marble palace
The first building on this site between Palace embankment and Millionnaya Street appeared in 1706.Here, on the banks of the Neva, a Post Office was built: "The postmaster shared this house with an innkeeper discharged from Danzig, with whom it was possible to live and who often also had big parties."
Unknown artist. First Post Office
On May 8, 1714, the Hanoverian envoy Weber reported: "His Royal Majesty has now recognized that it is necessary to establish an inn and a hotel, which until now have not been and are very inconvenient for visitors." From June 1714 to autumn 1716 here according to the project Domenico Trezzini A new Post Office Yard ("Post Gauss") was built with a pier for two "postal frigates" that made regular flights between St. Petersburg, Danzig and Lübeck.
Domenico Trezzini
The new building was a two-storey hut building with a large courtyard where horses and carts were left. There was a restaurant on the ground floor, and a hall on the second floor, where Peter the Great held assemblies and other festive events. There also worked a hotel, the guests of which, in any weather, were evicted upon the arrival of the king. In addition to guards and attendants, a postmaster, a secretary, an interpreter and three postmen worked here.
Kirsanov N. post yard
Postmaster Heinrich Krauss was invited to St. Petersburg to organize the postal service. In 1716, he was dismissed due to bribery, and Friedrich Asch was appointed to replace Krauss. This man played the role of not only the head of the post office, but also the censor, the administrator of the hotel.
According to the decree of Peter I, 12 musicians came out to the gallery surrounding the Post Yard every day at 12 o'clock, who, with their loud playing on wind instruments, announced the arrival of noon to St. Petersburg residents. The post yard was one of the places where the famous Peter's assemblies were held. Peter I and Catherine I came here on foot from summer garden.
The embankment near the Post Office was named Pochtovaya, now it is Palace embankment.
The hut building quickly fell into disrepair. In September 1720, the cabinet secretary of Peter I A. V. Makarov wrote to U. A. Senyavin:"Her Majesty the Empress Empress ordered you to announce that the upper huts at the Post Yard should be repaired, and just below they ordered to substitute stands so that the floor does not break off, and in the upper floors in fat and in another large room, where there are tables, upholstered with some kind of wallpaper. Also kindly consult with architecture, if these huts are not durable, then in the spring it is necessary to make ceilings to the Neva in the front wall, and for this, prepare materials in advance.
Since January 1726, the Academic School was opened at the Post Court, which was organized according to the project of the French artist Louis Caravacca. For the first time in Russia, teaching to draw from a live model began here, as was usual for European schools. One of the rooms served as a full-scale classroom, where a peasant from the patrimony of the synodal government of the Ostashkovskaya Sloboda, Foma Andreevich Bykov, posed naked.
Louis Caravaque
On August 7, 1731, Trezzini was instructed by Field Marshal Munnich to demolish the old Post Office Yard, and in its place to build a guardhouse and stables of the Life Guards Horse Regiment. Two weeks after that, the architect was already requesting bricks for construction. The post yard was transferred to St. Isaac's Church. Here, by 1732, the Manege was built. A fire in 1737 destroyed this building. The vacated place was cleared, called the Upper Embankment Square. It adjoined the Tsaritsyn meadow.
Makhaev M. I. Prospect of the old winter palace with a canal connecting the Moika with the Neva. 1750
Beggrov K. P. Palace embankment. 1826 Copy from a drawing by K. Sabbat and S. Chifflard
Lamoni D.F. Neva embankment near the Summer Garden. Late 1780s.
The section of the Palace Embankment from the Swan Canal towards the Marble Palace is shown. The house of Betsky (Palace Embankment, 2) is depicted with a hanging garden that has not survived to our time. The artist made promising inaccuracies: the distance between the Marble Palace and the house of F. I. Groten (Palace Embankment, 4) was shortened.
Makhaev M.I. Prospect Millionnaya Street from the Main Pharmacy. 1751
Montferrand O. Millionnaya street. 1830s - early 1840s
In the years 1768-1785, the architect Antonio Rinaldi built a palace here, called Marble.
Antonio Rinaldi
The Marble Palace was erected at the direction of Catherine II as a gift to the favorite of the Empress Grigory Grigoryevich Orlov.
Vigilius Eriksen. Catherine II Alekseevna (the Great). 1716-1749
Grigory Orlov. Portrait by Fyodor Rokotov, 1762-1763
The gift was made for Orlov's active participation in the events of 1762, as a result of which Catherine ended up on the Russian throne. At first, she intended to make the inscription on the pediment: "Erected by grateful friendship", but in the end she replaced it with the "Building of Gratitude". The count's response was a huge Persian diamond "Nadir Shah" weighing 189.62 carats and worth 460,000 rubles. The price of the precious stone did not quite reach the cost of the palace itself. Now this diamond is known under the name "Orlov".
Alekseev F. Ya. View of the Palace embankment from Peter and Paul Fortress. 1790s
Jacotte L. Marble Palace. Ser. 19th century
Sadovnikov V.S. Neva embankment near the Marble Palace. 1847
Bianchi I.K. Marble Palace. View from the Palace Embankment. Before 1872
Bachelier Sh. Panorama of the city of St. Petersburg. 1853 View taken from the bell tower of the Peter and Paul Cathedral
Malton T. Bolshaya Millionnaya Street and the Marble Palace. 1790 Copy from a drawing by J. Hearn
According to one of the legends, the empress herself made a sketch of the future building and showed it to the architect. Knowing that the project was made by Ekaterina, Rinaldi highly appreciated this work and immediately received a building permit. The building was founded on October 10, 1769; a marble box with coins was immured in its foundation. The construction work was led by Colonel of Artillery M. I. Mordvinov. Architectural supervision was carried out by Antonio Rinaldi and Pyotr Egorov. About 100 masons and 100 to 300 artillery fusiliers from Mordvinov's division worked daily on the construction of the Marble Palace. Catherine II periodically visited the construction site and personally awarded especially distinguished workers.
Huge slabs of marble and granite were delivered along the Neva. They began to be brought here already in 1768. Brick arches and walls were built in 1769, after which the primary processing of natural stone began. This work was carried out in 1770-1774. In 1774, they began to decorate the facades of the Marble Palace with marble and granite, to decorate the interior.
Shortly before the completion of the work, Antonio Rinaldi fell from the scaffolding and was seriously injured. Without waiting for the completion of the construction of the Marble Palace, he left Russia for Italy.
The lower part of the facade of the Marble Palace was faced with granite, and instead of plaster, at the suggestion of the architect, it was decided to use 32 varieties of marble for wall cladding. Hence its name - "Marble Palace". By the way, at first the building was called "The Stone House at the Postal Quay".
White marble was brought from Italy, it turned out to be cheaper than bringing it from Altai or the Urals. The rest of the facing material was mined in quarries near the Ladoga and Onega lakes. Marble was also used in the design of ten internal halls of the building. The Marble Palace was the first St. Petersburg building to be faced with natural stone.
Marble Hall in the Marble Palace
Rinaldi stone flower
In 1780-1788, the service building of the Marble Palace was built in the eastern part of the site.
Service building of the Marble Palace
In 1780, the Red Canal was filled up, connecting the Neva and the Moika, which passed on the site of the courtyard between the main and service buildings. Between the houses they installed a lattice made by P. E. Egorov, reminiscent of the fence of the Summer Garden.
Since 1780, the decoration of the two upper floors was carried out. All work was completed by 1785. A clock tower was installed on the attic. Two figures by the sculptor F.I. Shubin were placed on the sides of the tower - Loyalty (on the right) and Generosity (on the left). In total, there were about 40 works by this master in the palace.
Copper sheets were made for the roof in Sestroretsk. Their fitting and soldering was carried out so carefully that the roof did not leak until the repair in 1931.
The main staircase of the Marble Palace is decorated with statues of Morning, Day, Evening and Night. On the platform from the second floor to the third one there are sculptures representing the autumn and spring equinoxes.
Main staircase
Staircase decorated with sculptures of nymphs
On the first floor there were kitchens, boiler rooms and a church consecrated in the name of the Entry into the Church of the Most Holy Theotokos. Service rooms were equipped with various mechanisms and devices. In the building on Millionnaya Street there was a machine for supplying water, a well with two pumps for supplying water to the front baths on the second floor. In the building along Marble Lane there is a well with a pump for supplying water to the Garden. In the Nevsky building - a pool for cleaning mechanisms.
In the northern part of the second floor of the Marble Palace was the Bolshaya Neva Enfilade. They got here from the Main Staircase through the Front and Oval Passage. From the Oval entrance one could get to the Lacquer Hall, or bypassing the Buffet and the Great Dining Room to get to the Marble Hall - the main room of the palace. In the Marble Hall there are bas-reliefs "Sacrifice", made for St. Isaac's Cathedral by A. Rinaldi. Behind this hall was the Orlovsky Hall, glorifying the activities of the Orlov brothers. Behind him - Ekaterininsky, who glorified Catherine II. From the south, Grigory Orlov's private chambers adjoined Catherine's Hall: the front bedroom, a garden with five apple trees, five cherries and a fountain. In the southeastern part of the palace there was an Art Gallery with 206 masterpieces of painting by Rembrandt, Titian, Raphael, Correggio, Poussin, Groot, van Dyck and others. In the southwestern part of the palace are the Greek and Turkish baths. In the northwestern part there are spare rooms of the Malaya Neva Enfilade: Study, Bedroom, Boudoir and Living Room.
On the third floor of the Marble Palace there were living quarters, a Library, two living rooms for playing cards, and a Chinese sofa room. In the building along Marble Lane there was a ball game hall.
Chistyakov I. F. Church of the Entrance of the Blessed Virgin into the Temple. Fragment of the iconostasis
The Marble Palace took so long to build that Count Orlov died before the work was completed, on April 13, 1783. By the time of the death of Grigory Grigorievich, Catherine II had another favorite and the palace caused unpleasant emotions in the count. Together with his wife, he lived in one of the modest Petersburg houses, which the Empress also gave him.
One of the St. Petersburg legends says that there was a secret door on the side of Marble Lane, which Catherine II allegedly used when visiting Orlov. This legend is refuted by the fact that the count never lived in the palace.
After the death of Orlov, Catherine II bought the Marble Palace from the descendants of the count and presented it to her six-year-old grandson, Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich. The building has been empty for over 10 years. The Grand Duke settled in the palace only after his marriage to the Princess of Saxe-Saafeld-Coburg (Anna Feodorovna in Orthodoxy) in February 1796. Later, for bad behavior, the empress evicted her grandson from the palace. Konstantin Pavlovich, who at the time of the wedding was 16 years old (his wife was 14), shot live rats from a cannon in the premises and mocked his wife.
Konstantin Pavlovich. Portrait of the young Grand Duke by Borovikovsky
In 1795-1796, the captive leader of the Polish confederates Tadeusz Kosciuszko lived in the Marble Palace.
Portrait of Tadeusz Kosciuszko by Kazimierz Wojniakowski
After the death of Catherine II, Paul I freed him. In 1797-1798, the Marble Palace was occupied by the former Polish king Stanislav August Poniatowski.
Lampi-st. Johann Baptist. Portrait of Stanisław August Poniatowski
He lived here with his court of 167 people and 83 retinues. To receive the king and his entourage, part of the Marble Palace was rebuilt V. Brenna.
Vincenzo Brenna
However, even after that, Poniatowski complained about the tightness. After his death on February 12, 1798, Konstantin Pavlovich returned to his residence. Despite this, it was in the Marble Palace that Paul I posthumously crowned Poniatowski.
Emperor Paul I. Artist V. L. Borovikovsky
Under Konstantin Pavlovich, the Marble Palace housed a large art gallery, a library, and a collection of porcelain. In the Ball Game Hall, the Grand Duke placed an Arsenal of Russian and foreign weapons and uniforms. In 1806-1807 A. Voronikhin remodeled a small suite of rooms along the Neva and a number of rooms along Millionnaya Street.
Andrei Nikiforovich Voronikhin
Konstantin Pavlovich has not actually lived in the Marble Palace since January 1813, when he joined the army and made a trip abroad with it. In April 1814 he became governor of the Kingdom of Poland and left Petersburg.
After the departure of Konstantin Pavlovich, the Marble Palace passed to the Court Office. Here, apartments were rented to court officials. In 1830, the building was surveyed by architects V. Ochakov and H. Meyer. They recognized it as emergency, began a major overhaul.
On March 6, 1832, Nicholas I handed over the Marble Palace to his second son, Konstantin Nikolaevich.
Nicholas I Konstantin Nikolaevich
After the fire in the Winter Palace in 1837, silverware and a foreign library were stored here. On August 20, 1845, the project for the reconstruction of the Marble Palace was approved, which was completed A. P. Bryullov.
Karl Bryullov. Portrait of Alexander Pavlovich Bryullov
The ceiling of the Marble Hall was raised one floor. Next to it is the Main Dining Room. It was possible to get to Konstantin Nikolayevich's Front Office through the first hall of the Reception Room. Next to him, Bryullov created the Library, from which there was a passage to the Winter Garden, created on the site of the Garden.
Winter Garden at the Marble Palace
Next - the Great Hall, where concerts were held with the participation of M. Balakirev, A. Rubinstein, N. Rimsky-Korsakov. Nearby, Bryullov created an antique-style bathroom, restored the Turkish and Greek baths liquidated by Voronikhin. The arsenal was rebuilt in the Gothic style and was named the White Hall. Dance and musical evenings were held here. In 1857, an organ by G. Metzel was installed in the White Hall.
White-column hall in the Marble Palace
An entrance appeared from the side of Marble Lane. Later, a legend appeared that it was through him that Catherine II went on dates to Orlov. The "Judgment of Paris" ceiling was moved from the former Lacquer Hall to the Main Staircase. All work was completed by 1849. On December 29 of this year, Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich and his wife Alexandra Iosifovna moved into their new residence. By decree of December 20, 1849, the Marble Palace was ordered to be called "Konstantinovsky", but this name was rarely used in everyday life.
In the middle of the 19th century, a marble fountain group by an unknown sculptor "Putto with a branch" was installed in the garden between the Marble Palace and the service building.
The Marble Palace was rebuilt again in the 1860s. New classrooms, canteens, children's rooms were arranged here. A power station appeared, which provided electricity not only to the premises of the palace, but also to the lanterns on the Champ de Mars. Equipped lifting machines - elevators. In 1883, a telephone appeared here. The inhabitants of the palace entertained themselves by listening to opera performances through it.
Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich was a supporter of the reforms of 1860-1870. In public life, the expression "the party of the Marble Palace" even arose.
After the death of Konstantin Nikolaevich, the palace was owned by his son - Konstantin Konstantinovich, known under the pseudonym "K.R."
Konstantin Konstantinovich
Under him, chamber concerts, literary readings were held here, and amateur performances were staged. In 1884-1886, the architect A.K. Dzhiorguli remodeled the premises of the first floor along Millionnaya Street: Reception, Bedchamber, Gulevaya, Gorenka. They were decorated in the old Russian style, painted by the artist F. Sedov. The Bedroom, Living Room, Music Room, Study have also changed. In 1898, on the initiative of Konstantin Konstantinovich, a meeting of the Imperial Geographic Society, where it was decided to build the icebreaker "Ermak" according to the project of Admiral S. O. Makarov. The meeting was attended by D. I. Mendeleev and S. Yu. Witte.
Bulla K.K. Marble Palace. Corner living room in the private chambers of the Grand Duke K. K. Romanov
Bulla K.K. Marble Palace. Musical (Gothic) room in the private chambers of the Grand Duke K. K. Romanov
Musical
K.R. Library at the Marble Palace
K.R.'s room at the Marble Palace
K.R.'s room at the Marble Palace
K.R.'s room at the Marble Palace
In addition to Konstantin Konstantinovich, Grand Duke Dmitry Konstantinovich also had apartments in the Marble Palace.
Dmitry Konstantinovich
During World War I, the palace housed a hospital for wounded officers. At the beginning of the revolution, the widow of Konstantin Konstantinovich (he died in 1915) still lived here. In 1917, she and her children had to move to Zherebtsov's house on Palace Embankment.
After the February Revolution, the Ministry of Labor of the Provisional Government was located in the basement of the Marble Palace. An agreement was even prepared for the purchase of the entire palace by the government for ten million rubles. However, after October 1917 the building was nationalized. Most of the art collections were transferred to the State Hermitage. At first, the People's Commissariat of Labor worked here. After the government moved to Moscow in 1918, the palace housed the office of the authorized People's Commissariat of Education, the Administration of Museum Palaces, the Academy of the History of Material Culture (in 1919-1936), the Society for Sociology and Theory of Art, and the Central Bureau of Local History.
After the liquidation of the academy, the Marble Palace was transferred to the Leningrad branch of the Central Lenin Museum. The building was rebuilt for museum purposes according to the project of N. E. Lansere and D. A. Vasiliev. The main staircase and the Marble Hall were preserved. In some rooms, artistic decoration was mothballed. The museum opened on November 8, 1937. On January 22, 1940, an armored car was installed at the entrance, from which Lenin spoke on the day of his arrival in Petrograd on April 3, 1917. In 1983, it was restored and placed again in front of the Marble Palace on April 15 of the same year.
In 1992, the Marble Palace was transferred to the Russian Museum. The armored car of V. I. Lenin was sent to the Artillery Museum.
In 1994, the famous German conceptual artist H. A. Schult (pictured left) installed the composition "Age of the Motor", which was a marble Ford Mondeo, on the space vacated after Lenin's armored car in front of the Marble Palace.
Ford did not stand for long, soon it was replaced by a long-suffering heavy monument to Alexander III, using the same pedestal on which Lenin's armored car stood. Currently, the Marble Palace hosts temporary exhibitions of contemporary art, expositions of foreign artists. The premises are being renovated.
Monument to Alexander III in front of the eastern facade of the palace
On January 24, 2002, the White Hall was presented to journalists after repairs. On June 7 of the same year, a meeting of the leaders of Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan took place here. They signed the charter of the Shanghai Regional Cooperation Organization.
Nikolai Konstantinovich with his mother, Alexandra Iosifovna and sister Vera
In April 1874, the mother of Nikolai Konstantinovich, Alexandra Iosifovna, discovered in the Marble Palace the loss of three expensive diamonds from the salary of one of the icons, with which Emperor Nicholas I once blessed the marriage of his son Konstantin with the German princess, who became Alexandra Iosifovna in marriage. Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich called the police, and soon the diamonds were found in one of the pawn shops in St. Petersburg.
First, they found the person who took the diamonds to the pawnshop - the adjutant of the Grand Duke E. P. Varnakhovsky, the opinion of whose guilt has survived to this day. During interrogation on April 15, he categorically denied involvement in the theft and said that he only took the stones handed over to him by Grand Duke Nikolai Konstantinovich to the pawnshop.
Nikolai, who was present at the interrogation, swore on the Bible that he was not guilty, which, as they said, aggravated his sin. He told his father that he was ready, helping out Varnakhovsky, not just an adjutant, but his comrade, to take the blame. Emperor Alexander II, who took the case under personal control, connected the chief of the gendarme corps, Count Shuvalov, to the investigation.
Shuvalov interrogated the arrested Nikolai Konstantinovich for three hours in the Marble Palace in the presence of his father, who later wrote in his diary: “No remorse, no consciousness, except when denial is no longer possible, and then we had to pull out vein after vein. Bitterness and not a single tear. They conjured with everything that was left to him as a saint, to alleviate the fate ahead of him with sincere repentance and consciousness! Nothing helped!".
In the end, they came to the conclusion that the diamonds were stolen by Nikolai Konstantinovich, and the proceeds were to be used for gifts to the prince's mistress, the American dancer Fanny Lear. At the "family council" - a general meeting of members of the royal family, after a long debate (as options were offered - to give to the soldiers, to bring to public trial and exile to hard labor), a decision was made that caused minimal harm to the prestige of the royal family. It was decided to recognize Grand Duke Nicholas as mentally ill, and then, by decree of the emperor, he was forever expelled from the capital of the empire. Fanny Lear was expelled from Russia with a ban on ever returning here. She never met the Grand Duke again.
Grand Duke Nikolai Konstantinovich was declared, in fact, two sentences. The first - for the public - was to recognize him as insane. From which it followed that from now on and forever he would be in custody, on compulsory treatment, in complete isolation. The essence of the second verdict - family - was that in the papers relating to the imperial house, it was forbidden to mention his name, and the inheritance that belonged to him was passed on to his younger brothers. He also lost all ranks and awards and was deleted from the lists of the regiment. He was expelled from Petersburg forever and was obliged to live under arrest in the place where he was directed ...
In the memoirs of Fanny Lear there is an entry that very eloquently characterizes this woman herself, who was born and raised in the family of a Protestant priest: “If such a loss happened in the family of ordinary people, - wrote Miss Lear , - it would be hidden there; here, on the contrary, they raised the police to their feet ... ".
There is another oddity in this case. Despite the fact that the parents of Nikolai Konstantinovich and his august relatives did not leave the belief that Nikolai Konstantinovich was ruined by love for a courtesan and a lack of funds to satisfy her whims, the fact remains that during a search in the desk of Nikolai Konstantinovich a sum of money was found. , much big toy, which was received for the stolen diamonds pledged in the pawnshop.
He was taken away from St. Petersburg in the autumn of 1874. Before his last "stop", in Tashkent in the summer of 1881, that is, in less than 7 years, he changed at least 10 places of residence ...
The younger brother of the prisoner, Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich, did not approve of the hard line of the imperial house: “Will the painful situation from which poor Nicola is given no way out soon end? The meekest person could thus be brought out of patience, Nikola still has enough strength to endure his imprisonment and moral prison.
Having heeded, in the end, the arguments of common sense, the cousin of the disgraced Grand Duke - Emperor Alexander III, allowed Nikolai Konstantinovich to go to the Turkestan region, to Tashkent ...
The Marble Palace in St. Petersburg is one of the most beautiful buildings in the city. Its main feature is that the craftsmen used more than 30 different types of marble in the construction of the building. Some of the varieties of marble used were quarried nearby, in the same city. Other types of material were imported from afar, from Italy itself. The Marble Palace was built in the 18th century, and was the first building built from such expensive and beautiful materials.
A bit about history
The construction of the Marble Palace took 17 years. This beautiful architectural structure was presented by Empress Catherine the Great to Count Grigory Orlov as a reward for special military services to the Fatherland. How it looks, look at the photo and video in the article. The long construction of the Palace did not allow Grigory Orlov to wait for a gift. He died, and Catherine the Great subsequently bought her own gift from the heirs of the count, and gave it to her grandson. Further, the Marble Palace located in St. Petersburg was passed from hand to hand, the architectural structure changed many owners. At different times, on the territory of this palace, one could see the library, the residence of the imperial family, and the art gallery. There was a period when a prisoner was kept here - the leader of the Polish confederates.
Palace reconstruction
In 1832, a reconstruction was carried out inside the building of the Marble Palace in St. Petersburg, and this architectural structure acquired one more floor, and besides it, a hall for balls, in which parties were held, famous throughout St. Petersburg, look at the video and a photo. At a time when the Marble Palace was owned by Konstantin Romanov (son of Prince Nikolai Romanov), literary evenings, plays and performances were often held in the building. different topics. During the period of the October Revolution, the building of the marble palace housed various offices associated with the Ministry of Labor, created by the provisional government. The works of art collected in this Palace were then transferred to the Hermitage.
Description
The decoration of the Marble Palace inside amazes visitors with its splendor. Every detail of the interior here is imbued with the spirit of courage and courage. And indeed, the idea of Empress Catherine the Great was originally just that. She wanted to show the courage, courage and courage of the owner of the palace. In the palace halls there are various bas-reliefs and statues recreating various heroic events that took place in the life of Count Grigory Orlov. The construction of this architectural object was headed by an architect from Italy - Antonio Rinaldi, and with him the construction was carried out by about four hundred more craftsmen. Empress Catherine even came to see how the construction was being carried out, and upon completion she personally awarded the workers who took part in the creation of this architectural masterpiece.
The decoration of the first floor of the palace is made of gray marble, and the upper floors are decorated with beautiful pink marble. The halls from the inside are also finished with marble, and one of them has a name similar to the name of the Palace - Marble. Its walls are lined with Karelian, Italian, Greek marble, as well as Baikal lapis lazuli.
Main staircase
The main staircase of this palace is finished with grayish-silver marble, and the sculptural accompaniment of this staircase is represented by niches in which thematic sculptures are placed, personifying day, morning, evening, night, spring and autumn equinoxes. Bas-reliefs, figures of eagles, trophies - all these elements are made of white marble and are the decor of the main staircase of the Marble Palace.
Now the Marble Palace receives visitors daily, despite the reconstruction. Various thematic exhibitions are held inside the building. Visitors will be able to see paintings by foreign and domestic artists in this building. Getting to the architectural structure is easy. It will be enough for the traveler to drive to Millionnaya Street, 5. The entrance to the Marble Palace is paid, and its doors are open to visitors on all days except Tuesday. Discounts are valid for families and excursion groups.
The windows of the Marble Palace offer a beautiful and picturesque view of the Neva River. You can get here by metro, getting off at the station "Nevsky Prospekt" or by taxi, standing at the stop "Suvorovskaya Square". Route taxi numbers are K76 and K46.
What can tourists see
Now in the Marble Palace in St. Petersburg, tourists can see many interesting compositions and exhibits. Many of them reflect the role of Russian art in the global context. On the territory of the palace there is a permanent exhibition about foreign artists in Russia in the period of the 18th-19th centuries. By visiting it, you can learn useful information about the relationship between European and Russian artists. Another exposition called "The Ludwig Museum in the Russian Museum" allows you to trace how Russian art is developing in close relationship with the artistic culture of the world.
One of the last owners of the Marble Palace was Konstantin Romanov, and in his chambers there is now an exhibition telling visitors about one of the poets of the Silver Age, Konstantin Romanov, who lived in this room. This exhibition is also worth visiting for everyone who came to the Marble Palace for a tour.
Video
This is a short film that immerses you in the environment of the Marble Palace. After watching this video, you will have a clear idea of what the Marble Palace is, which is located in St. Petersburg. You can also subscribe to our channel and see other sights of our vast Russia.
The Marble Palace is the first architectural complex lined with natural stone. The creation of this masterpiece, one of the main attractions of St. Petersburg, goes back to the distant past, and is fraught with many interesting facts.
Story
On the site where the marble Palace is now located, in 1706 the Drinking House was built, then from 1714 to 1716, a Postal Yard with a pier was built in this place according to the project of Domenico Trezzini. Initially, the Postal House was the Mazankov building, then, after the reconstruction, wooden two-story houses appeared. Peter I often liked to hold ceremonial events here. Currently, the Postal Embankment is called the Palace Embankment, and the Manege was built on the site of the Postal Yard, which later burned down.
Creation of the complex
The famous Italian architect Antonio Rinaldi built the Marble Palace from 1768 to 1785. The idea of creating a majestic architectural complex, belongs to Catherine II. Upon completion of construction, the Empress wanted to present the Palace to her favorite Grigory Grigoryevich Orlov. Such a generous gift was in gratitude for the courage and devotion in the events of 1762. It was this moment that became the key for Catherine II to be on the Russian throne. The count's response was the huge Persian diamond Nadirshah. Nowadays, the stone is known under the name "Orlov".
The first stone was laid in 1769. Every day, about 150 masons worked on the creation of the palace. Mikhail Ivanovich Mordvinov supervised the construction work, and Antonio Rinaldi and Pyotr Egorov carried out architectural supervision. The empress personally visited the construction site, and rewarded the best workers with coins.
Slabs of marble and granite were brought in 1768, and already in 1769 brick vaults and walls were erected. The processing of natural stone was carried out from 1770 to 1774. And the decoration with marble and granite was started in 1774. Antonio Rinaldi had an accident, after which he had to leave Russia and return to Italy.
Description of the palace
At the very entrance to the palace there is an inscription “Building of Gratitude”, a little higher is a turret with a clock, and next to it are two figures: on the right - Loyalty, on the left - Generosity.
A service building was built in the eastern part. There were stables, carriage houses, rooms for servants. In the western part there were premises for household needs.
In the Marble Palace, the main staircase is decorated with statues: Morning, Day, Evening and Night. Each of them symbolizes the most precious thing that a person has at every stage of life. Morning is childhood, the most carefree time. The day is youth, the time when life begins. The evening is maturity, when a lot has already been lived, but there is still so much ahead. Night is old age, when everything is lived, and it remains only to enjoy the rest.
Climbing up to the second and third floors, you can see sculptures representing the spring equinox. All sculptures on the Main Staircase were created in honor of the valor, fortitude and courage of Grigory Orlov.
On the ground floor there were kitchens and boiler rooms. All office premises were equipped with all necessary mechanisms.
The second floor is of particular value. In its northern part is the Bolshaya Neva enfilade. This part of the palace can be accessed from the Main Staircase. Further, if you go through the Oval Passage, you can get into the Lacquer Hall. And if you walk through the Great Dining Room, you can see the heart of the palace - the Marble Hall. It is here that the famous "sacrifice" bas-reliefs are located; they were made for St. Isaac's Cathedral by Antonio Rinaldi. Next is the Orlovsky Hall, here you can see various expositions that tell about the valor and greatness of the Orlov brothers. After it is the Catherine's Hall, by visiting it you can find out the details of the life of the great empress. On the south side to the Catherine's Hall, there are the private quarters of Count Orlov.
The Art Gallery is located in the southeastern part of the palace. It presents about 206 masterpieces of painting. Here you can see the creations of such masters as Rembrandt, Poussin, Raphael and many others.
On the third floor there are living quarters, a library, living rooms, as well as a Chinese sofa.
The life of the palace after construction
Unfortunately, Count Grigory Orlov did not live to see the completion of the palace. He died on April 13, 1783. After the count died, Catherine bought the palace from his heirs, and gave it as a gift to her grandson Konstantin Pavlovich.
The palace was empty for about 10 years, but after his marriage, Konstantin Pavlovich decided to create a family nest on the territory of the Marble Palace. But he did not have long to enjoy Catherine's gift, as he was expelled on her own orders for bad behavior with his wife.
From 1795 to 1796, the captive Tadeusz Kosciuszko lived in the palace, he was the leader of the Polish confederates. After the death of Catherine, it was liberated by Paul I. From 1797 to 1798, the palace belonged to the former Polish king Stanislaw August Poniatowski. But in 1798, after his death, Konstantin Pavlovich returned to his palace.
Under Konstantin Pavlovich, an art gallery and a large library were opened on the territory of the palace. We can safely say that with his return the palace has found a new life.
In 1814, Konstantin Pavlovich was appointed governor of the Kingdom of Poland, and he had to leave St. Petersburg. After his departure, the palace passed to the Court Office.
On March 6, 1832, Nicholas I handed over the palace to his second son, Konstantin Nikolaevich. After the fire in the Winter Palace in 1837, silverware and a foreign library were stored here.
On August 20, 1845, it was decided to start rebuilding the Marble Palace. The restructuring project belonged to the architect Alexander Pavlovich Bryullov. It was decided to increase the ceiling of the palace by one floor. Then, next to the Front Office, open the library. And build a Great Hall to hold concerts and musical evenings. It was also planned to restore the Turkish and Greek baths. Everything that was planned was carried out as soon as possible, and already in 1849, on December 29, Konstantin Nikolayevich and his wife entered the palace.
After the death of Konstantin Nikolaevich, the palace passed to his son Konstantin Konstantinovich. From that moment on, concerts and literary evenings were often held here. There were no global changes under Konstantin Nikolaevich with the palace.
During the First World War, a hospital for wounded soldiers was located on the territory of the Palace complex. Despite the difficult situation, the widow of Konstantin Konstantinovich lived in the palace, but then she and her children had to move to Zherebtsov's house.
After the end of the war, the Ministry of Labor of the Provisional Government was placed on the territory of the palace. So that the precious collection of artworks would not be lost, it was moved to the Hermitage. At different times, various institutions were located here. So, for example, from 1919 to 1936 there was the Academy of the History of Material Culture, the Central Bureau of Local Lore.
After the academy was closed, the palace would be transferred to the Leningrad branch of the Vladimir Ilyich Lenin Museum. According to the project of Nikolai Evgenievich Lansere, the complex was rebuilt. The main staircase was preserved, as well as the famous Marble Hall. The museum opened its doors to visitors in 1937 on November 8th. Currently, the palace hosts various exhibitions of both local and foreign artists.
According to some sources, it is known that Catherine herself made the first sketch of the palace.
A box with gold coins was walled up in the foundation of the palace.
According to legend, there is a secret door on the side of Marble Lane, allegedly Count Grigory Orlov and Ekaterina went on a date through it.
The first telephone appeared on the territory of the palace in 1883.
On the opening day of the museum in 1937, on November 8, an armored car was installed at the entrance, Lenin spoke from it on the day of his arrival in Petrograd. In 1992, the armored car was sent to the Artillery Museum.
Among the many architectural and historical monuments of the world, there are special ones that embody a whole layer of architectural trends, the names and fates of famous personalities of past centuries. A vivid example of this is the Marble Palace in St. Petersburg - a colossal majestic building, a real "marble fairy tale". Now it is one of the famous tourist sites of the "Venice of the North", striking in its grandeur of size, magnificence and virtuosity of decoration. The rich history of the palace, associated with the royal Romanov dynasty, cannot but excite and interest people of the 21st century.
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Cabinet arrangement
In the interior design of the cabinet, natural wood and leather are mainly used. The walls, decorated with highly artistic paintings and portraits, are pasted over with gilded leather wallpaper, illustrated with royal coats of arms. The ceiling is sheathed in mahogany, furniture is made of different types of wood, oak parquet covers the floor. The prince's armchair, resting on the front "legs" in the form of gilded swans with raised wings, is a special rarity of the cabinet.
Other halls of the apartments
In the interiors of other rooms, wood is also present in the design. The owner was especially fond of the Musical “Gothic” drawing room, decorated in an unusually picturesque Gothic style with openwork wooden panels at the bottom and pasted over with gray leather wallpaper with gilded ornaments. An elegant model of a Gothic temple, mounted on a panel, adorns one of the walls of the living room. An antique black lacquered grand piano symbolizes the purpose of the room.
Owners
The change of owners of the Marble Palace, dictated by time and circumstances, can be lined up in a symbolic series.
The first owner of the palace, the closest favorite of Ekaterina G. Orlov, adjutant general and holder of many other ranks and titles, became the owner of the palace, not having lived to see its official opening for 2 years (he died in 1783).
- The second owner, Catherine's grandson Konstantin Pavlovich, was the owner of the palace until 1831. Moreover, in 1797-98 the building was given over to the residence of the last Polish king, S.A. Poniatowski, who died suddenly in 1798).
- The third owner, another grandson of the Empress Konstantin Nikolayevich, was granted the palace in 1832, when he was 5 years old. Until the age of the prince, numerous court servants lived in the building. Having become the wife of the prince, the owner of the palace along with him was Grand Duchess Alexandra Iosifovna, a bright outstanding personality of her time. During the life of KN (1827-92) the palace was called Konstantinovsky.
- The fourth owner was the next grandson of Catherine I, Crown Prince Konstantin Konstantinovich, who owned the building until 1915, making the palace a kind of temple of art. Dramatic performances were arranged in magnificent halls, musical concerts of great musicians and composers were held, creative meetings of writers and poets were organized.
Exhibitions and expositions
In Soviet times, a branch of the Central Museum of V.I. was organized in several halls of the Marble Palace, which was the first example of using an architectural monument in a new capacity that meets the needs of society. The work on the reconstruction of the premises was led by the architect N. Lansere, and the museum was opened in 1937, a sadly memorable year for the country. The expositions of the museum acquainted visitors in detail with the life and revolutionary activities of the leader of the proletariat.
Modern concept - propaganda of art
Today, the most beautiful building in the northern capital, handed over to the Russian Museum, is a center for demonstrating works of “Russian art combined with world trends. Here, through permanent and temporary expositions and exhibitions, objects of painting, sculpture and other genres are widely presented. A variety of thematic exhibitions are regularly organized:
- The collection of the Rzhevsky brothers (masterpieces of graphics, painting, sculpture, applied art - 503 copies in total).
- Konstantin Romanov - poet of the Silver Age (in the authentic setting of his study and the Musical Lounge).
- Museum Ludwig (works of German classical art 19-21).
- Dialogue of German sculptors E. Barlach and K. Kollwitz with Russian contemporaries (220 works of modernists and works of Russian masters).
In addition, temporary exhibitions showcasing world art are constantly held.
Legends and traditions
Like all significant architectural monuments, the history of the Marble Palace is surrounded by myths. One of the legends says that when the foundation was laid, a box filled to the brim with royal coins was immured into it. Although there is no exact information about this, the rumors about the mysterious box continue to live. There is a legend about why the empress took away the palace presented to Konstantin Pavlovich. Allegedly for the fact that he, being 16 years old, shot live rats from a cannon, frightening his young wife. One of the legends tells of a secret door through which Catherine entered on a date with Orlov, when the construction of the palace was still underway.
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The Marble Palace is one of the most beautiful buildings in St. Petersburg. It completes the composition of the Palace Embankment, which begins at the Winter Palace. From a distance it seems that the palace seems to be growing out of the granite of the Neva. Gray-pink granite and marble walls echo the colors of the St. Petersburg sky.
Marble Palace, 19th century painting
In the era of Peter the Great, the Drinking House stood here. In 1714, a wooden building of the Post Office with a pier appeared on this site. In 1716, it was built on; on the second floor, Peter I held assemblies. The embankment in those days was called Pochtovaya. After a while, the Manege was built on the site of the Post Yard, which subsequently burned down.
On October 10, 1769, by order of Catherine the Great, the construction of a huge palace began. The architect was the famous Antonio Rinaldi. However, according to one of the Petersburg legends, the empress personally sketched a sketch of the future building. The sculptures were made by Fedot Ivanovich Shubin. The Italian master Antonio Valli, the Austrian I. Dunker and many other famous sculptors and painters also took part in the work. More than 100 masons worked daily at the construction site.
Catherine the Great gave her favorite another palace - also built according to the design of Antonio Rinaldi.
The palace was intended for the count Grigory Orlov(1734-1783) as a thank you for his active participation in the events of 1762. In 1773, in return, he presented his empress with a huge faceted diamond of 189.62 carats, which is now kept in the Diamond Fund in Moscow and bears the name "Orlov".
For a long 16 years the construction went on. In 1783, Count Orlov died without waiting for the completion of the work. In 1785, when the Marble Palace was ready, Catherine bought it from her heirs for 1.5 million rubles.
Monument to Alexander III in the courtyard of the Marble Palace
In the years 1780-1788, in the eastern part of the site, according to the project of the architect P.E. Egorov, the Service Building was built, where stables, an arena, a carriage house, hay sheds, etc. were located. On the second floor there were apartments for servants. The new building obscured the facade of the palace, facing the current Suvorov Square. A lattice was installed between the buildings, resembling a fence in its style.
In 1796, the Empress presented the Marble Palace to her 16-year-old grandson, the Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich, on the occasion of his marriage to the Princess of Saxe-Saalfeld-Coburg Juliana-Henrietta-Ulrika, in baptism Anna Feodorovna. However, soon Catherine was forced to take away the gift “for unworthy behavior” - the young prince shot live rats from a cannon in the corridor, and his 14-year-old wife was forced to hide in a vase.
In 1797-1798 the Marble Palace became the residence of the last Polish king. Stanislav Poniatowski(1732-1798). For him and his retinue, part of the halls was decorated by V. Brenna. Then work on the design of the palace was continued by A. Voronikhin.
After the death of Poniatowski, the palace again returned to the possession of Konstantin Pavlovich and belonged to him until his departure to Poland as governor of the kingdom of Poland. In the future, the palace was owned by the Court Office, renting apartments to court officials, who remodeled the interiors to their liking.
In 1832, Emperor Nicholas I presented the Marble Palace to his second son, Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich. By that time, the palace was dilapidated, and in 1843-49 its reconstruction began according to the project of the architect A.P. Bryullov. Bryullov retained the appearance of the building and, in general, its layout. He designed a number of rooms in the style of Gothic, late Renaissance, Rococo and Classics. The Service building was built on, its facade is decorated with pilasters. Technical improvements appeared in the palace: air heating, "pneumatic stoves", a prototype of an elevator, machines for supplying water to the top.
After perestroika, the Marble Palace was named Konstantinovsky after its owner, although there was a palace with the same name in Strelna.
In 1888, the son of Konstantin Nikolayevich, Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich, highly educated person, president of the Russian Academy of Sciences and poet of the Silver Age. In his chambers on the first floor, the English Study, the Gothic and Musical Drawing Rooms, and the Lower Library were decorated. The palace became one of the centers of the cultural life of St. Petersburg.
Marble Palace, pre-revolutionary photo
During the First World War, the palace premises were converted into a hospital for wounded officers. After the February Revolution, various services were located in the palace for a short time. In 1919-1936, the Russian Academy of the History of Material Culture was located within the walls of the Marble Palace. Since 1937 - the Leningrad branch of the Central Museum of V.I. Lenin. Almost all halls on the second floor were rebuilt, the interiors were lost. Only the Main Staircase and the Marble Hall have retained their original decoration.
Marble Hall, photo from the Internet
In front of the main entrance, an armored car “The Enemy of Capital” was installed on a pedestal, from which V.I. Lenin spoke on the night of April 3-4, 1917 near the building of the Finland Station. In 1990, the armored car was dismantled, and in its place a marble Ford Mondeo was erected - a monument to the Age of the Motor.
In 1992, the dilapidated building of the Marble Palace was transferred to the Russian Museum, work began to restore the original layout and interiors. The Service Building houses the Northwestern Correspondence Technical University.
In 1994, on the site of a pedestal for an armored car, a equestrian statue of Emperor Alexander III. It was made in 1909 by the sculptor Paolo Trubetskoy and stood on Znamenskaya Square (now Uprising Square). After 1937, it was saved in one of the closed courtyards of the Russian Museum.
Transportation of the monument to Alexander III in November 1994, photo by Belenky
Exhibitions at the Marble Palace
Currently, the Marble Palace houses permanent exhibitions of the Russian Museum dedicated to Russian art of the 20th century:
♦ "Foreign artists in Russia of the XVIII-XIX centuries",
♦ "Ludwig Museum in the Russian Museum" - a gift from collectors Peter and Irena Ludwig: works by contemporary European, American and Russian artists,
♦ "Collection of St. Petersburg collectors of the Rzhevsky brothers",
♦ "Konstantin Romanov - the poet of the Silver Age".
In addition, exhibitions of works by contemporary Russian and foreign artists are held.
Facade of the Marble Palace from the Neva, photo from the Internet
External and internal decoration of the Marble Palace
The marble palace was built in the style of early classicism and is distinguished by the richness of the interior decoration, which was supposed to emphasize the strength and masculinity of its owner.
A combination of decorative stones of different colors and textures gives the palace a special expressiveness. 32 varieties of marble, granite, agate went to the exterior and interior decoration of the palace. White marble was brought from Italy - it was cheaper than transporting it from Siberia. Other varieties of marble were mined from the quarries of Karelia and Estonia, white marble for sculptures - from the islands of the Greek archipelago, agate - from the Urals. The copper roof was made in Sestroretsk and was of such high quality that it served without repair for about 150 years.
The basement floor is finished with pink granite, which is perfectly combined with the granite embankment of the Neva. The upper floors are clad in grey. The portico is made of pink Tivdia marble.
Marble Palace from the Neva
The thickness of the walls of the palace is 1.5-2 meters. The total height of the building is 22 meters, the height of the Corinthian order of the upper floors is 12.5 meters.
The main facade of the palace faces the garden, where the Red Canal (later buried) used to pass, connecting the Neva with the Moika. Above the entrance to the palace is written: "The building of gratitude." Above is a tower with a clock, on the sides of which there are figures of Loyalty and Generosity by F.I.Shubin.
As conceived by Rinaldi, she continued the stone decoration of the facades of the palace. It is distinguished by restraint of design. The statues Morning, Day, Evening and Night symbolize childhood, youth, maturity and old age. Between the II and III floors there are sculptures of the Spring and Autumn equinoxes. On the ceiling is a panel by the German painter I. Krist “The Judgment of Paris”.
On the ground floor of the palace there were kitchens, a boiler room, other office premises, as well as Church of the Entry into the Temple of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The main staircase leads to the second floor, where there are suites of ceremonial halls: the Lacquer Hall, the Tsar's Living Room ("Assembled Hall"), the Gallery (Orlovsky Hall), the Chinese Hall and the Marble Hall. Behind them are the private quarters of Grigory Orlov.
Lacquer hall lined with wood. Its walls were decorated with wooden carved panels depicting the exploits of Alexander the Great (now kept in the State Hermitage Museum). Initially, the ceiling was decorated with a picturesque plafond by I.Kris "The Judgment of Paris", which was subsequently transferred to the Main Staircase.
"Assembled Hall" dedicated to Catherine the Great. The velvet of the walls is decorated with the monograms of the Empress. Under the carved canopy with a crown, there is a ceremonial portrait of the Empress, in front of which there is a pedestal with a vase decorated with military trophies.
Picture gallery located in the southeastern part of the palace. Here are 206 works, among which are paintings by Rembrandt, Titian, Raphael. The portrait room contained 91 portraits of all representatives of the Romanov dynasty and the ruling European monarchs of that time. In addition, there were equestrian portraits of the Orlov brothers.
Chinese hall It was decorated in a fashionable style at that time and served as a front dining room.
- the most luxurious room of the Marble Palace. According to the project of A. Rinaldi, it was single-height, it was rebuilt into a two-height by A. Bryullov. Its walls are finished with various types of marble and decorated with bas-reliefs, originally made for St. Isaac's Cathedral. The ceiling is decorated with a picturesque ceiling "Wedding of Cupid and Psyche" by S. Torelli.
