Winter Palace
(winter palace, Winterpalais, palais d'hiver, Zimny, zimni dvorec, zimnij dvorets, dworetz, simnij-dworez, ‡имний дворец, in St. Petersburg, St.Petersburg, Saint Petersburg, Saint-Petersbourg, Sankt-Petersburg, Sankt-Petersurg, ‘анкт-Џетербург) .
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The Winter Palace or Zimni Dvorets in Russian is such a famous landmark that many visitors believe it as the main attraction of St. Petersburg. Winter Palace is also synonymous with the Hermitage Museum (Ermitage), although technically or architecturally it is not exactly so; there are three or rather four separate buildings known as Hermitage, - the Hermitage or the Small Hermitage, the Old Hermitage (VeltenХs House), Hermitage Theatre, and the New Hermitage, all connected to the Winter Palace. So many great sources on the Hermitage Museum, its buildings and collections are available online and offline that whatever I can write here in the format of a compact city guide can only do them injustice. Visit HermitageХs own great website, although the site is by no means a catalogue of vast museum collections, it gives a thorough introduction to the museum and offers some fantastic (and free) virtual tours.
The Winter Palace occupies the entire northern part of the Palace Square. The building you see is the fifth Winter Palace.
The first Winter Palace.
Several residential buildings were constructed to the east of Admiralty complex
from 1705 on. These were St. Petersburg mansions of the most important personalities
of Petrine Russia and the founders of the new state: Apraxin (Apraksin, Apraksine),
Raguzinski, Jaguzinski (Jaguzhinski, Yaguzhinski, Iaguzhinski), Chernyshev (Tchernycheff,
Tchernyshev), Olsufiev (Olsoufieff), Kruis, and Peter Alexeev himself (Alekseyev,
Alekseev). Peter Alekseev was the pseudonym Peter I adopted and used throughout
his life. The first Winter Palace was a large mansion built in then popular
Dutch style. Some historical sources claim that the wedding of Peter I and Catherine
I took place in the new Winter Palace, a Dutch mansion that was rebuilt into
a true baroque palace by 1711.
The Second Winter Palace.
The Second Winter Palace was built over the first one by Georg Mattarnovi, the
court architect, in 1716. In 1718 a channel, Zimnija Kanavka, or little Winter
Ditch (the word kanava or canava in Russian is obviously of the same origin
as canal, but means a ditch, trench or even a gutter) was dug next to the Palace,
so you can now pinpoint its location with a degree of accuracy. Zimnija Kanavka
or the Winter Ditch is one of the most romantic spots in St. Petersburg, here
an arch-like building thrown over the canal connects Old Hermitage to the Hermitage
Theater. On January 28, 1725, four years after triumphant peace treaty of Nystad,
and with his reforms still incomplete, Peter I died in his bed chamber in the
second Winter Palace.
The Third and Fourth Winter Palace
Bartholomeo Rastrelli designed the third Winter Palace for Empress Anne I (Anna
Ioannovna); construction commenced in 1731. By the time Empress Elizabeth I
ascended the Russian throne, the building was still incomplete. The new monarch
had a taste quite different from her predecessor, Elizabeth wanted a flamboyant,
luxurious baroque building and, in her opinion, the existing Winter Palace was
neither opulent nor roomy enough. So, the existing or the fifth Winter Palace
was built between 1754 and 1762. Fourth Winter Palace was “temporary” structure
and was demolished by 1760s.
Although allegedly the entire Winter Palace complex has over 10,000 halls, rooms and chambers, the original 18 century palace is an immense work of art that still stirs imagination. The building has 1050 halls and rooms, 1886 doors, and over 100 staircases. Initial design belongs to Bartholomeo Rastrelli, but the palace is a collective work of hundreds of architects, draughtsmen (draftsmen), engineers, skilled masons, craftsmen, and artisans from all over Russia and many other European nations. No doubt it was a lengthy and expensive project, but after passage of quarter of a millennium, the palace stands today as one of the worldХs best investments.
Winter Palace is also the largest structure of what is now known as the State Hermitage Museum. Its baroque facade, a continuous melody of curved shape, ornaments, and abundant sculpture, appears differently under dissimilar light conditions and if looked upon from different angles. The present color of the palace is not original. Its coat of paint, colors and their shades have changed over time. ItХs hard to imagine now but at the turn of the century (before WWI and the Bolshevist putsch), the palace was painted reddish-brown.
Read on, - the
Hermitage Museum.
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