The Vorontsov Palace () is a

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

palace compound which occupies a large parcel of land located between

Sadovaya Street Sadovaya Street or Garden Street is a major thoroughfare in Saint Petersburg, Russia, passing through the Central Saint Petersburg, historic city center. From east to west, it begins near the Field of Mars (Saint Petersburg), Field of Mars, cr ...

and the

Fontanka River The Fontanka (), 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 forms a right-bank branch of th ...

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. The palace of 50 rooms was built at enormous expense by

Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli (; 1700 – 29 April 1771) was an Italian architect who worked mainly in Russia. He developed an easily recognizable style of Late Baroque, both sumptuous and majestic. His major works, including the Winter Palac ...

for Count

Mikhail Illarionovich Vorontsov Count Mikhail Illarionovich Vorontsov () (12 July 171415 February 1767) was a Russian statesman and diplomat, who laid foundations for the fortunes of the Vorontsov family. At the age of fourteen, Vorontsov was appointed a kammerjunker at the ...

Empress Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elizaveta Petrovna (; ) was Empress of Russia from 1741 until her death in 1762. She remains one of the most popular Russian monarchs because of her decision not to execute a single person during her reign, her numerous constructio ...

's chancellor and maternal relative by marriage. The palace took eight years to build, starting in 1749. After his niece

Elizaveta Vorontsova Countess Elizaveta Romanovna Vorontsova (; 13 August 1739 – 2 February 1792) was a Russian noblewoman and lady-in-waiting. She was a mistress of Emperor Peter III of Russia (reigned February to July 1762). During their affair, rumors suggest ...

fell from grace, Vorontsov was effectively exiled from the court and sold his main residence to the crown.

Paul I of Russia Paul I (; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1796 until his assassination in 1801. Paul remained overshadowed by his mother, Catherine the Great, for most of his life. He adopted the Pauline Laws, laws of succession to the Russian throne—rules ...

gave the palace to the

Knights Hospitaller The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic military order. It was founded in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century and had headquarters there ...

, of which he was Grand Master. Another Italian architect working in Russia,

Giacomo Quarenghi Giacomo Quarenghi (; , ; 20 or 21 September 1744) was an Italian architect who was the foremost and most prolific practitioner of neoclassical architecture in Imperial Russia, particularly in Saint Petersburg. He brought into vogue an original mo ...

, was then asked to modernise the palace. In 1798–1800, Quarenghi added a Catholic chapel to serve exiled French aristocrats who resided in the Russian capital at the turn of the 19th century (see

Russian tradition of the Knights Hospitaller The Russian tradition of the Knights Hospitaller is a collection of charitable organisations claiming continuity with the Russian Orthodox grand priory of the Order of Saint John. The order emerged when Malta was captured by Napoleon in 1798 ...

for details). Since 1810, the Vorontsov Palace has housed a succession of exclusive military schools, including the famous

Page Corps The Page Corps (; ) was a military academy in Imperial Russia, which prepared sons of the nobility and of senior officers for military service. Similarly, the Imperial School of Jurisprudence prepared boys for civil service. The present-day equiva ...

(1810–1918) and the

Suvorov Military School The Suvorov Military Schools () are a type of boarding school in the former Soviet Union and in modern Russia and Belarus for boys of 10–17. Education in these schools focuses on military related subjects. The schools are named after Alexander ...

(1955–present). The palace is screened from Sadovaya Street by an elaborate cast iron grille, and it is separated from the Fontanka Embankment by a large garden. The Chapel of the Order of Malta went through extensive restoration in 2003 and is currently used for

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

recitals. In 2013, a Monument to graduates of Suvorov schools and cadet corps by sculptor Karen Sarkisov was erected next to the palace.

External links

*
Official website of the Chapel of the Order of Malta in Saint Petersburg
{{Authority control Palaces in Saint Petersburg Baroque architecture in Saint Petersburg Houses completed in 1757 Cultural heritage monuments of federal significance in Saint Petersburg Bartolomeo Rastrelli buildings Baroque palaces in Russia

See also

External links