Menshikov Palace
Menshikov Palace ( Russian Меншиковский дворец ) is a baroque palace and the first large stone building in the temporary Russian capital of Saint Petersburg . It was built for their first governor-general Alexander Danilowitsch Menshikov .
Located on Vasilyevsky Island on the Great Neva , the three-story palace with the address “Universitetskaya nab. (Университетская набережная - Universitätskai) 15 “ was built from 1713 according to the original plans of the Italian architect Giovanni Maria Fontana and was completed by around 1720 by the Hamburg architect Gottfried Skull . The interior of the palace was luxuriously furnished. In addition, over 30,000 Delft tiles , elaborate wood paneling and parquet floors were installed. The Danish ambassador to Russia said that all wealth comes from Polish castles. But Peter the Great had also accused Menshikov of plundering Poland. Behind the three-wing complex there were originally extensive baroque gardens, which later fell victim to the development. Ships were able to dock in front of the building, which has lost some of its original imposingness due to a later increase in street level. In its initial phase up to the completion of the Winter Palace , the building was occasionally used by Tsar Peter the Great for state receptions.
When, after the death of Tsar Peter the Great, his friend, advisor and favorite Menshikov fell out of favor in 1727, the palace was expropriated and from 1732 made available to the First Cadet Corps , an elite school for the Russian nobility . The school, which provided both military and music education (the first permanent Russian theater emerged from it under Tsarina Elizabeth I in 1756), used the building until the end of the Tsarist era in 1918. For this purpose, a renovation and expansion took place until 1735 by the architect Domenico Trezzini .
After many years of extensive renovation, a branch of the State Hermitage Museum was housed in the palace in 1981. Objects of Russian culture from the first third of the 18th century are exhibited. For this purpose, part of the living quarters of Prince Menshikov was faithfully restored and can be viewed. The four rooms, which are lined with ceramic tiles from Dutch and St. Petersburg manufacturers, are unusual .
Footnotes
- ↑ a b c Of taxes and tax evaders . 2001, ISBN 3-453-17988-9 (The Gold of the Tsars, Chapter Two: Treasures and Intrigues), p. 139.
Web links
Coordinates: 59 ° 56 ′ 20 ″ N , 30 ° 17 ′ 45 ″ E