Many tourists want to see the Italian Palace in St. Petersburg. But you should not look for an attraction in the city on the Neva. After all, the palace, which will be discussed in this article, is not in St. Petersburg, but in Kronstadt. The magnificent building is also called the Menshikovsky Palace, since it was built for the "Highest Prince". It is worth noting that a close friend of Peter the Great had three palaces. The first was located in St. Petersburg itself, the second - in Oranienbaum and the third - in Kronstadt.
And it is the last chamber that overshadows the first two in beauty. Paradoxically, Menshikov did not have time to enjoy all this luxury. He was arrested and exiled, and the estate went to the state treasury. But why did Kronstadt become the base for the construction of the palace? What was attractive about the island of Kotlin, which was at that time fifty kilometers from St. Petersburg? You will learn this from this article.
Sights of Kronstadt
Place,where Peter the Great decided to lay the city, abounded with islands. On one of them, Kotlin, the king ordered to build a fortress. She was supposed to protect the entrance to the mouth of the Neva from Swedish ships. This citadel was erected in May 1704. It was called "Kronshlot" - the royal castle. But the military fort was gradually overgrown with housing for civilians. Twenty years later there was already a trading gallery, around which the merchants settled. So the name was changed to Kronstadt - the royal city. It was surrounded by forts, which are now its main attractions: "Emperor Alexander I", "Kronshlot", "Totleben" and "Obruchev".
There is a Summer Garden on the island. Of the churches of Kronstadt, we should mention the Vladimir and Naval St. Nicholas Cathedrals. And, of course, the Menshikov Palace is a significant attraction of this city-island. The address of this building with a complicated history is as follows: Makarovskaya street, building 3. Today, Kronstadt has ceased to be an island in the strict sense of the word: in 1984, a dam connected it with St. Petersburg by a highway. But the historic center of the city is under the auspices of UNESCO, being a World Heritage Site.
Why is the Italian Palace called that?
One gets the impression that Alexander Menshikov attracted architects from the Apennine Peninsula to build his chambers. However, this is a wrong opinion. German architects were in charge of the work. The construction project was created by the architect I. F. Braunshtein. G. Shedel supervised the work. As a model, the Germans took the palazzo, which is so rich inItaly. There is an opinion that people from the Apennine Peninsula acted as ordinary workers during the construction of the palace, but this version seems unlikely. Most likely, Menshikov simply liked the Italian baroque style, and the German architects adapted it to the harsh conditions of the island in the Gulf of Finland.
The building was built from 1720 to 24. The Italian palace often changed owners. Schools were located in it, which, as you know, is very harmful for buildings of historical and cultural value. The reconstruction of A. N. Akutin and E. Kh. Anert, which was carried out in the middle of the nineteenth century, especially changed the appearance of the palace.
History: 18th century
By the end of the construction of the Italian Palace, Russia and Sweden signed a truce, and Menshikov fell into disgrace. His property went to the treasury. In the 1740s, the palace was called the Own House of His Imperial Majesty. Twenty years later, the Board of the Admir alty moved to the Italian Palace. Kronstadt at that time had regular communication with St. Petersburg only in the warm season by means of sailing boats. Therefore, the state institution did not occupy the building, although it was listed under its jurisdiction. Then the building of the palace passed to the school of navigators, which was led by Stepan Malygin. From 1771 to 1798 the building was run by the Naval Cadet Corps.
Nineteenth century adjustments
In 1815, a regularcommunication between Kronstadt and St. Petersburg. Sailing boats of private cabmen were replaced by "passage boats" specially designed by Charles Byrd. It was the first public water transport in Russia. Kotlin Island has become more accessible. And from 1798 to 1872, the Navigator School of St. Petersburg moved to the Italian Palace. Later, this educational institution was renamed Marine Technical, and just before the October Revolution it was called Engineering.
Students staying in the historical building had the most sad impact on its safety. And time and windy climate did not spare the building. In the forties of the nineteenth century, a radical restructuring of the palace was started. The work was carried out according to the plans of the architects Akutin and Stasov. At the western wall of the palace, the Cadet Garden was laid out, and on the site of the main courtyard - the Admir alty Garden. At the very end of the century, the building was significantly expanded (designed by L. Novikov).
What did the Italian Palace (Kronstadt) look like?
Initially, it was a three-story building designed in the Italian Baroque style. Its facades were decorated with pilasters, bas-reliefs, decorative stone vases. The roof was crowned with a balustrade with a sculpture. At about the same time as the Italian Palace, a pond was dug in front of the main facade of the building. The architect Giovanni Fontana decorated it with dozens of fountains.
This pond, named after the Italian palace, continued Merchants harbor. She served for the wintering of ships. Two cranes worked on the shore, which removed the masts fromships, and with the beginning of navigation they put them in their place. Ships bringing fish from Lake Ladoga also entered the Merchant Harbor. For trade, a building was erected on the shore, reminiscent of the structure of antiquity. This classicist building was called the Fish Rows. In the middle of the nineteenth century, a fourth floor was added to the Italian Palace.
Modern building
The fire that happened in 1926 destroyed what the students had not spoiled. The building has been restored, but it bears little resemblance to the original building. The palace has been the House of the Red Army, the Sailor's Club, the Headquarters of the B altic Fleet. Then there was a theater. Since the end of 2011, the Italian Palace in Kronstadt has been transferred to the Naval Museum as a branch. The mode of operation of this cultural institution is quite simple. It is open from 8:15 am to 5:15 pm, with an hour-long lunch break. The building is closed on Saturday and Sunday.
