Strelna ( rus, Стре́льна, p=ˈstrʲelʲnə) is a
municipal settlement in
Petrodvortsovy District
Petrodvortsovy District (russian: Петродворцо́вый райо́н) is a district of the federal city of St. Petersburg, Russia. As of the 2010 Census, its population: was 128,156; up from 77,542 recorded in the 2002 Ce ...
of the
federal city
The term federal city is a title for certain cities in Germany, Switzerland, and Russia.
Germany
In Germany, the former West German capital Bonn has been designated with the unique title of federal city (''Bundesstadt''). Since 28 April 1994, it ...
of
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 ...
,
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
, about halfway between Saint Petersburg proper and
Petergof
Petergof (russian: Петерго́ф), known as Petrodvorets () from 1944 to 1997, is a municipal town in Petrodvortsovy District of the federal city of St. Petersburg, located on the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland.
The town hosts ...
, and overlooking the shore of the
Gulf of Finland
The Gulf of Finland ( fi, Suomenlahti; et, Soome laht; rus, Фи́нский зали́в, r=Finskiy zaliv, p=ˈfʲinskʲɪj zɐˈlʲif; sv, Finska viken) is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland to the north and E ...
. Population:
History
Strelna was first mentioned in
Cadastral surveying
Cadastral surveying is the sub-field of cadastre and surveying that specialises in the establishment and re-establishment of real property boundaries. It involves the physical delineation of property boundaries and determination of dimensions, a ...
of Vodskaya
pyatina
Pyatina (russian: пятина) was a first-level unit of administrative division of Novgorod Land. The name ''pyatina'' originates from the word russian: пять, which means "five". Novgorod Land was subdivided into five pyatinas. The division w ...
in 1500, as the ''village of Strelna on Retse Strelne on the Sea'' in the churchyard Kipen Koporsky County.
After
Treaty of Stolbovo
The Treaty of Stolbovo () was a peace treaty that ended the Ingrian War (), which had been fought between the Swedish Empire and the Russian Tsardom between 1610 and 1617.
History
After nearly two months of negotiations, representatives from Swe ...
these lands were part of
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
, and in 1630 in Strelna appears as a baronial estate of Swedish politician
Johan Skytte
Johan Skytte (1577, in Nyköping – 15 March 1645, in Söderåkra, Sweden) was a Swedish statesman, and the founder of the ''Academia Gustaviana'' (today's University of Tartu in Estonia), in 1632.
He was a son of the mayor of Nyköping, Bengt ...
. The estate had a
marina
A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats.
A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships o ...
, a
water mill
A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production o ...
, a
pond
A pond is an area filled with water, either natural or artificial, that is smaller than a lake. Defining them to be less than in area, less than deep, and with less than 30% emergent vegetation helps in distinguishing their ecology from th ...
, a
greenhouse
A greenhouse (also called a glasshouse, or, if with sufficient heating, a hothouse) is a structure with walls and roof made chiefly of Transparent ceramics, transparent material, such as glass, in which plants requiring regulated climatic condit ...
and a small
house church
A house church or home church is a label used to describe a group of Christians who regularly gather for worship in private homes. The group may be part of a larger Christian body, such as a parish, but some have been independent groups that see ...
.
Palace of Peter the Great
Formerly a Swedish chancellor's estate, Strelna was chosen 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 ...
as a place for his future summer house in 1714.
Jean Baptiste Le Blond
Jean-Baptiste Alexandre Le Blond (1679 – 10 March 1719) was a French architect and garden designer who became the chief architect of Saint Petersburg in 1716.
Career in France
He was the son of Jean Le Blond, painter in ordinary to the king, a ...
, famous for his work with
André Le Nôtre
André Le Nôtre (; 12 March 1613 – 15 September 1700), originally rendered as André Le Nostre, was a French landscape architect and the principal gardener of King Louis XIV of France. He was the landscape architect who designed the gar ...
at
Versailles
The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...
, was commissioned to prepare designs for a palace and park. Le Blond envisaged the palace as a
Château
A château (; plural: châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions.
Nowaday ...
d'Eau, situated on a round island. The
gardens
A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate both ...
were laid out to Le Blond's design, but the master's death prevented him from completing a more elaborate project for the palace.
In 1718, a temporary wooden palace was constructed in Strelna. It had been used by the Russian royalty as a sort of hunting lodge, and has been faithfully preserved to this day. After Le Blond's death, the commission to build the grand palace passed to
Niccolo Michetti
Nicola Michetti, also known as Niccolo or Niccolò (circa 7 December 1675 in Venice – 12 November 1758 in Rome) was an Italian architect, active in a late-Baroque style in mostly Rome, Italy and St Petersburg, Russia.
While born in Venice, N ...
, a disciple of the Roman
Carlo Fontana
Carlo Fontana (1634 or 1638–1714) was an Italian architect originating from today's Canton Ticino, who was in part responsible for the classicizing direction taken by Late Baroque Roman architecture.
Biography
There seems to be no proof that ...
. A cornerstone was laid in June 1720, but next year it became apparent that the place was ill-adapted for installation of fountains, thus Peter decided to concentrate his attention on the nearby Peterhof. Disappointed, Michetti left Russia, and all works in Strelna were suspended.
On ascending the throne in 1741, Peter's daughter
Elizabeth
Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to:
People
* Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name)
* Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist
Ships
* HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships
* ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...
intended to complete her father's project. Her favourite architect
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 ...
was asked to expand and aggrandize Michetti's design. But Rastrelli's attention was soon diverted to other palaces, in Peterhof and
Tsarskoye Selo
Tsarskoye Selo ( rus, Ца́рское Село́, p=ˈtsarskəɪ sʲɪˈlo, a=Ru_Tsarskoye_Selo.ogg, "Tsar's Village") was the town containing a former residence of the Russian imperial family and visiting nobility, located south from the cen ...
, so the Strelna palace stood unfinished until the end of the century.
Family home of the Konstantinovichi branch of the Romanovs
In 1797, Strelna was granted to
Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich (second son of Paul I) and his wife
Grand Duchess Anna Feodorovna (aunt of
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...
). Despite a great fire in 1803, the Konstantin Palace was completed by 1807.
Andrei Voronikhin and
Luigi Rusca
Luigi Rusca (Алоизий Иванович Руска; 1762–1822) was a Neoclassical architect from Ticino who worked in Russia, Ukraine and Estonia between 1783 and 1818.
Life and career
Rusca was apprenticed to Georg Veldten and Giacomo ...
were held responsible for architecture of its upper storeys. After Konstantin's death, the palace passed to his
nephew
In the lineal kinship system used in the English-speaking world, a niece or nephew is a child of the subject's sibling or sibling-in-law. The converse relationship, the relationship from the niece or nephew's perspective, is that of an ...
, and the Konstantinovichi branch of the
Romanov dynasty
The House of Romanov (also transcribed Romanoff; rus, Романовы, Románovy, rɐˈmanəvɨ) was the reigning imperial house of Russia from 1613 to 1917. They achieved prominence after the Tsarina, Anastasia Romanova, was married to ...
retained its ownership until the
Revolution
In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...
.
Vicissitudes in the 20th and 21st century
![Constantine Palace in Strelna](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/20/Constantine_Palace_in_Strelna.jpg)
After 1917 the palace fell into decay: it was handed over to a child labour commune, then to a secondary school. For a period during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, the Germans occupied Strelna and had a
naval base
A naval base, navy base, or military port is a military base, where warships and naval ships are docked when they have no mission at sea or need to restock. Ships may also undergo repairs. Some naval bases are temporary homes to aircraft that us ...
there. Some
Decima Flottiglia MAS
The ''Decima Flottiglia MAS'' (''Decima Flottiglia Motoscafi Armati Siluranti'', also known as ''La Decima'' or Xª MAS) (Italian for "10th Assault Vehicle Flotilla") was an Italian flotilla, with commando frogman unit, of the ''Regia Marina'' ...
men and attack boats were brought from
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
and based at Strelna along with German Army boats. Strelna Raid:
Soviet commando frogmen attacked that base and destroyed 2 German army boats on 5 October 1943.
After the ravages of German occupation, only the palace walls were left standing; all interior decoration was gone. No effective restoration had been undertaken until 2001 when
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
ordered the palace to be converted into a presidential residence for Saint Petersburg. The park with canals, fountains, and drawbridges was then recreated to Le Blond's original designs, complete with a water-bound pavilion by the sea shore. In front of the palace is the
equestrian statue
An equestrian statue is a statue of a rider mounted on a horse, from the Latin ''eques'', meaning 'knight', deriving from ''equus'', meaning 'horse'. A statue of a riderless horse is strictly an equine statue. A full-sized equestrian statue is a d ...
of Peter the Great, originally installed in 1911 in
Riga
Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...
, while
Mikhail Shemyakin
Mihail Mikhailovich Chemiakin (or Shemyakin, russian: Михаил Михайлович Шемякин, born 4 May 1943) is a Russian Painting, painter, Scenic design, stage designer, sculptor and publisher, and a controversial representative ...
's modernist sculpture of Peter's family strolling through the garden may be found closer to the sea shore. Several rooms in the restored palace are dedicated to the poet
Konstantin Romanov (who was born there).
![CIS Summit 6-7 June 2008-9](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/94/CIS_Summit_6-7_June_2008-9.jpg)
In preparation for the celebration of the 300th anniversary of the founding Saint Petersburg, the
Russian government
The Government of Russia exercises executive power in the Russian Federation. The members of the government are the prime minister, the deputy prime ministers, and the federal ministers. It has its legal basis in the Constitution of the Russia ...
decided to restore the palace and its grounds as a state conference center and
presidential residence. The renovated Konstantin Palace hosted more than 50
heads of state
A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 "he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and le ...
during the Saint Petersburg tercentenary celebrations in 2003. Three years later, in July 2006 (July 15–17), it hosted the
32nd G8 summit
The 32nd G8 summit was held on 15–17 July 2006 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The venue was the Constantine Palace, which is located in Strelna on the Gulf of Finland. This was the first time Russia served as host nation for a G8 summit; and the ...
. During these summits, the world leaders were accommodated in 18 luxurious cottages by the sea-side. Each of the cottages is named after a historic Russian town. The early 19th-century stables were reconstructed into a four-star hotel for other visitors. The
2013 G20 summit was held at the palace 5–6 September 2013. The palace also held the qualifying draw for the
2018 FIFA World Cup
The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national Association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awa ...
, which took place in Russia. The palace hosted in 2021 the royal wedding between Grand Duke George Romanov and Victoria Bettarini, this been the first royal wedding to be held in the country in over a hundred years.
Other landmarks
Several other Romanov residences may be seen in the vicinity of the Konstantin Palace. Th
Baroque Znamenka designed by
Rastrelli Rastrelli may refer to the following persons:
* Antonio Rastrelli (politician) (1927–2019), Italian politician
* Antonio Rastrelli (born 1945), Italian Olympic swimmer
*Carlo Bartolomeo Rastrelli (1675–1744), Italian sculptor who emigrat ...
, used to be a home to the Nikolaevichi branch of the Romanovs. The
neoclassical Mikhailovka palace once belonged to the Mikhailovichi branch of the family.
Other landmarks in Strelna include a dacha of
Mathilde Kschessinska
Mathilde-Marie Feliksovna Kschessinska ( pl, Matylda Maria Krzesińska, russian: Матильда Феликсовна Кшесинская; 6 December 1971; also known as Princess Romanovskaya-Krasinskaya after her marriage) was a Polish ...
and the ruined
Maritime Monastery of St. Sergius
The Coastal Monastery of St. Sergius (Сергиева Приморская пустынь) is a Russian Orthodox monastery in the coastal settlement of Strelna near St. Petersburg. It used to be one of the richest monasteries of the Russian Empire ...
, with numerous churches by Luigi Rusca. The monastery is noted as a burial place of the
Zubov
The Zubovs (russian: Зу́бов) were a Russian noble family, rose to occupy some of the highest offices of state in the 1790s, when Platon Zubov became the last favourite of Empress Catherine the Great ().
The Zubovs were first noticed in ...
brothers and other Russian nobles. The imperial chancellor
Alexander Gorchakov
Prince Alexander Mikhailovich Gorchakov (Russian: Алекса́ндр Миха́йлович Горчако́в; 15 July 179811 March 1883) was a Russian diplomat and statesman from the Gorchakov princely family. He has an enduring reputation as ...
was interred here in 1883.
The Konstantin Palace, the Trinity Monastery, Mikhailovka, and Znamenka are parts of the
World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments.
See also
*
List of Baroque residences
This is a list of Baroque architecture, Baroque palaces and Residenz, residences built in the late 17th and 18th centuries. Baroque architecture is a building style of the Baroque, Baroque era, begun in late 16th-century Italy and spread in Europe ...
References
External links
Strelna in Encyclopaedia of St. PetersburgOfficial website of the Konstantin Palace
{{Authority control
Palaces in Saint Petersburg
Royal residences in Russia
Official residences in Russia
Presidential residences
Baroque architecture in Russia
Russian Baroque gardens
World Heritage Sites in Russia
Populated coastal places in Russia
Andrey Voronikhin buildings
Tsarskoselsky Uyezd
Petrodvortsovy District