Winter Palace story for children. Winter Palace

Story Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, like many other buildings in this city, begins during the reign of Tsar Peter I. In 1711, something like a winter residence was built for the tsar, which they called the Winter Palace. It was tiny with a tiled roof and a high porch with steps. The history of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg is quite multi-stage and interesting. Well, it's time to start this historic voyage.

Second Winter Palace

Years passed, the city grew rapidly, and more and more people close to the emperor (that is, the king) began to build their own estates in St. Petersburg. of course, he also wanted a splendid holiday home. This is how the famous Winter Palaces of St. Petersburg appeared. The second palace was built right next to the first one according to the project of the architect I. Matarnovi. The palace was only slightly larger than the first, but it was built of stone, but its greatest notability is that it was here that Tsar Peter I died in 1725. Information about the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg has been preserved so reliably that any tourist can personally look at the place of death of the king.

Third Winter Palace

The architect D. Trezzini took up the modernization of the second Winter Palace almost immediately after the death of the king. The building turned out to be really big and majestic. The second Winter Palace became the western wing, and the Hermitage Theater is now located on the site of the main premises of the third. A lot can be said about the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, and this is only a small part of the whole great story.

fourth palace

Historians associate the fourth palace with Ioannovna. The fastidious Empress was unhappy that some Admiral Apraksin's palace was larger and richer than hers... However, it was not big enough and beautiful enough for Her Majesty. The architect F. Rastrelli solved this problem in the following way: he added a long building to the existing third palace. This building was called the Fourth Winter Palace in St. Petersburg. Short description buildings are as follows: a grandiose palace with two beautiful facades. Rastrelli was a truly talented architect.

Fifth and sixth milestone

The Fifth Palace was just a temporary, not very lush wooden haven, which, moreover, was located far from it. But the Sixth Palace was truly indescribably grandiose. In general, all the Winter Palaces in St. Petersburg were innovative for their time. This time, the chief architect faced an almost invincible task: to develop a project for the palace and bring it to life in two years! Such was the whim of the then Empress Elizabeth!

Thousands of artisans, painters, foundry workers and many others worked on the sixth palace. Huge areas and resources were allocated for the needs of construction. But the chief engineer F. Rastrelli understood that he could not manage in two years, and constantly asked for an extension of the term. In the end, with great difficulty, he managed to obtain from the Empress an extension for a year.

The creative genius of F. Rastrelli

In the end, a full-fledged Winter Palace in St. Petersburg turned out. A brief description of it is as follows: the gigantic dimensions of the Palace had two facades: one overlooked the square, the other - to the Neva. In the warm seasons, the palace is reflected in the waters of the river, which greatly increases the effect.

The ingenious F. Rastrelli perfectly thought out the internal layout of the palace. It consisted of three floors. On the first one were service premises, on the second - front halls and two temples, and the third floor was allocated entirely for the courtiers. In general, there were 460 different rooms in the palace, which were distinguished by stunning decoration. Perhaps it is thanks to the creative research of F. Rastrelli that we can safely say that the key attraction of St. Petersburg is the Winter Palace.

The death of the empress and the new owner of the palace

Empress Elizabeth, apparently, subconsciously felt the impending death, so she wanted the project of her palace to be completed as quickly as possible. However, she died in the temporary fifth wooden palace without ever seeing her Winter Palace.

In 1761, the palace was “captured” by Tsar Peter III. He was extremely pleased with such a work of architectural art and decided to honor F. Rastrelli with the rank of major general. However, Catherine II, who ascended the throne in 1962, ruined the career of the great architect, and he had to emigrate to Italy, where he also continued to work in his specialty.

A little about the construction process

As mentioned above, thousands of serfs were involved in the construction. Only a tiny fraction of them were given the right to spend the night and live in the premises of the Winter Palace, while the majority were located in huts right on the Admiralty meadows. The sellers in that part of the city, seeing all this excitement, inflated the prices of food, and deducted the payment for food from the salaries of the workers. It often happened that a worker remained indebted to his employer after paying his salary. They say that some masons even starved to death, the conditions were so brutal. Winter palaces of St. Petersburg, like the Great Chinese wall, demanded a fair share of resources from the state. At that time, Russia was at war with Prussia, there was no one to forge tools, because most of the blacksmiths were involved in the construction of the Winter Palace.

The construction of the Winter Palace cost about 2.5 million rubles, and in those days the ruble was a very valuable currency.

Fire in the Winter Palace

In 1837, a terrible bad weather happened - the beautiful Winter Palace flared up! The cause of the disaster was a broken chimney. The scale of the fire was truly colossal - for 30 hours it was put out by several battalions of guards regiments, two companies of palace firefighters, a company of palace grenadiers and hundreds more "combat units". In an attempt to save the property of the palace, the soldiers desperately blocked the doors with bricks, trying to stop the fire, dismantled the roof in parts to be able to pour water from above, but this did not bring any actual benefit.

Palace restoration

When the fire finally subsided, only the walls and vaults of the first floor could be recognized - everything else was deformed beyond recognition. In 1837, they were started, which ended only three years later (recall that during the same time the Winter Palace was built from scratch). And this despite the fact that 10 thousand workers participated in the work every day. A huge amount of time has passed since the initial design of the palace, a significant part of the drawings was lost, and the then architects had to improvise. As a result, the winter palaces of St. Petersburg have been significantly transformed, acquiring the features of modern architecture. So, in fact, the "seventh version" of the palace appeared. The description of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg is as follows: a white-green appearance with a huge number of columns and occasional gold ornaments.

Electrification and internal modernization

In the time period of 1869-1888, the palaces were modernized in every possible way: they installed telephones, electrified, gasified, and installed water pipes. By the way, for the electrification of the Winter Palace, a power plant was built on its second floor, which for 15 years was considered the largest in Europe.

Under the influence of various fashions, the palace was repeatedly subjected to modernization of the interior and painting of the walls. There is no such color on the spectrum of the rainbow that the Winter Palace was not painted in its time. For example, during the Second World War, the palace had a martial rich red color.

Winter Palace today

This is where the story of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg comes to an end. Now it exists in alliance with the theaters adjacent to it and together with them forms a single complex "State Hermitage Museum". This is the last, eighth version. The idle and incredibly refined view gives the right to confidently declare that the key attraction of St. Petersburg is the Winter Palace.

Now the magnificent Winter Palace is open for visits and historical tours. The description of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg from the lips of an experienced historian is truly fascinating. Tourists have the right to admire the beautifully finished St. George's Throne Hall, the Golden Living Room or the elegant Boudoir, replete with a huge number of mirrors and gold ornaments. Also worth seeing is the Malachite Living Room with rich green columns and the majestic concert hall. It also has an art gallery with many original works.

Perhaps the most visited attraction in the northern capital of Russia is the Winter Palace. The building was built in the middle of the 18th century, its project was developed by Count Francesco Rastrelli. The palace was built in accordance with the canons of Russian baroque from the time of the Empress Elizabeth Petrovna. The style of the interiors of the building is somewhat different - separate elements of Rococo (French) are used here.

Until the beginning of the 20th century, the palace was the imperial residence. In pre-revolutionary times, the building housed a hospital. After the revolutionary events, members of the Provisional Government. Later the building housed museum expositions.

background

Before the Baroque building, which today is the decoration of the Palace Square, was built, there were other winter imperial residences. There were four such buildings (or even five, if you count the one-story house of Peter I).

The first two were built at the beginning of the 18th century, in the era of Peter the Great. The third building was built for Anna Ioannovna, which Peter's residence seemed too cramped. More precisely, it was not the construction of a new building, but the restructuring and significant expansion of the old one. The rebuilt palace had about a hundred bedrooms, about seventy halls, a theater and many other rooms. Interestingly, almost immediately after the completion of construction, it was decided to rebuild (expand) this building, which was soon carried out.

At Elizabeth Petrovna building expansion was continued. More and more office premises were attached to it, which did not at all benefit the architectural appearance of the palace. As a result, the building looked so strange that it caused displeasure of the empress and negative reviews from her contemporaries. The building was again expanded (this time in such a way that its appearance was pleasing to the eye). But when the empress decided to increase the palace not only in length and width, but also in height, the architect decided to simply rebuild it. This decision was approved by the Empress. And while construction work was going on, the empress was in a temporary palace (fourth). It was demolished in the 60s of the XVIII century.

Palace construction and interior design

The construction of the building, which today is one of the main architectural sights of St. Petersburg, lasted approximately seven years. In the middle of the XVIII century the palace was the most tall building in the city (we are talking about residential buildings). It had almost fifteen hundred rooms.

The customer of the building (Elizaveta Petrovna) did not live to see the completion of construction work. They ended already during the reign Catherine II. In the mid-60s of the XVIII century, several hundred paintings were transferred to her from abroad, most of the authors of which belonged to the Dutch-Flemish school. It was these canvases that laid the foundation for the exposition that can be seen today in the palace. Less than a hundred of these paintings have survived to our time. By the way, the name of the famous museum is Hermitage- comes from the name of those palace chambers in which the paintings were originally placed.

In the 30s of the XIX century in the building happened strong fire which destroyed almost all of its interiors. The flame raged for almost three days, it was not possible to extinguish it. During the fire, thirteen people (firefighters and soldiers) died. There is a version that in fact there were more deaths, but official sources hid this fact. After the fire, serious restoration work was carried out in the palace. They lasted about two years and demanded huge efforts from architects and builders.

In the 80s of the XIX century in the palace thundered explosion- it was an attempt to assassinate the emperor, carried out by a terrorist organization. Many soldiers on guard were wounded, several people were killed. The emperor was not hurt.

The first years of the 20th century were marked by two significant events in the history of the palace - this is a grandiose costume ball and, two years later, shooting at a peaceful demonstration(unarmed workers walked across the square to the palace to convey the petition to the emperor).

In the post-revolutionary period, the palace was declared state museum. Soon the first exhibition opened there. Until the beginning of the 40s of the XX century, two state museums- The Hermitage and the Museum of the Revolution.

During the war years, the palace cellars were converted into bomb shelters, but in the end they were used as living quarters: about two thousand people permanently lived in them. In the halls of the palace there were collections of several museums: the exposition of the Hermitage itself was hidden there (more precisely, part of it, since the rest was evacuated), as well as the values of a number of other city museums. Works of art from other palaces (located in the suburbs) were also hidden in the building.

IN war time the building was badly damaged by bombs and artillery fire. After the war, its restoration continued for many years.

Architectural features and color

The palace is built in the form of a square. It is formed by outbuildings, facades and a courtyard. All rooms and facades are luxuriously finished. main facade facing the square, adorns it arch. The rhythm of the palace columns is characterized by variability, the risalits protrude strongly - these and other features of the building create the impression of dynamics, and also give the palace even more solemnity and majesty.

As already mentioned above, in the middle of the 18th century, the palace was the tallest building in the city(among residential buildings). In the 40s of the 19th century, an imperial decree was issued prohibiting the construction of such houses that would exceed the height of the imperial residence. More precisely, the decree established a "height limit" for buildings - approximately twenty-three and a half meters (eleven fathoms). That is the height of the palace. One of the consequences of this decree turned out to be this: from any of the roofs of the old (central) part of the city, today almost the entire northern capital Russia.

Separately, it is necessary to say a few words about the color palette of the palace. During its long history, it has changed several times. The current appearance of the building, although it has already become familiar to the townspeople, does not correspond to the original plan of the architect. Some modern art historians and architects are in favor of returning the building to its original coloristic appearance.

palace halls

Each palace hall is actually an independent masterpiece (although the original interiors are almost not preserved), it is worthy of attention in itself and at the same time enhances general impression magnificence. Let's talk about some of these rooms:

- Anteroom was created at the end of the 18th century. During balls, it was used as a front pantry: here gentlemen and ladies drank champagne. Pay attention to the ceiling: this is the work of an Italian master; it refers to the small number of decorative elements that miraculously survived during the three-day fire.

- Nicholas Hall(it is also called the Big) was also created at the end of the 18th century. In the old days, it was illuminated by lanterns made of blue glass. Blue rays fell on the colored marble decorating the columns and walls, and an amazing, unforgettable effect was created. The area of the hall is more than a thousand square meters. In terms of size, this is the most impressive hall of the palace. In pre-revolutionary times, banquets and balls were held here (except for the time when a hospital was opened in the building). The hall currently hosts temporary exhibitions.

- Concert hall decorated with sculptures of ancient Greek goddesses and muses. Here you can also see a magnificent collection of antique Russian silver.

Another pearl of the palace - Malachite living room. More than one hundred and twenty pounds of malachite were spent on its decoration. The room was trimmed with green stone after the fire; before that, it was called Yashmovaya, and its decoration corresponded to the name.

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

The very first, then still the Winter House, was built for Peter I in 1711 on the banks of the Neva. The first Winter Palace was two-storey, 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 settle 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 Naval Academy, were purchased. They were demolished, and by 1735 a new Winter Palace was built in their place. 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 remake the imperial residence to her taste. The construction of the new palace was entrusted to the architect Rastrelli. The Winter Palace project created by the architect was signed by Elizaveta Petrovna on June 16, 1754.

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

The palace was notable for its incredible size for those times, magnificent exterior decoration and luxurious interior decoration.

The Winter Palace is a three-storey rectangular building with a huge front yard inside. The main facades of the palace face the embankment and the square that was formed later.

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

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

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.

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

About four thousand employees lived here, even had its 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, patterned parquet.

Under Catherine II in the Palace were organized winter Garden, where both northern and plants brought from the south grew, Romanovskaya 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 were placed Patriotic War. The architect Auguste Montferrand added the Petrovsky and Field Marshal's Halls to the palace.

In 1837, a fire broke out 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 two years later.

In 1869, instead of candlelight, gas lighting appeared in the palace. Since 1882, the installation of telephones in the premises began. In the 1880s, a water pipe 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, 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 Alexander Palace in Tsarskoye Selo. The Winter Palace became a place for ceremonial receptions, ceremonial dinners, and the seat of the king during short visits to the city.

Throughout the history of the Winter Palace as an imperial residence, the interiors were redesigned in accordance with fashion trends. The building itself changed the color of its walls several times. The Winter Palace was painted in red, pink, yellow colors. 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 building of the Winter Palace. In 1922, part of the building was transferred to the Hermitage Museum.

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

During the Great Patriotic War, the Winter Palace suffered from air raids and shelling. In the cellars 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 the same time the entire Winter Palace became part of the Hermitage.

At present, the Winter Palace, together with the Hermitage Theatre, the Small, New and Large Hermitage, forms a single museum complex "The State Hermitage".

This grandiose building, located in St. Petersburg, like all the architectural creations of the city, is distinguished by its sophistication combined with pomp and pomp. Winter Palace St. Petersburg serves as a center for arts and tourism Russian Federation, its great attraction. This building has a centuries-old mysterious story shrouded in legends and myths. The splendor of the palace captivates and makes you go back to the distant times of emperors, balls and social life of that time. Architectural solutions, used in construction, amaze with their splendor. The design went through a number of changes, it reincarnated several times and came in its final form in our time. This creation is located on Palace Square, uniting with it into a single whole and recreating a grandiose landscape.

Winter Palace: building description

The style in which the building is made is Elizabethan Baroque. Since the period of Soviet times, this room has housed the main exposition of the State Hermitage. The Winter Palace has been the residence of Russian emperors throughout its history.

Many tourists created a photo of the winter palace as a keepsake. This extraordinary beauty is mesmerizing. The palace is gorgeous both outside and inside. Further on this in more detail.

The history of the grand palace

Back in 1712, during the reign of Peter I, land It was forbidden to give at the disposal of ordinary people. Such land zones were intended for sailors of the highest class. Peter took over this site.

First, a wooden one was built, ordinary house. Closer to the cold weather, a groove was dug in front of the facade of the house, which was called Winter. This is where the name of the palace came from.

Over the years, Peter appointed many famous architects to work on the reconstruction and improvement of the house. So, from a wooden one, it turned into a stone palace.

In 1735, the eminent architect Francesco Rastrelli set to work. He suggested that Anna Ioannovna, who was in power, buy nearby land plots with houses and carry out a total reconstruction. This is how the current Winter Palace was built, which after a while acquired a slightly different look.

With the coming to power of Elizabeth Petrovna, the Winter Palace became different, the one that contemporaries can see. In her opinion, the palace did not meet the requirements that are necessary for the residence of the empress. Rastrelli created a new project.

The great architect in a short period of time made his creation truly magnificent. The best craftsmen, 4 thousand workers were involved. Francesco Rastrelli individually worked out every detail of the palace, which did not resemble each other.

Palace architecture

The architecture of the Winter Palace is striking in its versatility. The height of the building is emphasized by two-tiered columns. The Baroque style itself is an example of pomp and wealth.

This building has 3 floors, a courtyard, in terms of the shape of a square, consisting of 4 outbuildings. The facades of the palace face the Neva River, Palace Square and the Admiralty.

The facades are finished very elegantly, the main one is cut through by an arch. Solemnity and splendor are created by Rastrelli's unusual architectural solutions: ledges of risalits, uneven distribution of columns, various layouts of facades, accents on the stepped corners of the building.

The Winter Palace consists of 1084 different rooms with a total of 1945 windows. 117 stairs are provided. For the world practice of that time, this building was unusual in that a huge amount of metal was used in the construction.

The color scheme of the palace is such that it corresponds to sandy shades. Such a move was conceived by the architect Rastrelli. Local authorities, after every choice of color solutions, came to the conclusion that it was necessary to recreate the color scheme that was thought out and executed by Rastrelli.

Winter Palace from the inside

Unfortunately, that original splendor created by the great architect, in modern times No. The reason for this was the fire of 1837. Only load-bearing walls and semi-columns on the first floor could be preserved, in contrast to the decoration of all halls.

The Winter Palace has the following halls:

Field Marshal's Hall (it is decorated with portraits of 6 field marshals, according to tradition, the 7th niche is empty);
the Jordanian Gallery (made in the Russian Baroque style, named after the procession from the Great Church of the Winter Palace through this room);
Petrovsky / Small throne room (dedicated to the memory of Peter I);
Armorial Hall (after the fire, restored by V.P. Stasov in the style of Russian late classicism, was intended for receptions of gentlemen, has the coats of arms of Russian provinces);
Georgievsky / Large throne room (there is a white marble bas-relief "George the Victorious slaying the dragon");
Military gallery (dedicated to the war with Napoleon and the victory over him);
Picket / New Hall (dedicated to the history of the Russian army);
Large Church (a belfry with 5 bells was built, made in the Baroque style);
The chambers of Empress Maria Alexandrovna (consist of the Golden Drawing Room, the Dance Hall, the Blue Bedroom, the Boudoir, the Raspberry Study);
Alexander Hall (currently there is a collection of silver of Western European origin);
Entrance halls of the Nevsky front suite(consists of a concert hall, Anteroom, Nicholas Hall);
White dining room (distinguished by a variety of interiors, made in the rococo style);
Malachite living room (125 poods of malachite were used for decoration, the entire living room is framed in it).

Conclusion

The Winter Palace has always been and will be a symbol of the greatness of the Russian state. It is an unshakable leader among world-class tourist sites. For the sake of such historical beauty, many stunned tourists put the Winter Palace with its charming summer garden , broken on the banks of the Neva.

Probably, in our vast country there is no such person who would absolutely not know about the Winter Palace in the city of St. Petersburg, there are quite a few facts connected with it that change the course of the history of our history. The Winter Palace in St. Petersburg was erected in the middle of the eighteenth century especially for Empress Elizabeth Petrovna according to the skillful design of the famous Italian architect Rastrelli in the lush Rococo style. At the end of construction, the palace complex consisted of a thousand rooms, 117 magnificent staircases and almost two thousand windows and doors. From the moment of its construction, the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg became the main imperial residence until the well-known events of the bloody revolution of the 17th year.

Brief description of the Winter Palace

During all the time, several buildings were attached to the Palace: the Small Hermitage, the Old and New Hermitage, the Hermitage Theater. IN given time The Winter Palace in St. Petersburg is part of the famous museum complex State Hermitage. The architectural monument is a magnificent three-story rectangular building on Palace Square. The dimensions of the palace are amazing: the length is 210 meters, the width is 175 meters. The appearance of the Winter Palace is familiar from numerous images, probably to many people: the luxurious central gate with cast-iron gratings and side front entrances.

Halls of the Winter Palace

The Winter Palace in St. Petersburg delights with its decoration: a roof decorated with ancient gods and magnificent vases, graceful sculptures of Neptune and Amphitrite, majestic snow-white columns at the entrance. Inside, the Grand Throne and Concert Hall, Malachite living room and many other rooms. And the State Hermitage, located in the vastness of the Palace, is the largest and richest museum in the world, which has a rare collection of paintings and antiquities.