Summer Palace of Peter 1 where it is located. The Palace of Peter I in the Summer Garden opened after restoration. Opening hours and ticket prices

Peter's Summer Palace

The first thing that strikes you about this palace building is its rather modest size. And the second is that the Summer Palace of Peter I has survived to this day in its original form as a royal residence.

The Summer Palace of Peter I in the Summer Garden is one of the first stone palaces in St. Petersburg. It was erected in 1710–1714 under the leadership of the outstanding architect Domenico Trezzini. At the same time, by the way, the first Governor-General of St. Petersburg, Alexander Danilovich Menshikov, began the construction of his palace. True, on the other bank of the Neva and on another island - Vasilyevsky. In 1711, Peter I made the final decision to transfer the capital of the Russian kingdom from Moscow to a new city - St. Petersburg. Therefore, the construction of the palace was a kind of signal to the Moscow nobility and merchants that the royal court was going to the banks of the Neva in earnest and for a long time.

The location for construction was not chosen by chance. Here, before the founding of St. Petersburg, was the estate of the Swedish major Konau. And Peter quite deliberately tried to destroy all traces of the Swedish presence on the banks of the Neva. That is why, to the surprise of many, he did not use the large and powerful fortress of Nyenschanz and the city of Nyena on the right bank of the Neva for any purposes, after its capture by Russian troops. In fact, the Nyenschanz fortress was razed, that is, razed to the ground. And the city was simply ruined.

Palace of Peter the Great in the Summer Garden

The Tsar's palace was located in the northeastern part of the Summer Garden. The Summer Garden is the first regular garden in St. Petersburg, founded in 1704. It is known that Peter I personally took part in the design. The garden area was developed by a large group of architects and garden craftsmen. From the first years, boxwood, chestnuts, elm, apple trees, pears, and walnut trees, brought from warm regions, began to be planted in the Summer Garden. Following the example set by the Tsar in Moscow, greenhouses for growing melons began to be established. In Moscow, it was possible to grow surprisingly large and tasty melons in greenhouses. In Russia, unlike many countries, melon was served only for dessert.

The sculptural decoration and interior decoration of the palace was done by the German sculptor and architect Andreas Schlüter. Not far from the palace, on the banks of the Fontanka, A. Schlüter began work on the construction of a grotto, which was completed after the death of the architect by the architects G.I. Mattarnovi and N. Michetti.

The Palace of Peter I was not intended for ceremonial events, but primarily as the home of the Tsar and his family. The palace building with a distinctly austere appearance has a high hipped roof, decorated with corner gutters in the form of winged dragons. The main decorative element of the facades is a frieze of twenty-nine bas-reliefs separating the floors. Bas-reliefs serve to glorify Russia's military successes. Peter I is depicted here in the image of Perseus. Above the entrance to the palace is a bas-relief of the goddess of wisdom, patroness of sciences and crafts, Minerva, surrounded by banners and trophies.

According to the memoirs of contemporaries, the day of the founder of the city on the Neva developed like this: Peter got up early - at three or four in the morning. He walked around the room, thinking about his plans for the coming day. Then, before breakfast, I did some paperwork. At six in the morning, having had a light breakfast, I left the palace. I usually had lunch at 11 or 12, but no later than one in the afternoon. Before lunch, the king drank a glass of aniseed vodka, and before each new dish - kvass, beer or red wine. The traditional dinner consisted of thick hot sour cabbage soup, porridge, jelly, cold pig in sour cream (served whole, and the sovereign himself chose a piece according to his mood), cold roast (usually duck) with pickles or pickled lemons, ham and Limburger cheese. After lunch, Peter put on a robe and slept for two hours. By four o'clock he ordered urgent papers to be submitted for signature along with the report. Then he did what he loved - carpentry, working on a lathe, etc. I went to bed at 10-11 o'clock without dinner.

The palace is characterized by a strong contrast between its austere exterior and lush interior decoration. The Summer Palace is sometimes called a kind of monument to the Northern War, since the victories of Russian weapons are reflected in allegorical form in the bas-reliefs and even in the picturesque lampshades. On the ground floor of the palace there are two reception rooms, an office, a bedroom, a dining room, a room for the driver on duty, a kitchen and a dressing room. This is also where Peter is especially proud - the lathe where he loved to work. On the second floor of the building there is a reception room, a throne room, a bedroom, a children's room, a dance room, a green office, a kitchen, a dressing room and a room for the ladies on duty.

The palace is made in the Peter the Great Baroque style, as evidenced by clear proportions, numerous windows with small glazing, bas-reliefs, and a stucco frieze under the roof. The palace has retained its original layout and interior decoration. There are seven small living rooms on each floor of the building. In the interiors of the palace, first of all, one can note the carved oak panel in the lower vestibule with the image of Minerva, unique Dutch tiles in the kitchens and the office of Peter I, fireplaces with stucco bas-reliefs, picturesque lampshades and much more.

Soon the first stone embankment in St. Petersburg appeared near the Summer Palace. Until the middle of the 18th century, embankments and bridges in St. Petersburg were built only from wood. On the stone embankment near the Summer Palace near the Fontanka, a small “Havana” was built for parking the royal boats. Boats and other watercraft were declared by Peter's decree to be the main means of transportation in the new capital. Therefore, the king demanded that every resident know how to handle a sail. Intending to accustom the residents of St. Petersburg to sailing rather than rowing, Peter introduced fines depending on the ranks of the violators, increasing for the first, second and third “disobedience” of the royal decree. The tsar appointed Ivan Stepanovich Potemkin to be responsible for the execution of the decree: “...to be your fiscal officer, so that people of all ranks who are found in St. Petersburg, when there is a wind, travel along the Neva River on ships with sails. And if anyone disobeys this great sovereign’s decree, then a staff will be taken against them...” Peter forbade the construction of bridges in St. Petersburg.

Later, the “Havanese” was buried, but recently, during archaeological excavations, St. Petersburg restorers discovered its stone retaining walls, in which even iron rings for tying boats were preserved.

At the beginning of the 21st century, the Summer Palace, like the Summer Garden, came under the jurisdiction of the Russian Museum. And today the palace houses an extensive exhibition. Here are paintings depicting genre scenes, rare portraits, landscapes, canvases depicting sea vessels and battles. One of the most valuable exhibits of the museum is a wind device made in Dresden, mounted in a carved oak frame. Its mechanism is driven by a weather vane in the form of the figure of St. George the Victorious, installed on the roof. In the 60s of the 20th century, under the leadership of architect A.E. Hessen carried out a scientific restoration of the museum, which helped restore many of the original elements of the Summer Palace.

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The Summer Palace of Peter I is located in the Summer Garden of St. Petersburg. The garden was laid out by a large group of gardeners and architects in the early years of the city's founding. Peter I had a dream - to set up a garden in the Versailles style. At first, in his house he only rested and monitored work, and then he lived here with his family in the summer.

After the Moika was connected to the Neva by the Lebyazhy Canal, a small island was formed. In its northern region, in 1710-1714, the Summer Palace was erected, which was one of the first stone palaces in St. Petersburg. The author of the project was the architect D. Trezzini. The interior furnishings were created under the direction of the German architect and sculptor A. Schlüter. Tradition tells that the king ordered the construction of the house so that the building would symbolize the new policy of the country. Then Trezzini positioned the palace building so that 6 of its 12 windows looked west, and the other 6 looked strictly east. The architect explained his decision as follows: “So our Russia is equally facing both the West and the East.”

The first sewerage system of St. Petersburg was built at the royal residence. Water entered the house using pumps and went into the Fontanka. Since the house was surrounded on 3 sides by water, the driving force of the system was the flow of the Fontanka. In 1777 there was a flood, and the small Gavanets Bay in front of the house was filled up. The sewer system stopped working.

In the lobby of the palace, one of the schismatics made an attempt on Peter I.

In 1925, the Summer Palace was transferred to the Russian Museum, and since 1934, the work of the Historical and Household Museum was organized here. In the 1960s, a scientific restoration of the museum was carried out. The director was architect A.E. Hesse. During the work, it was possible to recreate many of the original elements of the Summer Palace.

After the death of Peter I and Catherine I, practically no one lived in their house. At one time, meetings of the Supreme Privy Council were organized here, and later the imperial courtiers came to the palace to rest.

The architectural style of the building is Baroque. This is expressed in clear proportions and numerous windows, bas-reliefs and a stucco frieze under the roof. The appearance of the building is strict. The roof is high, hipped. The gutters are made in the shape of winged dragons. The facades are decorated with a frieze of 29 bas-reliefs that separate the floors.

Each floor of the building is equipped with 7 small living rooms. There are no large halls. The decoration of the lobby is made in the form of carved oak panels, which are divided by pilasters of the Ionic order. The sculptor N. Pino made a bas-relief image of Minerva.

On the first floor there were the royal chambers, on the second - his wife Catherine and children. In the reception room, the emperor received oral and written complaints and requests. Near the reception area there was a punishment cell for the guilty. From the reception room one could go into a large room called the assembly. On the first floor there was also a kitchen with a dining room and a bedroom, a dressing room and a room for the driver on duty. There was also a lathe and a machine on which Peter the Great loved to work.

On the second floor of the building, in addition to the dressing room, cookroom and room for ladies-in-waiting, there is a throne room, a children's room, a bedroom and a dance room. The Green Cabinet, which is decorated with picturesque inserts, gilding and molding, deserves special attention. The emperor's kitchen and office are decorated with rare Dutch tiles, and the fireplaces are decorated with stucco bas-reliefs. The lampshades of the office are picturesquely painted by master G. Gsell.

Russian artists I. Zavarzin, A. Zakharov and F. Matveev took part in the decoration of the rooms. The living rooms have preserved the atmosphere that reigned in former times. You can also see rare portraits, paintings depicting sea vessels and battles, and landscapes. A rarity of the museum is a wind instrument brought from Dresden. It is set in motion by a weather vane installed on the roof in the form of the figure of St. George the Victorious.

The Summer Palace of Peter I still has a cozy family atmosphere.

St. Petersburg looks like a carved box made of turquoise and gems. Its carved and painted walls are bas-reliefs with a hundred or two old fairy tales and half-forgotten stories. The cover is made up of church domes and tall spiers topped with weather vanes and crosses. The bottom is the foundations of old buildings that still remember the breath of their creators, high arches and powerful beams that continue to solemnly support the weight of several centuries. And once you open the box, there will be an eclecticism of styles and amazing combinations inside - grace, strength and power, which bloom with new colors with the onset of each century.

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The Summer Palace of Peter the Great can hardly be called the most beautiful palace complex of the Northern capital - this building looks somewhat modest or even pale compared to other giants - real poetry in stone, however, this particular palace is part of the Russian Museum, representing a residence where most of his time, not busy with travel or military campaigns, was carried out by the great monarch. This means that this is where you should look if you want to understand exactly what and how this person lived.

The Summer Palace was originally built precisely as an imperial residence, appearing on the map of St. Petersburg almost with the very foundation of the city. The main concerns regarding its appearance and design fell on the shoulders of the eminent master of his craft, Domenico Trezzini, according to whose design a small two-story mansion in the Baroque rhythm was subsequently erected. It is worth noting that, despite the fact that Trezzini is still formally the architect, the first plan for the future mansion was developed personally by the monarch, and only then these drawings were adjusted and somewhat reworked in a creative manner. The location of the residence was also chosen personally by Peter the Great - between the Fontanka and the Neva.

Some find the design of the Summer Palace somewhat meager - its walls are decorated with only twenty-eight bas-reliefs, which, as one would expect, turned out to be another variation on the theme of perpetuating the victory over the Swedes in the brilliant Northern War for Russia, and the layout of the rooms is the same for both floors, but this simplicity the building is more than compensated by the complexity of the laconic structure of the Summer Garden, which was conceived as an imitation of Versailles. It is noteworthy that the imitation was more than complete - and today the Summer Garden continues to be considered one of the most sophisticated examples of landscape art.

Exposition

The summer residence of the monarch is quite an interesting place to visit, not only from the point of view of delving into the life of the emperor himself, but also from the point of view of observing the innovations that this energetic man decided to adopt from his more technically confident neighbors. Thus, the weather vane, unusual in its shape, which represents the figure of St. George the Victorious, with the usual gesture of slaying the serpent, is the work of a mechanic whom Peter the Great met in Dresden.

The unusualness of this mechanism was that its main component is located just under the roof of the mansion and is a complex panel for that time, from which it was possible to track not only the direction, but also the strength of the wind. Another unique detail of the Summer Palace is the presence of a sewer system, which was the first example of structures of this type in the entire city.

Today, a visit to the Summer Palace includes not only the opportunity to personally look at the monarch's office, his dressing room, personal rooms and workshops, but also to visit another rather remarkable building, which is called the People's Quarters. What is the value of these premises? It was here that the Amber Room, which was so barbarously stolen, was once located, as well as a number of collections that were replenished on the personal initiatives of Peter the Great. So, it was here that the very collection of Ruysch, a Dutch anatomist, who aroused genuine interest and admiration for the results of his work in the Russian monarch, was kept. Today, this collection can be seen during a visit to the Kuntskamera, as it became one of the first components of the future Museum of Oddities.

The most interesting sights of St. Petersburg in our article.

Opening hours and ticket prices

A visit to the palace complex usually begins at ten o'clock in the morning and ends at 18:00. The ticket office closes an hour earlier. The choice of a day off is quite atypical - it is Tuesday. There are differences in ticket prices for citizens of Russia proper and some CIS countries, and for foreign citizens. The former, in general, will spend no more than one hundred rubles on tickets, of course, if they are not included in preferential categories, while the latter will have to pay up to three hundred rubles for an entrance ticket.

The Summer Palace of Peter I in St. Petersburg was built in 1711–1712. designed by the architect Domenico Trezzini. Architects and sculptors from Western Europe were involved in the design of the facades and interiors of the Summer Palace: Andreas Schlüter, Georg-Johann Mattarnovi, Jean-Baptiste-Alexandre Leblond.

The Summer Palace of Peter I has a happy fate: after the death of Peter the palace never rebuilt, although there were some losses in interior decoration. The layout and appearance of the building, picturesque lampshades with allegorical content, pine wardrobes, tiled stoves and wall decoration with painted Dutch tiles, wooden paneling of the ground floor premises, interior decoration of the Lower and Upper Cookrooms and the Green Office have been preserved unchanged to this day. The unique wind instrument in the Cabinet of Peter I still shows the direction and strength of the wind, as well as time. On the second floor there is a Danzig wardrobe, in which, according to legend, Peter I kept his linen and boots.

The Summer Palace is valuable not only as one of the early architectural monuments of St. Petersburg, but also as evidence of the tastes, interests, and aspirations of Peter I, which were reflected in the architectural features of the monument.

To set up his residence, Peter I chose a habitable and advantageously located manor on a cape between the Neva and the Nameless Erik (now the Fontanka River), where the estate of the Swedish major Erich Berndt von Konow (Konau) was located - a small house with a farm yard and garden. At first, Peter could use the Konau house for living, but perhaps even then he built his own house for him. Ivan Matveev (Ugryumov), who from 1705 to 1707 supervised all engineering and construction work on the former Swedish manor. It was this building that I saw in 1710–1711. author of “Description of St. Petersburg and Kronshlot”: “Right by the river,” he writes, “the royal residence, that is, a small house in the garden of the Dutch facade, colorfully painted with gilded window frames and lead ornaments.”

On Peter’s instructions, a stone building was built on the site of his former house according to the design of the architect D. Trezzini. On April 17, 1712, Peter had already moved to live in the Summer Palace, and a year later the royal residence was visited by “overseas” guests: “On the third day [July] 6 Dutch and English trading ships came here, of which galliot and gukar (types of Dutch ships XVIII c.) they moored to me, that is, to my very chambers...”

After the death of Peter I, the Summer Palace lost its significance as a royal residence. Court servants lived here for some time . During the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna, Peter’s daughter, who honored the memory of her father, the “dilapidations” were repaired, and the former royal residence in the first half of the 19th century began to be used as a place for the summer residence of prominent dignitaries of that time.

For the 200th anniversary of St. Petersburg, an exhibition of monuments from the Peter the Great era was held in the Summer Palace. Portraits and engravings, banners, military weapons, pieces of furniture and applied art, books, and drawings were delivered from the imperial palaces, the Hermitage, and the State Archive. The bed of Peter I from the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, presented at the exhibition, is still on display at the palace.

After 1917, the palace was preserved as a historical and architectural monument, but did not yet have the status of a museum. In 1925, the palace was transferred to the jurisdiction of the historical and everyday life department of the State Russian Museum, where exhibitions were held that were not related to the historical past of the palace.

Since 1934, the Summer Palace of Peter I has become an independent museum of memorial, historical and artistic nature. At the museum's exhibition you can see the clothes of Peter I, furniture, paintings and engravings, and objects of applied art from Peter's time.

During the Great Patriotic War, the Summer Palace was damaged by a blast wave, but the damage was repaired already in 1946, and the following year the palace-museum was opened to visitors. In the 1960s The palace underwent a comprehensive restoration under the leadership of the architect A. E. Gessen.

Since 2004, the Summer Palace has become part of the State Russian Museum. In 2015–2017 A comprehensive restoration was carried out in the palace, which was preceded by the painstaking work of historians and art critics. During the restoration process, the atmosphere of a royal home from the early 18th century was restored in the palace.

Of particular note is the restoration of the picturesque lampshades in seven rooms of the Summer Palace, after which the darkened unique painting was brought closer to its original color. There was a feeling of air and floating of allegorical figures.

In the Green Cabinet, where Peter’s rarities were located in special display cabinets, which marked the beginning of the history of the Kunstkamera in St. Petersburg, the unique wall painting on wood of the early 18th century was cleaned and strengthened. The oak doors and shutters in the palace have been restored, and the parquet floors and fabrics on the walls have been updated in accordance with historical materials. Window sashes from the 19th century. have been replaced.

Particular attention was paid to the famous wind instrument (anemometer), which was ordered by Peter I in Dresden and installed in the Summer Palace in 1714. The device combines three dials: one of them is an hour dial, the other two are indicators of wind direction and speed. The arrows of the right and left dials are connected to the weather vane located on the roof through a shaft cut into the wall. The device is an integral part of the Summer Palace, its most unique rarity. The wind device has a carved frame on which mythological characters are represented: the lord of the winds Aeolus, the lord of the seas Neptune and sea emblems - rudders of ships, oars, tridents and a crown of rostra - prows of ships - crowning the frame.

Specialists carefully approached the restoration of the Lower and Upper Povaren, decorated with painted Dutch tiles. In Nizhnyaya Povarna there is a sink made of black marble, which is part of the water supply system of Peter the Great's time. Under the palace building, a brick vaulted tunnel has been preserved, which provided the operation of a flow-through flush sewer system - the first in St. Petersburg.

An updated gilded weather vane shone on the roof of the palace.

The Summer Palace, one of the oldest buildings in St. Petersburg, was built on a small plot of land between the Neva and Fontanka, on the site of the former estate of a Swedish citizen, Major Connau. The author of the palace project was Domenico Trezzini; Zakharov, Matveev, and Schlüter took part in the design. The two-story palace is modest and consists of only 14 rooms and 2 kitchens. The palace became the summer residence of the emperor: Peter I rested here every summer from 1714 until his death in 1725.

Since the building was used only in the summer, there was no serious heating. Thin walls of the house, ordinary frames in the windows, and next to it there are two large rivers. All this in the difficult northern climate of St. Petersburg created additional difficulties for the preservation of a historical and cultural monument. As a result, by the time restoration began, the Summer Palace, according to experts, was already in a catastrophic state. But, although the total amount for the restoration of the unique building during the work was reduced almost four times (according to the chief architect of the State Russian Museum Irina Teterina, 220 million rubles remained from 891 million rubles), this did not affect the quality of the restoration and it was completed on time.

Palace of Peter I in the Summer Garden. Photo: Natalya Shkurenok

A special subject of concern were museum objects, the quality restoration of which had not been carried out since the 18th century. Due to limited funds, the restorers (the work was carried out by specialists from the Russian Museum, the complex of which has included the Summer Palace since 2004) restored some of the exhibits completely, including oak panels with the bas-relief “Minerva”, a wind device with a weather vane on the roof and a number of pieces of furniture , including a kitchen table and 3 cabinets, and some were carefully cleared of traces of earlier restorations and repairs and preserved - these are 11 picturesque ceiling lamps, 7 of which were approximately 2x4 m in size, 4 wall picturesque medallions, wooden panels and picturesque panels of the Green Cabinet .

A complete replacement of communications and waterproofing of the foundation were carried out. Unfortunately, the old, historical frames in the windows had to be completely replaced: both because they had fallen into complete disrepair, and for the reason that the building requires enhanced protection measures from the external environment, and for safety reasons.

Palace of Peter I in the Summer Garden. Photo: Natalya Shkurenok

The restoration of the Summer Palace of Peter I became the second stage of the project for the restoration of the entire Summer Garden, which began in 2009. In 2012, after the completion of the restoration and reconstruction of the Summer Garden, a competition was announced for design documentation for the restoration of the Summer Palace. According to preliminary plans, it was supposed to be completed by 2015, but due to problems with financing and organizational difficulties, work began only at the end of 2014, and the deadline was postponed several times. And only by the end of May 2018 the work was finally completed. Tours will soon resume in the Summer Palace of Peter I.