Initially, Peter I settled in a one-story house, built hastily in 1703, not far from the Peter and Paul Fortress. Subsequently, five winter palaces were erected on this site by different emperors in the period 1711-1764. It was only in 1762 that the current palace building appeared. At that time, the Winter Palace became the tallest residential building in St. Petersburg. Elizaveta Petrovna did not live to see the completion of construction; Peter III took over the work on April 6, 1762. By this time, the decoration of the facades was completed, but many of the interior spaces were not yet ready. In the summer of 1762, Peter III was overthrown from the throne, and construction of the Winter Palace was completed under Catherine II. To have an idea of ​​the size of the erected palace, it is enough to provide at least some data. The building has 1057 rooms, 117 staircases, 1945 windows. The total length of the main cornice bordering the building is almost 2 km. And on the roof parapet there are 176 sculptural figures alternating with vases. The palace was built simultaneously by more than 4,000 masons and plasterers, marble makers and sculptors, sculptors and painters. Receiving an insignificant payment for their work, they huddled in miserable shacks, many lived here, on the square, in huts.

In December 1837, a fire broke out in Zimny. The fire raged for 30 hours, completely destroying the entire finishing of the building. But before the walls of the palace had time to cool down, restoration work began by order of the emperor. They were led by architects Stasov and Bryullov.

To revive the royal winter residence, a huge number of builders were mobilized and worked in difficult, inhuman conditions. During cold weather of 25 - 30 degrees below zero, 6,000 unknown workers were imprisoned in halls heated to 30 degrees Celsius to dry the walls as quickly as possible. Thus, these people experienced a temperature difference of 50 to 60 degrees when entering and leaving the building. People were suffocating from the heat and steam, fell from the scaffolding and crashed, fell in the streets and died. But new ones took the place of those who left, and work did not stop for a single hour. The builders met the deadline set by the emperor: in 15 months the palace was completely restored. Its appearance was recreated almost exactly according to Rastrelli’s designs, while the interior chambers were planned and decorated anew.

From the end of construction in 1762 to 1904, it was used as the official winter residence of the Russian emperors. In 1904, Nicholas II moved his permanent residence to the Alexander Palace in Tsarskoye Selo. From October 1915 to November 1917, a hospital named after Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich operated in the palace. From July to November 1917, the palace housed the Provisional Government. In January 1920, the State Museum of the Revolution was opened in the palace, sharing the building with the State Hermitage until 1941. Now all the premises of the palace have been transferred to the Hermitage to house its numerous collections of paintings, sculptures, objects of applied art, coins, and precious items. In order to get acquainted with the exhibition of all the halls, you will need to travel 22 km. And if you spend only one minute at each exhibit, then to explore the museum (if you spend 8 hours in it every day) you will need to spend 11 years.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Winter Palace on Palace Square in St. Petersburg is the main attraction of the northern capital, which served as the official winter residence of the Russian emperors from 1762 to 1904. The palace has no equal in St. Petersburg in terms of the richness and variety of architectural and sculptural decoration.


To get around all the exhibits in the Hermitage, you will need to spend 11 years of your life and walk 22 kilometers. All St. Petersburg residents know well: in the main museum of the city on the first floor there is the Egyptian Hall, on the third floor there are the Impressionists. City guests are also aware.

How will we surprise you? You can try with facts:

1. The Hermitage is huge. Of course, the Tsar, the autocrat of all Rus', ruled from this palace a territory occupying more than 22 million square kilometers and 150 million people. 1057 rooms, 117 staircases, 1945 windows. The total length of the main cornice bordering the building is almost 2 km.

2. The total number of sculptures installed on the Winter Palace parapet is 176 pieces. You can count the number of vases yourself.

3. The main palace of the Russian Empire was built by more than 4,000 masons and plasterers, marble makers and stucco makers, parquet floorers and painters. Receiving an insignificant payment for their work, they huddled in miserable shacks, many lived here, on the square, in huts.

4. From 1754 to 1762, construction of the palace building took place, which at that time became the tallest residential building in St. Petersburg. For a long time... Empress Elizaveta Petrovna died without settling into the new mansions. Peter III accepted 60,000 square meters of new housing.

5. After the completion of the Winter Palace, the entire area in front of it was littered with construction debris. Emperor Peter III decided to get rid of it in an original way - he ordered it to be announced to the people that anyone could take anything they wanted from the square, for free. After a few hours, all the debris was cleared.

6. The garbage was removed - a new problem. In 1837 the palace burned down. The entire imperial family was left homeless. However, 6,000 unknown workers saved the situation, working day and night, and within 15 months the palace was completely restored. True, the price of a labor feat is several hundred ordinary workers...

7. The Winter Palace was constantly repainted in different colors. It was both red and pink. It acquired its original pale green color in 1946.

8. The Winter Palace is an absolutely monumental building. It was intended to reflect the power and greatness of the Russian Empire. It is estimated that there are 1,786 doors, 1,945 windows and 117 staircases. The length of the main facade is 150 meters and the height is 30.

"Winter Palace? -Where is the Hermitage? - Are the Hermitage and the Winter Palace the same thing? Is the Hermitage the name of the museum located in the Winter Palace? - such questions can often be heard from both Russian and foreign tourists. To figure out what's what, let's start the story about the most famous building of St. Petersburg from afar, from the moment the city was founded on the Neva...

The first Winter Palaces

For those who know the history of St. Petersburg, it is no secret that Peter I initially did not plan to establish a city center on Admiralty Island. The first buildings of St. Petersburg were erected on St. Petersburg Island, around the current Trinity Square. Then, the tsar hatched plans to build a city center in Kronstadt, on Vasilyevsky Island, but not on the left bank of the Neva. The emergence of the current historical center was facilitated by chance, or rather by a royal passion. Peter I loved to work with a hatchet. And not only personally chop off the heads of the dissatisfied, but also build ships.

After the founding of the Main Admiralty in 1705-1706, the sovereign builder of St. Petersburg was faced with a problem that was well known to many inhabitants of our residential areas. It was difficult and long to get from Petersburg Island to the Admiralty, even taking into account the absence of traffic jams at that time. So the sovereign wished to have housing near his place of work. In 1708, on the site between the Neva and present-day Millionnaya Street, a wooden two-story “Winter House” was built for Peter. This building was located on the site of the current Hermitage Theater, and is considered to be the first Winter Palace.

Now Peter has the opportunity to run to the shipyard every morning. Soon around the royal
houses of the sovereign's servants and hangers-on appeared in the chambers, and the “industrial outskirts” suddenly became the political and aristocratic center of St. Petersburg.

In 1712, the “Winter House” was expanded by adding the so-called “Wedding Chambers” to it, but Peter Alekseevich, who had settled in the new place, began to think about a more representative residence. In 1716, according to the design of the architect Georg Mattarnovi, construction began on the new Winter Palace, located on the site of the previous building. Subsequently, researchers noted the successful choice of location for the main royal residence: “... the palace is located so that from it one can see most of the city, the fortress, the house of Prince Menshikov, and especially the open sea across the river branch.”

The construction of Peter the Great's Winter Palace was completed in 1723. This event was celebrated with a solemn feast, but Peter I did not live long in the new building. On January 28, 1725, the emperor died in the Great Hall of the Winter Palace from the consequences of untreated gonorrhea.

Second Winter Palace of Peter I

After the death of Peter, his widow, Catherine I, lived for some time in the Winter Palace. Under Anna Ioannovna, the court settled in the neighboring Apraksin mansion, located on the site of the current Winter Palace. Peter's "Winter House" was used by various palace services, and then was abandoned. Under Catherine II, the Hermitage Theater building was built in its place.

In the 1970-1980s, Leningrad scientists discovered to their surprise that many elements of the Peter the Great Winter Palace have survived to this day. The architect Giacomo Quarneghi, who erected the theater building, used the walls and supporting structures of the old building, thanks to which today we can see the rooms where Peter I spent the last two years of his life. Today they are partially restored and excursions are held in them.
Under Empress Anna Ioannovna, construction of a new Winter Palace, the third in a row, began on the site of the houses of Apraksin, Chernyshev, Raguzinsky and the Maritime Academy. Work continued from 1732 to 1735. The new four-story building had about 70 state rooms, more than 100 bedrooms, a theater, a chapel, an office, service and guard rooms.

Winter Palace of Anna Ioannovna

Subsequently, this Winter Palace was rebuilt and completed more than once, until Empress Elizaveta Petrovna discovered that the palace began to resemble not a ceremonial residence designed to demonstrate the power of the Russian state, but a chicken coop. The appearance of the building was spoiled by countless stables, technical outbuildings and sheds, built mainly on the side of Admiralty Meadow (present-day Palace Square). The question of rebuilding the palace again arose, but it turned out that it would be easier to demolish the old building and build a new palace in its place. The corresponding decree was signed by Elizaveta Petrovna on June 16, 1754:

“In St. Petersburg, our Winter Palace is not only for receiving foreign ministers and performing ceremonies at the Court on special days, due to the greatness of our imperial dignity, but also for accommodating us with the necessary servants and things, it cannot be satisfied, for which we They set out to rebuild our Winter Palace with a large space in length, width and height, for which the reconstruction, according to the estimate, will require up to 900,000 rubles, which amount, allocated for two years, is impossible to take from our salt money. Therefore, we command our Senate to find and present to us from what income it is possible to take such an amount of 430 or 450 thousand rubles per year for this matter, counting from the beginning of this year 1754 and the next year 1755, and so that this is done immediately, so as not to miss the current winter journey to prepare supplies for that building..."

Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli, (1750-1760s)

Construction of the palace

The construction of the new Winter Palace was supervised by the court architect of Elizabeth Petrovna, Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli. The architect understood that he had been given a task of enormous political importance and began to zealously justify the high trust placed in him, because the palace was being built “for the common glory of all Russia.”

According to the master's plan, the Winter Palace was supposed to be a huge quadrangle with a courtyard. The façade and interiors were decorated in the Baroque style, of which Rusterli was an unsurpassed master. Each of the palace facades was individual. The main façade was considered to be the Southern one, facing Palace Square. He was the most magnificent. In its center there were three arches leading to the front courtyard. The façade facing the Neva resembled an endless colonnade. The western facade also had a ceremonial appearance, facing Razvodnaya Square, where Rasterli planned to erect a monument to Peter I, the work of his father, Carlo Bartolomeo.

Inside the Winter Palace, according to Rasterli’s project, it was planned to arrange 1050 state and residential halls with an area of ​​46 thousand square meters, 1945 windows, 1786 doors, 117 staircases, 329 chimneys.

The Winter Palace was conceived as the architectural dominant of the center of St. Petersburg and the tallest secular building in the city. Before the decree of Nicholas I, the construction of buildings higher than the Winter Palace in the center of the Northern capital was prohibited. The entire system of external decor, columns installed in two rows, statues, was designed to emphasize the enormous (four-story!) height of the building.
About four thousand people worked on the construction of the Winter Palace, including the best craftsmen from all over Russia. The territory of the present Palace Square and the Alexander Garden was covered with huts in which workers lived. The courtyard also had to change its place of residence. For him, Rastrelli built a temporary wooden Winter Palace, located on the site of Chicherin’s modern house, on the corner of Nevsky Prospect and the Moika River.

Elizaveta Petrovna really wanted to move to a new residence as soon as possible, but this did not happen. On January 25, 1761, the Empress died. And on April 6, 1762, the court moved to the Winter Palace built by Rasterlli. Tradition says that after the completion of the work, Palace Square was a garbage dump. The cunning Chief of Police of St. Petersburg, Baron N.A. Korf proposed to announce through the heralds that every citizen is free to take from the former construction site whatever he needs. The next day, in front of the Winter Palace it was possible to iron clothes... Poor St. Petersburg residents even stole piles of lime.

The Winter Palace becomes the Winter Palace

Before the fresh lime that covered the walls of the Winter Palace had time to dry, they began to rebuild the building. The new Empress Catherine II, who ascended the throne after the short but memorable reign of Peter III, was not a fan of the Baroque. Rastrelli was forced to resign and leave St. Petersburg, and a new team of architects was invited to rebuild the Winter Palace: Y.M. Felten, J.B. Wallen-Delamot and A. Rinaldi.

The interiors of the palace designed by Rastrelli were almost completely destroyed. Today, all that remains of them is the luxurious Jordan Staircase, along which thousands of tourists pass every day to inspect the treasures of the State Hermitage. On the site of the old Throne Hall and Theater, a new Nevsky Enfilade arose, which included the Antechamber, the Great Hall and the Concert Hall.

The true decoration of the palace was the Great Throne or St. George's Hall created by Giacomo Quarneghi. Its central object was a large throne, executed by P. Azhi. To decorate the interior of this main state hall of the Winter Palace, colored marble and gilded bronze were used.

Under Catherine II, the Winter Palace became the center of social and cultural life in Northern Palmyra, the venue for pompous court festivities and balls.
The Englishman W. Cox, who attended a ball in the Winter Palace in 1778, described what he saw in the following words: “The wealth and splendor of the Russian court surpass the most elaborate descriptions. Traces of ancient Asian splendor mingle with European sophistication..., the splendor of court attire and the abundance of precious stones leave behind the splendor of other European states." About eight thousand people attended the ball. True, this crowd of nobles, wealthy merchants and respected artisans did not mix with the aristocrats who danced behind the low barrier that separated the courtiers from the other guests.

Work on the decoration of the Winter Palace continued in subsequent reigns. With the exception of Paul I, who preferred the Mikhailovsky Castle to the Winter Palace, each emperor sought to add something of his own to the decoration of the main palace of the Russian Empire.
Particularly large-scale work was carried out after 1812, when the need arose to demonstrate to the whole world the new status of Russia - the conqueror of Napoleon, the leader of a united Europe in the struggle for the bright ideals of dedicated absolutism.

Military gallery of the Winter Palace. G.G. Chernetsov

In 1826, Karl Rossi built a Military Gallery in front of St. George's Hall, the walls of which were decorated with 330 portraits of generals who took part in the Patriotic War of 1812. The paintings for this room were written by the English artist D. Doe. It was to her that A.S. Pushkin dedicated his lines:

The Russian Tsar has a chamber in his palace:
She is not rich in gold or velvet...
The artist placed the crowd in a crowd
Here are the leaders of our people's forces,
Covered with the glory of a wonderful campaign
And the eternal memory of the twelfth year.

Auguste Montferrand also took part in the reconstruction of the Winter Palace. He built the staircase of the Empress's entrance, decorating it with high reliefs, statues and columns, and designed the Field Marshal's, Peter's and Armorial halls. V.A. Zhukovsky wrote with delight to the royal residence:

“The Winter Palace as a building, as a royal dwelling, perhaps did not have anything like it in all of Europe. With its enormity, its architecture, it depicted a powerful people who had so recently entered the midst of educated nations, and with its inner splendor it reminded of the inexhaustible life that boils in the interior of Russia... The Winter Palace was for us a representative of everything domestic, Russian, ours...”

What about the Hermitage?

A tourist visiting the suburbs of St. Petersburg will easily discover that both Pushkin and Peterhof have their own “Hermitage”. This word translated from French means “Secluded corner”. Nobles and kings of the 18th century loved to set up secluded pavilions in their gardens and parks for intimate pastimes. And Catherine II set up her “secluded corner” right in the center of St. Petersburg.

For this purpose, in 1764-1775, a building was added to the Winter Palace, which is known today as the Small Hermitage. In it, Catherine II spent time with a select audience in an informal setting. Outsiders were not allowed into the Hermitage. Even the tables in this room were set in advance, after which the servants left the “secluded corner” and left.
In general, the atmosphere of the Hermitage was reminiscent of modern corporate ones. Formally, guests left ranks and conventions at the door. Those who said nonsense should have drunk a glass of cold water or read a page from Tredyakovsky’s Telemachiad.

In order for evenings in the Hermitage to become a cultural pastime, Catherine II decided to decorate the premises with an appropriate collection of paintings. The Hermitage collection began in 1764, when the German merchant Gotzkowski gave Russia his collection of 225 paintings as a debt. The Empress also ordered that all valuable works of art that appeared at auctions be bought abroad.

Works by Rubens and Van Dyck were purchased in England. Russian Ambassador in Paris, Count D.A. Golitsyn, thanks to his connections with D. Diderot and other representatives of French culture, was able to acquire such world-famous masterpieces as “The Return of the Prodigal Son” by Rembrandt, two “Danaes” by Titian and Rembrandt, “Bacchus” by Rubens, “Judith” by Giorgione, etc.

By the end of the reign of Catherine II, the Hermitage collection of paintings amounted to four thousand canvases. The Small Hermitage could no longer accommodate all the masterpieces. A special building had to be built for the collection, called the Old Hermitage.

It wasn’t just paintings that came to the Hermitage. Catherine's agents also purchased engravings, drawings, ancient antiquities, works of decorative and applied art, ancient coins, weapons, medals and books.

The tradition of replenishing the Hermitage collection continued in the 19th century. Under Alexander I, paintings by Rembrandt and Rubens “The Descent from the Cross”, “Potter’s Farm”, paintings by Claude Lorrain, “A Glass of Lemonade” by Terborch and “Breakfast” by Metsu were acquired. During this period, the Hermitage gradually transformed from the personal collection of paintings of the emperor into a museum. True, this was by no means a public gallery. To visit the Hermitage you need to take a special pass signed by the head of the court office. Even A.S. Pushkin received such a document only thanks to the patronage of the teacher of the royal children V.A. Zhukovsky.


Interiors of the New Hermitage in a watercolor by K. Ukhtomsky, 1856

An important turning point in the “democratization” of access to the Hermitage was the construction of the New Hermitage building, which was completed in 1856. This was the first purpose-built museum building in Russia. Already in 1852, the exhibition of the New Hermitage received its first visitors, and in 1866 access to the museum became open and... free. The cost of tickets was reimbursed by the Ministry of the Imperial Household. Of course, only the “European-style” public was allowed inside, which in itself closed access for representatives of the poorer strata of society.

After the revolution, the Hermitage Museum received valuable acquisitions, but at the same time suffered serious losses. The main museum of the country brought valuables expropriated from the private collections of Russian aristocrats and industrialists. At the same time, in the late 1920s, some of the Hermitage paintings were sold abroad to finance industrialization. And the collection of Russian paintings was transferred to the Russian Museum.

In the 1920s, the concepts of the Hermitage and the Winter Palace gradually became a single whole, as the museum received almost all the premises of the former royal residence to house its exhibitions.

After the Great Patriotic War, the collections and storerooms of the Hermitage were replenished with captured works of art taken from Germany as compensation for masterpieces destroyed by Nazi troops in Russia.

The legend of the gunsmith Tarasyuk

There are many interesting tales regarding the Winter Palace. The most banal of them are stories about the ghosts of Peter I, Nicholas I and Nicholas II regularly walking through the night halls of the Hermitage. There are legends about the underground passages of the Hermitage, which lead either to the Manege or to the Marble Palace.

Of all these legends, only one story is distinguished by its original content and dramatic plot. Allegedly, in the early 80s, the First Secretary of the Leningrad City Committee of the CPSU Grigory Romanov, a fierce enemy of the freedom-loving intelligentsia, planned to celebrate his daughter’s wedding in the Tauride Palace. To do this, the satrap demanded that the management of the Hermitage give him the ceremonial service of Catherine II for one hundred and forty-four persons. The director of the Hermitage, Boris Borisovich Piotrovsky, stated that the service could only be taken over his corpse, but when the KGB leadership reported that this could, in principle, be organized, Boris Borisovich went home and called in sick.

Employees of the city committee went to the Hermitage to pick up the service, and only one person stood in their way. It was an employee of the museum Tarasyuk. Dressed in medieval armor, he picked up a sword and menacingly advanced towards the uninvited guests. The cowardly agents of tyranny retreated in panic, but then one extremely sad event occurred for all honest museologists. Just at this time, at night, vicious dogs were released into the halls of the Hermitage. Tarasyuk was a weapons expert, but the armor he wore was intended for riding. When the scientist was already celebrating his victory, the evil dogs bit into his most vulnerable spot, unprotected by armor... Tarasyuk lost his courage, and the jubilant City Committee members took the service.

The further fate of the masterpiece was sad. When they shouted “Bitter!” at the wedding, the partycrats began to smash the precious dishes on the floor... However, Romanov did not get away with it. Because of this story, he was not made General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, instead of Mikhail Gorbachev.

Tarasyuk was fired from the Hermitage and left for Israel, where his traces were lost.

Fire in the Winter Palace K.Zh. Vernet


From fire to war

A symbolic milestone in the history of the Winter Palace was the catastrophic fire of 1837. Subsequently, the cause of the fire was identified as “an vent left unsealed during the last alteration of the large Field Marshal’s Hall”; the vent “was located in a chimney installed between the choir and the wooden vault of the Peter the Great Hall, located side-by-side with the Field Marshal’s Hall, and was located very close to the boards of the rear partition. On the day of the accident, it was thrown out of the chimney, after which the flame communicated through this vent to the boards of the choir and the vault of the Peter the Great Hall; wooden partitions provided him with abundant food in this place; along them the fire spread to the rafters. These huge rafters and supports, dried for 80 years by hot air under the iron roof heated by the summer heat, ignited instantly.”

The smell of smoke was noticed on the morning of December 17, but since no one could detect the source of the fire for a long time, taking the necessary measures was postponed until the evening. By that time, the internal ceilings of the Winter Palace were already on fire, and when firefighters broke open the walls, the flames burst out...

The Winter Palace burned for three days. During this time, all its interiors burned out. It was one of the largest fires in the history of St. Petersburg. The glow from the fire was visible several kilometers from the city. Only through the heroic efforts of soldiers and servants was it possible to save almost all of the palace furnishings and paintings. They were taken out into the street and stacked near the Alexander Column.

Immediately after the disaster, repair work began in the Winter Palace, led by architects V.P. Stasov and A.P. Bryullov. Emperor Nicholas I ordered them to “restore to their previous form” all the interiors of the palace. Let us immediately note that the architects coped with the responsible government task perfectly. The appearance of the former Winter Palace was restored in just two years.

In some halls, changes were nevertheless made with the consent of the sovereign. So Stasov increased the Armorial Hall to a thousand square meters and seriously changed its decoration.

After this renovation, the ceremonial interiors of the Winter Palace have survived to this day without significant changes. This really cannot be said about the living quarters of the palace. Only the Alexander and White halls, the staircase of the entrance to “Her Imperial Majesty”, the Rotunda, the Arab and Malachite halls have survived to us in the form as A.P. conceived them. Bryullov. Other living rooms of the palace were repeatedly rebuilt in accordance with the tastes of their owners. Of course, we can’t talk about any kind of artistic unity here, although the interiors of some of the private chambers are very interesting in themselves. Among them, it is worth noting the “Red Boudoir” of Empress Maria Alexandrovna, the “Golden Living Room” created by V.A. Schreiber and the personal library of Nicholas II (author A.F. Krasovsky).

Until the revolution, the Winter Palace continued to serve as a venue for the most important political events of Tsarist Russia. Receptions of foreign ambassadors, gala balls, receptions of loyal delegations, and opening ceremonies of the State Duma were held here. In difficult or solemn moments, crowds of loyal subjects rushed to this building. On January 9, 1905, columns of St. Petersburg workers moved to the Winter Palace, to the Tsar, asking for mercy and intercession. Unfortunately, there was no dialogue between the authorities and the people that day... But on August 1, 1914, a column of patriotic intelligentsia nevertheless reached Palace Square and fell to its knees in front of the adored monarch, who appeared on the balcony of the Winter Palace.

In the 19th century, once a year the doors of the Winter Palace opened to the residents of the capital. On January 1, a New Year's masquerade was held there. Moreover, not only nobles, but also “merchants, townspeople, shopkeepers, artisans of all kinds, even simple bearded peasants and serfs, decently dressed, could come to the royal house. All this was crowded and jostled along with the first ranks of the court, representatives of diplomacy and high society. Dressed up ladies, in diamonds and pearls, military and civilian star-bearers, and mixed with them tailcoats, frock coats and caftans. The sovereign and the royal family, with their numerous retinue, walking from one hall to another, sometimes could hardly pass through the crowd.” For many, this was a wonderful opportunity to refresh themselves: “In the halls there were many buffets with gold and silver dishes, with soft drinks of all kinds, excellent wines, beer, honey, kvass, with an abundance of dishes of all kinds, from the most refined to the common... A crowd around the buffets gave way to a crowd as they emptied and filled up again. At such annual holidays, sometimes from 25 to 30 thousand people came to the Winter Palace. Foreigners could not marvel at the order and decorum of the crowd, and the trust of the sovereign in his subjects, who crowded around him with love, devotion and a sense of self-satisfaction for 5 or 6 hours. Not the slightest etiquette was observed here, and at the same time no one abused their proximity to the royal person.”

But as a royal residence, the Winter Palace was used less and less. It turned out that in the new historical realities, the huge building does not meet safety requirements well. And not only fire protection. On February 5, 1880, Narodnaya Volya member Stepan Khalturin, carrying 30 kilograms of dynamite into the Winter Palace, caused an explosion under the dining room where Emperor Alexander II was supposed to have lunch. The Emperor miraculously was not injured. 11 soldiers of the Life Guards of the Finnish Regiment were killed.

After the People's Volunteers finally killed Alexander II in 1881, the new tsar, Alexander III, chose to live in the safety of Gatchina, and visit the Winter Palace on a rotational basis. Only when Nicholas II ascended the throne, the august family returned to the banks of the Neva again. True, after the start of the 1905 revolution, the Winter Palace looked more like a fortified camp. In addition to the Tsar, some key figures of the regime also lived there - for example, Prime Minister Stolypin. Only there could they feel safe. Nicholas II himself, following the example of his father, spent more and more time in Pushkin’s Alexander Palace.

With the outbreak of World War I, life in the Winter Palace underwent new changes. The imperial family appeared within the old walls less and less often. In 1915, a number of palace halls were allocated for a hospital.

Winter Palace in the 20th century

After the February Revolution of 1917, the Extraordinary Commission of the Provisional Government to investigate the crimes of tsarism worked for some time in the premises of the Winter Palace, and from the summer of 1917, the Provisional Government itself “moved in” to the former royal chambers. Newspapers wrote malicious articles about A.F. Kerensky blissfully in the bed of Nicholas II. All palace valuables and Hermitage collections were sent to Moscow and hidden in the building of the Historical Museum.

On the night of October 25-26, 1917, the Winter Palace became the scene of historical events. The forces of the military-revolutionary committee, the Petrograd Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies, after a series of short skirmishes, captured the former royal residence and arrested the ministers of the Provisional Government. The tabloid press was filled with chilling articles about the destruction of the palace interiors by wild crowds of workers and peasants and the sad fate of the women's shock battalion, whose fighters faced a fate worse than death. However, it should be noted that the scientific literature does not confirm this information.

Three days after the arrest of the Provisional Government, the new Soviet authorities took the Winter Palace under protection as a cultural monument. However, at first it was used for a variety of purposes. The huge building housed the Museum of the Revolution, a reception center for prisoners of war of the old army, a headquarters for organizing mass celebrations, and even a cinema. Only in 1922 did all the premises of the Winter Palace begin to be gradually transferred to the Hermitage.

At the same time, work began on the redevelopment of the former residential and service rooms of the Hermitage. On the ground floor, the Rastrelli Gallery was restored; instead of 65 rooms of the maid of honor, 17 original halls were recreated.

Vegetable gardens on the territory of the Winter Palace during the siege

During the Great Patriotic War, the Winter Palace was seriously damaged. German bombs and shells damaged the Jordan Stairs, the Small Throne (Peter's) Hall, and the Armorial Hall. The restoration of these objects took a long time after the war. The most valuable exhibits were evacuated to Sverdlovsk. In the courtyard of the Winter Palace there was a vegetable garden where vegetables were grown.

In subsequent decades, the Winter Palace-Hermitage became one of the largest museums on the planet. It houses up to three million unique works of art. Every year the Winter Palace is visited by millions of tourists and St. Petersburg residents.

6

Back in 1752, F. B. Rastrelli drew up several projects for the reconstruction of the existing Winter Palace from the time of Anna Ioannovna. These projects clearly showed that the possibilities for expanding the previous building had been completely exhausted. In 1754, the final decision was made to build a new palace on the same site.

In terms of size and splendor of architectural decoration, it was supposed to surpass all previous imperial palaces in St. Petersburg and become a symbol of the wealth and power of the Russian state. Empress Elizaveta Petrovna especially noted, addressing the Senate through the architect F.B. Rastrelli: “The construction of that stone Winter Palace was built for the glory of the All-Russian Empire and, due to the circumstances, the Governing Senate should in all cases constantly try to ensure that it is built without ceasing towards the end."

The new Winter Palace was conceived in the form of a closed quadrangle with an extensive front courtyard. The northern facade of the palace was facing the Neva, the western - towards the Admiralty. In front of the southern façade, F. B. Rastrelli designed a large square, in the center of which he proposed to install an equestrian statue of Peter I, sculpted by the father of the architect Bartolomeo Carlo Rastrelli. A semicircular square was also planned in front of the eastern facade of the Winter Palace, from the side of the modern Small Hermitage. These plans were not implemented.

The construction of the grandiose building lasted 12 years. During this period, the imperial court moved to a temporary wooden Winter Palace built on Nevsky Prospekt. During the warm season, the Summer Palace served as the capital's imperial residence.

On the eve of Easter 1762, the solemn consecration of the house church of the Winter Palace took place, marking the end of construction, although many rooms still remained unfinished. Elizaveta Petrovna did not have the chance to live in the new palace - she died in December 1761. Emperor Peter III moved into the palace.

During the reign of Catherine II, part of the interiors of the Winter Palace was decorated in accordance with new artistic tastes. Changes and additions were made in the 1st third of the 19th century. A devastating fire in 1837 destroyed the magnificent interior decoration to the ground. Its restoration in 1838-1839 was carried out by architects V.P. Stasov and A.P. Bryullov.

The Winter Palace belongs to one of the most outstanding works of Russian Baroque. The three-story building is divided into two tiers by an entablature. The facades are decorated with columns of the Ionic and Composite order; the columns of the upper tier unite the second (front) and third floors.

The complex rhythm of the columns, the richness and variety of forms of the platbands (one can count two dozen of their types), abundant stucco molding, many decorative vases and statues on the parapets and pediments create the decorative decoration of the palace, which is extraordinary in splendor and splendor. The bright contrasting colors of the walls and architectural decorations enhance the overall picturesque impression. Its original color scheme was somewhat different compared to the modern one - the palace was “painted on the outside: the walls were sandy paint with the thinnest yellow, and the ornaments were white lime.”

The southern façade of the palace is cut through by three entrance arches leading to the front courtyard. In the center of the northern building there was a central entrance. Through the long vestibule one could go to the main Jordan staircase, which occupied an entire risalit in the north-eastern corner of the building. On the second floor, along the Neva façade from the staircase, there was a solemn enfilade, closing with the grandiose Throne Hall. None of the existing halls of the Winter Palace can compare with its size: F. B. Rastrelli, while maintaining the width of the Throne Hall from the time of Anna Ioannovna (28 meters), increased its length to 49 meters.

Along the eastern facade from the Jordan Staircase there was a second enfilade, ending with the palace church. Behind the church, in the southeastern risalit, Elizabeth Petrovna’s personal apartments were planned.

All of Rastrelli's interiors were destroyed in a fire in 1837. By special order of Nicholas I, the Jordan Staircase and the palace church were restored to their original form. The latter suffered again in Soviet times - in 1938 the magnificent carved iconostasis was dismantled. The interior of the church was restored in 2014.

Nowadays the building of the Winter Palace belongs to the State Hermitage, where the museum’s exhibitions are located.