The fire in the Winter Palace of Saint Petersburg, then the official residence of the

Russian emperors Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

, occurred on December 17, 1837, and was caused by soot inflammation.''100 великих катастроф'' '100 Major Disasters'' М., Вече, 1999, p. 261 The Palace burned for three days, and the glow was visible for 50–70 versts (50–75 km / 30–45 mi).''100 великих катастроф'', p. 262 Thirty guardsmen died in the fire, although nearly all the items were saved (notably the imperial throne, guards banners, portraits of Russian generals from the Field Marshals' Hall and

Military Gallery The Military Gallery (russian: Военная галерея) is a gallery of the Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The gallery is a setting for 332 portraits of generals who took part in the Patriotic War of 1812. The portraits were pain ...

and the utensils of the Grand Church).

Events

The fire broke out after smoke from an unswept chimney had seeped through an unchoked vent in a partition between the wooden and main walls in the Field Marshal's Hall. The wall began to smoulder and a fire broke out in the roof of the

Small Throne Room of the Winter Palace The Small Throne Room of the Winter Palace, St Petersburg, also known as the Peter the Great Memorial Hall, was created for Tsar Nicholas I in 1833, by the architect Auguste de Montferrand. Following a fire in 1837, in which most of the palace ...

. The dry-waxed floors and the oil-painted fretwork caught fire immediately. The Court was at the Mikhailovsky Theatre when an aide-de-camp entered the imperial box and informed Prince Volkonsky, one of the ministers then present.''

Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine ''Blackwood's Magazine'' was a British magazine and miscellany printed between 1817 and 1980. It was founded by the publisher William Blackwood and was originally called the ''Edinburgh Monthly Magazine''. The first number appeared in April 1817 ...

'', 1851, p. 158 The prince gave him orders and continued to look quietly on at the performance. Half-an-hour later the aide-de-camp returned, and this time the prince spoke to the Emperor Nicholas I. To prevent the fire from spreading to the Hermitage, Nicholas I called for the immediate dismantling of the gallery roofs which joined the Hermitage with the main building. However, the fire fighting was hindered when the privy-councilor of the Empress, Chambeau, stated: "Everything here belongs to the Empress! Not a thing must be broken!" A battalion of the

Preobrazhensky Lifeguard Regiment The Preobrazhensky Life-Guards Regiment (russian: Преображенский лейб-гвардии полк, ''Preobrazhensky leyb-gvardii polk'') was a regiment of the Imperial Guard of the Imperial Russian Army from 1683 to 1917. The Pr ...

was the first military unit to arrive from amongst the troops situated nearby. The retired Major-General Baranovich told later how the 10th Navy Crew's private Nestor Troyanov and the commissary department joiner Abram Dorofeev managed to save the image of the Christ the Saviour from the already burning

iconostasis In Eastern Christianity, an iconostasis ( gr, εἰκονοστάσιον) is a wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a Church (building), church. ''Iconostasis'' also refers to a portable icon stand t ...

. Each man was awarded three hundred rubles, with Troyanov being transferred to the Guards. The official reports stated that there were no casualties until an eyewitness, Kolokoltsov, revealed the figures in 1882.

Restoration

The facades and parade halls were restored by Vasily Stasov and inner rooms by

Alexander Briullov Alexander Pavlovich Brullov (, spelled Brulleau until 1822, when the family name was changed according to Russian pronunciation, sometimes also spelled Brulloff; 29 November 1798 – 9 January 1877) was a Russian artist associated with Russian ...

. In 1838–39 the fire walls, new stone and cast-iron staircases as well as new funnels were installed. All the wood was replaced by iron, cast-iron and brick. By the end of 1838 the expenses on these works exceeded 100,000 rubles.''100 великих катастроф'', p. 264

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Winter Palace Fire Winter Palace 1837 fires in Europe 1837 in the Russian Empire December 1837 events 19th century in Saint Petersburg Residential building fires 1837 disasters in the Russian Empire

Events

Restoration

See also

References