Palace of Empress Elizabeth. Wooden summer palace of Elizabeth Petrovna

In the 18th century, women often found themselves in power in Russia, and naturally there were favorites in their lives. They were immensely endowed with titles and estates, and often had enormous political influence. Some received real palaces as gifts. Who received such an honor, and which of these palaces have survived in St. Petersburg to this day?

Anichkov Palace (Nevsky Prospekt, 39)

Anichkov Palace is the first palace to appear on Nevsky Prospekt. That’s what it was called a few years later, when the famous Anichkov Bridge appeared next to it.
Elizabeth Petrovna, daughter of Peter I, having ascended the throne in 1741 as a result of a palace coup, ordered the construction of a palace in honor of her triumph.

Although it was officially announced that the palace was being built for the new empress, everyone understood that in fact it was intended for Count Alexei Grigorievich Razumovsky, who was her favorite at that time. Razumovsky was famous for his beauty and good nature, and although he had great power at court, he never really used it.

The construction of the palace began immediately after the coronation, the architect Mikhail Zemtsov began to build it, and it was completed by Bartolomeo Rastrelli. The building was located so that its main entrance and main facade faced the Fontanka embankment, and not Nevsky Prospekt. At that time, Nevsky Prospekt was not yet the main street of the city and, in addition, many guests reached this palace along the Fontanka, which was then the border of St. Petersburg.

In 1771, Razumovsky died, and Catherine II, having bought the palace from the Razumovsky family, gave it to her new favorite, Grigory Potemkin. He decided to rebuild the palace in a more classical style, which was done. Subsequently, the palace changed its owners more than once, and was seriously rebuilt more than once.

Shuvalovsky Palace (Italyanskaya St., 25)

The mansion belonged to Elizaveta Petrovna’s young favorite, Ivan Shuvalov, a very versatile man who was interested in politics and art. Largely thanks to his efforts, Moscow University and the Academy of Arts were opened.

Instead of building new mansion“from scratch,” it was decided, taking one of the existing buildings as a basis, and thoroughly rebuilding it to suit one’s taste. The architect Savva Chevakinsky was involved in the construction of the mansion, who chose the Elizabethan Baroque style for it. The mansion was built very quickly - in just two years, and Shuvalov and his wife moved there.
However, later, under Empress Catherine II, Shuvalov was excommunicated from the court and was forced to leave Russia. By order of one of the subsequent owners of the palace, Prosecutor General Alexander Vyazemsky, the palace was rebuilt in the classical style.

Marble Palace (Millionnaya Street, 5/1)

This palace was built for another favorite of Catherine II, Count Grigory Orlov. The Empress made such a generous gift to the count for his courage and courage shown during the palace coup, thanks to which Catherine ascended the Russian throne.
To decorate the facades and interiors of this palace, marble was used, and the most varied - 32 varieties. Therefore, this palace began to be called Marble. It was also called the Palace for the Favorite.
However, the construction of the palace dragged on for 17 years and, unfortunately, Count Orlov, without waiting for the completion of the work, died. Now Marble Palace transferred to the disposal of the Russian Museum.

Gatchina Palace

The Gatchina Palace also belonged to Grigory Orlov. It was built in an unusual style for Russia - an English hunting castle. The project was carried out by Italian Antonio Rinaldi. This palace also took a very long time to build - 15 years, and Orlov only had a chance to live in it for a very short time - only two years.

Tavrichesky Palace (Shpalernaya street, building 47)

This palace, one of the largest in Europe, was built by Catherine the Great for Prince Potemkin. It was under his leadership that the Russian army, having won the Russian-Turkish war, annexed the Crimean Peninsula, then called “Tavrida”. After this, Potemkin began to be called Tauride. But Potemkin a year later sold this palace as unnecessary and left for the south on business. Catherine bought this palace and gave it to him again - this time for the capture of the Turkish fortress of Izmail.

The reign of Elizabeth I was marked by a new stage in the development of architecture in the state, the emergence of the Elizabethan (Russian) Baroque. Built under the leadership of the chief architect of the Empress R.F. Bartolomeo's architectural monuments had a clear European influence, however, they were characterized by Russian scope and monumentality. One of these masterpieces was the Summer Palace of Elizabeth Petrovna in St. Petersburg, which was compared with the French in style, lightness of architectural forms and richness of decoration royal palace in Versailles.

Geographical location and architectural features of Elizabeth's Summer Palace

We can get an idea of ​​what Elizabeth’s Summer Palace looked like from paintings and engravings, as well as the memoirs of contemporaries. The imperial residence was located on the site between the street. Italian, Catherine Canal, Moika and Fontanka rivers. The palace was built in the 3rd Summer Garden, where the Mikhailovsky (also known as the Engineer) Castle is located today.

According to the design, the palace included two facades facing the Moika (main) and in the direction of Nevsky Prospekt. In front of the main entrance to the building, a regularly operating park with trees and figured flower beds, benches and fountains was laid out. Visitors entered the courtyard through wrought-iron gates.

The summer palace of Elizabeth Petrovna Bartolomeo Francesco Rastrelli had a second name - the Wooden Palace. Only the basement and walls of the first floor were made of stone, the second was entirely made of wood. The pink and gray exterior walls looked elegant and light. The interior of the room was decorated with rich stucco with gilding, sculptures and a large number of mirrors. The luxurious and elegant palace included more than 160 rooms, including a hall for receptions and galleries.

Favorite residence of Elizaveta Petrovna

The entire court of Elizabeth I moved to the Summer Palace from the Winter Palace as soon as it got warmer: in April - May. The move was celebrated solemnly, with a cannon salute and an orchestra, accompanied by a guards regiment. The return to the winter residence at the end of September was no less pompous.

Elizabeth loved her Summer Palace. Official receptions and balls were regularly held there. Future Emperor Paul I was born here.

Elizabeth's Summer Palace: history of construction

The idea of ​​​​building a summer imperial residence appeared under Anna Leopoldovna, regent under the young Ivan VI, to whom the throne passed after Anna Ioannovna. The architect began developing drawings at the end of 1740, and construction work began in July 1741. In the same year, a coup took place and Elizaveta Petrovna, the youngest daughter of Peter the Great, came to power. The new empress approved the continuation of construction of the palace and work was carried out from 1741 to 1744. Historically, construction was not carried out exactly according to the design. So, according to the instructions of Elizabeth through the river. Moika, a covered gallery was built for the transition from the palace to the 2nd Summer Garden.

After the death of Elizabeth I, the palace remained an imperial residence; celebratory events at the end of the seven-year war with Prussia were held here, and Catherine II received official congratulations on the coronation from foreign ambassadors there, although she spent most of her time in Tsarskoye Selo. By decree of Paul I, the Summer Palace was destroyed in 1797 (officially due to dilapidation), and in its place the modern Mikhailovsky Castle, known to us, was built, which became the residence of the emperor.

It is difficult to name another building that would have existed on the territory of the Imperial Summer Garden for such a short period of time - only fifteen years - and left such a bright mark on history. For eight years, the Summer Palace of Anna Ioannovna remained the imperial residence, where the political pulse of the entire Russian Empire beat.

The summer wooden palace of Anna Ioannovna is part of the group of unpreserved buildings in the Summer Garden. The empress ended her life within the walls of this palace in 1740, and her will was read out here. Here Biron's regency was proclaimed, and high dignitaries and guards swore allegiance to the young Emperor John Antonovich. One of the most dramatic pages of our history is connected with Anna Ioannovna’s beloved palace - the arrest of Duke Biron of Courland, the empress’s former favorite. It is not surprising that the imperial residence, which received such gloomy fame, was dismantled eight years later.

The Summer Palace of Anna Ioannovna was erected in 1732 on the Neva embankment on the site of the “Hall for Glorious Celebrations,” which was dismantled for the occasion. The architect was Francesco Rastrelli with the participation of his father, Bartolomeo Rastrelli.

It was a one-story palace, significantly elongated in length. The summer wooden palace was very different from the palace of Peter I, which stood on the banks of the Fontanka. Rastrelli highlighted the central part of the building, and from the side wings he arranged descents to the water. An elegant balustrade ran along the edge of the roof, the monotonous rhythm of which was broken by figured carved decorations and decorative sculpture. Columns and frequently located windows decorated with platbands significantly enriched the facades of the palace, giving it the character of a baroque structure. After the completion of the palace, the empress’s new residence acquired the function of a kind of “Neva façade” through which one could enter the Summer Garden.

According to Rastrelli, the palace had twenty-eight apartments. It is known from other sources that in 1741 - after the death of the empress - the palace had the following chambers: “Anticamora”, where ambassadors were received; "Comedy"; Chief Marshal's premises, the empress's bedroom, the large imperial hall, ten chambers of Duke Biron, four chambers occupied by his son Peter. In addition, in the palace there were chambers for ladies-in-waiting and a writing office; state chambers, where chamber clothes were kept, and armory chambers. It is also mentioned that Biron’s bedroom was covered with carpets. Exactly this detailed description interior apartments of the Summer Palace, which we have today.

The plan of Anna Ioannovna's wooden palace, made from a copy of a drawing from 1732, clearly shows that the building contained two enfilades of halls. The premises of the northern enfilade overlooked the Neva, and the southern enfilade overlooked the garden. The Neva enfilade consisted of halls large sizes— this was the front part of the palace. Along the axis of the building there was apparently a throne room; the throne room is shown in it on the plan of the palace. Further to the west, three rooms later, there was a ceremonial bedchamber. In the eastern building of the palace, highlighted by the risalit, there was the largest hall of the palace. Judging by the description, the palace housed a “Comedy”, that is, a hall for theatrical performances. Obviously, this large hall in the eastern part of the building served as the “Comedy”. The garden enfilade consisted of smaller rooms. Perhaps there were living quarters here; they are grouped by apartments, separated by hallways and with access to the garden. Since the ceremonial bedchamber was located in the Neva Enfilade, it can be assumed that in the Garden Enfilade there was a daily bedchamber in which the Empress died. Biron's apartments also overlooked the garden and were adjacent to the imperial ones: this is confirmed by the message of Lieutenant Colonel Manstein, who arrested the Duke.

Anna Ioannovna first moved to her Summer Residence immediately after the wedding of her favorite brother, Gustav Biron, with Princess Menshikova, celebrated in the Winter Palace on the first day of summer 1732.

Anna Ioannovna lived in the Summer Palace according to a strictly established order - from the beginning of May to the end of September (excluding several weeks in June and July spent in Peterhof). The imperial court always moved to the Summer Palace with special pomp. Anna Ioannovna sailed along the Neva under the thunder of cannon shots on a sixteen-oared yacht decorated with gold with a magnificent cabin in the form of a room decorated with green velvet.

2 Pokrovsky Palace of Elizaveta Petrovna

Empress Elizaveta Petrovna is one of those rare post-Petrine Romanovs who loved Moscow. Her sympathy also extended to the village of Pokrovskoye-Rubtsovo, which belonged to her, on the banks of the now non-existent Rybinka River, which flowed into the Yauza. The village itself, with its wooden “pleasure” palace, the Church of the Intercession, a pond and a garden, has been known since the 16th century. Its first owner was Protasy Vasilyevich Yuryev, from whom the Romanovs got it through complicated means. The holdings were large.

Under Anna Ioannovna, removed from the court, Elizaveta Petrovna lived in Pokrovskoye-Rubtsovo. According to legend, it is fun, organizing holidays, dancing and festivities. In 1737, the wooden palace burned down. In 1739, Elizabeth built a new one on the shore of the pond: one-story, on a high basement, with a central two-story hall. The interiors of the palace have not survived, but it is known that they were decorated in Japanese and Chinese styles. A luxurious park with a roller coaster and carousels was built in 1752 by the architect B.-F. Rastrelli. He also made a project for a new palace, which was not implemented.

On the other side of the pond, the Church of the Resurrection of Christ was built, connected to the palace by a passage and a bridge. In 1790 it was abolished.

After the death of Elizabeth, the palace was practically not used. In 1872, the territory was given to the Pokrovskaya community of sisters of mercy. The community made alterations according to the design of P. P. Skomoroshenko: they built on the second floor, built side wings, revived the Church of the Resurrection, but in the central hall, and changed the decor of the facades to the existing ones.

The community was closed in the 1920s, settled in former palace huge communal apartments that existed here until the 1980s. The pond was filled in, and the current Gastello Street was built in front of the palace. Currently, the palace houses the State Research Institute for Restoration.

3 Grand Catherine Palace

The Grand Catherine Palace in Tsarskoe Selo is the favorite residence of Elizabeth Petrovna and Catherine II. The Catherine Palace is the compositional center of the Catherine Park and one of its main decorations. Majestic building occupies the central part of Tsarskoye Selo.

The history of the palace begins in 1717 with the construction of the “Stone Chambers” for the wife of Peter the Great, Catherine the First. According to Braunstein's design, it was a modest two-story building, the architecture of which was typical of similar buildings in Russia at the beginning of the 18th century. In 1724, construction of the palace was completed. In honor of this, a grand celebration was organized in the new palace.

The first to begin the reconstruction of the “Stone Chambers” was Elizabeth the First after her accession to the throne in 1741. Several architects changed before the construction was headed by the chief architect of the imperial court, Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli, at the end of 1748. And by the end of July 1756, instead of a modest building, the empress and her guests were presented with a luxurious palace in the Baroque style, striking in its beauty and size. The azure facade was decorated with white columns, stucco decorations and figures of Atlanteans. The gilded ornament gave the palace an even more solemn appearance. From the central part of the palace there were wings connected by covered galleries. The gilded domes of the five-domed palace church rose above the northern wing. And above the southern wing shone a gilded dome with a multi-pointed star on the spire. The facades of the palace are 300 meters long, and almost 100 kilograms of red gold were spent on gilding the external and internal decorations.

The interior layout and decoration were also modified. The ceremonial rooms were located along the entire length of the building, forming the ceremonial golden enfilade. The Picture Hall and the famous Amber Room appeared. The Picture Hall presents more than a hundred paintings by Western European masters of painting from the 17th - early 18th centuries from various national schools. The best craftsmen from different countries worked on the creation of the Amber Room for more than five years.

The next stage in the design of the palace's state and residential halls dates back to the 1770s. The new owner of the residence, Empress Catherine II, who was passionate about ancient art, wanted to decorate her apartments in accordance with fashionable tastes and entrusted their decoration to a Scottish architect, an expert ancient architecture C. Cameron.

The interiors he created - the Arabesque and Lyon living rooms, the Chinese Hall, the Domed Dining Room, the Silver Cabinet, the Blue Study (Snuffbox) and the Bedchamber - were distinguished by their refined beauty, severity of decorative design and special elegance of decoration. Unfortunately, these halls were destroyed during the Great Patriotic War and have not yet been restored.

4 Chinese Palace in Oranienbaum

The Chinese Palace is part of the grandiose palace and park complex “Own Dacha” of Empress Catherine II. The construction of the palace was carried out by the architect Antonio Rinaldi. According to his design, a large rectangular pond was dug in front of the southern facade of the Chinese Palace, on the left bank of which a Maid of Honor was built, and on the right bank a place was allocated for a coffee house (the project for this building was never implemented). At the eastern facade of the palace, already beyond the border of the Own Dacha, a Kitchen building was built.

The Chinese Palace, a brilliant example of the Rococo style in Russia, is rightfully considered the pearl of the Oranienbaum palace and park ensemble. Absolute authenticity makes this diverse suburb unique, distinguishing it from all the imperial residences that frame the Northern capital like a brilliant necklace.

Catherine II, while still a Grand Duchess, chose a “cherished” corner for herself in Oranienbaum. In her “Notes,” she recalls the year 1757: “The fantasy came to me to plant a garden for myself... but I knew that the Grand Duke would not give me a single piece of land for this, and therefore I asked the Golitsyn princes to sell or give me 100 dessiatines that had long been abandoned... the land that they owned near Oranienbaum itself... They willingly gave it up to me. I began to draw plans and lay out the garden, and since this was the first time I was working on plans and buildings, everything turned out huge and awkward for me.”

Ekaterina Alekseevna was able to begin implementing her plan only five years later, with her accession to the Russian throne. In 1762, construction began on his own dacha, and, above all, “a stone house and a mountain.” All work was carried out “under the supervision” of A. Rinaldi and according to his drawings. Catherine II sometimes came to Oranienbaum to oversee the construction of the Dutch House, or Chinese Palace. The empress celebrated her housewarming in the Chinese Palace on July 27, 1768. This Sunday was marked by a divine liturgy in the Church of St. Panteleimon, and then a ceremonial meal was held in honor of the completion of the palace: the bishops and archimandrites, together with the nobles, dined and “drank to the health of Her Imperial Majesty.”

In the 1770s, the Empress often visited Oranienbaum and received distinguished guests here: not only “foreign” ministers arrived on visits, but also royalty - King Gustav III of Sweden, Austrian Emperor Joseph II. On July 17, 1780, Catherine II showed the palace to her grandchildren, Grand Dukes Alexander and Konstantin, for the first time. Since 1796, Oranienbaum belonged to Grand Duke Alexander Pavlovich (future Emperor Alexander I), and in 1831 the residence became the sole possession of his brother Mikhail Pavlovich. Later, Mikhail Pavlovich’s wife Elena Pavlovna became the mistress of the estate, and then their daughter Ekaterina Mikhailovna, who married Duke Georg of Mecklenburg-Strelitz; their children - Georgy, Mikhail and Elena - owned Oranienbaum until 1917.

The Chinese summer pleasure palace was named due to the luxurious decoration of its four rooms, designed in the spirit of the ideas of the time about the art of the East. There are also other names: “The House in the Upper Garden”, “The Small House, Her Imperial Majesty’s Own”. And indeed, the loud definition of “palace” is least suitable for it - it rather resembles a park pavilion standing on a low stylobate forming a terrace.

The palace, modest in appearance, amazes with its interior decoration. Gilding and mirrors, shell ornaments, flower garlands, curls, intricately curved frames, stucco patterns whimsically running along the walls, arches and ceilings, exquisite paintings covered with a pearl haze - all this creates an atmosphere of delicacy and comfort. This is the Rococo style, which existed for a short time in the 18th century, but left a bright mark in Russia - the exquisite and intimate Chinese Palace in Oranienbaum. Stylized oriental decorative motifs and many original works of art from China and Japan add special sophistication to Rococo interiors.

The interiors of the Chinese Palace preserve the original decoration of the 18th century: a rare collection of paintings by Italian artists, fine examples of Eastern and Western European porcelain, furniture by Russian and European masters. One of the main attractions of the palace are the unique parquet floors, made according to Rinaldi’s drawings; they have no equal in Russian decorative and applied arts. Initially, the floors in the palace were made of artificial marble. In the 1770s, they were replaced by inlaid parquet floors made of various types of wood (there are up to 36 of them) - oak, maple, birch, rosewood, boxwood, mahogany and ebony, Persian walnut, sacchardan (brown wood), amaranth and others. Parquets, which are not repeated in any room, amaze with their complex patterns and exquisite colors.

The Glass Bead Study, the Damask Bedchamber, the Hall of the Muses, the Blue and Pink Living Rooms... These names themselves speak of the exclusivity of the palace premises and their enduring artistic and historical value. In interior design, Rinaldi used a rich arsenal of decorative forms inherent in the Rococo style, achieving a harmonious relationship between the decoration of the palace and its architecture.

The center of the symmetrical composition of the Chinese Palace is the Great Hall, from which the front enfilade rooms extend along the northern façade in both directions. Two wings, including small enfilades, adjoin the main volume of the building from the south at right angles; in the western suite there were the personal chambers of Empress Catherine II, in the eastern suite there were the rooms of her son, Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich.

The Chinese palace is located in the southwestern part Upper Park. In front of the palace there is a clearing with flower beds, and centuries-old oak trees serve as the side scenes and background. In the 18th century, the park was designed in a regular French style, and a swimming pool of regular geometric shape was “inscribed” into its composition. By the middle of the 19th century, the character of the parklands had changed: the layout became free, and the Upper Park acquired a romantic appearance. The reservoir turned into a pond, and its banks took on softer contours.

The Chinese Palace opened as a museum in 1922. During the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945, Soviet troops defended the “Oranienbaum patch”, which did not allow the German army to occupy Oranienbaum. The damage caused by the war did not distort the appearance of his monuments, and the skillful skill of the restorers only emphasized their highest artistic merits.

Summer Palace of Elizabeth Petrovna- an unpreserved imperial residence in St. Petersburg, built by B.F. Rastrelli in 1741-1744 on the site where the Mikhailovsky (Engineers) Castle is now located. Demolished in 1797

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✪ Palace of Elizabeth Petrovna.

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✪ Winter Palace Elizaveta Petrovna

✪ Winter Palace of Peter I

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History of construction

Even then, the idea arose to close the alley of the Summer Garden opposite the Carpiev Pond with a palace building. This is evidenced by the project - gg., preserved in the archives. Its possible author is J.B. Leblon. It depicts a small nine-axle palace, the elevated center of which is topped with a tetrahedral dome. Wide one-story galleries cover the cour d'honneur with a lush figured parterre facing the Moika. Behind there is a garden with numerous bosquets of various shapes. Fruit plantings have been preserved on the territory of the present Mikhailovsky Garden. However, things did not go further than plans.

However, while construction was underway, a coup occurred, and Elizaveta Petrovna became the owner of the building. By the time the palace, made of wood on stone cellars, was roughly finished. The architect, in describing the buildings he created, spoke about him like this:

“This building had more than 160 apartments, including a church, a hall and galleries. Everything was decorated with mirrors and rich sculpture, as was the new garden, decorated with beautiful fountains, with the Hermitage built on the ground floor level, surrounded by rich trellises, all the decorations of which were gilded."

Despite its location within the city limits, the building is designed according to an estate plan. The plan was created under the clear influence of Versailles, which is especially noticeable from the side of the cour d'honneur: the successively narrowing spaces enhanced the effect of the baroque perspective of the courtyard, fenced off from the access road by a latticework of a magnificent design with state emblems. One-story service buildings along the perimeter of the cour d'honneur emphasize the traditional Baroque isolation of the ensemble. The rather flat decor of the light pink facades (mezzanine pilasters with Corinthian capitals and corresponding rusticated stone plinth blades, figured window frames) was offset by a rich play of volumes. Complex in plan, highly developed side wings included courtyards with small flower parterres. Lush entrance porticoes led to staircase volumes, as always with Rastrelli, offset from the central axis. From the main staircase, a series of living rooms decorated with gilded carvings led to the most representative hall of the palace - the Throne. Its two-light volume accentuated the center of the building. From the outside, curly stairs led to it, complemented by ramps on the garden side. The appearance of the palace was completed, giving it baroque splendor, by numerous statues and vases on the pediments and balustrade crowning the building. Rastrelli decorated the space up to the Moika with floral parterres with three fountain pools of complex outlines.

As often happened with the creations of an architect, over time the logical and harmonious original plan changes to suit momentary requirements. In 1744, for the Empress to go to the 2nd Summer Garden across the Moika, he built a one-story covered gallery, decorated with paintings hanging on the walls. Here, near the northwestern risalit, he creates a terrace of a hanging garden at the mezzanine level with the Hermitage pavilion and a fountain in the center of the ground floor. Along its contour it is fenced with a lush gilded trellis lattice, and multi-march gatherings in the garden are organized. Subsequently, a palace church was added to the northeastern risalit, expanding it with an additional row of rooms from the Fontanka side. Bay windows and lanterns appear on the western façade.

On the territory adjacent to the palace, a decorative park was laid out with a huge complex green labyrinth, bosquets, trellis pavilions and two trapezoidal ponds with semicircular protrusions (still preserved, they acquired free outlines during the reconstruction of the park for the Grand Duke's residence). Rastrelli reports about his work in the park in 1745:

“On the banks of the Moika in the new garden I built a large building of baths with a round salon and a fountain with several jets, with ceremonial rooms for relaxation.”

In the center of the park there were swings, slides, and carousels. The structure of the latter is unusual: rotating benches were placed around a large tree, and in the crown there was a gazebo, into which one climbed up the stairs. spiral staircase.

Another building located in close proximity to the north-eastern corner of the palace is associated with the name of the architect: the water supply system for the fountains of the Summer Garden, completed in the 1720s. no longer gave enough pressure, and did not correspond to the splendor and grandeur of the imperial residence. In the mid-1740s. Rastrelli builds water towers with an aqueduct across the Fontanka. Technically complex, the purely utilitarian structure made of wood was decorated with palace luxury: the wall paintings imitated lush baroque modeling.

Despite the fact that the palace was a ceremonial imperial residence, there was no direct connection with Nevskaya Prospekt: ​​the road, which ran among unpresentable random buildings (on the banks of the Fontanka there were glaciers, greenhouses, workshops and the Elephant Yard) turned onto Italianskaya Street, and only bypassing the palace I I. Shuvalov, built by Savva Chevakinsky, crews through Malaya Sadovaya reached the central transport artery of the city. Direct communication will appear only in the next century thanks to the work of C. Rossi.

Elizaveta Petrovna loved the Summer Palace very much. At the end of April - beginning of May (weather permitting), the empress's ceremonial move from the winter residence was celebrated with a magnificent ceremony with the participation of the court, orchestra, and guard regiments accompanied by an artillery salute from the cannon at the Winter Palace and the guns of the Peter and Paul Fortress and the Admiralty. At the same time, the imperial yachts, stationed in the roadstead opposite the Apraksin House, sailed to Summer Garden. The queen set off on her return journey at the end of September with the same ceremonies.

With the death of Empress Anna Ioannovna in 1740, Biron became regent under the young Emperor John Antonovich, who was 2 months old at that time. However, his regency was short-lived. Biron was arrested for abuses and exiled. The reign of the mother of the young emperor Anna Leopoldovna, who was appointed regent under him, was also short-lived. On November 25, 1741, as a result of a palace coup, the daughter of Emperor Peter I, Elizaveta Petrovna, ascended the throne. The time of her reign was the time of the powerful rise of St. Petersburg architecture. She herself loved pomp and splendor, Elizaveta Petrovna wanted to see her father’s brainchild decorated with beautiful buildings and therefore was very concerned about ceremonial construction in St. Petersburg and its suburbs. Having ascended the throne, Elizaveta Petrovna primarily lived in the Summer Palace on the site of the present Mikhailovsky Castle, which soon became too small for the expanding imperial court. During her reign, the St. Nicholas Naval Cathedral and the Winter Palace were built, the ensemble of the Smolny Monastery was built, the Tuchkov and Sampsonievsky bridges were erected, and, finally, Moscow University, the Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg and the Corps of Pages were opened. She invited the best architects of Europe to St. Petersburg, and among them the brightest was Bartolomeo Rastrelli. He erected the best buildings in St. Petersburg. These are the Winter Palace, which he rebuilt twice, the Anichkov, Vorontsov, Stroganov palaces; The Great Peterhof Palace, Tsarskoye Selo (Catherine) Palace, Smolny Monastery and other buildings. Looking at the cathedral of the Smolny Monastery, Quarenghi, who did not like the architecture of the Elizabethan Baroque, took off his hat with the words: “What a church!”
Upon arrival in St. Petersburg, Elizaveta Petrovna ordered two palaces to be built for herself at once, one temporary, wooden near the Police Bridge, the other stone on the Neva embankment. Both palaces were built according to the design of B. Rastrelli. The wooden palace, although it was built as a temporary one, was decorated with great luxury.
Nevsky Prospekt by that time had become the best street in the city. Elizabeth oversaw its improvement. Decrees were issued prohibiting the construction of wooden buildings on the main street of the city. Only stone houses. But they were not like today. As a rule, these were two-story buildings with a mandatory front garden in front of the facade, fenced with a patterned cast-iron lattice. In 1755 they began to rebuild Gostiny Dvor. Rastrelli's plan, which was distinguished by the great splendor of the building's decoration, was not implemented due to lack of funding. Now we see the building of Gostiny Dvor, built according to the design of the architect Valen-Delamot, who preserved the layout of Rastrelli, but carried out the construction of the building in the style of early classicism.
According to contemporaries, Elizaveta Petrovna was very beautiful, lively and flirtatious. Her palaces were lined with mirrors in which she constantly saw her repeated reflection. They bought for her in Europe in large quantities the most expensive outfits. After her death, the empress's wardrobe contained 15,000 dresses, some of which were never worn. She herself never wore the same dress twice. And she demanded the same from the courtiers, for appearance which she closely followed, issuing one after another decrees regulating the appearance of her entourage. For example, a decree was issued prohibiting court ladies from wearing dark dresses, a decree that Go to the masquerade only in a good dress, and not in a “vile” one. And in the winter of 1747, a “hair regulation” was issued, which ordered all court ladies to cut their hair bald and cover their heads with “black tousled wigs,” which she herself issued. The reason for such a strict regulation was that the powder from the empress’s hair did not want to come off, the empress decided to dye her hair black, but for some reason this did not work out and then she had to be the first to cut her hair and put on a black wig. And she did not like anyone to surpass her in beauty and perfection. Well, how was it possible not to make a “hair installation”?
The time of Elizabeth was a time when the Baroque style reigned in art, which matched the cheerful character of the empress with her whims and love of luxury. The architectural masterpieces of Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli, which still amaze us with their grace, luxury and splendor, are a monument to that time. And one of them is the Smolny Monastery, which was built by the empress for herself. At one time she had a desire to abdicate the throne and enter a monastery. Thousands of soldiers and craftsmen were rounded up to build the monastery. It was built on a grand scale. And after a few years, he was outwardly ready. But then the seven-year war began, and construction stopped due to lack of money. Soon, Elizabeth also lost her desire to go to a monastery.

G. R. Derzhavin called the reign of Elizabeth “the century of songs.” Elizaveta Petrovna really loved music and herself had extraordinary musical abilities: she played many instruments and composed songs. Thanks to her, Russia became acquainted with the guitar, mandolin, harp and other instruments. Under her rule, opera, ballet, and drama theater flourished, which she loved very much. Shakespeare, Moliere and, of course, the plays of the first Russian tragedian Alexander Sumarokov were performed on the stage of Russian theaters. In 1750, a theater was created in Yaroslavl by Fyodor Grigorievich Volkov, whose performances were a great success. Having learned about the “Yaroslavl comedies,” the Empress, by special decree, summoned Volkov and the troupe to St. Petersburg. Through the initiative of Sumarokov and Volkov, the “Russian Theater for the Presentation of Tragedies and Comedies” was officially established in 1756, marking the beginning of the creation of the Imperial Theaters of Russia. The theater was initially located in the Menshikov Palace, where the Gentry Cadet Corps for young nobles opened in 1732. The first Russian tragedy “Khorev” was staged here, and the actors of Fyodor Volkov’s troupe were also stationed here in 1752.
With the active social life that Elizabeth led, she sometimes simply did not get around to running the state. Ministers ran after her for months so that she could sign some document between dressing for a ball or a masquerade. Fortunately, the bureaucratic machine that Peter had once launched continued its work, and things went on as usual. In addition, she had wonderful assistants. She could well rely on P.I. Shuvalov in domestic policy, in foreign policy on A.P. Bestuzhev-Ryumin, in the sphere of education on I.I. Shuvalov.
Balls and masquerades replaced each other, competing with each other in pomp and splendor. But against the backdrop of this seemingly endless holiday, important events took place in St. Petersburg. Petersburg of this time is the Petersburg of Lomonosov, the founder of Russian science and poetry, this is the Petersburg of important geographical research and discoveries. In 1743, the eleven-year Second Kamchatka Expedition ended, and two years later an Academic Atlas was published with maps of the vast territory from Baikal to Anadyr and northwestern America.
When creating the Academy of Sciences at one time, Peter I thought of it as a center higher education in Russia. This can be seen from the draft “Regulations of the Academy of Sciences and Arts,” which stated that members of the Academy, working “on the perfection of the arts and sciences,” had to “teach those arts and sciences publicly,” that is, teach. That is, Peter thought of the Academy as a university. In 1745, M.V. Lomonosov became a professor at this Academic (or Petrovsky) University, who insisted that not only nobles could study at the university: “Not a single person is prohibited from studying at universities, no matter who he is, and At the university, the student who has learned more is more honorable.” This is the attitude of the professor of the first higher education in Russia educational institution, the founder of Russian science, opened the way to education for many talented young people. Among the first “natural Russians” to graduate from Petrovsky University were Antioch Cantemir, Ivan Magnitsky, and Pyotr Remizov. The poetic “Satires” of Antiochus Cantemir were very popular at that time and were circulated from hand to hand in lists.
The increased interest in culture and education was facilitated by the cultural needs and interests of the empress and the court, proximity to Europe, and the very spirit of the city, which from birth was destined to be a “window to Europe.” Gymnasiums, both public and private, are appearing in the city. In 1757, the “Academy of the Three Most Notable Arts” - painting, architecture and sculpture - was founded in St. Petersburg. The construction of the building for the Academy of Arts on Universitetskaya Embankment will begin only in 1764, and from its founding until this time it was located in the house of the initiator of its creation, I. I. Shuvalov, in the Shuvalov Palace on Sadovaya Street, between Nevsky Prospekt and Italianskaya Street. Her first students were Ivan Starov, Fyodor Rokotov, Vasily Bazhenov. As a mosaic artist, M. V. Lomonosov became an honorary member of the Academy. The mosaic panel by M.V. Lomonosov “The Battle of Poltava” is now in the building of the Academy of Sciences.
In 1751, on the Nikolaevskaya embankment of the Neva, the current embankment of Lieutenant Schmidt, the Naval Gentry Cadet Corps opened, which later became the Maritime Academy. All outstanding Russian navigators and admirals went to sea from the pier where the monument to Krusenstern stands.

St. Petersburg of the noisy Elizabethan era no longer resembled Peter’s modest “Paradise”. By this time, the city had a favorable environment for economic development. He no longer required exceptional measures to attract the population and finances. The ever-increasing needs of the new capital transformed this entire region for many kilometers around. Thousands of carts with building materials, food, and various local crafts pulled from the Novgorod, Pskov, and Olonets provinces. Hundreds of ships from Europe, barges, boats, rafts were looking for places to moor at the city's piers.
During her twenty-year reign, Elizaveta Petrovna did not sign a single death warrant. And perhaps that is why the internal life of the country as a whole during this period was stable - there were no riots or bitterness in the country. Some cruel fun was prohibited: in Moscow and St. Petersburg it was forbidden to own bears and shoot guns. In the sphere of foreign policy, this time was also a time of peace: out of the 20 years of Elizabeth's reign, 15 years were peaceful. And four years of Russia's participation in the Seven Years' War (1756-1760) revealed the combat effectiveness of the Russian army, which defeated the hitherto invincible troops of Frederick the Great. And this is despite the eternal Russian confusion, theft in the rear, and ill-conceived strategic plans.