Catherine Palace architecture. Landscape Park, Tsarskoe Selo

Photo - Mary, 10.2015.

Catherine Park .

Grand Palace

Catherine Park, 1 - Sadovaya St., 9

Pam. arch. (feral)

The first two-story stone palace

1718-1724 arch. Johann Braunstein

New Palace

1743 - architect. Zemtsov M. G. - project

1743 - architect. Kvasov Andrey - reworked project

1745 - architect. Chevakinsky S.I. -

Grand Palace

1752-1756 - Rastrelli F.-B. baroque

Palace Church

State Museum-Reserve "Tsarskoe Selo".

Catherine Palace

In the center of the architectural and park ensemble of the city of Pushkin there is a huge building of the Catherine Palace. In front of its eastern and western facades are the oldest parts of the Catherine and Alexander parks with a symmetrical layout. These rugular parks develop into extensive landscape parks created later. The palace and park complex was created over two centuries.

Grand Palace in Tsarskoe Selo.
Middle house superstructure project. 1st option.
Facade from the front yard.

2nd option. S.T. Chevakinsky according to the project
F.-B. Rastrelli. 1749-1750

Copy of the first page XIX century (.P.76-80.)

F.-B. Rastrelli.
Plan of the 1st and 2nd floors.

1st floor plan.

View. Grand Palace.
kart. F. G. Barisien. 1760-1761.

Palace in Tsarskoe Selo.

Facade of the Catherine Palace
(from the side of the square).
Hood. V. Sadovnikov. ([*].C.)

Old postcard.

1912

Church interior

E.P. Gau, "The Church in
Bolshoi
Tsarskoye Selo
palace", 1860s,
watercolor.

1911 Church choirs

• Pre-church hall

At the beginning of the 18th century. on a high hill 25 versts from St. Petersburg in the territory of what is now Catherine Park there was a small estate surrounded by forests. In Finnish it was called Saari mojs, Swedish. Sarishoff - “manor on an elevated place”, in Russian - Sarskaya manor. The estate stood on the former Novgorod land, captured in the 17th century. by the Swedes and returned at the beginning of the Northern War (1700-1712).

To develop the area around the construction of St. Petersburg, Peter I initially gave the Sarskaya manor to the governor-general of the liberated region A.D. Menshikov. Later, in 1710, by decree of the emperor, the Sarskaya manor (together with 43 assigned villages and lands) was donated to Martha Skavronskaya, who became his wife in 1712 under the name of Ekaterina Alekseevna.

In 1718-1724. according to the project of the architect. Johann Braunstein built the first two-story stone palace here with rusticated corners and modest architraves - “stone chambers with sixteen rooms.” The palace was painted with red lead and covered with shingles. In front of the palace, a garden was laid out on raised earthen ledges. Behind the garden there were greenhouses and greenhouses. On the western side there was the Menagerie - a fenced area of ​​forest in which moose, cabbage and hares were kept for the royal hunt. A village, brick and tile factories, lime kiln sheds and other outbuildings appeared around the manor.
In 1724, a celebration was held in the new “chambers”, this emphasized the importance of the new palace estate, which soon began to be called Saarsky Selo, then Tsarskoye Selo.

During the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna, large construction began in Tsarskoe Selo. In 1743, by order of Elizabeth, Arch. M. G. Zemtsov developed a project for a new, large palace, but it remained unfulfilled due to the death of the author. In the same year, the project was approved, revised by Andrei Kvasov, who had “a slight excess compared to the previous one.” The reconstruction of the Tsarskoye Selo palace according to this project began in 1744 and continued until 1748.

Since 1745, architect. S.I. Chevakinsky took part in the design and supervised the construction and finishing work. The task of the architect. complicating the order of the Empress to preserve the old house by making extensions to it. an old house was included in the central building of the palace, its facades received a new finish. The palace, created according to the design of Kavos and Chevakinsky, consisted of three buildings, a church and a greenhouse hall, connected by galleries. It was decorated with stucco on the outside and "plaster and carved work" on the inside.

The huge front courtyard on the western facade of the palace was surrounded by service wings located in a semicircle.

Further reconstruction of the palace was carried out by the architect. V.V. Rastrelli (1700-1771). In 1752, by decree of Elizabeth, relatively small palace buildings with discreet decorations were replaced by buildings of enormous size, with magnificent, ceremonial decoration of facades in the Baroque style. In 1752-1756, Rastrelli rebuilt the Grand Palace and, preserving the basic principles of the original layout of the entire ensemble as a whole, created a brilliant country residence.

The palace was built on. Its main facade, more than 300 m long, received a rich architectural treatment - a huge number of columns, pilasters and sculptures. The walls of the palace were painted azure, and the stucco decorations were covered with gilding. Between the palace church and the northern wing, Rastrelli left an open gallery, arranging there hanging garden. The front yard was decorated with openwork gates, forged from iron by masters of the Sestroretsk factory and trimmed with gold. In 1751-1752 wooden lattice fences were replaced by a high stone fence with a gate according to Rasterelli's design. In 1754-1757. near the palace, on the site of the current Granite terrace, the building of the Rolling Hill was built according to the designs of A.K. Nartov and Rastrelli.

In 1746, the foundation of the palace church was founded, which was initially planned as a separate building. By the autumn of 1746, the circumferential wings were completed - one-story auxiliary premises located in an arc on the north-western side of the palace. The old stone chambers, topped with a new cornice and roof, increased in façade and height. From that time on, the chambers of Catherine I began to be called the Middle House.

Since 1748, construction work was headed by B.-F. Rastrelli, appointed chief architect of the palace. He developed his plan for the Great Tsarskoye Selo Palace and Park and began a new reconstruction. All parts of the palace, previously connected by passage galleries, were united into an integral array. The middle house and side wings were built on a third floor, the facades of the palace received a new architectural treatment.

On July 30, 1756, a gala reception was held in Tsarskoe Selo to mark the completion of the construction of the Grand Palace.
The regular part of the Catherine Park went down the hill in terraces. In the 18th century this area of ​​the park was called the Old Garden.

Inside the palace, a suite of vast state halls with various artistic decorations appeared. To decorate the palace, 6 poods 17 pounds 2 spools of red gold (about 100 kg) were used.
The palace became the center of a huge royal estate. In addition to the Old Garden (later Catherine Park), between the front yard and the Menagerie, the New Garden was laid out at that time (on the territory of Alexander Park). The author of the garden project is unknown. Both parks had a regular layout. The arrangement of alleys, ponds, and bosquets was strictly symmetrical. Skillfully trimmed bushes and trees formed walls and niches in which statues were installed. There were many “garden ideas” in the park - figured ponds, sculptures, architectural structures, pavilions created according to the design of the architect. Rastrelli. Work on the creation of the palace and parks lasted 4 years. Rastrelli was helped by architect. assistants V.I. Neelov and A.I. Mylnikov, who made the drawings. Leaf gold was supplied by Moscow “leaf” craftsmen. The large sums of money needed for the construction of the royal residence were provided by the “salt commissariat” - the sale of salt taken into the treasury.

New palace and park ensemble, built towards the end of 1756, aroused universal admiration. In 1755, the Amber Cabinet was moved here from the Third Winter Palace. Tsarskoe Selo became the site of official ceremonial receptions for the Russian nobility and representatives of foreign states. Important state issues were also resolved here. During the Seven Years' War (1756-1763) meetings were held here.

Under Catherine II, Tsarskoe Selo retained its significance as a ceremonial residence. During this period, the appearance of the palace changed somewhat: due to the transfer of the main staircase to the center of the building, the dome that towered in the southern part of the palace was destroyed, the dilapidated gilded wooden statues were removed, and the gilded stucco decorations were painted over with ocher.

Church of the Resurrection of Christ.

The author of the palace church project was the architect S.I. Chevakinsky. The ceremonial foundation stone of the church, located in the northern part of the palace, took place on August 8, 1746 in the presence of Elizaveta Petrovna, the heir of Peter Fedorovich and his wife Ekaterina Alekseevna.

The six-tiered carpentry iconostasis, decorated with gilded columns and pilasters, was created according to the design of F.-B. Rastrelli, and the carving work was entrusted to the best court master Johann Duncker. The picturesque ceiling depicting the Ascension of the Lord was executed by the artist Giuseppe Valeriani, who painted it for several years from 1749. In the same year, the Empress also established the color (dark blue Prussian blue) in which the church was to be painted in its final form.

The palace church, crowned with five gilded domes, was consecrated on July 30, 1756 in the name of the Resurrection of Christ by Archbishop of St. Petersburg and Shlisselburg Sylvester (Kulyabka) in the presence of the Empress. The unusually luxurious decoration of the temple was one of the best examples of the Elizabethan era. All the icons in the church, including those on the walls of the temple, in the altar and in the choir (there were 114 in total), were cut into the walls and covered with gilded frames. In the altar, above the altar, towered a huge carved gilded canopy on eight columns. The choirs and the rooms below them were separated from the church by a wall. The Empress and her Court were in the choir during services.

On May 12, 1820, the church burned down as a result of a fire, and most of the icons in it were destroyed. The domes restored after the fire by V.P. Stasov were somewhat different from the original ones and, as contemporaries noted, were less consistent with the appearance of the palace. The huge picturesque ceiling, repeating the work of Valeriyani, was painted anew by the artist V.K. Shebuev. The new lampshade in the altar, “The Glory of the Holy Spirit,” was painted in 1822 by the artist Dmitry Antonelli using plaster. In the choir room there is a new lampshade depicting St. Faith, Hope, Love and their mother Sophia, was started in 1823 by the court painter Otto Ignatius, and completed due to the death of the latter by Gustavus Gippius. The restoration of most of the icons was undertaken by D. Antonelli. The remaining icons were painted anew by A. E. Egorov, professor Andrei Ivanov and painter I. F. Tupylev. During the fire, the frames were removed and saved. The church, restored after the fire, was re-consecrated on April 2, 1822 by Archbishop Jonah (Pavlinsky) of Tver and Kashin in the presence of Alexander I.

On the night of June 16, 1863, a fire occurred in the palace church again, completely destroying all the domes, but this time most of the images and church utensils were saved. Miraculously, the lampshade of the artist V.K. Shebuev also survived. Plafond in the altar of Dm. Antonelli died, but was re-painted on canvas by Academician Belloni. Restored within a year, the church was re-consecrated on October 27, 1864 by the confessor of the Imperial Family, Protopresbyter Vasily Bazhanov, in the presence of Alexander II. The domes of the palace church, restored by the architect Alexander Fomich Vidov, this time were more consistent with the style of “Elizabethan Baroque”.

Despite all the damage sustained during the fires, by the twentieth century the palace church had largely retained its original appearance, which it had during the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna.

The church was officially closed on May 22, 1922, although services there ceased back in 1917. On June 9, 1918, a museum was opened in the Catherine Palace. During the Great Patriotic War, German troops set up a garage in the church premises, and its interior was looted or severely damaged; 98 icons remaining in the church were stolen. By 1944, only remnants of the famous lampshade remained. As a result of the counter-offensive of the Soviet troops, the palace building was partially destroyed by direct hits from shells.

After the October social Revolution in 1918, Tsarskoye Selo palaces and parks were taken under state protection. They became historical and art museums and places of recreation. At the beginning of the Second World War, the most valuable exhibits were evacuated, and park sculptures were buried in the park. During the occupation, palaces and parks were badly damaged. After the liberation of the city in January 1944, work began almost immediately on clearing the park and conserving the Catherine Palace and pavilions. In June 1945, Catherine Park was opened, and in the spring of 1946, Alexandrovsky Park. After the war, thousands of trees were planted in the park and cleared Big pond, the facades of the pavilions of the Catherine Park and a significant part of the park sculpture were restored.

Restoration work of the Catherine Palace began in 1957. The work was carried out by the Special Research and Restoration Production Workshops of the Main Architectural and Planning Department and the Fasadremstroy Trust. The author of the restoration project is architect. A. A. Kedrinsky. The facades of the palace were restored as close as possible to their appearance in the 18th century, later layers were removed. The destroyed porch of the front entrance from the side of the palace square, built in the mid-19th century, has been removed. In its place, a porch was recreated according to Rastrelli's drawings. The cartouches of the original design are reproduced in the pediments of the middle house. Already in 1958, part of the premises on the second floor was used for exhibitions. In 1959, the first restored palace halls opened. The regular part of the park in front of the palace has been recreated in its original form.

In the 1950s in the central part of the palace there was a museum; in the side wings there were: the All-Union Museum of A.S. Pushkin, a children's music school and a one-day recreation center. At this time, the park facade of the palace was partially hidden behind tall trees.

In January 1983, the palace and park ensemble of the city of Pushkin was given the status of a nature reserve, which in 1990 received its current name: the Tsarskoye Selo State Museum-Reserve.
In 1989, the palaces and parks of the ensembles of the city of Pushkin were included in the list world heritage UNESCO.

Restoration work continues in the halls of the Catherine Palace. From 2010 to 2013, restoration work was carried out at the Agate Companies, using conservation and restoration techniques with minimal replacement of losses (in accordance with the Venice Charter for the Conservation and Restoration of Monuments and Sites).

History of the construction of the Catherine Palace

Construction of the palace began in 1717, and for almost 300 years it has been the main attraction of the city of Pushkin and, together with the Catherine Park, occupies its central part. The first architect brought in was Johann-Friedrich Braunstein. By 1724, the palace was a two-story small building, and was called the “stone chambers of Catherine I.”

During the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna, it was decided to expand the palace. The reconstruction of the building began in 1743 and lasted 13 years, during which one architect replaced another. In 1748, Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli took the position of chief architect of Tsarskoe Selo. Having led the construction of the Catherine Palace, Rastrelli attached paramount importance to the reconstruction of wooden galleries into full-story structures. Thanks to his work, the palace became the first place in Russia where the length of the enfilade was equal to the length of the entire building.

The architect adopts unusual and bold color solutions for Russia at that time and actively uses sky blue in combination with white and gold. In 1760-1770 The reconstruction of the palace began to suit the tastes of its new owner, Catherine II. The ornate decoration of the façade was removed, the stucco decorations disappeared, and the gilding was replaced with paint. The architect Charles Cameron created new interiors of the palace: the Arabesque and Lyon drawing rooms, the Bedchamber. Unfortunately, during the war they were destroyed and have not yet been restored.

Parks were laid out at the same time as the palace. The landscape park became part of the panorama, and the regular park was laid out with ledges on the slope in the form of terraces. There are many pavilions and sculptures in the park, but its main decoration is the Hermitage, Grotto, Upper and Lower Baths.

In 1817, the architect V. Stasov created the State Office and several adjacent rooms for Emperor Alexander I in memory of the brilliant victories in the Patriotic War of 1812. In 1863, the Grand Staircase was created in the style of the “second Rococo”.

Exhibition rooms of the Catherine Palace:

• Throne room,
• White formal dining room,
• Raspberry and Green Pillar,
• Amber Room (the best craftsmen from different countries worked on its creation for 5 years),
• Picture Hall (it presents more than 100 paintings from the works of Western European masters of painting of the 17th - early 18th centuries of various national schools),
• Green dining room,
• Waitress,
• Bedchamber

Modern times

During the Great Patriotic War, most of the decoration of the palace was destroyed and looted, including the famous Amber Room. Today, thanks to the colossal work of scientists and restorers, much has been restored. Of the 58 rooms of the palace destroyed during the war, 32 have been restored.

• The central building of the palace is decorated with caryatids, Atlases, cartouches and mascarons
• The main pediment of the Middle House is decorated with cartouches with the monogram of Empress Catherine I “E” and a crown
• In 1756, all sculptural elements of the palace decoration were covered with gold. About 100 kilograms of pure red gold were used for gilding
• The most famous hall of the palace is the Amber Room.
• Over 130 paintings are in the Picture Hall

Editorial staff of the website Pushkin.ru

Catherine Palace is one of the largest.

- former imperial palace. Is located in modern city Pushkin (formerly Tsarskoe Selo), 25 kilometers south of St. Petersburg. The city of Pushkin itself is part of the Pushkinsky district of St. Petersburg.

The exhibition of the Catherine Palace (until 1910 - the Great Tsarskoye Selo) Palace Museum covers the almost 300-year history of the outstanding monument and introduces the work of the architects who participated in its construction and decoration in XVIII-XIX centuries, as well as with the achievements of restorers who revived the palace after the Great Patriotic War. Of the 58 halls of the palace destroyed during the war, 32 have been recreated.

In 1717, when St. Petersburg was created on the banks of the Neva, in Tsarskoye Selo under the leadership of the architect I.F. Braunstein began the construction of the first stone royal house, which went down in history under the name “stone chambers”. In August 1724, to mark the completion of construction, a celebration was held in the palace, during which “13 cannons were fired three times.” The Tsar and major statesmen were present at the celebration. At that time, the palace was a small two-story building typical of Russian architecture of the early 18th century.

During the reign, at the end of 1742 - beginning of 1743, it was decided to expand the building according to the design of M. G. Zemtsov (1688-1743), but the death of the architect prevented the implementation of the plan. After Zemtsov, work in Tsarskoye Selo was carried out by A. V. Kvasov (1720 - after 1770) and his assistant G. Trezzini (1697-1768), but already in May 1745 Trezzini was replaced by the famous architect S. I. Chevakinsky (1713-1780) , who supervised construction in Tsarskoye Selo until the early 1750s.

From the end of 1748 to 1756, the construction of the Tsarskoye Selo residence was headed by the chief architect of the imperial court, F.B. Rastrelli (1700-1761). On May 10, 1752, Elizaveta Petrovna signed a decree on a major reconstruction of the old building, and already on July 30, 1756, Rastrelli demonstrated his new creation to the crowned customer and foreign ambassadors.

The palace, built in the Baroque style, delighted with its size, powerful spatial dynamics and “picturesque” decor. The wide azure ribbon of the facade with snow-white columns and gilded ornaments looked festive.

Rastrelli decorated the palace facades with figures of Atlanteans, caryatids, lion masks and other stucco decorations made according to the models of the sculptor I.F. Duncker (1718-1795). The five gilded domes of the Palace Church rose above the northern building, and above the southern one, where the front porch was located, a dome with a multi-pointed star on the spire. About 100 kilograms of red gold were spent on gilding the external and internal decorations. At the same time, the parade ground was finally decorated, fenced with palace wings and single-story service buildings located in a semicircle - circumferences.

Rastrelli decorated the palace apartments just as luxuriously. The Front Enfilade he created, decorated with gilded carvings, was called “golden”. The enfilade arrangement of halls, unknown in Russia until the mid-18th century, was introduced by Rastrelli in other palaces, but only in Tsarskoye Selo the length of the front rooms was equal to the length of the entire building - from the Main Staircase to the Palace Church.

The next stage in the design of the palace's state and residential halls dates back to the 1770s. The new owner of the residence, passionate about ancient art, wanted to decorate her apartments in accordance with fashionable tastes and entrusted their decoration to the Scottish architect, an expert on ancient architecture, Charles Cameron (1743-1812). The interiors he created - Arabesque and Lyon living rooms, Chinese hall, Domed dining room, Silver cabinet, Blue cabinet (Snuffbox) and Bedchamber - were distinguished by their refined beauty, severity of decorative design and special elegance of decoration. Unfortunately, these halls were destroyed during the Great Patriotic War and have not yet been restored.

The rooms intended for Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich (the future Emperor Paul I) and his wife, designed by Charles Cameron in the same years, have now been recreated: the Green Dining Room, the Waiter's Room, the State Blue Room, the Chinese Blue Room and the Bedchamber allow you to get acquainted with the unique interiors created by Scottish architect, whose work was so loved by Catherine II.

In 1817, by order (1769-1848), he created the State Office and several adjacent rooms, decorated in the same style - everything in these rooms was dedicated to the glorification of the brilliant victories won by the Russian army in the Patriotic War of 1812.

The final chord in the palace enfilade was the Grand Staircase, created in 1860-1863 by I. A. Monighetti (1819-1878) in the “second Rococo” style.

Grand Catherine Palace April 1st, 2013

The main attraction of Tsarskoye Selo (now known as Pushkin) is, without a doubt, the Great Catherine Palace - one of the largest in the vicinity of St. Petersburg. Millions of tourists visit it every year, so it was simply impossible not to visit the former imperial residence. We will not just look at the palace from the outside, but also look inside, where the simply luxurious royal living rooms and halls have been restored.


The palace was founded in 1717 under the leadership of the German architect I.F. Braunstein as the summer residence of Empress Catherine I.


In 1743, Empress Elizaveta Petrovna commissioned Russian architects M. Zemtsov and A. V. Kvasov to expand and improve the palace. It was under Elizabeth Petrovna that the palace acquired its current appearance and style.

In 1752, she commissioned the architect B.F. Rastrelli to rebuild the palace again, because she considered it too old-fashioned and small.


After dismantling, grandiose reconstruction and construction work, which lasted 4 years, and appeared modern palace, made in the Russian Baroque style.


On July 30, 1756, a presentation of the palace to Russian nobles and foreign guests took place.

During the German occupation, the palace and surrounding buildings were badly damaged, many were looted. Now millions of tourists from all over the world come to see the restored palace and park ensemble. On a summer day there are unusually many of them here. To get inside, I had to stand in line for a couple of hours.


Price entrance ticket is 320 rubles - in addition to the excursion, which is offered for this money, this also includes photography.


A group of Asian tourists are photographed in front of the palace:


The first place we come to after passing through the turnstiles is the Grand Staircase. It occupies the entire height and width of the palace and is illuminated from the east and west by windows located in three tiers.




The main staircase divides the recreated halls into two parts. First we will go to the Great Hall. In front of it is the Cavalier Dining Room:





Multi-tiered tiled stove in the Cavalier Dining Room. Similar stoves, created according to sketches by F.B. Rastrelli, were an integral part of all the halls of the palace’s front suite.




The Great Hall, or the Light Gallery, as it was called in the 18th century, is the largest front room of the palace. It was intended for holding official receptions and celebrations, ceremonial dinners, balls and masquerades. One way view:


And the view in the opposite direction:






Window Great Hall, occupying the entire width of the palace, overlook both sides. From this window you can see the courtyard:


Let's go again through the Grand Staircase to the other half of the palace.

The White State Dining Room was once intended for ceremonial dinners and “evening meals” of the Empress in a narrow circle of those close to her.







A string of doorways typical of palaces of those times:


Raspberry and Green Pillar:








In the Portrait Hall:


Next is the famous Amber Room. Since filming was strictly prohibited there, we only managed to take a shot from the next room. Yes, everything glitters there, everything is great, but there was nothing supernatural there:


The Picture Hall serves its intended purpose - here a large number of paintings from the 18th century.






Adjacent to the Picture Hall is the Small White Dining Room, from which the personal chambers of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, and later Catherine II, began, who in turn passed them on to her beloved grandson, Grand Duke Alexander Pavlovich, the future Emperor Alexander I.




The Chinese living room of Alexander I belonged to the personal imperial chambers.





Portrait of Alexander I himself by the artist D. Dow:

The pantry belonged to the personal chambers of the Empress and until 1761 formed part of the Dressing Room on the half of Elizabeth Petrovna. In the middle of the 19th century, the room was divided by a white damask partition, behind which a service buffet was set up for serving tables during receptions.




A table similar in shape to the bean in the Pantry:


The Green Dining Room begins the private chambers in the northern part of the palace, created in the 1770s by decree of Catherine II for Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich (future Emperor Paul I) and his first wife Natalya Alekseevna:




The tour of the palace ends in the Waiter's Room - one of office premises building:





From the Waiter's Room I got to the Church (Stasovskaya) staircase, which was built in 1843-1846 by the architect V.P. Stasov. It received the name Tserkovnaya due to its proximity to the hall leading to the Palace Church. But they didn’t take me there - I just went down to the first floor, where the exit was.


But before we left, we were taken through a gallery with photographs of the palace in different eras his stories:


This is what the Great Catherine Palace looked like after the defeat by the German occupiers:


And the palace looks so magnificent after more than half a century, which cannot but rejoice:


The palace itself is located in a fairly large park, which we will look at in the next part of my story.

To be continued...