Palace Square and the Neva River Embankment. Walk along the palace embankment

Palace Embankment

And, leaning on the colonnades, Granite masses rise as an unshakable row of Palaces Above the darkened Neva! .. N. Agnivtsev.

Location: left bank of the Neva, from Troitsky to Palace Bridge

Palace Embankment erezhnaya, one of the most picturesque in St. Petersburg, is located on the left bank of the Neva, between the Kutuzovskaya and Admiralteiskaya embankments. It crosses Suvorovskaya Square and is connected by the Palace Bridge with Vasilyevsky Island, and the Troitsky Bridge with the Petrogradskaya Side. The ensemble of the Palace Embankment includes architectural structures of outstanding artistic value: the Winter Palace, the Small and Old Hermitages, the Hermitage Theater, the Marble Palace, the House of Scientists and other buildings.

Soon after the founding of St. Petersburg, in 1715, the general scheme of the Palace Embankment was outlined. In those days, it was called Upper, and retained this name until the end of the 18th century. In 1754-1762, according to the project of the architect Rastrelli, the Winter Palace was erected, which became the royal residence. It was he who gave the name to those located next to him Palace Square, Dvortsovaya embankment, Dvortsovy passage and Dvortsovy bridge. During the heyday of Soviet power, when it became a good tradition to rename streets and avenues, naming them in honor of prominent figures and memorable dates of the revolution, the Palace Embankment turned into the Ninth January Embankment. However, already in 1944, the original name was returned, and has remained unchanged since then.

In the middle of the 18th century, the Palace Embankment was faced with granite; it was complemented by picturesque descents to the water, made by the master G. Nasonov according to the project of the architect I. Rossi. In the 19th century, at the place where the entrance to the Palace Bridge is today, there was a pier, decorated with bronze sculptures of lions (sculptor - I. Prokofiev) and porphyry vases. In 1873 they were moved to the Admiralty Embankment.

On the Palace Embankment there is the former palace of the Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich, made by the architect A. Rezanov in the style of a Florentine palazzo. Today it houses the House of Scientists (Dvortsovaya Embankment, 26). House No. 20 belonged to I. Moshkov, chief-quartermaster of Peter I. Old walls of the building are preserved under late plastering. House No. 18 was built in the middle of the 19th century by the architect Stakenschneider for the Grand Duke Mikhail. There is no stylistic unity in the buildings on the Palace Embankment, but its appearance gives the impression of harmony, balance and architectural integrity.

Historical reference

1715 - creation of the embankment. 1754-1762 - erection of the building of the Winter Palace, which gave the name to the embankment. 1763-1767 - the embankment is faced with granite, slopes to the water are built. 1763-1766 - construction of the Hermitage Bridge over the Winter Canal. 1767-1768 - construction of the Verkhne-Lebyazhiy Bridge over the Lebyazhy Canal. Legends and myths

There are several palaces on the Palace Embankment, including the official royal residence, so it is not surprising that many legends about the palaces themselves and their owners are associated with this place in St. Petersburg. For example, among the Hermitage workers there is a legend about the last owner of the Winter Palace - Emperor Nicholas II. It is said that in the evenings the ghost of the Tsar-Martyr appears in the galleries of the Hermitage, who sadly looks around his former possessions.

Palace Embankment (Russia) - description, history, location. Exact address, phone number, website. Reviews of tourists, photos and videos.

• Tours for the New Year in Russia
• Last Minute Tours in Russia

Previous photo Next photo

Palace Embankment can be called one of the most beautiful and famous embankments in St. Petersburg. It is here that the world-famous sights of the Northern capital are located: the Hermitage, the Winter Palace, the Russian Museum, the House of Scientists and many others. This street offers an excellent view of the Spit of Vasilievsky Island and Peter and Paul Fortress... The Palace Embankment is located on the left bank of the Neva from the Kutuzov embankment to the Admiralteyskaya embankment. Its length is 1300 meters.

The world-famous sights of the Northern capital are located on the Palace Embankment: the Hermitage, the Winter Palace, the Russian Museum, the House of Scientists and many others. This street offers an excellent view of the Spit of Vasilievsky Island and the Peter and Paul Fortress.

They began to build up the Palace Embankment quite early - at the very beginning of the 18th century. The architectural tone of the buildings was set by the summer and winter residences of Peter I. People close to the king also began to build their houses on this land. In 1705, the first wooden house of General Admiral Fyodor Apraksin appeared. The building defined the red line of the street, and all other buildings began to be erected along this line.

Palace Embankment

Palace Embankment had many names: Nalichnaya Line, Embankment Verkhnyaya Kamennaya Line, Millionnaya. It was often called the Post Office because the Postal Yard was located here. In 1762 the architect Rastrelli built a royal residence here - the Winter Palace. After that, the embankment, the square and the bridge located nearby were called palaces. Already under Soviet rule, the street was renamed the Ninth January Embankment. But in 1944, the old name was returned to her.

To transport the main part of the Alexander Column, which weighs 600 tons, they used a special pier on the Palace Embankment. Engineer Glasin has developed a special bot capable of lifting loads up to 1,100 tons. In order to unload the monolith, they even built a new pier.

Gradually, the embankment became better and better: it was dressed in granite and made easy descents to the river. By the way, until the middle of the 18th century, all St. Petersburg embankments were made of wood. Palace Embankment became the first stone street. Nevertheless, in the 20s of the 19th century, the area around the Winter Palace remained unkempt. The construction of the General Staff building was planned here, and therefore working materials, piles of sand and boards were everywhere, as well as all kinds of warehouses and barns. Nicholas I instructed the architect Karl Rossi to put this place in order. Rossi designed a beautiful descent to the Neva, decorated with sculptures of the Dioscuri and lions. But the emperor was not impressed by the sculptures of young men holding back the horses, so they were replaced with porphyry vases. Subsequently, in connection with the construction of the Palace Bridge, the pier with lions was moved to the Admiralteyskaya embankment.

Palace Embankment has always been famous for the fact that famous and influential people lived here: the Romanov dynasty, poet Ivan Krylov, Count Sergei Witte.

Palace Embankment was originally called the Upper Embankment. It was built in the depths of the plots, because at the beginning of the 18th century the swampy banks of the Neva had not yet been fortified. It passed in the middle of the block between Millionnaya Street and the Neva embankment. Due to the expansion of land plots, already in 1716 it was displaced to the north. In the shallow water of the river, piles were broken and an embankment that has survived to this day was built.
In April 1707, a decree was issued, according to which a strict regulation of the allocation of land plots for construction began. In this case, the priority was the official and property status of the applicants. The same decree established the size of land allotments. The narrow side of each allotment overlooked the side of the bank of the Neva. The plots were assigned only to persons related to the Admiralty Department.
Development of modern Palace Embankment. What is on the left bank of the Neva began from the first years of the existence of St. Petersburg. In 1705, the first house that belonged to General-Admiral F.M. Apraksin, in 1707 the Kikin chambers were rebuilt. By the mid-1710s, work was underway to strengthen coastline Neva river on the site of the palace embankment. The banks were reinforced with wooden walls, and quays appeared along the embankment. Thus, it was possible to move the river bed at least eighty meters. In the thirties of the 18th century, instead of the Apraksin house, the Winter House was built for Empress Anna Ioannovna. Since the second half of the 18th century, the embankment has been called Millionnaya.
By the sixties, the one-millionth embankment was dressed in granite, and semicircular slopes to the Neva appeared here. But since the construction work of the architect Ignazio Rossi was carried out poorly, later the embankment had to be rebuilt according to the project of Yu.M. Felten. As a result, the bank of the Neva "moved back" by another twenty meters.
There was a Postal Yard on the embankment (on the site of the modern Marble Palace) because of what it was often called the Postal. In the sixties of the 18th century, the Hermitage Bridge and the Verkhne-Lebyazhy Bridge appeared, which connected the Palace Embankment with the Kutuzov Embankment.
By the end of the 18th century on the territory of the Palace Embankment in St. interesting buildings... These are the buildings of the Hermitage, the Hermitage Theater, the Marble Palace, the Saltykovs' house, and many others. In the 19th century, the palaces of Novo-Mikhailovsky and the Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich, the service building of the Marble Palace were built here.
After 1917, the embankment became the embankment on January 9th.
The Palace Embankment is connected to Vasilievsky Island by a drawbridge Palace Bridge, which appeared here at the beginning of the 20th century. The embankment is connected with the Petrogradskaya side by the Troitsky bridge, erected here at the turn of the 19th - 20th centuries.

The development of the Palace Embankment began to form one of the first in St. Petersburg. Its character was determined by the construction of both summer and winter residences of Peter I on this bank of the Neva. Due to the proximity to the Admiralty, the highest naval authorities settled here, first of all. A little further, upstream of the Neva, ship craftsmen settled. Among them are Peter Mikhailov (the "tsar-carpenter" Peter I himself), Fedosey Sklyaev, Philip Palchikov, Gavrila Menshikov.

The first buildings on the Palace Embankment, as in the whole city, were made of wood. In the summer of 1705, at a distance of 200 yards from the Admiralty, a wooden house for General Admiral Fyodor Matveyevich Apraksin was built according to the project of Domenico Trezzini. Such a distance from the Admiralty was required by the rules of the "fortification esplanade". In the same summer, the construction of a wooden choir for Vice Admiral Cornelius Cruis began. The Apraksin house set the red line for the Palace Embankment, while the Cruys house was located a little further from the low bank of the river in this place. The gap between these two buildings marked the beginning of Srednyaya Street, which ran parallel to the bank of the Neva.

The next building on the Palace Embankment in 1706 was the Postal Yard. At the same time (in 1706-1708), the wooden house of the Swedish Major Konou, which became the predecessor of the Summer Palace of Peter I, was moved closer to the banks of the Neva. In 1708, the first Winter Palace of Peter I was built on the site of house No. 32. Srednaya Street was extended to its main facade from the Apraksin house. The latter did not last long, since Peter I did not want to have narrow "medieval" passages between houses in St. Petersburg.

At the beginning of the 18th century, the embankment was called the Postal Embankment, since the Post Yard was located in the place where the Marble Palace is now located. Near it in 1711, the Red Canal was dug, which connected the Neva and Moika. Parallel to it, on the other side of Tsaritsyn's meadow (now the Field of Mars), the Swan Canal was dug.

After the victory at Poltava (1709) and the capture of Vyborg (1710), active stone construction began in St. Petersburg. Not everyone could afford the construction of an expensive stone house, but the residents of the Palace Embankment had enough funds for this. Apraksin's house was rebuilt in stone in 1712, but four years later the admiral wanted to have more spacious apartments. The new building was moved about 50 meters closer to the river, defining the current red line of the embankment. At the same time, they began to build new luxurious buildings for Raguzinsky, Yaguzhinsky, Olsufiev, Kruis, Golovin. The construction of these palaces was completed by 1721, when the construction of the palace of Dmitry Kantemir (house No. 8) began at the opposite end of the embankment. This was the first project of the young FB Rastrelli in St. Petersburg.

In the same years, the new Winter Palace of Peter I was under construction, which was moved to the Neva itself. For this, the coast was reinforced with wooden walls, and the wharves were equipped. Thus, more than 80 meters were "recaptured" from the Neva. In 1718, a canal called the Winter Canal was dug between the Neva and the Moika. Through it, in the alignment of the embankment, engineer Hermann van Boles built a wooden drawbridge Zimnedvortsovy bridge.

The construction of the bank of the Neva was regulated by administrative methods. On January 30, 1720, a decree of Peter I was issued:

"The Great Sovereign ... indicated to those who have chambers under the roof of the Neva River down from the Post Yard, so that, of course, in those chambers they would build 2 or 3, or 1 chambers by this winter and move on to live in them, so that the street following from the Postal Yard to the Winter Tsar's Majesty's house should already be partitioned off into those courtyards when it is ordered. And if someone will be ordered to build a wooden one, yielding from the chambers to the courtyards of twenty and not less than fifteen fathoms, and with those embankment chambers from the river, of course, all the places were properly placed and not occupied by anything ... "[ Quoted from: 2, p. 6, 7]

One of the decrees of 1721 lists all the owners of land plots on the embankment [Quoted from: 2, p. eight]:

• 1. Postal Yard
• 2.Mr Prince Volosky
• 3. Jagana Feltin, cochmeister
• 4. Prokofey the Short
• 5. Danilo Chevkina
• 6. Booty Cue ball
• 7. Major Ushakov
• 8. Major Volkova
• 9. Lifeguard clerk Andrey Ivanov
• 10. Major Korchmina
• 11. Doctor Areskin
• 12. Petra Moshkova
• 13. Lieutenant Prokofy Murzin
• 14. Prince Vasily Dolgorukov
• 15. Count Musin-Pushkin
• 16. Gavrila Menshikova
• 17. Feodosia Sklyaeva
• 18. His Royal Majesty's Winter House

The surname of Peter Moshkov, who lived on the site of the modern house number 20, remained on the maps of St. Petersburg in the form of the name of Moshkov Lane. The legendary Vasily Korchmin lived nearby, after whom, according to legend, Vasilyevsky Island was named. Most of the buildings existing at that time were erected according to standard designs and resembled each other. The houses of Peter I and Admiral Apraksin stood out especially.

Until 1724, the Winter Palace of Peter I expanded along the embankment. The emperor died there in 1725. At the same time, the newlyweds were temporarily settled in the Apraksin mansion: the Duke of Holstein and the daughter of Peter I, Anna.

Petersburg in 1726 is captured in the memoirs of the Frenchman Aubry de la Motre. He wrote about the future Palace Embankment as follows:

"You find yourself on an embankment 800 steps long and 30 wide, dominated by a number of palaces. Russian nobles built these palaces, as well as many other large houses and public buildings that adorned St. Petersburg" [Cit. by: 2, p. 12, 13].

The house of Apraksin was passed on to Peter II in 1728 by will. The young emperor never settled here, he moved with the government to Moscow, where he died of cholera. The house of Apraksin was empty all this time, since 1731 it began to be rebuilt under the residence of Anna Ioannovna. Domenico Trezzini began these works, continued at the request of the Empress FB Rastrelli. To accommodate new premises, a neighboring land plot belonging to the Maritime Academy was purchased. By 1735, the new Winter House of Anna Ioannovna was built here, with the main facade facing the Admiralty.

In 1729, the artist H. Marcelius created two drawings that conveyed in sufficient detail the nature of the development of the entire Palace Embankment. They became the first such historical document.

Initially, since 1737, the embankment was called Nalichnaya Line. It ended at the border of the city, which was Fontanka in the 18th century. The numbering of houses then went against the flow of the river. On April 20, 1738, the highway was named Upper Embankment Street (Lower was the modern English Embankment). Along with this name, there were others: Upper Embankment line, Embankment of the Upper Kamennaya line, Upper embankment of the river line, Embankment of the Neva river line, Embankment line, Naberezhnaya street, Nevskaya embankment or Upper embankment. In the 1740-1790s, the embankment was also called Millionnaya. There were also other names: Millionnaya Embankment Line, Millionnaya Embankment Street, Bolshaya Millionnaya Embankment. The last two options were used together with the "Palace Embankment" until the 1790s.

In 1746 Moshkov lane appeared, facing the Neva between houses 20 and 22 along the Palace Embankment.

The most notable building on the Palace Embankment is the Winter Palace, built in 1754-1762 by the architect FB Rastrelli. After the start of its construction, it turned out that the construction site was separated from the Neva by a very narrow, inconvenient for travel strip of the coast. In this regard, the architect provided the Office of the buildings with a plan and profile of an expanded and additionally fortified wooden embankment.

The plan began to be implemented by the carpenter master I. Erich called from Moscow, who in 1758 presented two projects for strengthening the coast, providing for its facing with stone. Work began in December 1762, until the following May piles were driven into the ground, and on June 7, a team of masons began to lay the foundation for the stone wall. At the same time, the supply of hewn stone for facing began.

The first stone was laid on the embankment in mid-June 1763. The construction work was carried out under the supervision of the stone craftsmen B. Manigotti, G. Liceni and P. Corti. The construction of the stone embankment opposite the Winter Palace was completed, most likely, in 1764. But due to miscalculations in the design, very soon it began to collapse. In September 1765, in some places the coast sagged noticeably due to the fact that the foundation was not given sufficient time to settle. Having discovered these shortcomings, Lieutenant-General N.E. Muravyov and Engineer-Major General I.M. Golenitsev-Kutuzov reported to Catherine II that it was impossible to repair the embankment;

Most local historians believe that the Palace Embankment was built according to the project of Yuri Matveyevich Felten. This assumption was made at the beginning of the 20th century by I.E. Grabar, without supporting it with documents. Therefore, the authorship of Felten was easily refuted by the historian V.I.Kochedamov. He proved that Felten was mentioned in documents related to the stone Palace Embankment only six years after the start of its creation, when the embankment wall from Liteiny Dvor to the Admiralty had already been built.

So who actually became the author of the Palace Embankment project? Various local historians proposed such candidates as J. B. Wallen-Delamot, architect S. A. Volkov. The author of the book "St. Petersburg of the 18th century" K.V. Malinovsky proves that he is an advisor to the Chancellery from the buildings of Ignatio Rossi. He refers to documents in which Rossi is directly called the author of the Palace Embankment project and the corresponding estimate. For example, the Minutes of the Office of Buildings on September 7, 1762: " ... Mr. Collegiate Counselor Ignati Rossi who, according to his ability to project the banks and bridges to the structure and the estimate, was"[Quoted from: 4, p. 379]. On September 10, he was appointed head of the" Office of the construction along the Neva River on the Kamenny Bank ".

Rossi's initial project involved the creation of a stone embankment wall and a metal balustrade. The descents to the water were straight stairs with the same metal rails. It was proposed to make the pier in the form of slopes widened by two times. The bridge across the Fontanka was designed as a stone, lifting on chains. Therefore, its central part had to be made of wood.

It should be noted that not only the Palace Embankment was being built at that time. The project provided for the facing with stone of the entire bank of the Neva from the Liteiny Dvor to the Galley Shipyard. On February 14, 1763, the first piles were driven into the bank. Already in the process of these works, their volume increased significantly, since it was decided to hammer not one row of piles, but 13. At the same time, round pine logs with a length of eight to ten meters and a thickness of 20 to 30 centimeters were used.

During the construction process, adjustments were made to the project. Since 1764, the descents to the water were created not straight, but oval. Fences "for strength" began to be made entirely of stone. The author of these changes is unknown. It is possible that they were offered to Catherine II by J. B. Wallen-Delamot, who was then engaged in the reconstruction of premises in Winter palace... The museum of the city of Angoulême in France contains a drawing of Delamot with an image of an oval descent to the Neva.

In 1763-1766, instead of the wooden one, a stone Hermitage bridge was built across the Winter Canal. To improve transport links with the Moscow side, the embankment was extended beyond the Fontanka. At the same time, in 1766-1769, the Laundry Bridge was built across the Fontanka, and in 1767-1768, the Verkhne-Lebyazhy Bridge over the Lebyazhya Canal. The profile of these crossings is organically introduced into the silhouette of the granite embankment. The bridges form a single architectural ensemble with it.

Already in January 1765, Catherine II checked the finished section of the embankment opposite the old Winter Palace. On February 8, it was decided to increase the minimum permissible height of buildings erected here. On April 27, 1766, the Commission from the stone structure of St. Petersburg and Moscow determined this height to be equal to ten fathoms.

The construction of the Palace Embankment was fully completed in November 1767. In the following January, the "architecture assistant" Neelov erected stone pillars connected with iron chains at the slopes in the Neva.

After the completion of the main part of the stone lining of the left bank of the Neva, Ignatio Rossi resigned. He was replaced by the architect Yuri Matveyevich Felten, who had to deal with the creation of the famous fence of the Summer Garden. The bank opposite to it was taken out into the river bed for 20 meters.

Dvortsovaya became the first of the embankments faced with granite in St. Petersburg. It has seven slopes to the water. The granite parapet is interrupted only at the Hermitage Bridge, where the cobblestone shore is surrounded only by pedestals with chains hanging from them.

The construction of new buildings on the Palace Embankment began simultaneously with its facing with stone. In 1762-1769, the building of the Small Hermitage (house No. 36) was added to the Winter Palace, and then the Great Hermitage (house No. 34). In 1762-1785, the Marble Palace was built on the site of the old Postal Yard. At the same time, the Red Channel was filled up. An office building (house no. 6) was erected near the Marble Palace. In 1784-1788, the Saltykovs' house was built (No. 4). The neighboring house of Betskoy (No. 2) was also built in the 1780s. In 1783-1787, on the site of the old Winter Palace of Peter I, the architect Quarenghi erected the Hermitage Theater, which was connected to the Great Hermitage by an arch.

On October 6, 1778, the highway was officially called the Palace Embankment. At the beginning of the 19th century, it was also called Bolshoi and Bolshaya Dvortsovaya. The name "Palace Embankment Street" existed until 1822.

In 1799, two buildings on the site of the currently existing house No. were merged into one according to the project of Quarenghi. This was a gift from Emperor Paul I to his favorite Anna Petrovna Lopukhina for her wedding with Prince Gagarin.

At the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, the Palace Embankment was sketched by the Swedish artist Benjamin Patersen. He created a number of watercolors on which from the Hare and Vasilievsky Islands the left bank of the Neva is visible.

In 1803, the Palace Embankment was connected to the Petersburg side by the floating Trinity Bridge. Initially, it went to the left bank of the Neva in the area Summer garden.

The area between the Saltykovs' house and the service building of the Marble Palace was originally intended for development. But by the end of the 1810s, nothing had been erected here. In 1818, at the suggestion of the architect K. Rossi, the site became a new square, which connected the Field of Mars with the Palace Embankment. A monument to A.V.Suvorov was erected in its center, the square was named Suvorov.

In the early 1820s, the section of the embankment near the Winter Palace was a construction site. There were barns, sheds, piles of stone, heaps of sand and stacks of boards prepared for the construction of the General Staff building. Nicholas I made a decision on the improvement of this territory, the work was entrusted to the architect Karl Rossi. According to his project, a wide descent to the Neva was arranged here. Rossi planned to decorate it with sculptures of the Dioscuri (youths holding back horses) and cast-iron lions, copies of those at the Mikhailovsky Palace. The emperor forbade placing the dioscuri here, the architect replaced them with porphyry vases.

In 1827, in connection with the construction of the first floating Trinity Bridge on the embankment, the fence and lanterns were renewed. In 1857-1862, the Novo-Mikhailovsky Palace was built (house No. 18), in 1867-1872, the palace of Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich (No. 26).

By the 1860s, the development of the Palace Embankment had grown far beyond the Fontanka. At this time, the "overflowing" part of the highway was allocated to a separate Gagarinskaya embankment, which now bears the name of the great Russian commander Mikhail I. Kutuzov. At the same time, the numbering of houses that still exists today was introduced.

After the construction of the first permanent bridge across the Neva, the floating Isaac Bridge was moved closer to the Winter Palace. It was given a different name - Palace.

In 1903, a permanent metal Trinity Bridge was built between the Palace Embankment and Troitskaya Square. In 1915, in connection with the commissioning of the permanent Palace Bridge, the pier with lions was moved to the Admiralty Embankment. The route of the new ferry went right through the old pier.

Of the nineteen houses here, half belonged to the royal family. Thanks to this, until 1917, the Palace Embankment lived according to its own "schedule". In summer, the palaces located here were empty. Their owners left for country estates, with them the numerous retinue left St. Petersburg. At this time, the facades of the houses were put in order, repainted. The pavement was being repaired. In winter, the palaces came to life. The embankment was filled with luxurious carriages, walking public.

On October 6, 1923, the Palace Embankment was renamed into the "Embankment of the Ninth January (1905)". The year was indicated in parentheses, so it was often omitted. This name of the highway was given due to the fact that the order to shoot the peaceful demonstration on January 9, 1905 was given by the Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich who lived here.

On September 9, 1941, during an air raid, one of the bombs fell in front of house No. 14, destroying its facade and the facades of neighboring houses No. 12 and 16. After the war, the facades of these buildings were united.

In 1944, the embankment was returned to its former name - Dvortsovaya.

The bridge was built in 1856: the merchants needed a direct connection with the Exchange and the Trade Port. In the manufacture of the structure, the floating Isaakievsky bridge was used. Then it was modernized and named Dvortsov. The permanent bridge appeared in 1916, although it was conceived earlier. The construction was hampered by a variety of events: first - the flood, then - the First World War... In 1917, the bridge was renamed Republican, but in 1944 its original name was returned. Cast iron grates were installed only in 1939. In 2013, this architectural monument was reconstructed.

 Palace bridge

The garden owes its name to the fact that earlier it was here that the palace guard was raised. The garden was laid out in 1896 and separated the royal residence - the Winter Palace - from the roadway. The planning was carried out by the architect Nikolai Kramskoy, according to whose project the garden was raised about a meter above the street. A fountain and tree saplings appeared in it. The garden fence was made in the Rastrelli Baroque style: the leaf pattern was supplemented with the emblem of the imperial family and the state emblem. In 1920, the fence was dismantled and installed in. In 2008, the original appearance of the fountain was restored. Now the garden is a great place to relax in the center. In summer you can hide from the sun, and in winter you can admire the colorful garlands decorating the tree branches.



Winter Palace 0+

The main residence of the Russian emperors changed its appearance five times. Construction began under Peter I, and ended under Peter III. Bartolomeo Rastrelli gave the building a modern baroque look.

Many decisive events for the country took place in this place: here the revolutionary Stepan Khalturin tried to kill Emperor Alexander II, here a demonstration of workers was shot in 1905, a little later the Provisional Government, ousted by the Bolsheviks, sat in the palace. For 20 years, the Museum of the Revolution, which was closed in 1941, functioned in the Winter Palace. Now the palace is the main building of the Hermitage, which stores many cultural and historical values ​​and objects of art.

 pl. Dvortsovaya, 2

The museum was built by Yuri Felten and Jean-Baptiste-Michel Wallen-Delamot in 1775. The miniature gallery is fraught with many famous exhibits: this is the Clock with a Peacock, and the Pavilion Hall, and Hanging garden... Initially, unique works of art acquired by Catherine II were exhibited here. Only a select few could see them - it is not for nothing that the word “hermitage” is translated as “a place of solitude”. It was only in 1852 that the Hermitage became available to the public.

 Dvortsovaya emb., 36

The museum was built in 1787 by the architect Yuri Felten. The building, built in the style of classicism, impresses with its interior: the rooms are painted with gilding, decorated with colored stones and skillful stucco molding. Nowadays it houses administrative premises and displays works of Italian painting of the 13th-18th centuries. Five years after the construction of the building, Raphael's loggias were added to the Great Hermitage, which contain copies of the artist's frescoes.

Among the famous objects inside are the Theater and Soviet Stairs. The first connects the floors of the Great Hermitage and allows you to enter the Hermitage Theater and Raphael's Loggia. The second staircase appeared due to the need for its own entrance to the premises where the Committee of Ministers and the State Council met. The architect Andrei Stakenschneider decorated the staircase with marble, and the lobby was decorated with red porphyry columns.

The New Hermitage, designed by Leo von Klenze in 1851, is located behind the Great Hermitage. Famous for its portico with ten Atlanteans, the museum was created specifically for public visits. Initially, it housed halls of Russian and Western European sculpture; now the Knights' Hall with a rich collection of armor and weapons functions here. Also an interesting exhibit is the Big Kolyvan vase made of green jasper weighing 19 tons.

 Dvortsovaya emb., 34

Winter groove

The groove was dug in 1719 and named the Old Palace Canal. It connects the Neva and Moika and stretches for 228 meters. Despite the fact that the canal is so short, several bridges have been thrown across it. The Hermitage Bridge became the ancestor of stone construction in the city: before it, all bridges were constructed exclusively of wood. It was built in the 18th century, like the 1st Winter Bridge. 2nd Winter Bridge was erected in the middle of the 20th century, but made in the style of the previous two. The buildings of the Greater Hermitage and the Hermitage Theater are connected by an arched structure supporting the gallery passage. From the side of the embankment, it looks very beautiful: the groove flows under the arch, disappearing in perspective.

 Zimnyaya Kanavka embankment

Hermitage Theater

Originally it was located here. In 1787, in its place, Giacomo Quarenghi built a luxurious theater in the antique style. The Hermitage Theater was intended for the imperial family and the highest nobility: in addition to operas and performances, balls, masquerades, and amateur performances were staged here. The chamber hall is located as an amphitheater and is designed for 250 people. The internal space of the theater is framed by marble columns, statues of Apollo and the muses of art, portraits of great musicians and poets. Since 1990, the theater has been performing on the stage of the "Russian Ballet" troupe, the St. Petersburg Ballet Theater. Tchaikovsky, the Chamber Theater "St. Petersburg Opera" and the Ballet Theater of L. Yakobson.

 Dvortsovaya emb., 34

Earlier on the site of the palace was the mansion of Ivan Musin-Pushkin, then - Dmitry Volkonsky, which later housed the French embassy. In 1872, the architect Alexander Rezanov erected a palace intended for the third son of Alexander II, Vladimir. The building was built in the Florentine style, decorated with large Venetian windows and family coats of arms. They called him "Small imperial palace"Because the decoration of the interiors boggled the imagination: the decor of the halls harmoniously intertwined architectural styles... The Grand Duke was president of the Academy of Arts and collected paintings.

In the first third of the 20th century, the House of Scientists was opened in the palace, where meetings, round tables, open lectures, and debates were held. Now there are several dozen scientific sections dealing with issues of technology and science. Also in this place they shoot historical films, arrange exhibitions and presentations.

 Dvortsovaya emb., 26

The palace was erected for the family of Grand Duke Mikhail, the son of Nicholas I. Architect Andrei Shtakenshneider created the building in the eclectic style, combining trends of various architectural trends. During the construction, metal structures were used, which was an innovation of that time. In 1911, a museum was opened here, the exposition of which tells about the life and work of Prince Mikhail, who for a long time was the governor in the Caucasus. On this moment the palace houses the Institute for the History of Material Culture and a large library that stores many oriental manuscripts.

 Dvortsovaya emb., 18

Marble Palace (Russian Museum) 0+

This is the first palace in St. Petersburg, the cladding of which is made of natural stone. In the work on the exterior and interior decoration of the building, Antonio Rinaldi used more than 30 types of marble. Many of them are displayed in the Marble Hall. A wrought iron lattice and marble vases adorn the main entrance to the palace. Previously, on the site of the palace there was a Postal Yard, and then a menagerie where an elephant lived.

The palace was intended for Count Orlov, but he never settled in it - the count died two years before the completion of construction work. Catherine II had to redeem the palace from his heirs. For some time, the favorite of the Empress Stanislav Ponyatovsky lodged here, and then the building passed into the possession of the Romanov princes. Here lived the grandson of Catherine II, Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich, then the son of Nicholas I, Constantine, and the heirs of his family.

For 17 years it functioned here Russian Academy history of material culture, then worked Central Museum named after Lenin. In 1996 the palace became a branch of the Russian Museum. The exhibition features works by foreign artists of the 18th - early 19th centuries. From time to time, exhibitions of works by contemporary masters are held here.

An armored car "Enemy of Capital" stood at the walls of the Marble Palace for a long time. The car was installed in memory of Lenin, who performed on an armored car of a similar model in 1917. Now it houses the authorship of Paolo Trubetskoy, who worked on it at the beginning of the 20th century. Previously, it stood on Znamenskaya Square, not far from the modern Moscow railway station. The monument was created as a tribute to the memory of the founder of the Siberian Way. The sculpture captured not the emperor's appearance, familiar from the ceremonial paintings, but a true portrait resemblance. In 1919, the ironic poem "Scarecrow" by Demyan Bedny appeared on the monument. He was also involved in the celebration of the tenth anniversary of the October Revolution. The monument was placed in a cage, decorated with a hammer and sickle and the emblem "USSR". Since 1937, the monument has rested in the Russian Museum and was returned to the city only in the early 90s.

 st. Millionnaya, 5/1

Troitsky bridge

It was originally a flood bridge, named Troitsky in honor of the nearby square. The permanent drawbridge was built at the beginning of the 20th century in honor of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the marriage of Alexander III and Maria Feodorovna. Lattices and lanterns are decorated in Art Nouveau style by architects René Patullar and Vincent Chabrol, granite columns with bronze rostras and eagles on the tops - by Amandus Adamson. Troitsky Bridge has undergone two reconstructions. According to legend, just over this architectural monument Valery Chkalov flew during his famous non-stop flight on the route Moscow - North Pole.

 Troitsky bridge

The territory belonged to Count Alexander Vorontsov, who renounced his own rights. By the decision of a neighbor, Field Marshal Nikolai Saltykov, a garden was laid out here. In 1818, the state bought the site, and on this site was created a square, on the plan of which Carl Rossi worked.

In the center of the square, a bronze monument was erected to the commander Alexander Suvorov, on which Mikhail Kozlovsky worked. It originally stood on the Champ de Mars. Suvorov is depicted in the allegorical image of the god of war Mars. It was the country's first monument to an uncrowned person, erected by the decree of Paul I in honor of the commander's victorious campaign in Italy.



It was built in 1788 by Giacomo Quarenghi in the classicism style and belonged to the merchant Groten. The house changed several more owners and, at the behest of Catherine II, was bought by the state and presented to Nikolai Saltykov as gratitude for the upbringing of Konstantin Pavlovich, the beloved grandson of the empress. Alexander Suvorov was a frequent guest of the house, it was here that Mikhail Kutuzov was appointed field marshal of the army. Before the October Revolution, the house was rented by various foreign embassies. Despite the fact that the building was rebuilt several times, beautiful interiors have survived in the White Hall and the lobby. Now it houses the St. Petersburg State University of Culture and Arts.

 Dvortsovaya emb., 4

Originally, a spruce grove grew here. A little later, Domenico Trezzini built a pavilion for Peter I, where the tsar spent hours of rest. In 1750, Bartolomeo Rastrelli erected the Opera House on the vacated space, where European troupes gave performances. Long time the building was rented by an Italian theater. After 22 years, the Opera House was demolished, and the construction of the mansion of the personal secretary of Catherine II, Ivan Betsky, began. Among the official's guests were Denis Diderot and Ivan Krylov. It was here that the fabulist took up publishing and published the magazines "Spectator" and "St. Petersburg Mercury".

In 1830, the mansion was bought by the state treasury and presented to the Prince of Oldenburg. The architect Vasily Stasov redecorated the building. The son of Prince Oldenburgsky sold the mansion to the Provisional Government for 1.5 million rubles. After the October Revolution, the inner chambers were divided into communal apartments, then a museum and a circle named after Saltykov-Shchedrin appeared in the former palace. In the second half of the 20th century, the mansion was connected to the Saltykov house, therefore, there is also a wing of the St. Petersburg State University of Culture and Arts.

One of oldest buildings the city was built in 1714. Dominico Trezzini created a baroque palace, very simple and modest inside. Outside, the building is decorated with bas-reliefs depicting the events of the Great Northern War. The palace has 14 rooms and 2 kitchens. The palace was built for the rest of Peter I in the summer. After the death of the tsar, dignitaries lived here, and under Alexander I, the palace became public. In 1934 a museum was opened there. In the middle of the 20th century, a large restoration was carried out. Now the building is a branch of the Russian Museum.

It was conceived as a regular park and the personal residence of the king. Official landscaping began in 1704. Over the course of 15 years, the garden has acquired the desired appearance. Visitors began to enter it, they did it selectively and on Sundays. Jean Baptiste Leblond was involved in the composition of the Summer Garden, and Bartolomeo Rastrelli created a wooden palace for Anna Ioanovna, the Amphitheater cascade and the Crown fountain. The garden was filled with Venetian sculptures, becoming, along with fountains, its main decoration. Later, the flood destroyed the fountains and the "Grotto" pavilion, which it was decided not to restore. The fence appeared in 1784, and in 1855 a monument to Krylov was erected here. Gradually, the garden acquired the features of a landscape English park and completely opened its doors to the public. In 2012, the reconstruction of the Summer Garden was completed, the layout of which was given its original appearance.

 emb. Kutuzova, 2

If you find a typo or error, select the text fragment containing it and press Ctrl + ↵