According to the book by T. A. Sokolova "Palace Embankment", in the 1710s, on this section of the Palace Embankment, there were houses of the manager of the Monastic order, Count I. A. Musin-Pushkin and Field Marshal Prince V. V. Dolgorukov. V. S. Izmozik in the book "Walking along the Millionnaya" indicates that in the time of Peter the Great, Major Vasily Dmitrievich Korchmin lived here. The first author "sent" him to the neighboring plot of house No. 12-16. The second author confuses the story even more, classifying V.V. Dolgorukov among the owners of the same neighboring territory.

In the middle of the 18th century, the site was owned by Lieutenant General M. Ya. Volkov, General-General A. I. Ushakov. According to the second source, A. I. Ushakov lived in the neighboring territory (house No. 12-16). When the plot was owned by Prince A. M. Cherkassky, his mansion was erected in 1736-1746 by architect P. M. Eropkin. The daughter of Cherkassky Varvara in 1743 married Count Peter Borisovich Sheremetev, after which the plot passed to their family.

The author of the book "St. Petersburg of the 18th century" K. V. Malinovsky reports that in 1745-1750 two three-story palaces were built here for P. B. Sheremetev on the cellars (one from the side of Palace Embankment, the other - along Millionnaya Street), connected by two outbuildings. He gives a link to a document according to which these buildings were built by the architect S. I. Chevakinsky, and for this he used the Eropkin project left after the death of Prince Cherkassky. This work was started by G. D. Dmitriev, who died in 1746.

By the beginning of the 19th century, a stone house "for 84 rests" was located here. The mansion of P. B. Sheremetev was often called the "Million House". Perhaps this name gave reason to give the same name to Millionnaya Street, on which the side of the site opposite the bank of the Neva faces.

Amateur performances were held here. On February 21, 1766, in one of the plays presented at Sheremetev's house, Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich (the future Pavel I) played the role of the protagonist. The four performers of that performance were adorned with jewels worth more than two million rubles.

After the death of his wife in 1767, and the following year of his daughter, Count P. B. Sheremetev moved to Moscow.

In 1800, the Sheremetevs' house and the neighboring buildings of the banker Livio and the City Department were acquired by the Department of Appanages. The restructuring of the buildings was carried out according to the project of A. N. Voronikhin. Here appeared apartments for the reception of VIPs coming to St. Petersburg. The interior decoration of the building of the Department of Appanages was rich. Only 114,000 rubles were spent on furnishing the premises. The courtyard outbuildings were occupied by a printing house, an archive and a land surveying school.

Here, in the Department of Appanages, from April 1830, Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol worked for about a year. His working day began at 9 o'clock in the morning and ended at 3 o'clock in the afternoon. At first he was a clerk, and then an assistant clerk. Work as an official did not attract the future writer.

After the wedding on August 18, 1857, Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich and Princess Cecilia-Augusta of Baden (Olga Feodorovna), it became necessary to create an official residence for the new grand ducal family. Initially, Mikhail Nikolayevich was supposed to live in the same palace with his older brother Nikolai. For their common palace complex, a site near the new Annunciation Bridge was chosen. The architect A. I. Stackenschneider had already drawn up a project, but the Grand Duke was not afraid to ask his father-emperor to live separately from his brother. As a result, the Nicholas Palace was built on Blagoveshchenskaya Square, and the house for the younger brother here is on the banks of the Neva, opposite the Peter and Paul Fortress. On July 20, 1857, the solemn laying of the Novo-Mikhailovsky Palace took place.

For the construction of the Novo-Mikhailovsky Palace, in addition to the building of the Department of Appanages, the neighboring house of Princess N. S. Golitsyna and the house of O. A. Zubova, located between Millionnaya Street and the Moika River, were purchased. Subsequently, the princess's house was completely dismantled, and the walls of the building of the Department of Appanages were used for the construction of the palace. The total cost of all works amounted to 993,525 rubles.

The Novo-Mikhailovsky Palace became one of the first buildings in St. Petersburg, during the construction of which metal beams and rafters were used. A local water supply system was equipped here (the city one was built only in 1863).

The main façade of the building was designed by Stackenschneider in the then fashionable eclectic style, choosing baroque forms as a basis. The architect failed to fully follow the rules of "pseudo-baroque" here, since it was necessary to use the walls of the old building. And this did not allow the active use of the game of volumes characteristic of the Baroque, the ledges of the risalits. The facade of Novo-Mikhailovsky is decorated with a balustrade with decorative vases. Its sculptural design was created by D. I. Jensen.

The Novo-Mikhailovsky Palace was solemnly consecrated on December 9, 1861. The prefix "new" began to speak of its difference from the "old" Mikhailovsky Palace.

The main entrance of the Novo-Mikhailovsky Palace through the Main Vestibule and the Main Staircase led to the second floor to a suite of front rooms. There were two-height Banquet, Dance, Green halls, as well as Living Rooms, Reception and Oak dining rooms. On the first floor there were living quarters and private rooms of the grand-ducal family. Among them: Cabinet, Boudoir, Bathroom, Sauna. On the third floor, a house church was created in the name of the Archangel Michael. Below it, at the level of the first and second floors, was the Winter Garden. The picturesque decorations of the ceremonial halls were created by artists M. A. Zichy and N. I. Tikhobrazov, fashionable in the middle of the 19th century.

Zubova's house was adapted for the residence of employees of the grand duke's residence. The façade of the Steelmaster's building came out on Millionnaya Street. Through its arch it was possible to get into the Manege, built in 1877, located in the center of the site. In 1889, the Novo-Mikhailovsky Palace was equipped with electricity.

In December 1862, Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolayevich was appointed governor of the Caucasus, where he left for almost twenty years. Alexander III, he was appointed chairman of the State Council. In 1905, Mikhail Nikolayevich could no longer hold this post. By this time, the Grand Duke again settled in the Novo-Mikhailovsky Palace.

In the last years of his life, the Grand Duke liked to sit at the window of the ground floor and was very pleased when passers-by noticed him and saluted him.

After the death of Mikhail Nikolaevich, a museum was created in the Novo-Mikhailovsky Palace, where exhibitions of objects related to the life of the Grand Duke were held. Historian T. A. Sokolova in the book "Palace Embankment" indicates the year of the beginning of the museum's work as 1909, and V. S. Izmozik in the book "Walking along Millionnaya" writes that the museum began to work in 1911. The exposition occupied four halls. In the former Reception Room, a "Common Hall" was arranged, where portraits and portrait groups of the Grand Duke's associates were exhibited. There was also a collection of weapons, models and photographs of fortresses, manuscripts and official documents of the Grand Duke. In the "Hall of Private Life" one could see holy icons, orders and regalia, among which was the field marshal's baton. Portraits hung on the walls, and in the windows - personal documents, children's study books. The cabinet was left in its original form. In the "Hall of the Last Days of Life" items related to the illness and death of Mikhail Nikolayevich were presented. The museum received visitors on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

The next and last owner of the Novo-Mikhailovsky Palace was the eldest son of Mikhail Nikolaevich - Grand Duke Nikolai Mikhailovich.

After 1917, some premises of the Novo-Mikhailovsky Palace were occupied by the Petrograd branch of the Communist Academy. In 1930, the Institute of Oriental Studies was located here. In 1951, he was almost completely transferred to Moscow. Since 1956, his department has been working in the Novo-Mikhailovsky Palace, since 1991 - a branch of the institute. Currently, the Institute of the History of Material Culture, the Institute of Oriental Studies and the Institute of Problems of Electrophysics are located here.

Publications in the Architecture section

Where did the Romanovs live?

Small Imperial, Marble, Nikolaevsky, Anichkov - we go for a walk along the central streets of St. Petersburg and recall the palaces in which representatives of the royal family lived.

Palace embankment, 26

Let's start the walk from the Palace Embankment. A few hundred meters east of the Winter Palace is the palace of Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich, son of Alexander II. Previously, the building built in 1870 was called the "small imperial court". Here, almost in its original form, all the interiors have been preserved, reminiscent of one of the main centers of the social life of St. Petersburg at the end of the 19th century. Once upon a time, the walls of the palace were decorated with many famous paintings: for example, on the wall of the former billiard room hung "Barge Haulers on the Volga" by Ilya Repin. Monograms with the letter "V" - "Vladimir" have been preserved on the doors and panels.

In 1920, the palace became the House of Scientists, and today one of the main scientific centers of the city is located in the building. The palace is open to tourists.

Palace embankment, 18

A little further on the Palace Embankment you can see the majestic gray Novo-Mikhailovsky Palace. It was erected in 1862 by the famous architect Andrey Shtakenshneider for the wedding of the son of Nicholas I - Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolayevich. The new palace, for the reconstruction of which neighboring houses were bought out, absorbed the styles of baroque and rococo, elements of the Renaissance and architecture from the time of Louis XIV. Before the October Revolution, there was a church on the top floor of the main facade.

Today, the palace houses the institutions of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Millionnaya street, 5/1

Even further on the embankment is the Marble Palace, the family nest of the Konstantinoviches - the son of Nicholas I, Konstantin, and his descendants. It was built in 1785 by the Italian architect Antonio Rinaldi. The palace was the first building in St. Petersburg to be faced with natural stone. At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich, known for his poetic works, lived here with his family, in the pre-revolutionary years - his eldest son John. The second son, Gabriel, wrote his memoirs "In the Marble Palace" in exile.

In 1992 the building was transferred to the Russian Museum.

Admiralteyskaya embankment, 8

Palace of Mikhail Mikhailovich. Architect Maximilian Messmacher. 1885–1891 Photo: Valentina Kachalova / photo bank "Lori"

Not far from the Winter Palace on the Admiralteyskaya Embankment, you can see a neo-Renaissance building. Once it belonged to Grand Duke Mikhail Mikhailovich, the grandson of Nicholas I. It was started to be built when the Grand Duke decided to marry - Alexander Pushkin's granddaughter Sophia Merenberg became his chosen one. Emperor Alexander III did not give consent to the marriage, and the marriage was recognized as morganatic: the wife of Mikhail Mikhailovich did not become a member of the imperial family. The Grand Duke was forced to leave the country without having lived in the new palace.

Today, the palace is leased to financial companies.

Labor Square, 4

If you walk from the palace of Mikhail Mikhailovich to the Blagoveshchensky bridge and turn left, on Labor Square we will see another brainchild of the architect Stackenschneider - the Nikolaevsky Palace. Until 1894, the son of Nicholas I, Nikolai Nikolaevich the Elder, lived in it. During the years of his life, there was also a house church in the building, everyone was allowed to attend services here. In 1895, after the death of the owner, a women's institute named after Grand Duchess Xenia, sister of Nicholas II, was opened in the palace. Girls were trained in the professions of an accountant, housekeeper, seamstress.

Today, the building, known in the USSR as the Palace of Labor, hosts guided tours, lectures, and folklore concerts.

English embankment, 68

Let's go back to the embankment and go west. Halfway to the Novo-Admiralteisky Canal is the palace of Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich, son of Alexander II. In 1887, he bought it from the daughter of the late Baron Stieglitz, a well-known banker and philanthropist, whose name is the Art and Industry Academy he founded. The Grand Duke lived in the palace until his death - he was shot in 1918.

The palace of Pavel Alexandrovich was empty for a long time. In 2011, the building was transferred to St. Petersburg University.

Embankment of the Moika River, 106

On the right side of the Moika River, opposite the island of New Holland, is the palace of the Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna. She was married to the founder of the Russian air force, Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich, the grandson of Nicholas I. The palace was presented to them for a wedding - in 1894. During the First World War, the Grand Duchess opened a hospital here.

Today the palace houses the Lesgaft Academy of Physical Education.

Nevsky prospect, 39

We leave on Nevsky Prospekt and move in the direction of the Fontanka River. Here, at the embankment, the Anichkov Palace is located. It was named so after the Anichkov Bridge in honor of the old family of pillared noblemen Anichkovs. The palace, built during the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna, is the oldest building on Nevsky Prospekt. Architects Mikhail Zemtsov and Bartolomeo Rastrelli participated in its construction. Later, Empress Catherine II donated the building to Grigory Potemkin. On behalf of the new owner, the architect Giacomo Quarenghi gave Anichkov a more austere, close to modern look.

Starting with Nicholas I, the heirs to the throne mainly lived in the palace. When Alexander II ascended the throne, the widow of Nicholas I Alexandra Feodorovna lived here. After the death of Emperor Alexander III, Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna settled in the Anichkov Palace. Nicholas II also grew up here. He did not like the Winter Palace and most of the time, already being emperor, he spent in the Anichkov Palace.

Today it houses the Palace of Youth Creativity. The building is also open to tourists.

Nevsky prospect, 41

On the other side of the Fontanka is the Beloselsky-Belozersky Palace - the last private house built on the Nevsky in the 19th century and another brainchild of Stackenschneider. At the end of the 19th century, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich bought it, and in 1911 the palace passed to his nephew, Grand Duke Dmitry Pavlovich. He sold the palace in 1917, being in exile for participating in the murder of Grigory Rasputin. And later he emigrated and took the money from the sale of the palace abroad, thanks to which he lived comfortably for a long time.

Since 2003, the building has been owned by the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation, it hosts concerts and creative evenings. On some days there are guided tours of the halls of the palace.

Petrovskaya embankment, 2

And walking near Peter's house on Petrovskaya Embankment, you should not miss the white majestic neoclassical building. This is the palace of the grandson of Nicholas I, Nicholas Nikolaevich the Younger, the supreme commander of all land and sea forces of the Russian Empire in the early years of the First World War. Today, the palace, which became the last grand-ducal building until 1917, houses the Representation of the President of the Russian Federation in the Northwestern Federal District.

Imperial Palaces of St. Petersburg

Palace embankment, 18

When we were in St. Petersburg for the last time, the Novomikhailovsky Palace was under restoration, so there was nothing to shoot. However, one of the main buildings on the Palace Embankment cannot be left out. So far, only the old views of the palace ...

Use of site materials only with the consent of the author.

Facade along Palace Embankment

1880s, albumen print

Main staircase

Grand Banquet Hall

The palace was built on the site of the "Million House" of the Cherksassky princes, which was located here, then bought out to the treasury at the beginning of the 19th century, and converted (mostly inside) into the Department of Appanages, with rooms for important people who came to St. Petersburg. Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol worked in this house in 1830 as a scribe. In 1857, the construction of the grand-ducal palace began here, intended for the son of Emperor Nicholas I, Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich, and was timed to coincide with his upcoming wedding with the Bavarian princess Cecilia-Augusta, who became Olga Feodorovna after converting to Orthodoxy. The palace was built by the outstanding architect Andrey Ivanovich Shtakenshneider. I will tell you more about the owners of the palace when I manage to shoot the palace well myself ...

Above and below - Green Hall

Room with wall paintings in antique style

In the second half of 1895, the newspaper "Nedelya Builder" reported that the palace of Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolayevich was overhauled.

Office of the Grand Duke. (1915th year). On the left is a showcase with miniatures from the collection of the Grand Duke. She's bigger in the photo below.

Office of the Grand Duke. (1915th year)

Grand Duke Nikolai Mikhailovich in his office in the Novomikhailovsky Palace. (1900s)

Grand Duke Nikolai Mikhailovich - the last owner of the palace, the son of Mikhail Nikolayevich. However, I have no particular desire to talk about this character ...

Library

Novo-Mikhailovsky Palace

The first house on this site in the time of Peter the Great was the house of Major V. D. Korchmin of the Preobrazhensky Regiment.

In the 1740s there were three houses on the site - General M. Ya. Volkov, the Dutch ambassador and Prince A. M. Cherkassky.

In 1746, a three-story mansion with three risalits was built for Prince A. M. Cherkassky. The mansion was built in the style of the Italian Renaissance (Renaissance) with baroque elements according to the project of the architect P. M. Eropkin, who was executed in 1740.

In 1807-1809. the house was rebuilt for the Department of Estates by the architect A. N. Voronikhin, while maintaining the structure of the facade.

In 1857-1861. the house was completely rebuilt for the youngest son of Nicholas I - Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich arch. A. I. Stackenschneider. The palace was named Novo-Mikhailovsky. In the decoration of facades and interiors, the architect used baroque and rococo motifs, intertwined with the techniques of the Renaissance and the “Louis XIV style”.

The new palace included the foundations and part of the walls of the former mansion of Prince A. M. Cherkassky, and the remains of the dismantled houses of Princess Golitsyna and the house of the Land Surveying School. For palace services - carriage, stables, forges - a plot of Countess Zubova on Millionnaya Street was bought. and emb. Washers.

The facade of the three-story palace from the Neva side is finished with a central and two side risalits. In the upper part of the central risalit there are sculptures of caryatids made of terracotta (sculptor D. I. Jensen). Between the caryatids are coats of arms. The facade is richly decorated - columns, pilasters, statues in a triangular pediment.

On the ground floor there is a central entrance with a canopy resting on cast-iron columns.

The new building was equipped with running water and a special heating system (for the first time in the city).

In 1909, after the death of the owner, the palace passed to his son, Grand Duke Nikolai Mikhailovich, a prominent historian who was shot by the Bolsheviks in 1918.

A museum was created in the Novo-Mikhailovsky Palace, located in four halls. The exposition of the General Hall, organized in the former Reception Room, exhibited portraits of the Grand Duke's associates, a collection of weapons, models and photographs of fortresses, manuscripts and official documents of the Grand Duke. Awards, icons, the field marshal's baton were exhibited in the "Hall of Private Life", in which personal documents and children's study books were also displayed in specially arranged showcases, and portraits of the Grand Duke hung on the walls. The office remained the same as it was during the life of Mikhail Nikolayevich. Another hall was dedicated to the last days of the Grand Duke's life. Items related to the illness and death of Mikhail Nikolayevich were presented here. The museum was open two days a week. Museum exhibits have not been preserved. In memory of the merits to the fatherland of Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich, a monument was erected in Peterhof in 1914.
After the revolution, the palace was nationalized. Now it houses the Institute of the History of Material Culture and the St. Petersburg branch of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

The main embankment of St. Petersburg lives up to its name: there are almost a dozen large palaces in which the most important figures of Russian history of the 18th and 19th centuries lived: the offspring of the Romanov dynasty, great nobles, cultural figures. We have selected the most interesting ones for CP HOSTEL guests. You can walk from us to all these palaces in 15 minutes! Ask the CP HOSTEL administrator for a convenient route.

Summer Palace of Peter the Great

A very modest two-story palace in the Summer Garden, where Peter the Great lived from May to October for twelve years, from 1712 to 1725. During the time of Peter the Great, a small canal was dug from the Fontanka to the entrance to the palace, so that the royal residence was located on the peninsula. The Emperor loved it when guests came to him by boat. Modesty was generally inherent in Peter's buildings. For example, in the Marly Palace there was no main hall at all, and the Summer Palace did not much resemble the residence of the emperor of a vast country. Luxury is in Menshikov. Peter tried to avoid excesses and used only the most necessary. So all the palaces of those times turned out to be small and cramped. Formally, the palace is registered in the Summer Garden, but is located a few meters from the Palace Embankment.

Palace of the Prince of Oldenburg (Betsky House, University of Culture and Arts)

Until the 1770s, there was a theater building in which the Italian troupe constantly performed: as a rule, courtiers of Elizabeth Petrovna went to its performances. After the death of the empress and the departure of the Italians, the Rastrelli building was demolished, and in 1784-1787 a house was built here for Ivan Betsky, who conducted classes here for students of his educational institutions, and also gradually collected a collection of works of art. Ivan Krylov lived there, who opened a printing house in the building and printed his own magazines. The house received its second name when Prince Peter of Oldenburg settled in it in 1830. Under him, the architect Stasov built on and reconstructed the building. His son, Alexander of Oldenburg, sold the building to the Provisional Government for a large sum for those times (1.5 million rubles). In 1962, the Leningrad Library Institute was placed here, and the building of the Betsky House was connected to the neighboring Saltykov House. Now here is the University of Culture and Arts, the famous "bag".

Before the construction of a palace for the favorite of Catherine the Second Grigory Orlov, according to the project of the architect Rinaldi, there was first a postal yard, then an animal yard, where the first St. Petersburg elephant lived for a short time, then the building burned down, and then they cleared a place for the square. The count did not wait for the queen's gift, but she bought the palace from the descendants of Orlov and gave it to her grandson Konstantin Pavlovich. After that, until 1918, it remained the residence for members of the Romanov House. Then there was the Russian Academy of the History of Material Culture, then a branch of the Lenin Museum was opened, and since 1992 the Marble Palace has become a branch of the Russian Museum, where mainly exhibitions of contemporary art are held (Warhol, Ludwig Museum, etc.).

The third palace built by Stackenschneider for the children of Nicholas I (after the Mariinsky and Nikolaevsky). Its design began after the wedding of Mikhail Nikolayevich. To erect the building, several older buildings in the neighborhood were demolished. The palace itself is an excellent example of early eclecticism and combines in its appearance the features of a variety of architectural styles: baroque, rococo, classicism. In addition, metal structures rare for those times were used in the construction of the Novo-Mikhailovsky Palace. Mikhail Nikolayevich did not have time to immediately enjoy the beauty of the palace, because literally after settling in 1862 he was forced to go as governor to the Caucasus. He returned home only in 1881, when he was appointed chairman of the State Council. In recent years, he usually did not leave the palace anywhere and sat thoughtfully at the windows of the ground floor. Passers-by sometimes noticed him and saluted him. After his death, the building passed into the hands of his son Nikolai Mikhailovich. And now there is a library of oriental manuscripts.

Vladimir Alexandrovich is the third son in the family of Emperor Alexander II. The architect of the palace was Messmacher, who will soon build another grand ducal palace (the future House of Music on the Moika). The result was a modest eclectic building, which, due to its masonry, did not fit into the ensemble of the Palace Embankment a bit. Subsequently, by decision of the Petrograd Soviet, the palace of the Grand Duke was turned into the House of Scientists. Herbert Wells used to visit here, Academician Vavilov worked here (as chairman of the council). During the Blockade, a hospital was located here. At the moment, there are dozens of various scientific sections in various fields.

Despite the fact that this building, the work of Velten and Wallen-Delamote, is the smallest in the Hermitage ensemble, it is here that some of the most famous exhibits of the Hermitage are located: including the Pavilion Hall, the Peacock Clock, as well as the famous Hanging Gardens. At first, the Winter Garden was located there, but then, when the building turned from a home residence into a museum, the concept had to be changed. You can look at this garden only from the window.

Winter Palace

The main St. Petersburg Palace, one of the most important museums in the world, a repository of hundreds of masterpieces of artistic culture, is already the fifth in a row. The first was built under Peter, the second - too, the third ordered to be built by Anna Ioannovna, the fourth - temporary - was built by Rastrelli, while he was building a new one for Elizabeth Petrovna. Only Catherine the Second settled in the current one: Elizabeth did not live to see the completion of construction, Peter the Third was overthrown shortly before the palace was handed over. The Winter Palace has witnessed almost all major events in the history of Russia since the 18th century. Monuments to the main military victories of the country were built around it, almost all Russian emperors lived here, it was here that one of the most high-profile attempts on the emperor was made (Khalturin exploded a bomb right under the dining room, Alexander II was not injured), a peaceful demonstration was shot near him on Bloody Sunday ”, the Provisional Government met here and the Bolsheviks overthrew it here. Finally, some of the largest rallies for democracy in 1991 and 1993 took place near the Winter Palace. Now there are more concerts and street sports festivals near the Hermitage.