![Spb 06-2012 Nevsky various 04](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/Spb_06-2012_Nevsky_various_04.jpg)
The Anichkov Palace, a former imperial
palace
A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...
in
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
, stands at the intersection of
Nevsky Avenue
Nevsky Prospect ( rus, Не́вский проспе́кт, r=Nevsky Prospekt (street), Prospekt, p=ˈnʲɛfskʲɪj prɐˈspʲɛkt) is the main street (high street) in the federal city of Saint Petersburg, St. Petersburg in Russian Federation, ...
and the
Fontanka
The Fontanka (russian: Фонтанка), a left branch of the river Neva, flows through the whole of Central Saint Petersburg, Russia – from the Summer Garden to . It is long, with a width up to , and a depth up to . The Moyka River for ...
River.
History
18th century
The palace, situated on the plot formerly owned by
Antonio de Vieira (1682?-1745), takes its name from the nearby
Anichkov Bridge
The Anichkov Bridge (Russian: ''Аничков мост'', ''Anichkov Most'') is the oldest and most famous bridge across the Fontanka River in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The current bridge, built in 1841-42 and reconstructed in 1906-08, combines ...
across the Fontanka. Designed for the Empress
Elizabeth of Russia
Elizabeth Petrovna (russian: Елизаве́та (Елисаве́та) Петро́вна) (), also known as Yelisaveta or Elizaveta, reigned as Empress of Russia from 1741 until her death in 1762. She remains one of the most popular Russian ...
() in a dazzling
Baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
style, the palace came to be known as the most imposing private residence of the era of Elizabeth Petrovna. Some suggest architects
Bartolomeo Rastrelli
Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli (russian: Франче́ско Бартоломе́о (Варфоломе́й Варфоломе́евич) Растре́лли; 1700 in Paris, Kingdom of France – 29 April 1771 in Saint Petersburg, Russian Emp ...
and
Mikhail Zemtsov were responsible for the design, though that is yet to be substantiated. The main frontage faces the river and was originally connected to it by a
canal
Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow un ...
.
Construction works continued for thirteen years; when they finally finished in 1754 the Empress Elizabeth presented the palace to her favourite (and likely spouse), Count
Aleksey Razumovsky. After his death in 1771, the palace reverted to the crown, but
Catherine the Great of Russia
, en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes
, house =
, father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst
, mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp
, birth_date =
, birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anha ...
() donated it to her own favourite,
Prince Potemkin
Prince Grigory Aleksandrovich Potemkin-Tauricheski (, also , ;, rus, Князь Григо́рий Алекса́ндрович Потёмкин-Таври́ческий, Knjaz' Grigórij Aleksándrovich Potjómkin-Tavrícheskij, ɡrʲɪˈɡ ...
, in 1776. The architect
Ivan Starov
Ivan Yegorovich Starov (russian: Ива́н Его́рович Старо́в) (23 February 1745 – 17 April 1808) was a Russian architect from Saint Petersburg, St. Petersburg who devised the master plans for Yaroslavl, Voronezh, Pskov, Dn ...
was charged with extensive renovations of the palace in the newly-fashionable
Neoclassical style
Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The pr ...
, which were effected in 1778 and 1779. Simultaneously an English garden architect, William Hould, laid out a regular park.
![Anichkov](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/Anichkov.jpg)
Upon Potemkin's demise (1791), the palace was restored to the crown and adapted to accommodate Her Imperial Majesty's Cabinet.
19th and 20th centuries
The last major structural additions occurred in the reign (1801–1825) of Emperor
Alexander I Alexander I may refer to:
* Alexander I of Macedon, king of Macedon 495–454 BC
* Alexander I of Epirus (370–331 BC), king of Epirus
* Pope Alexander I (died 115), early bishop of Rome
* Pope Alexander I of Alexandria (died 320s), patriarch of ...
, with
Quarenghi's construction of the Imperial Cabinet along Nevsky Avenue. The latter structure was formulated in a rigorous Neoclassical style and many people feel that it doesn't complement Rastrelli's original work. Three years later, Alexander I bestowed the palace on his sister,
Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna of Russia
Elena Pavlovna (; 24 December 1784 S 13 December– 24 September 1803) was born a grand duchess of Russia as the daughter of Paul I, Emperor of all the Russias and later became the Hereditary Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin as the wife o ...
– she later became the Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin by marriage. In 1816,
Carlo Rossi presented his project of reconstruction of the palace, but it wasn't followed. Several architects, have worked on the edifice since then, and its interiors were continuously refurbished.
Following his marriage in 1866 the future
Tsar Alexander III
Alexander III ( rus, Алекса́ндр III Алекса́ндрович, r=Aleksandr III Aleksandrovich; 10 March 18451 November 1894) was Emperor of Russia, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Finland from 13 March 1881 until his death in 18 ...
and his wife,
Maria Feodorovna, made the Anichkov Palace their St. Petersburg residence, ensuring its refacing in a variety of historic styles. There their children, including the last Russian emperor,
Nicholas II
Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov; spelled in pre-revolutionary script. ( 186817 July 1918), known in the Russian Orthodox Church as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer,. was the last Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Pola ...
, spent their childhood years, and after Alexander III came to the throne in 1881, he preferred to stay at the Anichkov Palace (as opposed to the
Winter Palace
The Winter Palace ( rus, Зимний дворец, Zimnij dvorets, p=ˈzʲimnʲɪj dvɐˈrʲɛts) is a palace in Saint Petersburg that served as the official residence of the Emperor of all the Russias, Russian Emperor from 1732 to 1917. The p ...
). The Anichkov provided the setting for numerous family festivities, including the wedding of Emperor Nicholas's niece
Irina Romanova to Prince
Felix Yusupov
Prince Felix Felixovich Yusupov, Count Sumarokov-Elston (russian: Князь Фе́ликс Фе́ликсович Юсу́пов, Граф Сумаро́ков-Эльстон, Knyaz' Féliks Féliksovich Yusúpov, Graf Sumarókov-El'ston; – ...
in 1914. Nicholas II's mother, after becoming dowager empress, continued to have the right of residence in the palace until the
February Revolution
The February Revolution ( rus, Февра́льская револю́ция, r=Fevral'skaya revolyutsiya, p=fʲɪvˈralʲskəjə rʲɪvɐˈlʲutsɨjə), known in Soviet historiography as the February Bourgeois Democratic Revolution and somet ...
of 1917, although she had moved to Kiev away from St. Petersburg. After the revolution the Ministry of Provisions moved in.
Following the
October Revolution
The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key moment ...
of November 1917, the Bolshevik government nationalized the Anichkov Palace and designated it the St. Petersburg City Museum. After 1934, when it was converted into the
Young Pioneer Palace
Young Pioneer Palaces or Palaces of Young Pioneers and Schoolchildren were youth centers designated for the creative work, sport training and extracurricular activities of Young Pioneers and other schoolchildren. Young Pioneer Palaces originate ...
, the palace housed over one-hundred after-school clubs for more than 10,000 children. While a small museum inside is open to the public at selected times, the edifice is normally not accessible to tourists.
Image:Anichkov fontanka.jpg, Anichkov Bridge and Anichkov Palace in 1753.
Image:Anichkov palace. 1750.jpg, Palace in the 1750s: Elizabethan Baroque at its most flamboyant
Image:Fontanka anichkov 1838.jpg, Palace in the 1830s: after the Neoclassical renovation
Image:Anichkov sadovnikov.jpg, Palace in 1862.
Image:Anichkov interior.jpg, Interior of one of the halls in the early 20th century
References
* Axelrod V.I., Bulankova L.P. ''Anichkov dvorets – legendy i byli''. SPb, 1996.
External links
Official websiteAnichkov Palace in Encyclopaedia of St. Petersburg
{{Authority control
Palaces in Saint Petersburg
Royal residences in Russia
Nevsky Prospekt
Carlo Rossi buildings and structures
1754 establishments in the Russian Empire
Cultural heritage monuments of federal significance in Saint Petersburg