building in the old city.
The palace is a giant quadrangle with a large courtyard. The facades of the palace, varying in composition, form like folds of a huge ribbon. The stepped cornice, repeating all the protrusions of the building, stretches for almost two kilometers. The absence of sharply extended parts along the northern façade, from the Neva side (there are only three divisions here), enhances the impression of the length of the building along the embankment; two wings on the western side face the Admiralty. The main façade, facing Palace Square, has seven divisions and is the most formal. In the middle, protruding part there is a triple arcade of the entrance gate, decorated with a magnificent openwork lattice. The south-eastern and south-western risalits protrude beyond the line of the main façade. Historically, it was in them that the living quarters of emperors and empresses were located.
Layout of the Winter Palace
Bartolomeo Rastrelli already had experience in building royal palaces in Tsarskoe Selo and Peterhof. In the scheme of the Winter Palace, he included a standard layout option that he had previously tested. The basement of the palace was used as housing for servants or storage rooms. The ground floor housed service and utility rooms. The second floor housed ceremonial ceremonial halls and personal apartments of the imperial family. The third floor accommodated ladies-in-waiting, doctors and close servants. This layout assumed predominantly horizontal connections between the various rooms of the palace, which was reflected in the endless corridors of the Winter Palace.
The northern façade is distinguished by the fact that it contains three huge main halls. The Neva Enfilade included: the Small Hall, the Large (Nikolaevsky Hall) and the Concert Hall. The large enfilade unfolded along the axis of the Grand Staircase, running perpendicular to the Neva Enfilade. It included the Field Marshal's Hall, Peter's Hall, the Armorial (White) Hall, the Picket (New) Hall. A special place in the series of halls was occupied by the memorial Military Gallery of 1812, the solemn St. George and Apollo halls. The main halls included the Pompeii Gallery and the Winter Garden. Route royal family through the enfilade of state halls had a deep meaning. The script of the Big Exits, worked out to the smallest detail, served not only as a demonstration of the full brilliance of autocratic power, but also as an appeal to the past and present of Russian history.
Like any other palace of the imperial family, there was a church in the Winter Palace, or rather two churches: Big and Small. According to the plan of Bartolomeo Rastrelli, the Big Church was supposed to serve Empress Elizabeth Petrovna and her “big court”, while the Small Church was supposed to serve the “young court” - the court of the heir Tsarevich Peter Fedorovich and his wife Ekaterina Alekseevna.
Interiors of the Winter Palace
If the exterior of the palace is made in the late Russian Baroque style. The interiors are mainly made in the style of early classicism. One of the few interiors of the palace that has preserved its original Baroque decoration is the main Jordan staircase. It occupies a huge space of almost 20 meters in height and seems even higher due to the painting of the ceiling. Reflected in mirrors, the real space seems even larger. The staircase created by Bartolomeo Rastrelli after the fire of 1837 was restored by Vasily Stasov, who preserved Rastrelli’s general plan. The decor of the staircase is infinitely varied - mirrors, statues, fancy gilded stucco, varying motifs of a stylized shell. The forms of Baroque decor became more restrained after the replacement of wooden columns lined with pink stucco (artificial marble) with monolithic granite columns.
Of the three halls of the Neva Enfilade, the Antechamber is the most restrained in decoration. The main decor is concentrated in the upper part of the hall - allegorical compositions executed in monochrome technique (grisaille) on a gilded background. Since 1958, a malachite rotunda has been installed in the center of the Anteroom (first it was located in the Tauride Palace, then in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra).
The largest hall of the Neva Enfilade, Nikolaevsky, is decorated more solemnly. This is one of the largest halls of the Winter Palace, its area is 1103 sq. m. Three-quarter columns of the magnificent Corinthian order, painted borders of the ceiling and huge chandeliers give it grandeur. The hall is designed in white.
The concert hall, intended at the end of the 18th century for court concerts, has a more rich sculptural and pictorial decor than the two previous halls. The hall is decorated with statues of muses installed in the second tier of walls above the columns. This hall completed the enfilade and was originally conceived by Rastrelli as a vestibule to the throne room. In the middle of the 20th century, a silver tomb of Alexander Nevsky (transferred to the Hermitage after the revolution) weighing about 1,500 kg, created at the St. Petersburg Mint in 1747–1752, was installed in the hall. for the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, which to this day houses the relics of the Holy Prince Alexander Nevsky.
The large enfilade begins with the Field Marshals' Hall, designed to house portraits of field marshals; it was supposed to give an idea of the political and military history Russia. Its interior was created, like that of the neighboring Petrovsky (or Small Throne) Hall, by the architect Auguste Montferrand in 1833 and restored after the fire of 1837 by Vasily Stasov. The main purpose of the Peter the Great Hall is memorial - it is dedicated to the memory of Peter the Great, therefore its decoration is particularly luxurious. In the gilded decor of the frieze, in the painting of the vaults there are coats of arms of the Russian Empire, crowns, wreaths of glory. In a huge niche with a rounded arch there is a painting depicting Peter I, led by the goddess Minerva to victories; in the upper part of the side walls there are paintings with scenes of the most important battles of the Northern War - at Lesnaya and near Poltava. In the decorative motifs decorating the hall, the monogram of two Latin letters “P”, denoting the name of Peter I, “Petrus Primus”, is endlessly repeated.
The armorial hall is decorated with shields with the coats of arms of Russian provinces of the 19th century, located on huge chandeliers that illuminate it. This is an example of the late classical style. Porticoes on the end walls hide the enormity of the hall, and the solid gilding of the columns emphasizes its splendor. Four sculptural groups of warriors Ancient Rus' remind of the heroic traditions of the defenders of the fatherland and precede the next Gallery of 1812.
Stasov's most perfect creation in the Winter Palace is the St. George (Grand Throne) Hall. The Quarenghi Hall, created on the same site, was destroyed in a fire in 1837. Stasov, while preserving Quarenghi’s architectural design, created a completely different artistic image. The walls are lined with Carrara marble, and the columns are carved from it. The decor of the ceiling and columns is made of gilded bronze. The ceiling pattern is repeated in the parquet flooring, made from 16 valuable types of wood. The only things missing from the floor design are the Double-Headed Eagle and St. George - it is not appropriate to step on the coat of arms of the great empire. The gilded silver throne was restored to its original location in 2000 by architects and restorers of the Hermitage. Above the throne seat is a marble bas-relief of St. George slaying the dragon, by the Italian sculptor Francesco del Nero.
Owners of the Winter Palace
The customer of the construction was the daughter of Peter the Great, Empress Elizaveta Petrovna, she hurried Rastrelli with the construction of the palace, so the work was carried out at a frantic pace. The empress's personal chambers (two bedchambers and an office), the chambers of Tsarevich Pavel Petrovich and some rooms adjacent to the chambers were hastily finished: the Church, the Opera House and the Light Gallery. But the empress did not have time to live in the palace. She died in December 1761. The first owner of the Winter Palace was the nephew of the Empress (the son of her elder sister Anna) Peter III Fedorovich. The Winter Palace was solemnly consecrated and put into operation by Easter 1762. Peter III immediately started alterations in the southwestern risalit. The chambers included an office and a library. It was planned to create the Amber Hall on the model of the Tsarskoye Selo. For his wife, he identified chambers in the southwestern risalit, the windows of which overlooked the industrial zone of the Admiralty.
The emperor lived in the palace only until June 1762, after which, without even expecting it, he left it forever, moving to his beloved Oranienbaum, where at the end of July he signed an abdication, shortly after which he was killed in the Ropshinsky Palace.
The “brilliant age” of Catherine II began, who became the first real mistress of the Winter Palace, and the south-eastern risalit, overlooking Millionnaya Street and Palace Square, became the first of the “residence zones” of the owners of the palace. After the coup, Catherine II basically continued to live in the wooden Elizabethan palace, and in August she left for Moscow for her coronation. Construction work in Zimny did not stop, but it was already carried out by other architects: Jean Baptiste Vallin-Delamot, Antonio Rinaldi, Yuri Felten. Rastrelli was first sent on leave and then resigned. Catherine returned from Moscow at the beginning of 1863 and moved her chambers to the southwestern risalit, showing continuity from Elizabeth Petrovna to Peter III and to her - the new empress. All work on the west wing was stopped. On the site of Peter III’s chambers, with the personal participation of the Empress, a complex of Catherine’s personal chambers was built. It included: the Audience Chamber, which replaced the Throne Room; Dining room with two windows; Restroom; two casual bedrooms; Boudoir; Office and Library. All rooms were designed in the style of early classicism. Later, Catherine ordered one of the everyday bedrooms to be converted into the Diamond Room or Diamond Chamber, where precious property and imperial regalia were kept: crown, scepter, orb. The regalia was in the center of the room on a table under a crystal cap. As new jewelry was acquired, glass boxes mounted to the walls appeared.
The Empress lived in the Winter Palace for 34 years and her chambers were expanded and rebuilt more than once.
Paul I lived in the Winter Palace during his childhood and youth, and having received Gatchina as a gift from his mother, he left it in the mid-1780s and returned in November 1796, becoming emperor. Pavel lived in the palace for four years in Catherine’s converted chambers. His large family moved with him, settling in their rooms in the western part of the palace. After his accession to the throne, he immediately began the construction of the Mikhailovsky Castle, without hiding his plans to literally “tear off” the interiors of the Winter Palace, using everything valuable to decorate the Mikhailovsky Castle.
After the death of Paul in March 1801, Emperor Alexander I immediately returned to the Winter Palace. The palace returned to its status as the main imperial residence. But he did not occupy the chambers of the southeastern risalit; he returned to his rooms, located along the western facade of the Winter Palace, with windows overlooking the Admiralty. The premises on the second floor of the southwestern risalit have forever lost their significance as the inner chambers of the head of state. Renovation of Paul I’s chambers began in 1818, on the eve of the arrival of the King of Prussia, Frederick William III, in Russia, appointing “collegiate adviser Karl Rossi” responsible for the work. All design work was carried out according to his drawings. From that time on, the rooms in this part of the Winter Palace began to be officially called the “Prussian-Royal Rooms”, and later - the Second Reserve Half of the Winter Palace. It is separated from the First Half by the Alexander Hall; in plan, this half consisted of two perpendicular enfilades overlooking Palace Square and Millionnaya Street, which were connected in different ways to the rooms facing the courtyard. There was a time when the sons of Alexander II lived in these rooms. First, Nikolai Alexandrovich (who was never destined to become Russian emperor), and from 1863, his younger brothers Alexander (future Emperor Alexander III) and Vladimir. They moved out of the premises of the Winter Palace in the late 1860s, beginning their independent lives. At the beginning of the twentieth century, dignitaries of the “first level” were accommodated in the rooms of the Second Reserve Half, saving them from terrorist bombs. From the beginning of spring 1905, the Governor-General of St. Petersburg Trepov lived there. Then, in the fall of 1905, Prime Minister Stolypin and his family were accommodated in these premises.
The premises on the second floor along the southern facade, the windows of which are located to the right and left of the main gate, were allocated by Paul I to his wife Maria Feodorovna in 1797. Paul's intelligent, ambitious and strong-willed wife, during her widowhood, managed to form a structure called the “department of Empress Maria Feodorovna.” It was engaged in charity, education, and provision of medical care to representatives of various classes. In 1827, renovations were made to the chambers, which ended in March, and in November of the same year she died. Her third son, Emperor Nicholas I, decided to preserve her chambers. Later, the First Reserve Half was formed there, consisting of two parallel enfilades. This was the largest of the palace halves, stretching along the second floor from the White to the Alexander Hall. In 1839, temporary residents settled there: the eldest daughter of Nicholas I, Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna and her husband, the Duke of Leuchtenberg. They lived there for almost five years, until the completion of the Mariinsky Palace in 1844. After the death of Empress Maria Alexandrovna and Emperor Alexander II, their rooms became part of the First Reserve Half.
On the ground floor of the southern façade between the entrance of the Empress and the main gate leading to the Great Courtyard, the windows overlooking Palace Square were the premises of the Palace Grenadiers on Duty (2 windows), the Candle Post (2 windows) and the department of the Military Campaign Office of the Emperor (3 windows). Next came the premises of the “Hough-Fourier and Chamber-Fourier post.” These premises ended at the Commandant's entrance, to the right of which the windows of the apartment of the commandant of the Winter Palace began.
The entire third floor of the southern façade, along the long maid of honor corridor, was occupied by the ladies-in-waiting's apartments. Since these apartments were service living space, at the will of business executives or the emperor himself, ladies-in-waiting could be moved from one room to another. Some of the ladies-in-waiting quickly got married and left the Winter Palace forever; others met there not only old age, but also death...
The southwestern risalit under Catherine II was occupied by the palace theater. It was demolished in the mid-1780s to accommodate rooms for the Empress's many grandchildren. A small enclosed courtyard was built inside the risalit. The daughters of the future Emperor Paul I were settled in the rooms of the southwestern risalit. In 1816, Grand Duchess Anna Pavlovna married Prince William of Orange and left Russia. Her chambers were remodeled under the leadership of Carlo Rossi for Grand Duke Nikolai Pavlovich and his young wife Alexandra Feodorovna. The couple lived in these rooms for 10 years. After the Grand Duke became Emperor Nicholas I in 1825, the couple moved in 1826 to the northwestern risalit. And after the marriage of the heir, Tsarevich Alesander Nikolaevich, to the Princess of Hesse (the future Empress Maria Alexandrovna), they occupied the premises of the second floor of the southwestern risalit. Over time, these rooms began to be called “Half of Empress Maria Alexandrovna”
Photos of the Winter Palace
We all walk around the Winter Palace, looking at paintings, lampshades, vases, tapestries, parquet flooring, gilding in general, all sorts of works of art, but there wasn’t always a museum here, people lived here, and not just any, but the rulers of a great state, so I want see in what chambers their lives passed. Therefore, we will visit the living quarters of the Winter Palace. Currently, only part of the magnificent series of residential apartments that once occupied a significant place in the huge building has been preserved in the Winter Palace.
On April 16, 1841, the marriage of the heir to Tsarevich Alexander Nikolaevich, the future Emperor Alexander II, and the Princess General of State, who received the title of Grand Duchess Tsarevna, took place. Maria Alexandrovna, the future empress, settled in the rooms assigned to her on the second floor of the northwestern part of the palace. She lived in these chambers until her death in 1880. Maria Alexandrovna's apartment consisted of eight rooms, some of which have retained their decoration to this day.
Large office of Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna, watercolor by E. P. Gau
The boudoir, or Small Study, was one of Maria Alexandrovna’s favorite places. Its decoration was made in the mid-nineteenth century by the architect Harold Bosse in the style of the second Rococo, fashionable at that time.
Boudoir of Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna, watercolor by E.P. Gau 
Bedroom of Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna, watercolor by E.P. Gau It’s as if the atmosphere of a fairy tale has been created here, the patterns twist whimsically, the shine of gilding sets off the slender figures of the snow-white caryatids. A magnificent bronze chandelier is reflected in mirrors of various shapes. Maria Alexandrovna spent a lot of free time in her cozy boudoir, reading, writing letters to her family, and drinking tea with her husband. From here there was an exit to the stairs, along which one could go down to the first floor, to the children's rooms.
Raspberry cabinet
Crimson study of Empress Maria Alexandrovna, watercolor by E.P. Gau Receptions of the empress's personal guests and meetings with relatives of the royal family took place in the Big or Raspberry Office. The office was also a kind of music salon. In the fabric designs covering the walls, you can see numerous images of musical instruments and notes. The frame of the huge fireplace mirror is crowned with cupids holding a shield in their hands, on which is depicted the monogram of Maria Alexandrovna.
Crimson Cabinet of the Winter Palace, © State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg Golden living room
With its shining abundance of gilding, the Golden Living Room is reminiscent of the chambers of the Moscow Kremlin with their vaulted ceilings and richly decorated walls. True, the owner of the apartment herself compared her living room with the throne room of the Bavarian kings.
