PALACES OF THE NEVSKIY PROSPECT
Architects and Builders of the Palace
N.N.Demicheva, V.I. Axelrod
Translation by David Savage
Copyright 2003 University
The Anichkov is the oldest palace on Nevskiy Prospect and is rightly considered one of the
most outstanding monuments of
In the designing and the construction of the
palace numerous alterations were made at the will and varied tastes of its
illustrious owners. The most well-known architects of
We return to the past of this remarkable
monument of architecture.
In the 1730s
the territory occupied by the ensemble of The Anichkov Palace belonged to the
first Petersburg Chief of Police, Divier, and the
title was then passed to a farmer, a certain Lukyanov. Finally, this site was profitably sold to
Elizabeth the daughter of Peter I and heir to the throne. With a verbal unwritten order on
Anichkov, a commander
of military workers during the time of Peter I, who himself began to
refer to the palace by that name.
On
Final construction and furnishing of the
interiors of the Anichkov palace are linked to F.B. Rastrelli 1747-1751. The
architect has mentioned this palace in the list of his works:
“I have redone
the large Anichkov palace and have attached a bell tower with a dome and a
large hall with a grand staircase richly decorated with statues and decorated
fretwork. Likewise, all grand apartments and the bell tower have richly
decorated plaster ceilings. “ Rastrelli created
an upper protruding lateral section of the building, which is adorned by high
eight-sided domes with intricately treated rococo flowerpots. On the protruding
section of the building occupied by the church a cross was constructed, and a
star was added to the other dome.
That part of the church that opens onto Nevskiy
Prospect was consecrated in the name of the Resurrection of Christ and occupied the second and third
floors of this wing. The iconostasis, built according to the
plans of the architect (Rastrelli), was three-tiered and gilded in gold
with rich carving. At present this Iconostasis is located in the upper
church of the Cathedral of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God located on
Today we can only surmise concerning the
formation of the interior of the Rastrelli version of the Anichkov palace by
comparison with the existing apartments of the Stroganov palace and also with
the restored halls of Catherine’s palaces. The former designs existed
for a short time and for the most part were destroyed in the fire of 1762.
The ensemble of the Anichkov manor was one of
the architectural monuments of
By 1754, all construction work on the manor had
been completed, and three years later the Empress Elizabeth Petrovna presented
the palace to her favorite, Aleksey Grigorevich Razumovskiy.
After the death of A.G. Razumovskiy, the
Anichkov ensemble passed to his brother, the Hetman Kirill Grigorevich Razumovskiy,
who lived there only rarely. Gradually the palace
and garden came to be neglected.
On
The author of the alteration of the palace for
Potemkin was the architect I.E.Starov. In the years 1776-78, he added the third floor
and introduced the lateral wings shared under common eaves with the central
portion and wings of the building. This has given the palace its existing
classical shape.
A winter garden and terrace were attached to
the façade of the palace, which received a new refurbishing. The
galleries and stone fencing were disassembled, and the harbor and ponds
were filled in. Instead of a
regular garden the landscaped park with the large pond and the island at its
center were broken up. Approximately on the location of the
[contemporary] Alexandrine theatre, the Italian house and galleries were
constructed and intended for masquerade balls and festivals. In closer
proximity to
The illustrious prince, in need of
money for construction of The Tauricheskiy Palace, sold the Anichkov ensemble
to the merchant Shemiakin. In 1793, Catherine II bought back the palace and ordered the architect E.T. Sokolov to draw up a
plan for its alteration below the office section.
E.T. Sokolov composed a general plan with
appropriate description of prospective repairs and new extensions. He proposed
also a stone lattice instead of a wooden fence opposite the main building on
the embankment of the river Fontanka and also a coach shed and stables
/paddocks/. In the palace Sokolov
altered the wooden grand and church staircases which replaced them with stone
steps, possessing metal handrails.
Sokolov arranged
several partitions in the former rooms of the church and large hall and changed
the ceilings that had become dilapidated. In addition on two ledges of the
front side the house and on the roof there were two wooden domes painted and
iron clad. On the outer walls of the palace the
plaster and ornamental molding were repaired inside the upper and lower floors
of the main building. In all the rooms, the floor, windows and doors, and also the
tiled furnaces, the large rooms, the dinning room and the former church were
redone (both rooms in two colors) and new fretwork moldings were added, and a
new church was decorated.
In the year 1794, Sokolov, adapting the
palace for the needs of the office section, disassembled the winter garden and
terrace, and in the years of 1796-1801, on the corner of Nevskiy
Prospect and
In 1802, the southern part of the
office section of the ensemble along the river Fontanka was granted by
Alexander I to the
In the beginning of the nineteenth century the
territory of the estate grounds was reduced, with the result that the
western part became
By decree of Paul I in the year 1799, a part of
the garden was handed over to theatrical management. The architect V. Brenna reconstructed one of the garden pavilions into a
small theater named after the manager of the Italian theater company “Kazassi Theatre” which was on tour at the time in
Besides construction of the stables, the
architect L. Ruska conceived the idea of including the palace into the panorama
of the Nevskiy prospect. Symmetrically, addition of the kitchen courtyard
attributed a compositional conclusiveness to the parade courtyard. L. Ruska also apparently constructed a gate
between the office section of the building and the stables with a rusticated
exterior frame that spans the arch. A corresponding stone fence protects
the housekeeping courtyard in the form of a wall with rusticated pilaster
frames.
After J. Quarring completed the construction of
the office section, the
The
basic principle of the architectural solution found by Rastrelli was preserved:
L. Ruska did not disturb the two
parallel suites along the longitudinal axis of the palace. In the wing which
faced Nevskiy prospect, a new church staircase was set, and the first-floor
living quarters where a bath-house was constructed were completely redesigned.
In addition the personal living space of the owners was subjected to a series
of changes. In the place of the garden vestibule L. Ruska placed the living
quarters. In the left wing a new dining room staircase was built, and on
the mezzanine floor a large dance hall and rotunda were added. The rooms on the
third floor were allocated to the chief maidservant, and domestic
housekeeping services were placed in the cellar.
In the year 1816, the Grand Princess Catherine
Pavlovna married a second time and left
Although significant remodeling was not done in
1817, the decorative wall paintings were completely renewed. J.
B. Scotti completed the wall paintings of the
interior of the church and 25 rooms of the first and second floors.
Unfortunately, none of these paintings remain extant in the present.
Almost all premises decorated by K. Rossi, in the second half of the
nineteenth century have been redone.
In 1817–1821, K. Rossi carried out final
complex reconstruction of the ensemble. The southern border was set
along the southern facade of the stables, next to which the riding arena
was attached. The pond was filled in, and in its place under the plans
of K. Rossi and Menelas the landscape garden was broken up. The facades
of two pavilions facing
The pavilion facades differ in their nobleness
and simplicity. All of them possess a stately arrangement. It is true that
their orientation, toward the city, is strict, austere and official, but
the garden side is more intimate. The statues of ancient warriors on the
facades are implemented according to the models of S.S. Pimenov.
Inside each pavilion there is a hall with a semicircular ledge addressing the
garden. The hall is decorated with columns and fretwork panels of allegorical
content.
For many years the duties of main architect of
the palace: (how it came to be called Anichkov) were performed by Z.F. Dildin
who in 1817 was still assisting K. Rossi. Under the management of Z.F.
Dildin there occurred annual repairs of all buildings of the manor, trimming
of the rooms for the imperial children as they were born, and also a
number of significant alterations were executed. In 1846 the church was
trimmed anew, and in 1848 the large repair of the grand drawing rooms
and updating of painting (by artist B Medichi), stud
walls, gold gilt furniture and lighting devices were added.
In the year 1838, after a fire at the winter
palace, Nikolai I issued a decree pertaining to the reconstruction and addition
of a metal roof on the Anichkov palace. The works, which had been carried out
in 1839, were charged to the architect A.E. Staubert and Ober-Berhauptmen
M.E. Clark. The metal rafters and beams were received from the Alexandrovskiy factory and were taken from materials left over from
reconstruction of the winter palace. The interiors of the top floor were
also completely updated.
After 1825, when Anichkov became an imperial residence once more, annexed to
the manor, sites were purchased to the south of the stables, including
the existing houses of Serebriakov and Baikov it which were allocated to
the state courtyard. In connection with this Z.F. Dildin, and was put in
charge he constructed a new lane between the newly acquired and old site of the
lane which received the name Tolmazov. In 1828 the architect K. Rossi
conceived the creation of the Alexandrine theatre ensemble. The architect also
carried out a number of alterations on the houses of Serebriakov
and Baikov.
In 1838, Z.F. Dildin constructed a new fence on the lane, and
reconstructed the kitchen, and connected it with the manor.
After the death of Nikolay I the palace
continued to remain a residence of the dowager empress Alexandra Fedorovna.
With the death of the palace architect E.F. Dildin in 1853, A.I.
Shtakenshneider was assigned to complete the project. Work completed by Dilden except for annual repairs, included the installation
of the palace plumbing and sanitation.
The top floor as before was allocated to the
ladies in waiting, and on the first floor were located the apartments of the
grand princes and grand princesses. In the left wing was the room of Alexander
Nikolaevich and Maria Alexandrovna (since 1855 Emperor and Empress); In the right wing was the room of Maria Nikolaevna, and
further along the garden was located a suite of rooms for Constantine
Nikolievich, Olga Nikolaevna and Michael Nikolievich.
After the death of Nikolai I the palace, before
the end of construction of Nikolaev palace on
After 1860, when the Dowager Mother Alexandra
Fedorovna died, and Grand Prince
Nikolay Nikolaevich received his own palace, Anichkov for some
time was used less intensively.
In 1865 it was decided to decorate anew the
palace intended for the successor Grand Prince Nikolay Alexandrovich in
connection with his forthcoming marriage. Drawing up of the estimates
and completion of the work were entrusted to the architect E.I. Zhiber. Alterations
were planned in the east wing of the mezzanine floor where it was decided to
arrange the personal rooms of the owners.
The designs of E.I. Zhiber had already
been prepared when the successor suddenly died abroad. The work
on reorganization of the palace, however, was not interrupted. The
Anichkov palace was allocated as the residence and court of the new successor,
The Grand Prince Alexander Alexandrovich. In 1866 he married the daughter of
the Danish King Dagmar, Maria Fedorovna, who was slated to receive the
palace upon her acceptance of Orthodoxy. This change of the owners led
only to a new monogram in the room décor. According to the plans of E.I.
Zhiber, of the former Divan room, Maria Fedorovna’s Red Study,
was created. The bedchamber and lavatory were completely redone,
and the apartment suites of the east wing were redesigned. In their
place a study was installed, and a lavatory was installed for the grand
prince, as was a small dining room and valet’s room. A private entrance
with an elevator was also projected.
A small courtyard was always to be
found in the Anichkov palace. Here life continued, children were
born, home theater performances were staged, romantic stories were
played out, and official ceremonies
were held. The palace
interiors were updated. At the end of 1869-1870, the
One must not forget that the palace is a complex engineering structure. It has been said that in the construction of
the imperial palace every possible technical innovation was utilized,
and engineering techniques were continually improved. In the years
1870-1875, the engineer, Colonel Voynitskiy, accomplished reconstruction
of the heating and ventilation systems of the grand rooms of the mezzanine.
Subsequently, when Alexander III became
emperor, the Anichkov palace continued as one of the private residences of the
imperial family. In 1886, according to the project of the architect M.I.
Mesmakher the new lavatories and bedchambers of Their Majesties on the upper floor of the palace were remodeled.
In 1881, when after an interval of almost
thirty years the palace again became an imperial residence, the estate was
increased through purchases of adjoining parcels of land on Tolmazov lane. The
lane was closed off, and the palace garden was enlarged but was restricted on the side of the
Alexandrine square by a new stone fence.
In the beginning of the twentieth
century the palace remained a private residence of the dowager empress Maria
Fedorovna and grand prince Michael Alexandrovich. From time to time the personal
rooms of the grand prince and grand princess on the first floor of the palace
were updated with a very simple finish. The upholstery of the walls and ceiling were endowed with a colorful
chintz print. So in 1902, according to the plan of the architect
of the
In the
beginning of the twentieth century in the center of the garden a Greenhouse was
created. On the territory of the manor there also appeared a power station
installed in an extension at the fence between the grand and kitchen courtyard,
A telegraphic and telephone station was also
installed in the basement of the palace and in a guardroom in the
After the
February revolution of 1917 the
Reorganization was carried out in the
years 1936-1937, and the palace became a
During the
years of the Great Fatherland War the Palace was repeatedly subjected to
bombardments and shelling. On
In the grand halls a civilian hospital
was located and remained there until 1942. In a cellar of the Main building an
anti-aircraft detachment was stationed and defended the palace.
Women’s Army soldiers did not allow a single outbreak of fire.
In 1944 the
Anichkov complex, which was damaged during the war, was restored.
In the
beginning of the 1970’s the former riding
stables that were built from the plans of L. Ruska underwent radical
reconstruction aimed at preservation of the ancient facade from the beginning
of the nineteenth century. A gymnastic hall was placed here, and sports
rooms for young boxers and fencers were arranged.
In 1986 deep in the interior of the
territory of the Anichkov ensemble the building of the theater concert complex
“Carnival” was erected according to the plans of the architects I.B.Noakha and
N.M.Kulikova.
The complex included a large and small
theatrical hall with seats for 750 and a youth theatre for 150 spectators with
magnificent scenic platforms. Also included were recitation classes,
property rooms, make-up rooms, divided workshops, spacious theatrical vestibule
recreation rooms and a cafe.
The reconstructed service building is connected by a gallery to the theatrical building.
The degree to which this formally
contemporary building of stone and glass corresponds organically to the old
Anichkov ensemble is a disputable question. But it remains clear that the
complex of the former Anichkov ensemble that exists today was built by
outstanding architects of the eighteenth through nineteenth centuries and
represents significant artistic interest.