Vorontsov Palace– one of the main attractions of St. Petersburg. The palace is located on the territory of an estate owned by Count Mikhail Illarionovich Vorontsov. The palace coup of 1741 (in which Vorontsov took an active part) elevated Empress Elizabeth to the Russian throne. Elizaveta Petrovna did not fail to thank Mikhail Illarionovich for his services by awarding him the rank of general.

The design and construction of the palace was carried out by F.B. Rastrelli was a Russian architect, Italian by birth. The estate is located between Fontanka and Sadovaya streets in the south-west direction and occupies a significant territory. The facade of the palace is separated from the street by a fence, which is an example of artistic casting. Behind the fence lies a vast palace with a main building and symmetrical two-story wings placed forward. In the depths of the courtyard there is a three-story main building, away from city noise. To decorate the main facade, Rastrelli uses double rusticated columns, above which there is a balcony. The arched windows on the ground floor are framed with decorative frames. The main hall is on the second floor.

The impression of solemnity and splendor of the palace, inherent in the Baroque style, is created in the first moment, as soon as one enters the estate. According to contemporaries, the interior of the fifty state rooms located along the main facade was distinguished by dazzling luxury. Unfortunately, the interior of the buildings has not survived to this day. The garden, which was located behind the main building, was decorated with numerous fountains, well-groomed alleys, swimming pools and other “whims”. In the garden, which extended to the Fontanka, one could see fireworks, which certainly accompanied the festivities in the Anichkov Garden.

In 1817, according to the design of Karl Rossi, the garden was shortened. The open terrace, located above the one-story building, offered a beautiful view of the river. In the central part of the palace there was a large double-height hall. M.I.’s library was located in one of the halls. Vorontsova, rightfully considered the best in St. Petersburg. The construction of the palace required no small investment. And the holding of regular balls and receptions led to the fact that the financial situation of M.I. Vorontsov could no longer afford to spend money on his maintenance.

In 1763, the palace was transferred to the treasury for debts. During the reign of Paul I, the palace was renamed the castle of the Knights of Malta and was transferred to the Order of Malta. This is due to the fact that Emperor Paul in 1798 was elected Master of the Order of Malta, and the former Vorontsov Palace became his residence. The order's coat of arms - a white Maltese cross - was installed above the gate. According to the project of D. Quarenghi, in 1798 the construction of the Catholic chapel of the order began, in which meetings of the Order of the Knights of Malta were held. An Orthodox church was built in the left wing.

Under Alexander I, the estate with all its property became the property of the state and soon the Corps of Pages was located there. The Corps of Pages trained guard officers; the cadets' dormitories were located on the second floor.

The October Revolution led to the closure of the Corps of Pages. In the early 1920s, military educational institutions were located on the territory of the Vorontsov Palace. In 1928, some of the items were given to Leningrad museums. Since 1958, the building has been given to the Suvorov School.

In 2003, in honor of the anniversary of St. Petersburg, the interior of the Maltese Chapel was restored. Today, excursions and organ music evenings are held in the chapel, and a museum on the history of cadetships is open.

And our Golden Fleece 2017 quiz continues, and now we have a question - The architectural complex of this palace includes a Catholic chapel.

Answer options:

A) Stroganovsky
B) Tauride
C) Vorontsovsky
D) Anichkov

The correct answer to the question is C) Vorontsovsky

The Catholic chapel is part of the Vorontsov Palace complex in St. Petersburg. Built according to the design of the famous Rastrelli, it is distinguished by its exquisite architecture.

The Vorontsov Palace went to the treasury for debts in the second half of the 18th century. Paul, having accepted patronage of the Order of Malta, handed it over to the knights. The Order included both Catholics and Orthodox Christians. A separate Catholic Chapel was built for Catholics. For Orthodox knights, the house church served as a temple. And the Maltese Cross as a symbol of the Order.
Although in essence, types of the cross are already human fantasy. Orthodox, Catholic, Maltese - that's not the point. Christians worship not the form of the Cross, or even the Cross itself, but the power of Christ crucified on the cross.

Vorontsov Palace is a palace in the central part of St. Petersburg, located on Sadovaya Street opposite Gostiny Dvor. Built by the architect Count Bartolomeo Francesco Rastrelli in 1749-1757 for Chancellor Mikhail Illarionovich Vorontsov. The palace is distinguished by the rich, elegant decoration of its facades and luxurious interior decoration. The palace has more than 50 state halls and rooms. The palace is decorated with stucco, gilded carvings and other elements characteristic of the Baroque style.

Vorontsov Palace is the main building on the territory of the estate of Count Mikhail Illarionovich Vorontsov, a noble nobleman, state chancellor, participant in the palace coup of 1741, which brought Empress Elizabeth Petrovna to power.

The construction of the palace was carried out according to the design of the court architect of Elizabeth Petrovna - Federico Bartolomeo Rastrelli in the period from 1749 to 1757.

The estate occupied a vast area between Sadovaya Street and the Fontanka River. Breaking the traditions of urban estate construction, Rastrelli placed the palace not near the river, but closer to Sadovaya, separating the building from it with an artistic fence.

The border of the extensive courtyard-garden, located behind the fence, is formed by the main building of the palace and its side wings. A similar layout with the letter “P” has long been called “peace” in Russia.

The main three-story building with a quadrangular courtyard is located in the depths of the estate. Two symmetrical two-story wings are brought forward and placed along the red line of the street. The central part of the main facade is decorated with double columns and pilasters, the windows are decorated with decorative frames.

The palace was built in the style of a magnificent and elegant Baroque. As you know, Rastrelli was a master of this style, which reached its peak in Russian architecture during the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna. This is evidenced by such names of this style of the mid-18th century as “Rastrelli Baroque” and “Elizabethan Baroque”.

Behind the main building, a regular garden was laid out, extending to the Fontanka, with numerous pools, fountains, alleys of trimmed trees, and other “ventures”.

Above the one-story building facing the park, there was an open terrace overlooking the river. From here there was a beautiful view of the fireworks taking place in the Anichkov Garden. The interiors, also decorated in Baroque traditions, were also luxurious. Fifty ceremonial halls were located in an enfilade pattern along the main facade and in the side buildings. In the central part of the Vorontsov Palace there was a large double-height hall; another spacious hall housed the Vorontsov Library, then one of the best in St. Petersburg.

In 1763, M.I. Vorontsov was forced to cede the palace to the treasury to pay off debts for 217,600 rubles, since construction required huge investments.

After the accession of Emperor Paul I to the throne in the late 1790s, the palace was transferred to the Order of Malta, and the chapter of Russian orders was also located here. The former Vorontsov Palace was ordered to be called the “Castle of the Knights of Malta.” The order's coat of arms was strengthened above the lattice gates of the palace: a white Maltese cross with four bifurcating rays on a red background.

Two churches were built on the territory of the estate - an Orthodox church and a Catholic chapel of the Order of the Knights of Malta (architect Giacomo Quarenghi).

Later, the Corps of Pages was located in the palace. For the needs of this educational institution, which was located in the palace from 1810 to 1918, in 1827 the premises were rebuilt according to the design of the architect Alexander Egorovich Staubert; At the same time, the previous baroque decoration of the interiors was lost.

Today, organ music concerts are held in the Maltese Chapel. The decoration of the interior of the chapel is well preserved - a colonnade of the Corinthian order, paintings, stucco decoration of the walls, lined with artificial marble. The restoration of the chapel was carried out in 1927 by the architect N.P. Nikitin.

After the revolution, the First Petrograd Infantry School for the command staff of the Red Army was located here, on the basis of which the Leningrad Infantry School named after. S. M. Kirov. In 1958, the building was completely given over to the Suvorov Military School.

One of most interesting buildings in St. Petersburg is the Maltese Catholic Chapel, hidden from the eyes of citizens and tourists behind the facade of the Suvorov School.

How the Maltese Chapel appeared in St. Petersburg

By the end of the eighteenth century, the Russian fleet became the main threat to the fleet of the Ottoman Empire. This led to a rapprochement between the Order of Malta and the Russian Tsar. In 1797, Paul I organized a new main priory of the order on the territory of the Russian Empire. The Hospitallers needed a patron since they were expelled from Malta by Napoleon.

Emperor Paul greatly favored the Maltese. On the territory of Russia, he provided members of the Order with “all those distinctions, advantages and honors that the famous Order enjoys in other places.” Three commanderies were organized, the head of the Main Priory in Russia was introduced to the State Council. Russian nobles were encouraged in every possible way to join it.

In 1799, Emperor Paul awarded the Commander's Cross to commander Alexander Suvorov. The Hospitallers opened the Corps of Pages in St. Petersburg, which produced many military leaders. The Corps of Pages later became the Suvorov School. It was then that a Catholic (Maltese) chapel appeared on the territory of the military school.

However, Paul’s flirting with the Catholic Church, his rapprochement with Rome did not like the Russian Orthodox Church (Russian Orthodox Church) and the entire policy of the emperor towards a foreign religious order was another, among many others, reason for his murder in St. Michael’s Castle in St. Petersburg on the night of March 13 1801.

The new Emperor Alexander I, in the very first months of his reign (August 1, 1801), renounced the title of Grand Master of the Order and ordered the Maltese cross to be removed from the state emblem.

However, the Corps of Pages (now the Suvorov School is based in the building) and the Maltese Chapel remained in St. Petersburg. Lately she has served as concert hall. So in order to look at this unusual building for our latitudes, you need to buy a concert ticket.

p.s. Unfortunately, the chapel is currently under renovation and there are no concerts. But they do conduct excursions. Official website of the chapel:

The Alupka Palace, a masterpiece of Romanticism architecture, was built over almost 20 years, from 1828 to 1848, by order of the powerful Governor-General of the Novorossiysk Territory, aristocrat and Anglomaniac Count Mikhail Semenovich Vorontsov. The count personally chose the place for his Crimean residence on a picturesque stone cape at the foot of Mount Ai-Petri in the little-known Tatar village of Alupka. The Englishman Edward Blore, the author of Walter Scott's castle in Scotland and the court architect of the British crown, managed to organically fit the palace building into the surrounding landscape. In the architecture of the Vorontsov Palace, Blore combined different styles - English, neo-Moorish and Gothic, paying tribute to the secular fashion of that time for the novels of Walter Scott and oriental fairy tales.

History of creation

Initially, the famous Italian architect Francesco Boffo, who had already built a palace for the count in Odessa, was appointed to build the residence. The Englishman Thomas Harrison, an engineer and adherent of neoclassicism, was supposed to help him. Work began, and by 1828 the foundation, which was filled with lead for earthquake resistance, as well as the first masonry of the portal niche of the central building were ready. But Harrison died in 1829, and two years later the count decided to suspend construction of the palace, apparently abandoning the idea of ​​​​building a residence in the neoclassical style.

Vorontsov turns to the Englishman Edward Blore, a brilliant architectural historian, graphic artist and fashionable architect in his homeland. Most likely, Count Pembroke recommended him to Vorontsov. We had to wait almost a year for new drawings. But Mikhail Semenovich liked the result, and in December 1832 the construction of the buildings began. Blore brilliantly solved the problem from a historical perspective: the architecture of the palace demonstrates the development of medieval European and Moorish architecture, ranging from the forms of the early Middle Ages to the 16th century. The palace building is deployed in such a way that it repeats the outlines of the visible mountains. It is surprising that the architect himself, who so accurately integrated the building into the surrounding nature, never visited Crimea, but used only numerous landscape sketches and relief drawings that were sent to him in England.

The resulting castle could well serve as an illustration for historical novels: five buildings, fortified defensive towers, different in shape and height, are interconnected by many open and closed passages, stairs and courtyards.

The construction was carried out from local greenish-gray stone - diabase, which is not inferior in strength to basalt, which was taken from natural placers in Alupka. Processing it required considerable effort, since complex designs on the exterior of the house could be ruined by one wrong blow with a chisel. Therefore, Russian stone cutters who built white stone churches in Central Russia were invited to carry out the most complex stone cutting work.

The main decorative decoration of the Vorontsov Palace - the motif of a gently sloping pointed keeled arch - is repeated several times in the cast-iron balustrade of the balconies, and in the carved stone lattice enclosing the roof, and in the decorative decoration of the portal of the southern entrance, made in the Moorish style of the Alhambra Palace.

In the design of the seaward southern entrance, a Tudor flower design and a lotus motif are intertwined, which ends with the Arabic inscription repeated six times across the frieze: “And there is no winner but Allah,” just as it is written in the Alhambra of Granada.

In front of the façade is the Lion's Terrace and a monumental staircase in white Carrara marble by the Italian sculptor Giovanni Bonanni. On both sides of the steps there are three pairs of lions: the bottom left is sleeping, the bottom right is awakening, above is a pair of awake ones, and the third pair is roaring.

The rear façade of the palace and its western part, a variation on the theme of Tudor England of the 16th - early 17th centuries, are reminiscent of the harsh castles of English aristocrats.

By the way, this palace was one of the first in Russia to be equipped with a water supply system hot water and sewerage.

Construction costs palace complex amounted to about 9 million rubles in silver - an astronomical amount for those times. But Count Vorontsov could afford it, since after his marriage in 1819 to Elizaveta Ksaverevna Branitskaya, he doubled his fortune and became the richest landowner in the Russian Empire. Elizaveta Ksaverevna, the same one with whom, according to one version, Alexander Pushkin fell in love in exile in Odessa, personally supervised the creation of the building’s interiors, took care of the artistic design of the park and often paid for the work.

Inhabitants of the palace

Mikhail Semenovich did not manage to live in the Alupka Palace for a long time. Another assignment followed - this time to the Caucasus. But in Alupka at the end of the 1840s, his daughter, Countess Sofya Mikhailovna, settled with her children. Then, after the death of Prince Vorontsov (he received the princely title in 1845), the palace, by right of primacy, passed to his only son, Semyon Mikhailovich. In 1882, his widow, Maria Vasilievna Vorontsova, went abroad and took many valuables from the palace. She had no children, the palace was abandoned, and by the end of the 19th century the building, park and farm fell into complete disrepair.

In 1904, the castle received new owners - relatives along the Vorontsov-Dashkov line. The wife of the Tsar's deputy in the Caucasus, Countess Elizaveta Andreevna Vorontsova-Dashkova, née Countess Shuvalova, energetically got down to business. She rented out land for sanatoriums and boarding houses and built more than 120 dachas on the estate.

After the revolution and the establishment of Soviet power in Crimea, the lands of the Vorontsov-Dashkovs were nationalized. And on February 22, 1921, Lenin’s telegram arrived in Crimea: “Take decisive measures to truly protect artistic values, paintings, porcelain, bronze, marble, etc., located in Yalta palaces and private buildings, now allocated for sanatoriums of the People's Commissariat of Health...”

At the beginning of the 20s South Coast Crimea, museums were created in a number of the largest noble estates, among them the Alupka Museum. The museum's collection was seriously damaged during the Great Patriotic War: much was taken away by the occupiers, including 537 works of painting and graphics. Only a small part of the paintings were found after the war and returned to the palace.

In February 1945, during the Crimean (Yalta) Conference, the Alupka Palace became the residence of the British delegation. Meetings of the heads of the Allied powers - Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt - took place in the State Dining Room of the palace.

Later the palace became the state dacha of the NKVD. In 1952, a sanatorium was located there, and only in 1956, by decision of the Soviet government, the Crimean state museum visual arts. Since 1990, the palace has been part of the Alupka Palace and Park Museum-Reserve. Its collection today includes works of painting, sculpture and applied art, as well as documents, ancient drawings and lithographs that introduce the history of the construction of the palace.

English park

The English park of the palace is the work of the German gardener-botanist Karl Kebach, whom Vorontsov invited to Crimea in 1824, when there was no design for the palace itself. He eagerly set about creating a park, taking into account the relief, climate and local flora, combining, however, everything with the latest achievements of gardening art. About 200 species of trees and bushes were brought here from all over the world. Parcels with seeds and seedlings came from America, Italy, the Caucasus, Karelia, China and Japan. They said that more than two thousand varieties of roses bloomed here at the same time. The German gardener became so famous in Crimea that landowners began to invite him to create or improve their parks and gardens along the entire coast.

Karl Kebach clearly planned the park on the principle of an amphitheater, maintaining connections in its structure with the main palace and other architectural objects. The coastal highway (Yalta - Simeiz) divides the park into Upper and Lower.

The lower park is designed in the style of Italian Renaissance gardens with fountains, marble sculptures, Byzantine columns, vases and stone benches. The upper one was created according to the principle of English landscape parks of the Romanticism era - more natural and natural: in it, rocky debris, shady ponds and preserved areas of the Crimean forest alternate with picturesque meadows, a unique system of lakes, waterfalls, cascades and grottoes. Kebakh created the Upper Park as a place of contemplation of the sea and Mount Ai-Petri, towering above the park and palace, like the ruins of a giants’ castle.

A carefully thought-out drainage system and individual plant care did their job - many, even very rare and whimsical plants, took root well. In total, 250 species of trees and shrubs grew in the park by the end of the 19th century. Plants Vorontsovsky Park They were so popular that the seedlings were even sold externally to other gardens and estates.

The glory of Vorontsov Park as a masterpiece of landscape architecture was strengthened by the artists who worked here on sketches: Isaac Levitan, Vasily Surikov, Aristarkh Lentulov... And the parks, gardens and vineyards that belonged to Count Mikhail Vorontsov and his relatives - the Naryshkins and Pototskys, completely changed the appearance of the coast from Alushta to Foros.