What is now in the winter palace. History of the Winter Palace. Reference. Winter Palace as a historical and cultural monument

The history of the Winter Palace begins with the reign of Peter I.

The very first, then still Winter House, was built for Peter I in 1711 on the banks of the Neva. The first Winter Palace was two-story, with a tiled roof and a high porch. In 1719-1721, the architect Georg Mattornovi built a new palace for Peter I.

Empress Anna Ioannovna considered the Winter Palace too small and did not want to live in it. She entrusted the construction of the new Winter Palace to the architect Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli. For new construction, the houses of Count Apraksin, Raguzinsky and Chernyshev, located on the embankment of the Neva River, as well as the building of the Maritime Academy were purchased. They were demolished, and in their place by 1735 a new Winter Palace was built. At the end of the 18th century, the Hermitage Theater was erected on the site of the old palace.

Empress Elizaveta Petrovna also wished to remodel the imperial residence to her taste. The construction of the new palace was entrusted to the architect Rastrelli. The design of the Winter Palace created by the architect was signed by Elizaveta Petrovna on June 16, 1754.

In the summer of 1754, Elizaveta Petrovna issued a personal decree to begin construction of the palace. The required amount - about 900 thousand rubles - was taken from the "tavern" money (collection from the drinking trade). The previous palace was dismantled. During construction, the courtyard moved to a temporary wooden palace built by Rastrelli on the corner of Nevsky and Moika.

The palace was distinguished by its incredible size for those times, lavish exterior decoration and luxurious interior decoration.

The Winter Palace is a three-story building, rectangular in plan, with a huge front courtyard inside. The main facades of the palace face the embankment and the square that was formed later.

When creating the Winter Palace, Rastrelli designed each facade differently, based on specific conditions. The northern facade, facing the Neva, stretches like a more or less even wall, without noticeable protrusions. From the river side, it is perceived as an endless two-tiered colonnade. The southern façade, facing Palace Square and having seven divisions, is the main one. Its center is highlighted by a wide, lavishly decorated risalit, cut through by three entrance arches. Behind them is the front courtyard, where in the middle of the northern building there was the main entrance to the palace.

Along the perimeter of the palace roof there is a balustrade with vases and statues (the original stone ones were replaced by a brass knockout in 1892-1894).

The length of the palace (along the Neva) is 210 meters, width - 175 meters, height - 22 meters. total area The palace is 60 thousand square meters, it has more than 1000 halls, 117 different staircases.

The palace had two chains of state halls: along the Neva and in the center of the building. In addition to the state rooms, on the second floor there were living quarters for members of the imperial family. The first floor was occupied by utility and service premises. The upper floor mainly housed the apartments of the courtiers.

About four thousand employees lived here, they even had their own army - palace grenadiers and guards from the guards regiments. The palace had two churches, a theater, a museum, a library, a garden, an office, and a pharmacy. The halls of the palace were decorated with gilded carvings, luxurious mirrors, chandeliers, candelabra, and patterned parquet flooring.

Under Catherine II, a winter garden was organized in the Palace, where both northern and plants brought from the south grew, and the Romanov Gallery; At the same time, the formation of St. George's Hall was completed. Under Nicholas I, a gallery of 1812 was organized, where 332 portraits of participants in the Patriotic War were placed. The architect Auguste Montferrand added the Peter and Field Marshal halls to the palace.

In 1837, there was a fire in the Winter Palace. Many things were saved, but the building itself was badly damaged. But thanks to the architects Vasily Stasov and Alexander Bryullov, the building was restored within two years.

In 1869, gas lighting appeared in the palace instead of candlelight. Since 1882, the installation of telephones in premises began. In the 1880s, a water supply system was built in the Winter Palace. At Christmas 1884-1885, electric lighting was tested in the halls of the Winter Palace; from 1888, gas lighting was gradually replaced by electric lighting. For this purpose, a power plant was built in the second hall of the Hermitage, which for 15 years was the largest in Europe.

In 1904, Emperor Nicholas II moved from the Winter Palace to the Tsarskoye Selo Alexander Palace. The Winter Palace became the place for ceremonial receptions, state dinners, and the place where the Tsar stayed during short visits to the city.

Throughout the history of the Winter Palace as an imperial residence, its interiors were remodeled in accordance with fashion trends. The building itself changed the color of its walls several times. The Winter Palace was painted red, pink, and yellow. Before the First World War, the palace was painted red brick.

During the First World War, there was an infirmary in the building of the Winter Palace. After the February Revolution of 1917, the Provisional Government worked in the Winter Palace. In the post-revolutionary years, various departments and institutions were located in the Winter Palace building. In 1922, part of the building was transferred to the Hermitage Museum.

In 1925 - 1926, the building was rebuilt again, this time for the needs of the museum.

During the Great Patriotic War, the Winter Palace suffered from air raids and artillery shelling. In the basements of the palace there was a dispensary for scientists and cultural figures who suffered from dystrophy. In 1945-1946, restoration work was carried out, at which time the entire Winter Palace became part of the Hermitage.

Currently, the Winter Palace, together with the Hermitage Theatre, the Small, New and Large Hermitages, forms a single museum complex, the State Hermitage.

The Winter Palace is a masterpiece of Russian Baroque. Part 1. Architecture

Winter Palace in St. Petersburg (Palace Square, 2 / Palace Embankment, 38)

The Winter Palace is a former imperial palace, currently part of the Main Museum Complex of the State Hermitage.

The monumental and elegant Winter Palace, commissioned by Empress Elizabeth Petrovna by architect Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli in 1754-1762, is a striking monument to the Baroque style. The building is a brilliant example of the synthesis of architecture and decorative plastics. All its facades are decorated with a two-tier colonnade. Forming a complex rhythm of verticals, the columns rush upward, and this movement is picked up by numerous statues and vases on the roof.

The abundance of stucco decorations - fancy cornices and window frames, mascarons, cartouches and rocailles, torn pediments - creates a rich play of light and shadow, giving the appearance of the building a special splendor. Is an object cultural heritage federal significance and object world heritage UNESCO within historical center St. Petersburg

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

The Winter Palace and Palace Square form a beautiful architectural ensemble modern city and are one of the main objects of domestic and international tourism.

Story

In total, during the period 1711–1764, five winter palaces were built in the city. Initially, Peter I settled in a hastily built building in 1703 not far from Peter and Paul Fortress one-story house

First Palace - Wedding Chambers

Peter the Great owned the site between the Neva and Millionnaya Street (on the site of the current Hermitage Theater). In 1708, here, in the depths of the site, a wooden “Winter House” was built - a small two-story house with a high porch and a tiled roof. In 1712, the stone Wedding Chambers of Peter I were built. This palace was a gift from the Governor of St. Petersburg, Alexander Danilovich Menshikov, for the wedding of Peter I and Ekaterina Alekseevna.

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

In 1716, the architect Georg Mattarnovi, by order of the Tsar, began building a new Winter Palace, on the corner of the Neva and the Winter Canal (which was then called the “Winter House Canal”). In 1720, Peter I and his entire family moved from their summer residence to their winter residence. In 1725, Peter died in this palace.

Third Palace - Anna Ioannovna's Palace

Later, Empress Anna Ioannovna considered the Winter Palace too small and in 1731 entrusted its reconstruction to F.B. Rastrelli, who offered her his own project for the reconstruction of the Winter Palace. According to his project, it was necessary to purchase the houses that stood at that time on the site occupied by the current palace and belonged to Count Apraksin, the Maritime Academy, Raguzinsky and Chernyshev. Anna Ioannovna approved the project, the houses were bought up, demolished, and construction began in the spring of 1732.

The facades of this palace were facing the Neva, the Admiralty and the “meadow side”, that is, the palace square. In 1735, construction of the palace was completed, and Anna Ioannovna moved to live there. The four-story building included about 70 state rooms, more than 100 bedrooms, a gallery, a theater, a large chapel, many staircases, service and guard rooms, as well as rooms for the palace chancellery. Almost immediately the palace began to be rebuilt; an extension began along the meadow side of technical buildings, sheds and stables[

Anna and Anton-Ulrich

Here, on July 2, 1739, Princess Anna Leopoldovna's engagement to Prince Anton-Ulrich took place. After the death of Anna Ioannovna, the young Emperor Ivan Antonovich was brought here, who stayed here until November 25, 1741, when Elizaveta Petrovna took power into her own hands.

Fourth (temporary) Winter Palace
It was built in 1755. It was built by Rastrelli on the corner of Nevsky Prospekt and the river embankment. Sinks. Was dismantled in 1762

Fifth Winter Palace
From 1754 to 1762, construction took place on the existing palace building, which at that time became the tallest residential building in St. Petersburg. The building included about 1,500 rooms. The total area of ​​the palace is about 60,000 sq.m. Elizaveta Petrovna did not live to see the completion of construction; Peter III took over the work on April 6, 1762. By this time, the decoration of the facades was completed, but many of the interior spaces were not yet ready. In the summer of 1762, Peter III was overthrown from the throne, and construction of the Winter Palace was completed under Catherine II.

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

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

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

On January 1, 1752, the Empress decided to expand the Winter Palace, after which the neighboring areas of Raguzinsky and Yaguzhinsky were purchased. At the new location, Rastrelli added new buildings. According to the project he drew up, these buildings were to be attached to existing ones and be decorated in the same style.

In December 1752, the Empress wished to increase the height of the Winter Palace from 14 to 22 meters. Rastrelli was forced to redo the design of the building, after which he decided to build it in a new location. But Elizaveta Petrovna refused to move the new Winter Palace. As a result, the architect decides to build the entire building anew, new project was signed by Elizaveta Petrovna on June 16 (June 27), 1754

According to the original layout of the palace, made by Rastrelli, the largest state rooms were located on the 2nd floor and overlooked the Neva. According to the architect’s plan, the path to the huge “Throne” hall (which occupied the entire space of the north-western wing) began from the east - from the “Jordan” or, as it was previously called, the “Embassy” staircase and ran through a suite of five outer halls ( Of these, the three middle halls later formed the current Nicholas Hall).

Rastrelli placed the palace theater “Opera House” in the southwestern wing. 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 “Big Church” built in the eastern courtyard.

In 1763, the Empress moved her chambers to southwestern part palace, under her rooms she ordered the chambers of her favorite G. G. Orlov to be placed (in 1764-1766 the Southern Pavilion of the Small Hermitage, connected to Catherine’s chambers by a gallery on an arch, would be erected for Orlov).

In the northwestern risalit, the “Throne Hall” was equipped, and a waiting room appeared in front of it - the “White Hall”. A dining room was located behind the White Hall. The “Light Study” was adjacent to it. The dining room was followed by the “Grand Bedchamber,” which a year later became the “Diamond Chamber.”

In addition, the Empress ordered to equip herself with a library, an office, a boudoir, two bedrooms and a restroom. In the restroom, the empress built a toilet seat from the throne of one of her lovers, the Polish king Poniatowski. In 1764, in Berlin, through agents, Catherine acquired a collection of 225 works by Dutch and Flemish artists from the merchant I. Gotzkovsky. The paintings were placed in secluded apartments of the palace, which received the French name “Hermitage” (place of solitude); from 1767 to 1775 a special building was built for them east of the palace.

In the 1780-1790s, work on finishing the palace interiors was continued by I. E. Starov and G. Quarenghi.

In 1783, by decree of Catherine, the palace theater was demolished.
In the 1790s, by decree of Catherine II, who considered it inappropriate for the public to enter the Hermitage through her own chambers, a gallery-bridge with the Winter Palace - the “Apollo Hall” - was created, through which visitors could bypass the royal apartments. At the same time, Quarenghi erected the new “Throne (St. George)” hall, opened in 1795. The old throne room was converted into a series of rooms provided for chambers for the newly married Grand Duke Alexander. A “Marble Gallery” (of three halls) was also created.

In 1826, according to the design of K. I. Rossi, a Military Gallery was built in front of St. George’s Hall, which housed 330 portraits of generals who took part in the War of 1812, painted by D. Doe over almost 10 years. In the early 1830s, in the eastern building of the palace, O. Montferrand designed the “Field Marshal’s”, “Peter’s” and “Armorial” halls.

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

Historical events

On April 7 (according to another version - April 11), 1762, on Easter, the ceremony of consecrating the palace took place, and the next day the imperial court moved into it.

K. J. Vernet. Fire in the Winter Palace

On December 29, 1837, there was a fire in the Winter Palace. They could not put it out for three days; all this time, the property taken out of the palace was piled up around the Alexander Column. Restoration work required enormous efforts, but the palace was revived in two years. The work was supervised by V.P. Stasov, who used new floor and roof structures.

Women's shock battalion defending the Winter Palace from the Bolshevik rebellion.

On February 5, 1880, Narodnaya Volya member S.N. Khalturin carried out an explosion in the Winter Palace with the aim of killing Alexander II, while eleven guard soldiers were killed and fifty-six were wounded, but neither the emperor nor his family members were injured.

On January 9, 1905, during a procession of columns of workers to the Winter Palace, a peaceful workers' demonstration was shot, which served as the beginning of the Revolution of 1905-1907. In August 1914, after the outbreak of the Second Patriotic (First World) War, some of the cultural property from the palace, including the Jewelry Gallery, was taken to Moscow, but the Art Gallery remained in place.

In mid-October 1915, a military hospital named after Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich was located in the palace. The halls of the Nevsky and Great Enfilades, as well as the Picket and Alexander Halls were allocated for hospital wards. During the revolution of February 1917, the palace was occupied by troops who went over to the side of the rebels.

Since July 1917, the palace became the residence of the Provisional Government, which announced the nationalization of the royal palaces and formed an artistic and historical commission to accept the values ​​of the Winter Palace. In September, part of the art collection was evacuated to Moscow.

On the night of October 25-26 (November 7-8), 1917, during the October Revolution, the Red Guard, revolutionary soldiers and sailors surrounded the palace, which was guarded by a garrison of cadets and a women's battalion, totaling 2.7 thousand people. The palace was fired upon by the cannons of the Peter and Paul Fortress. By 2 hours 10 minutes. On the night of October 26 (November 8), the palace was stormed and the Provisional Government was arrested. In cinema, the storming of the Winter Palace was depicted as a battle. In fact, it was almost bloodless - the defenders of the palace offered almost no resistance.

On October 30 (November 12), 1917, People's Commissar of Education A.V. Lunacharsky declared the Winter Palace and the Hermitage state museums. For several months, the People's Commissariat for Education was located in the rooms on the first floor of the palace. Cinematic screenings, concerts, lectures, and meetings began to be held in the main halls. In 1919, the first exhibitions of paintings from paintings remaining in Petrograd after the revolution, as well as the exhibition “Funeral Cult of Ancient Egypt,” opened in the palace.

Workers of the Kirov plant and young sailors on the bridge. Defenders of Leningrad during the siege. Siege of Leningrad Russia, Leningrad region
On June 22, 1941, after the start of the Great Patriotic War, twelve bomb shelters were equipped in the basements of the palace, in which about two thousand people permanently lived until 1942. Part of the non-evacuated museum collection of the Hermitage, cultural values ​​from suburban palaces and various institutions of Leningrad were hidden in the palace.

During the war, the palace buildings were damaged by Wehrmacht artillery fire and Luftwaffe bombing; a total of seventeen artillery shells and two aerial bombs hit them. The Small Throne (Peter's) Hall was damaged, part of the Armorial Hall and the ceiling of the Rastrelli Gallery were destroyed, and the Jordan Staircase was damaged. On November 7, 1944, the palace was partially opened to the public. The restoration of the halls and facades of the palace continued for many years after the war.

Architecture

Facade facing the Neva
The modern three-story building has the shape of a square of 4 wings with an internal courtyard and facades facing the Neva, the Admiralty and Palace Square. The magnificent decoration of the facades and premises gives the building a sense of splendor. The main facade, facing Palace Square, is cut through by the arch of the main passage, which was created by Rastrelli after his work on the renovation of the palace in Strelna, probably under the influence of the magnificent architectural design of Michetti (whose forerunner was Leblon). Differently composed facades, strong protrusions of risalits, accentuation of stepped corners, changing rhythm of columns (by changing the intervals between columns, Rastrelli either collects them into bunches or exposes the plane of the wall) create an impression of restlessness, unforgettable solemnity and splendor.

Clock mechanism of the Winter Palace clock

The palace building has 1084 rooms, 1945 windows, 117 staircases (including secret ones). The length of the facade from the Neva side is 137 meters, from the Admiralty side - 106 meters, height 23.5 meters. In 1844, Nicholas I issued a decree prohibiting the construction of civil buildings in St. Petersburg higher than the height of the Winter Palace. They had to be built at least one fathom less.

Despite the reconstruction and many innovations, the basic planning scheme of the palace retained the ideas of F.-B. Rastrelli. The palace buildings are formed around the internal Great Courtyard. In the northwestern and southwestern wings, on the site of the Throne Hall and the Opera House, light courtyards were created, around which enfilades of residential chambers were formed.

Adjacent to the Winter Palace from the east is the Small Hermitage, built along the Black Passage. The buildings of the St. George's Hall, the Great Church, the south-eastern and north-eastern wings of the palace open into this passage; the space is divided into a system of courtyards and depressions: “Small” and “Big Church” courtyards (from the Great Church located here, founded back in 1763), “Church” and “Garage” (from the garage located here) depressions, “Kitchen yard” .

Design features

The three-story building of the palace has a semi-basement floor and numerous mezzanine floors, some of the main halls on the second floor are double-story. The brickwork of the walls with lime mortar is very massive, the interfloor ceilings are made both in the form of brick vaults and along beams. The massive cornice of the palace is built on a stone foundation, which is supported by iron clamps passing through the brickwork of the outer walls, preserved from the time of Rastrelli.

The entire rafter system and all the ceilings above the halls in the 18th century were made of wood (the ceilings were insulated with felt and canvas, the rafters were tarred). There were no firewalls in the attics before the fire. During the restoration of the palace, iron structures began to play a major role. Such a massive use of iron in construction was unusual in world practice. Engineer M. E. Clark developed triangular trusses - “roofing trusses” - to support the roof of the Winter Palace, and “blown elliptical beams” to cover the palace halls.

The covering of the St. George's Hall became one of the first examples of the use of rolled steel in domestic construction. In 1887, under the leadership of the architect Gornostaev, some deformed structures were updated and old structures were strengthened. Most of them still regularly serve in Zimny.

When constructing the floors between the nearest beams, microvaults were made from hollow pottery pots in lime mortar. Below in the halls a metal ceiling was fixed or plastered.

In the 1840s, the building was equipped with a unique heating system using Ammos stoves, which were located in the basements, and the heated fresh air entered the premises through heat channels (later a water-air system would be created on this basis). At the end of the 19th century, much attention was paid to the ventilation system. Sewage accumulated in a collector built by Rastrelli, which drained sewage into the Neva. After the reconstruction of the embankment, this collector was sealed and the Winter Palace “became itself” for some time. In 1886, the Winter Palace was electrified.

The rafters above the Great Throne Room.

Brace supporting the cornice

I-beam elliptical beam

Pottery pots in the palace vaults

The facades and roof of the palace changed the color scheme several times. The original color had a very light warm ocher color, highlighting the order system and plastic decoration with white lime paint.
In the second half of the 1850s - 1860s, under Emperor Alexander II, the color of the palace facades changed. The ocher becomes more dense. The order system and plastic decor are not painted with an additional color, but acquire a very light tonal highlight. In fact, the facades are perceived as monochrome.

Clearing historical paint

In the 1880s, under Emperor Alexander III, the facades were painted in two tones: a dense ocher expression with the addition of red pigment and a weaker terracotta tonality. With the accession of Nicholas II in 1897, the emperor approved the project of painting the facades of the Winter Palace in the coloring of the “new fence of the Own Garden” - red sandstone without any tonal highlighting of the columns and decor.

Winter Palace. Coloring of the second half of the 18th century. B.F. Rastrelli

Winter Palace. Painting at the turn of the 18th - 19th centuries.

All the buildings on Palace Square - the headquarters of the Guards Corps and the General Staff - were painted in the same color, which, according to the architects of that period, contributed to the unity of perception of the ensemble. In 2011, during the restoration of the Hermitage garage for painting it

Winter Palace. Coloring of the first quarter of the 20th century.

The terracotta-brick color of the palace remained until the end of the 1920s, after which experiments began and the search for a new color scheme began. In 1927, an attempt was made to paint it gray, in 1928-1930. - in a brown-gray color scheme, and the copper sculpture on the roof - in black.

Winter Palace. Coloring 1880s - 1890s.

In 1934, the first attempt was made to paint the palace with orange oil paint highlighting the order system with white paint, but oil paint had a negative impact on the stone, plaster and stucco decoration. In 1940, a decision was made to remove oil paint from the façade.

Winter Palace.Current painting

With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, for camouflage purposes, the palace was painted with reversible adhesive gray paint.
Since the 1960s, when painting facades, instead of lime paints, synthetic dyes began to be used, which negatively affect stucco decoration, plaster and natural stone. In 1976, on the recommendation of the All-Union Central Research Laboratory, a decision was made to clear the surface of the sculptures from the paint coating to form a natural layer of patina, which at that time was considered a natural protection against aggressive environmental influences. Currently, the copper surface is protected with a special paint composition containing a copper corrosion inhibitor.

Over sixty-five years, the public and city authorities have developed a certain stereotype in the perception of the color scheme of the palace, however, according to the Hermitage researchers, the currently existing color scheme of the facades does not correspond to the artistic image of the palace, and therefore it is proposed to recreate the color scheme of the facades as close as possible to the volumetric-spatial composition of the palace created by Bartolomeo Rastrelli.

The sculptures and vases installed above the cornice along the entire perimeter of the building add elegance and splendor to the silhouette of the building. They were originally carved from stone and replaced by metal ones in 1892-1902 (sculptors M.P. Popov, D.I. Jensen). The “opened” composition of the Winter Palace is a kind of Russian reworking of the type of closed palace building with a courtyard, common in the architecture of Western Europe.

To be continued

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

Empress Elizabeth, wanting to surpass the luxury of the palaces of European monarchs, ordered chief architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli to build a grandiose building in the center of St. Petersburg. In 1754, the design of the Winter Palace, designed in a magnificent Baroque style, was approved. Later, some changes were made to it, bringing the baroque liberties closer to the strict standards of classicism. Large-scale construction was not completed during the reign of Elizabeth, and only Catherine II became the first sovereign mistress of the Winter Palace. During her tenure, work continued on the arrangement interior spaces. Thus, the Great Throne Hall, known as St. George's, was decorated. Since 1764, Catherine began to collect a collection of paintings from the Hermitage and order architects to build additional buildings in close proximity from the Winter Palace. In the future, they will be united by a system of transitions into the palace complex.

Under Nicholas I, work on the interiors of the Winter Palace continued. In 1837, due to a faulty chimney, a terrible fire occurred in the building, destroying the historical decoration of the halls - designs by Quarenghi, Rossi, Montferrand. In addition, it was necessary to equip the southwestern wing of the second floor as chambers for the heir to the throne, Alexander II, who was about to get married. Most of the works of this period were carried out by Vasily Stasov and Alexander Bryullov.

In 1904, under Nicholas II, the Winter Palace ceded the right to be called the imperial residence to the Alexander Palace in Tsarskoe Selo. The building continued to be used for museum purposes. With the outbreak of the First World War, part of the collections was taken to Moscow, and the spacious halls were given over to hospitals. After the February Revolution, the Winter Palace became the meeting place of the Provisional Government. It was here, in the Small Dining Room on the second floor, that his ministers were arrested during the October Revolution. A week later, all collections were declared state property and the Winter Palace officially became part of the Hermitage museum complex. During World War II, all collections were evacuated to the Urals. Since the autumn of 1945, the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg has been receiving visitors as usual. Nowadays archaeological collections, works of artists and sculptors, works of decorative and applied art from Asia, England and France are stored here.

Facade facing the Neva

Architectural features of the building

By the time he received the order, Rastrelli had already erected two Winter Palaces in St. Petersburg, but their size and decoration of the halls did not correspond to the high status of the imperial residence. The new building, at the request of Elizabeth, was distinguished by the height of the ceilings and the splendor of decoration characteristic of the Baroque - stucco moldings, sculptures, gilding, draperies made of expensive fabrics. The facade of the Winter Palace was decorated with two tiers of snow-white columns with gold stucco. The distances between the columns are different - so the architect, skillfully using the play of light and shadow, created a complex rhythmic pattern. The places on the roof were patinated antique statues, vases, symbols of Russian statehood were also installed here. By the way, the facades became greenish-blue only in our time. Historically, the walls were yellowish-sandy; later they were painted in richer yellow and brown tones.

Dimensions of the Winter Palace

Elizabeth insisted that the height of the Winter Palace should be 22 m, an unprecedented size for St. Petersburg. As a result, the building exceeded the set level by another 1.5 m. The facade facing the Neva is 210 m long, the Admiralty side is slightly shorter - 175 m. Subsequently, Nicholas I made sure that no competitors to the palace appeared in the capital, limiting the height of new buildings.

In total, the Winter Palace had more than 1000 rooms - for official ceremonies, for storing collections, personal chambers of the emperor and heirs to the throne and their retinues and great amount utility rooms to serve the needs of the people living here.

Tours of the Winter Palace

It is extremely difficult to explore all the halls of the Winter Palace at one time, so tourists should think through their routes in advance. On the ground floor there are archaeological collections collected from all over the former Soviet Union. From an architectural point of view, the apartments of the daughters of Nicholas I, located in the wing overlooking the Neva, are interesting. On the second floor there are halls that have become business card Winter Palace: Throne, Bolshoi, Petrovsky - and private premises of members of the imperial family, in which objects of Western European art are exhibited. The third floor is dedicated to Asia.

Halls on the first floor

The lower floor is not as popular among visitors as the second, however, each room here also contains unique exhibits obtained by archaeologists.

Private quarters of the emperor's daughters

The former apartments of the daughters of Nicholas I in the Winter Palace are given over to the archaeological collection. In the entrance hall there are finds from the Paleolithic era, in the bright Gothic living room with pointed arches and medieval plant reliefs - Neolithic and Early Bronze Ages. The decor of the “Living Room with Cupids” appeared in the 50s of the 19th century. The architect Stackenschneider did not skimp on the thick-cheeked cupids: babies with wings hid in the arches, reliefs with their images decorated the ceiling. Nowadays, these decorations house a collection of Bronze Age antiquities. In the study of Olga Nikolaevna, the future queen of Württemberg, the architect acted much more delicately: thin golden curves in the upper part of the ceiling vaults set off Bronze Age artifacts. Nearby there are simple rooms without decoration, given over to Scythian archaeological collections of weapons, ceramics, and jewelry.

Guardhouse premises

From the “women’s” wing, the Kutuzov corridor with modest columns leads guests of the Winter Palace past the former guardhouse, now given over to the halls of art of the peoples of Altai and other regions of Siberia. The world's oldest pile carpet, woven in the 4th-3rd centuries, is kept here. BC e. In the middle, the corridor opens into the lobby of the Saltykovsky entrance, designed in the same style, from which doors lead to the halls of ancient Altai and Tuvan art, nomadic tribes of Southern Siberia.

Collection of Central Asian and Caucasian antiquities

The Kutuzov corridor leads visitors to the southwest wing dedicated to art Central Asia pre-Islamic period. Buddhist shrines, fragments of wall paintings, fabrics, household items, silver, stone sculptures, and decorative elements of buildings from Sogdiana and Khorezm are collected here. At the other end of the wing there are rooms dedicated to the culture of the Caucasus. The most valuable are the artifacts remaining from the state of Urartu. They were found under the leadership of academician Boris Piotrovsky, the former director of the museum, the father of the current one, Mikhail Piotrovsky. Nearby are exhibited perfectly preserved precious fabrics from the Ossetian Moshchevaya Balka, an important Caucasian point on the Silk Road. The Dagestan halls display finely crafted bronze cauldrons, weapons and copper thread embroidery made in the 19th century. Volga Bulgaria, the state of the “Golden Horde” on the territory of the modern Volga region, is represented in the Winter Palace by silver and gold jewelry and weapons, and painted underglaze ceramics. In the Transcaucasian halls you can see Georgian medieval weapons, religious objects, Armenian book miniature and fragments of architectural structures.

Middle East and North Africa

In the opposite wing is the cultural hall of Palmyra, an ancient Syrian city, the ruins of which were seriously damaged during recent military operations in that country. The Hermitage collection includes funeral steles, customs documentation carved on stone. In the Mesopotamia hall you can see authentic cuneiform tablets from Assyria and Babylon. The vaulted Egyptian Hall, converted in 1940 from the Main Buffet of the Winter Palace, is located in front of the transition to the Small Hermitage building. Among the masterpieces of the collection is a stone statue of King Amenehmet III, created almost 4,000 years ago.

Second floor of the Winter Palace

The northeast wing of the second floor is temporarily closed - its collections have moved to the General Staff building. Next to it is the Great Throne or St. George Hall of the Winter Palace, created according to the design of Giacomo Quarenghi and remodeled after the fire by Vasily Stasov. Carrara marble, a unique parquet made of 16 types of wood, an abundance of columns with bronze gilding, mirrors and powerful lamps are designed to draw attention to the throne standing on a dais, ordered in England for Empress Anna Ioannovna. The huge room opens into the relatively small Apollo Hall, which connects the Winter Palace with the Small Hermitage.

Military gallery of the Winter Palace

Large front suite

You can get to the Throne Room through the Military Gallery of 1812, containing works by George Dow and the artists of his workshop - more than 300 portraits of Russian generals who took part in the Napoleonic Wars. The designer of the gallery was the architect Carlo Rossi. On the other side of the gallery is a suite of state rooms. The Armorial Hall of the Winter Palace, created according to Stasov's design, contains symbols of Russian provinces and solid stone bowls made of aventurine. The Petrovsky, or Small Throne Room, conceived by Montferrand and restored by Stasov, is dedicated to Peter I. Its walls are decorated with burgundy Lyon velvet, embroidered with gold, and the ceiling is covered with gold reliefs. The throne was ordered for the imperial family at the end of the 18th century. The White Field Marshal's Hall houses Western European porcelain and sculpture.

A. Ladurner. Armorial Hall of the Winter Palace. 1834

Neva Enfilade

The antechamber is the first in a series of ceremonial rooms overlooking the Neva. Its main attraction - a French rotunda with 8 malachite columns supporting a bronze gilded dome - was erected here in the middle of the last century. Through the Antechamber there is an entrance to the largest room of the Winter Palace - the Nicholas Hall, with Corinthian columns and monochrome ceiling paintings. It does not have a permanent exhibition; only temporary exhibitions are organized. On the opposite side of the Nikolaevsky Hall - snow-white Concert hall with paired Corinthian columns and antique reliefs. Adjacent to the Neva Enfilade is the Romanov Portrait Gallery, which contains portraits of members of the imperial family, starting with Peter I.

Part of the northwestern wing is temporarily closed, including the Arapsky Hall with Greek decor that served as a dining room. The Rotunda awaits guests - a spacious round hall with rectangular and round Corinthian columns, a simple circular balcony in the second tier, a ceiling with coffered recesses decorated with reliefs. The floor with circular inlays of precious wood is especially impressive. The small halls leading from the Neva Enfilade to the chambers of the heir to the throne, opening onto the Dark Corridor, are devoted to objects of art of the 18th century.

Private chambers of the Emperor and Empress

Emperor Nicholas I spared no expense on the interiors, so each room in his personal chambers is a real masterpiece of design art. Alexandra Feodorovna’s malachite living room is decorated with emerald green vases, columns, and a fireplace. The richly ornamented floor and carved ceiling are in perfect harmony with the exhibition of objects of decorative and applied art. Nearby is the Small Dining Room, decorated in Rococo style. Furniture from Gambs, the best master of this era, was chosen for the Empress’s office. Sketches of furniture for the adjacent hall were made by the architect Carlo Rossi. The emperor's smoking room amazes with its oriental splendor and bright colors. There are not many halls associated with the name of Nicholas II in the Winter Palace - the last emperor preferred other residences. His library has been preserved with high windows in the English Gothic style and a carved fireplace, imitating a medieval book depository.

Interiors of Russian houses in the Winter Palace

In the imperial wing there are premises reproducing the interiors of wealthy urban houses of the 19th – early 20th centuries. The neo-Russian style is represented by furniture from the 1900s with fabulous folklore motifs. In the former Adjutant Room there is an original ash furniture in the Art Nouveau style. The austere neoclassical interior is enlivened by the bright portrait of Princess Yusupova. The “second” Rococo of the mid-19th century is no less magnificent than the examples of a hundred years ago. "Pompeian Dining Room" with Gambs furniture refers the viewer to archaeological finds. The Gothic office is decorated with furniture from the Golitsyn-Stroganov estate, reproducing the forms of the European knightly Middle Ages - carved backs and armrests of chairs, dark wood tones. The boudoir is the former dressing room of Alexandra Feodorovna with bright painted furniture from the 40s and 50s. XIX century. The living room of a manor house with white columns demonstrates a strict classic interior.

Chambers of the future Emperor Alexander II and his wife

In the southwestern part of the second floor of the Winter Palace are the chambers of Alexander II, furnished at the time when he was the heir to the throne and was preparing for his wedding. Architecturally noteworthy are the rooms occupied by the future Empress Maria Alexandrovna: Green dining room with lush decor in the Rococo style, White hall with many reliefs and sculptures, Golden living room with complex stucco ornaments, inlaid parquet and jasper fireplace, Crimson office with textile wallpaper, Blue bedroom with golden columns.

Collection of Western European Art

In the wing of the heir to the throne and in the suite dedicated to the victory in the War of 1812, paintings and works of decorative and applied art from Great Britain and France are kept: works by Reynolds, Gainsborough, Watteau, Boucher, Greuze, Fragonard, Lorrain, the famous bust of Voltaire by Houdon. In the southeast wing there is the Alexander Hall, designed in noble white and blue tones, combining elements of Gothic and classicism with a collection of silverware. Next to it is the Great Church, designed by Rastrelli in the Baroque style. The picket hall, where the palace guard was stationed, is temporarily closed.

Third floor

The functioning halls of the third floor in the Winter Palace are given over to islamic art Middle East, Byzantium, the state of the Huns, India, China, Japan. Among the most valuable exhibits are finds from the “Cave of 1000 Buddhas,” ancient Chinese furniture and ceramics, Buddhist relics, and Tibetan treasures.

Tourist information

How to get there

The official address of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg: Palace Square, 2. The nearest metro station is Admiralteyskaya, from which you need to walk a little more than 100 m to the north. The Dvortsovaya Embankment bus stop is located west of Zimny. There are lifts for wheelchair users and elevators inside the palace. You must enter the museum through the main turnstile.

Ticket prices and opening hours

A visit to the entire Hermitage complex, including the Winter Palace, costs 600 rubles; on the first Thursday of the month you can go for free. If you want to visit only the Winter Palace, then a ticket for 300 rubles will be enough. It is recommended to purchase tickets in advance online to avoid queuing at the box office or terminal. This can be done on the official website www.hermitagemuseum.org. Children and students, Russian pensioners are a preferential category that receives free tickets. The day off is Monday, access to tourists is open from 10:30 to 18:00, on Wednesday and Friday - until 21:00. The Winter Palace is closed New Year and May 9.

Very beautiful and also large palace 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.

Saint Petersburg - northern city, he is used to surprising with his luxury, ambition and originality. The Winter Palace in St. Petersburg is just one of the attractions, which is a priceless masterpiece of architecture of past centuries.

The Winter Palace is the abode of the ruling elite of the state. For more than a hundred years, the imperial families lived in winter in this building, which has a unique architecture. This building is part of the museum complex of the State Hermitage.

History of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg

Construction took place under the leadership of Peter I. The first structure erected for the emperor was a two-story house, covered with tiles, the entrance to which was crowned by high steps.

The city became larger, expanded with new buildings, and the first Winter Palace looked more than modest. By order of Peter I, another one was built next to the previous palace. It was a little larger than the first, but it distinctive feature the material became stone. It is noteworthy that this particular monastery was the last for the emperor; he died here in 1725. Immediately after the death of the king, the talented architect D. Trezzini carried out restoration work.

Another palace saw the light of day, which belonged to Empress Anna Ioannovna. She was unhappy that General Apraksin’s estate looked more spectacular than the Tsar’s. Then the talented and savvy author of the project, F. Rastrelli, added a long building, which was called the “Fourth Winter Palace in St. Petersburg.”

This time, the architect was puzzled by the project of a new residence in the shortest possible time - two years. Elizabeth's wish could not be fulfilled so quickly, so Rastrelli, who was ready to take on the work, asked several times for an extension of the deadline.

Thousands of serfs, artisans, artists, and foundry workers worked on the construction of the structure. A project of this magnitude has not been put forward for consideration before. The serfs, who worked from early morning until late evening, lived around the building in portable huts, only some of them were allowed to spend the night under the roof of the building.

Sellers of nearby shops caught the wave of excitement around the construction, so they significantly raised food prices. It happened that the cost of food was deducted from the worker’s salary, so the serf not only did not earn money, but also remained in debt to the employer. Cruelly and cynically, on the broken destinies of ordinary workers, a new “home” for the kings was built.

When construction was completed, St. Petersburg received architectural masterpiece, which amazed with its size and luxury. The Winter Palace had two exits, one of which faced the Neva, and from the other the square was visible. The first floor was occupied by utility rooms, above there were state halls and the gates of the winter garden, the third and last floor was for servants.

Peter III liked the building and, in gratitude for his incredible architectural talent, decided to award Rastrelli the rank of major general. The career of the great architect ended tragically with the accession of Catherine II to the throne.

Fire in the palace

A terrible misfortune happened in 1837, when a fire started in the palace due to a faulty chimney. Through the efforts of two companies of firefighters, they tried to stop the fire inside, blocking the door and window openings with bricks, but for thirty hours it was not possible to stop the evil flames. When the fire ended, only the vaults, walls and ornaments of the first floor remained from the previous building - the fire destroyed everything.

Restoration work began immediately and was completed only three years later. Since the drawings from the first construction were practically not preserved, the restorers had to experiment and give it a new style. As a result, the so-called “seventh version” of the palace appeared in white and green tones, with numerous columns and gilding.

With the new look of the palace, civilization came to its walls in the form of electrification. A power station was built on the second floor, which fully met the electricity needs and for fifteen years it was considered the largest in all of Europe.

Many incidents befell the Winter Palace during its existence: fire, the assault and capture of 1917, the attempt on the life of Alexander II, meetings of the Provisional Government, bombings during the Second World War.

Winter Palace in 2017: its description

For almost two centuries the castle was the main residence of emperors, only in 1917 it was given the title of museum. Among the museum's exhibitions are collections of the East and Eurasia, examples of paintings and decorative arts, sculptures presented in numerous halls and apartments. Tourists can admire:

• St. George's Hall.
  
• Boudoir.
  
• Golden living room.
  
• Malachite living room.
  
• Concert hall.
  

Exclusively about the palace

In terms of the wealth of exhibits and interior decoration, the Winter Palace is incomparable to anything in St. Petersburg. The building has its own unique history and secrets with which it never ceases to amaze its guests:

• The Hermitage is vast, like the lands of the country where the emperor ruled: 1084 rooms, 1945 windows.
• When the property was in its final stages, the main area was littered with construction debris that would take weeks to clear. The king told the people that they could take any item from the square absolutely free of charge, and after some time the square was free of unnecessary items.
• The Winter Palace in St. Petersburg had a different color scheme: it was even red during the war against the German invaders, and it acquired its current pale green color in 1946.

Memo for tourists

Numerous excursions are offered to visit the palace. The museum is open daily except Mondays, opening hours: from 10:00 to 18:00. Ticket prices can be checked with your tour operator or at the museum box office. It is better to purchase them in advance. Address where the museum is located: Palace Embankment, 32.