Mikhailovsky Castle in St. Petersburg

2024 Author: Harold Hamphrey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:06

St. Petersburg's collection of magnificent architecture includes many outstanding buildings. Among them, Mikhailovsky Castle stands out, which has an interesting history, shrouded in numerous secrets and legends.

Unusual castle

A majestic and unusual palace rises on the Fontanka embankment. Its silhouette is somewhat reminiscent of gloomy medieval buildings. Mikhailovsky Castle in St. Petersburg is the creation of Tsar Paul I, who is considered a very controversial figure in the history of Russia. For historians, the king is still the most mysterious and strange figure among all the rulers of the country.

The history of the palace, like the life of Paul I himself, is shrouded in myths, legends, secrets, the content of which is more like a mystical medieval novel.

Mikhailovsky Castle was founded in 1797. Officially, two well-known architects worked on the project: these are Vicenzo Brenna and Vasily Bazhenov. However, historians claim that there was a third participant - this is Pavel I himself. He made several sketches with his own hands. The castle was built in the shortest possible time. It took only three years to build it. And the name of the palace wasin honor of the church, which was consecrated on the day of St. Michael.

Choosing a building site

The place for the construction of the Mikhailovsky Castle in St. Petersburg was not chosen by chance. In general, the palace is the most prominent representative of the era of Paul the First. The legend says that Archangel Michael appeared to one of the guards here. It was for this reason that the house church was first named after the saint, and later the new palace.

By the way, the building was not built from scratch. Previously, on the same place there was a summer palace built by Rastrelli himself at the behest of Empress Catherine II. In 1754, an heir, Pavel Petrovich, was born in the summer residence. Catherine II herself soon preferred Tsarskoye Selo for living. The Summer Palace began to gradually deteriorate and was transferred for temporary use to Grigory Orlov, and later - to Grigory Potemkin. In 1796, it was decided to demolish the residence.

One of the legends says that the sentry saw a man appearing from nowhere near the Summer Palace. The figure was illuminated with radiance. The man ordered to build a palace in honor of the Archangel Michael on the site of the summer residence. They say that the sentry told the story to the emperor, who decided to fulfill the saint's command. At the behest of Paul the First, the building was to be impregnable and comfortable for the entire imperial family to live. In memory of the appearance of the saint, a monument was erected at the Mikhailovsky Castle in the form of a figure of a soldier in a niche.

A bit of history…

The history of the Mikhailovsky Castle is inextricably linkedwith the fate of Paul the First, who was not destined to rule for a long time. The life of the future emperor was filled with mystical events and mysteries. According to one version of historians, it was in this castle that his life ended. Pavel was the heir of Catherine the Great, who bore him from her husband, Peter III. Pavel always had a difficult relationship with his mother. He was never able to forgive her for killing her father during her ascension to the throne.

Paul received an excellent education and upbringing. He excelled in many sciences. However, he did not take part in the government of the country, since he had completely opposite views on the future of Russia, unlike his mother. Paul was tormented by the dream that after the death of his mother, he would take her place. And so it happened. After the death of Catherine the Great, Paul ascended the throne at the age of 42. But his reign was short-lived. In total, he reigned for just over four years.

Prediction

Pavel the First himself offered the architects sketches of the future castle. The future ruler wanted to pay special attention to the security and impregnability of the building. There is a legend that the clairvoyant predicted not the best fate for the emperor. And she told about the future of the entire Romanov family. The prediction greatly shocked Paul, and he decided to protect not only himself, but also his descendants. Therefore, he decided to build an impregnable castle in which the whole family could hide. According to Paul, the fortress should not only be guarded by soldiers, but also by higher powers. As a result, in the Mikhailovsky Castle in the interiors there are manymagical symbols originating in Freemasonry. It was possible to get into the palace only through one of the three drawbridges, which were guarded by soldiers. In order to be able to escape from the killers and conspirators, many secret rooms and underground passages were specially equipped in the building.

Building a castle

As we have already mentioned, the palace was founded in 1797. The emperor personally laid a stone with a commemorative inscription about the beginning of construction. The ceremony was attended by the entire imperial family. They say that Pavel hurried the construction work very much, knowing about his tragic fate. Perhaps in this way he wanted to get away from the predicted fate. By the end of the year, the building was already ready in draft form, but its grand opening took place in 1800.

Description of the palace

Mikhailovsky Castle is a magnificent creation of architects. The palace is very reminiscent of European Renaissance buildings. The only way to get into the castle was via swing bridges. In fact, the building was cut off from the ground by ditches with water. All the facades of the palace were made in different ways, they were decorated with marble statues. But there was one feature that united all the facades - this is the unusual color of the building - red-orange.

During the construction of the castle, the parade square was also being made out at the same time. Stables, an arena were also built, channels that surrounded the palace were lined. Since the castle was located on an island, Paul the First was sure of its impregnability. A monument to Peter I was erected in the center of the front square.

Initially, the architects proposed to put on the square significantlysmall copies of ancient statues. However, Pavel ordered to erect a monument to Peter I. The statue by that time had already been made a long time ago, but was never installed. It was also ordered by Elizaveta Petrovna. But after her death, everyone lost interest in the equestrian statue. But Catherine the Second did not like the monument at all, so they forgot about it for many years. And only Paul the First remembered it and ordered to install it on the palace square. Contemporaries believe that it was the monument that gave special weight to the entire ensemble.

One of the main buildings of the castle is the church of St. Michael. It was built under the castle spire from Sadovaya Street. The church is quite small and was designed for family services of the royal family. By the way, the all-seeing eye, which is a symbol of the Masons, is still preserved on the ceiling of the temple.

Interior decoration

Mikhailovsky Palace was beautiful not only from the outside, but also from the inside. Its luxurious chambers were made for the residence of the royal family. In addition, the palace had many works by the best artists of that era. Stunning frescoes shone in the interiors of the castle. In the throne and ceremonial halls, the stucco molding was covered with gold. The finest fabrics were chosen for the decoration of the walls and furniture. Also, the interiors were complemented by marble stairs, fireplaces, all kinds of bas-reliefs, sculptures.

Killing the Emperor

And yet such a guarded and safe castle could not save the emperor from a sad fate. Fearing the fulfillment of the prediction, Paul ordered the construction of a secret staircase in his bedroom, which led along a three-kilometer undergroundtunnel to the Vorontsov Castle. However, this did not help either.

During his short reign, Paul the First introduced many social changes that people were dissatisfied with. Moreover, not only ordinary residents were outraged, but also the nobles, for whom the new emperor became a tyrant. This is what led to the birth of the conspiracy. The emperor was killed in his own bedroom on the night of March 11-12. Moreover, the killers came to the imperial bedroom through the very back door, which was built just to save Paul in case of danger. But everything turned out differently. An interesting fact is that Pavel was born in this palace (in the Summer Palace), renovated it himself and died here. Despite the fact that the castle was built to protect the royal family, it did not even serve as a shelter for the emperor himself. The anointed of God died at the age of 47, as the elder had predicted for him. In the Mikhailovsky Palace, Pavel managed to live only forty days. The Romanov family immediately left the ill-fated place after the murder. It was announced to the people that the emperor had died of apoplexy. Historians believe that high-ranking aristocrats, as usual, participated in the conspiracy. A shadow of suspicion in those days even fell on Paul's son, Alexander I, who allegedly knew about the impending murder, but did not warn his father.

Omens

People close to the emperor spoke of numerous signs that preceded the massacre of Paul. A few days before his death, the emperor dreamed of Peter I, who warned him of the danger. And on the day of his death, Paul saw in the mirrorhis reflection, but he was dead. All these signs did not frighten the emperor in any way. He didn't even suspect anything.

Historians note that for Paul the number four became fatal. It is present in many key dates: the age of the emperor, the number of days spent in the palace, and so on.

Immediately after the death of Paul the First, the palace was empty. And rumors spread around the city that the ghost of the murdered owner settled in the building. People claimed that incomprehensible things began to happen in the palace. Passers-by noticed in the windows the light of a single candle, which hovered in the dark windows. From the castle came groans, steps, music from the emperor's favorite instrument. People began to avoid appearing in the castle area. To quiet the conversations, the underground passage was boarded up. However, notoriety has already firmly entrenched in the palace. For eighteen years the castle remained closed.

To cleanse the energy of the place of the tragedy, Alexander II ordered to build a temple in the bedroom. But that didn't help either.

Further history of the castle

Multiple clashes with the spirit of the slain emperor forever cemented the palace's notoriety. They say that even the military, who decided to spend the night in the castle due to bad weather, witnessed strange visions. In order to subside a little the rumors about the restless soul of the emperor, the royal family decided to give the building to the Main Engineering School. So the castle acquired another name - the Engineering Castle. However, mystical phenomena did not stop happening in the palace. At least that's what eyewitnesses said. Legends of the Mikhailovsky Castle andthis day excite the minds of citizens and guests of the city.

Castle now

For two hundred years, a variety of educational institutions were located within the walls of the castle, and then even departmental institutions and simple residential apartments were housed. All art treasures were taken out. After the war, the castle was searched for Christian relics of the Order of M alta. But nothing was found. The fact is that there were no drawings of the mysterious dungeons of the castle. The architects who participated in its construction left Russia after the death of the emperor, destroying all available documents. By the way, a group of scientists working in the castle also recorded numerous anomalous phenomena.

And who knows what would have happened to the building if in 1991 part of the palace had not been given to the Russian Museum. And in 1995, the museum's expositions occupied the entire building. After that, regular excursions began to be held in the Mikhailovsky Castle. Restoration work was carried out in the building, during which they revived the original historical interiors, marble statues and the prophetic inscription on the facade of forty-seven letters, which became fatal for Paul the First.

The grand opening of the complex took place in 2003. Since then, there have been regular tours. The Mikhailovsky Castle houses the funds of the most popular and mysterious museum in the city. Among the permanent exhibitions are: "Antique subjects of Russian art", "The history of the Mikhailovsky castle and its inhabitants", "Creations of Russian artists". And on the eve of the New Year, young guests can visitChristmas tree in the Mikhailovsky Castle. Children are satisfied with visiting holiday matinees. After all, at a real ball you can feel like a princess or a prince, especially when it takes place in such an unusual and mysterious place.

Museum opening hours

In addition to the regular exhibition, temporary exhibitions are also organized in the Mikhailovsky Castle. A number of buildings belong to the castle ensemble. For example, among them are the pavilions on Inzhenernaya Street. They also house the expositions of the museum departments.

Address of the Mikhailovsky Castle: Sadovaya street, 2. The complex is located in the very center of the city, so it is easy to find it. You can get to the palace by metro, getting off at the Gostiny Dvor station and walking along Sadovaya Street.

The cost of tickets to the Mikhailovsky Castle is 450 rubles. If you want to book a tour, then the price of a visit increases to 600 rubles. You can visit the palace complex on any day except Tuesday. Mikhailovsky Castle opening hours:

• Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday - from 10:00 to 18:00;
• Thursday - from 13:00 to 21:00.

If you plan to visit St. Petersburg and see its sights, then include the palace in the list of must-see places. An amazing place worthy of the attention of visitors. The exposition of the museum will allow you to learn a lot of interesting things from the history and life of roy alty. And the castle itself is incredibly beautiful outside and inside. And its unusual and mysterious history further fuels the interest of visitors. By the way, museum staffclaim that they are now faced with unusual phenomena, like eyewitnesses of past centuries.