This is a superb palace-and-park ensemble of the late XVIII - beginning of the XIX centuries which was used as a summer residence of the Russian emperor Paul I and his family. The landscape park, one of the largest in Europe, covers the area of 600 ha. The works on the palace-and-park ensemble on the winding banks of the Slavyanka river lasted for 50 years. Architects: Ch.Cameron, V.Brenna, G.Guarenghi, A.Voronikhin, C.Rossi, sculptors M.Kozlovsky, I.Martos, I.Prokofiev, F.Gordeyev, G.Demut-Malinovsky. The formation of the collections of the Pavlovsky Palace was closely connected with the trip of its owners over Europe in 1781-1782. They visited workshops of well-known artists, ordering and acquiring paintings, furniture, bronze articles, silk fabrics, china sets etc. They brought to Russia a large number of antique sculptures from Italy, as well as gifts from European royal courts. The museum also displays an excellent collection of portraits by Russian artists and a number of Pavlovsk landscape paintings and drawings. Residential Rooms of Empress Maria Fedorovna decorated by architects Guarenghi and Voronikhin at the beginning of the MX century and enrapturing with their harmonious beauty, are open to the public. After essential restoration, the library by Rossi is open. The library was built in 1824 for the Empress Maria Fedorovna to host abundant collection of books and rarities.
Open: 10:00 - 17:00
Closed on FRI and on the first MON of every month.
On
the territory of Pavlovsk there is a palace and park ensemble
- the greatest monument of Russian architecture of late 18 -
early 19th century, included by the Decree of the President
of Russia in the list of historical monuments protected by the
State. The State National Museum is visited by more than 1,5
million tourists every year. Pavlovsk is included in the list
of the cities protected by UNESCO.
On 12th December 1777 on the birthday of the first son (the
future Emperor Alexander I) the Heir of Throne Pavel Petrovich
and the Great Duchess Maria Fjodorovna got as a present from
Empress Ekaterina II 362 desyatinas of the land on the rivers
of Slavjanka River together with the villages Lynna, located
in the region of present Five Corners, and Kuznetsy, located
on the territory of the House of Children's Creativity, for
arranging the Summer residence. According to the archives "The
Estimate on Account", that day the building of "The
House of his Highness" was started. This date is the birthday
of Pavlovsk.
In 1778, since spring, the works on arranging the residence
for the Heir's family started. Bought from villages peasants
and soldiers of the garrison regiments on the high banks of
Slavjanka built two wooden two storey houses: "The house
of Her Nighness" called "Paul'lyst" (on the
site of left wing of the present palace) and "the House
of His Majesty" called (on the site of the Slavjanka
and Tyzva rivers confluence). They called their new estate
"selo Pavlovskoye".
In May 1781 the architect D.Quarneghi started to build "the
Saint Maria Magdalene Church" with attached one-storey
wings for alm-house and hospital on the left bank of Slavyanka
river near the Kuznetsy village. The building was completed
in two years. Near the hospital (on the corner of present
Revolution and Marata streets) the first in the village school
was opened in April 1784. The road to Tsarskoe selo became
the first street; on the right bank there was its prolongation
"Fjodorovsky posad".
The obelisk with the inscription "Pavlovskoe"was
started to build in 1777" was opened on the right bank
of Slavjanka on 24 October 1782 in the honour of Pavlovsk
foundation. It was designed by Ch.Kameron.
The Emperor Paul I gave a Decree about the renaming the village
into the town on 12 November 1796, in a week after coming
to Throne. At the same time the villages Tjarlevo, Zipitsy,
Fjodorovsy Posad, Krasnoye Selo with peasants and lands were
joined to Pavlovsk.
In palace and park complex was created basically during two
last decades of 18th - the first quarter of 19th centuries;
the greatest architects, sculptors and painters took part
in its creation. The common compositional project, belonged
to Ch.Cameron, was developed by working after him in Pavlovsk
V.Brennaya, D.Quarneghi, A.Voronikhin, T. de Tomon, K.Rossi,
P.Gonsago and others. The greatest sculptors I. Prokofjev,
F.Gordeev, I.Martos, I.Kozlovsky, V.Demut-Malinovsky decorated
the palace and the park by their works.
 There
was a fire in the palace on10 January 1803 lasting for three
days. The architect A.N.Voronikhin, who was the main architect
of Pavlovsk, held the restoration of the palace. He stayed
on this position until his death (hi died in February 1814).
In 1815 K.I.Rossi was appointed the court architect. In 19
years under his direction the forming of the palace and park
ensemble was completed. He designed the Nikolsiye cast-iron
gates (now on Revolution street) in 1826. Their details were
casted at Saint-Petersburg casting plant for six weeks; they
were assembled for twelve days on the site.
In January 1835 the Austria engineer F.Gerstner presented
to Nikolai I a note "On benefits of building the railroad
from Saint-Petersburg to Tsarskoe Selo and Pavlovsk".
The concession on building the Tsarskoselskaya railroad for
public use was given on 21 March 1836. In August the lying
of rails was started, and in a month there was the first public
horse-drawn trip from Tsarskoe Selo to Pavlovsk. The celebration
opening of the first in Russia railroad from Saint-Petersburg
to Pavlovsk of 30 versts length was held on 30 September 1837.
It was completed on the park territory near the Cast-iron
gates by the erection of a big wooden building called "The
Station", which served not only for arriving and departing
of trains but also for having a nice rest.
The self-sacrificing, long and laborious work of the restores
gradually gave back the lost beauty to the ensemble. Thousands
of Leningrad citizens and guests from Russia and all over the
world come to Pavlovsk in summer and in winter, in spring and
in autumn. Revived by the restores the ensemble of Pavlovsk
presents its beauty to people.
The Park
Working
in the palace Kameron, Brenna and Gonzago simultaneously worked
out the planning and decorating the park. Greatly using the
relief of the site, artistically including different decorative
constructions and grouping the trees the architects created
the grand and beautiful park. This park is a unique encyclopedia
of garden and park art, where the strictness of a regular
planning is harmonically combined with the freedom of a landscape.
In park planning all basic art trends, existing in Europe
of late 18th - early 19th centuries, were reflected: the French
architectural, or regular, style of Volier section, the Italian
- of Big circles, Brenna's staircase and Amphitheatre, the
Dutch - of Own garden and the English landscape - of the Slavjanka
river valley and other regions. The variety of compositional
ways in designing different in size and character sections
gives the park of Pavlovsk its unrepeated originality.
The numerous architectural constructions decorated the park
- pavilions, bridges, stairs - together with the sculptures
serves the compositional centres of separate regions.
In 1795 on the site of the summer house "Mariental"
B.Brenna (the main architect of the Maly palace since 1786)
started the building of the Mariental Fortress. The decorating
works were completed in 17898. According to the Emperor's
Decree the fortress was included into the staff of fortresses
and was under control of War Department until 1811. On its
first floor there was a garrison, the second was arranged
for the important guests staying.
The Palace
The architect Ch.Kameron started his work on the project of a
future palace and the first stone was laid on 25 May 1782.
In 1783 the main building works in the palace were finished.
Then the palace was covered by a roof and the works on inner
decorating were started.The smart golden and white Pavlovsky
palace on a high bank of the Slavjanka river is seen from
many park sites and is an architectural dominant of the ensemble.
The complex plan and various decorations of facades including
a lot of foreshortenings make the palace very picturesque.
Artificial marble or color plastering, covered by painting
and modeled ornament decorates the different in planning halls
- round, oval, octahedron, rectangular. The
clearness of dividing the plain walls is required by tender
scale of pink, green, white,violet shades of the decoration
and furniture. The play of color is stressed by the play
of light. In the Italian hall the light comes through the
glass of the dome, and in the Greek Hall it comes through
the big windows and from the neighbor halls - of the War and
of the Peace. The picture gallery and the Cavalier Hall are
lighted from two sides. The light pays a special role in the
creating the unique appearance of the "Torch" study.
In the Palace halls there are wonderful collections of furniture,
decorative fabric, wares of color stone, bronze, chine, crystal
and ivory. It seems that there is no such kind of the applied
art that would not be presented here by masterpieces of Russian
and foreign labels. Thanks to the skills of the architects
that were at the same time the artists and the designers the
greatness of the works of the Decorative and Applied Art is
perceived as a united ensemble.
Address: Pavlovsk, suburb of St.Petersburg
Additional information
|
Complete playbill of all St. Petersburg,Russia theatres, shows, concerts, etc. !
World-known music festival "The Stars of the White Nights".