The Fountain House is a palace in Russia built by the
Sheremetev family
The House of Sheremetev (russian: Шереме́тевы) was one of the wealthiest and most influential noble families in Russia descending from Feodor Koshka who was of Old Prussian origin.
History
The family held many high commanding rank ...
, named after the nearby
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. Since its erection in 1712 the building was reconstructed several times by famous architects G. Dmitryev,
Savva Chevakinsky
Savva Ivanovich Chevakinsky (russian: Савва Иванович Чевакинский; 1709 – aft. 1774) was a Russian architect of the Baroque school. He worked in Saint Petersburg and Tsarskoye Selo.
Chevakinsky was born into a noble famil ...
, Fyodor Argunov, and
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 ...
. It is also known as the Sheremetev Palace.
History
Construction
The land was granted by
Peter the Great
Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from t ...
to
Boris Sheremetev
Count Boris Petrovich Sheremetev (russian: Граф Бори́с Петро́вич Шереме́тев, tr. ; – ) was an Imperial Russian diplomat and general field marshal during the Great Northern War. He became the first Russian count in ...
in 1712 with an order to build a European-style palace. At the time the main city residence of the Sheremetevs was situated at
the Spit of
Vasilyevsky Island
Vasilyevsky Island (russian: Васи́льевский о́стров, Vasilyevsky Ostrov, V.O.) is an island in St. Petersburg, Russia, bordered by the Bolshaya Neva and Malaya Neva Rivers (in the delta of the Neva River) in the south a ...
, so the land near the bank of Fontanka was used as a country estate.
In 1719
Pyotr Borisovich inherited the estate. In late 1730s, when in the close vicinity
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 ...
built gorgeous residences for the
Empress Elizabeth
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 ...
, he invited an architect Dmitriev to build here a one-store stone palace. Twenty years later the building was reconstructed by
Savva Chevakinsky
Savva Ivanovich Chevakinsky (russian: Савва Иванович Чевакинский; 1709 – aft. 1774) was a Russian architect of the Baroque school. He worked in Saint Petersburg and Tsarskoye Selo.
Chevakinsky was born into a noble famil ...
and Fyodor Argunov and decorated to suit the nearby palaces, presumably on the basis of Rastrelli's schemes.
In 1788, the palace was refurbished by
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 ...
. Apart from the luxurious interiors, the palace contained an extraordinary collection of arts — paintings of
Raphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of works by Raphael, His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of ...
,
Antonio da Correggio
Antonio Allegri da Correggio (August 1489 – 5 March 1534), usually known as just Correggio (, also , , ), was the foremost painter of the Parma school of the High Italian Renaissance, who was responsible for some of the most vigorous and sens ...
,
Paolo Veronese
Paolo Caliari (152819 April 1588), known as Paolo Veronese ( , also , ), was an Italian Renaissance painter based in Venice, known for extremely large history paintings of religion and mythology, such as ''The Wedding at Cana'' (1563) and ''The ...
,
Rembrandt
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally consid ...
, etc.
20th Century
After 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 ...
, the palace was
nationalized
Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...
and used as a location for different organisations throughout the 20th century. From 1918 to 1931 there was a Museum of Noble Household, based on private collections of art, accumulated by the Sheremetevs in 200 years. Later the collection was moved 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 ...
and the Fountain house was remodeled into а
research institute
A research institute, research centre, research center or research organization, is an establishment founded for doing research. Research institutes may specialize in basic research or may be oriented to applied research. Although the term often i ...
, all the historical interiors were destroyed. In 1990 the palace was given to the Museum of Theatre and Music, since late 1980s started the restoration.
St. Petersburg Museum of Theatre
Opened in 1990, nowadays the Museum offers its visitors a vast collection of more than 3000 musical instruments, one of the five biggest in the world and the best in Russia.
[
In 2014 ‘Monte Generoso’ composition was donated to the museum by the Swiss jeweller Willi Inauen.
]
Akhmatova Museum
The famous Russian poet Anna Akhmatova
Anna Andreyevna Gorenko rus, А́нна Андре́евна Горе́нко, p=ˈanːə ɐnˈdrʲe(j)ɪvnə ɡɐˈrʲɛnkə, a=Anna Andreyevna Gorenko.ru.oga, links=yes; uk, А́нна Андрі́ївна Горе́нко, Ánna Andríyivn ...
lived in the Fountain house twice, first in 1918–1920 with her second husband Vladimir Shileyko (in the South garden wing). Later, in 1944-1952 she stayed in the North wing with her spouse Nikolay Punin
Nikolay Nikolayevich Punin (russian: link=no, Никола́й Никола́евич Пу́нин; – August 21, 1953) was a Russian art scholar and writer. He edited several magazines, such as ''Izobrazitelnoye Iskusstvo'' among others, and w ...
. The Akhmatova memorial museum works here since 1989.
References
Sources
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External links
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{{coord, 59.9365, 30.3454, type:landmark_region:RU, display=title
Sheremetev family
Palaces in Saint Petersburg
Baroque architecture in Saint Petersburg
Music museums
Theatre museums
Cultural heritage monuments of federal significance in Saint Petersburg