St. Petersburg has many sights and historical buildings. One of them is the building of the Twelve Colleges. The beautiful building has a long history and is worthy of the attention of tourists.
Location
Address of the building of the Twelve Colleges in St. Petersburg: Universitetskaya embankment, house seven. Such a magnificent structure is simply impossible not to notice. It is one of the oldest on Vasilyevsky Island. An interesting fact is that for almost two centuries it has housed the State University of St. Petersburg. Of course, initially the building was intended for completely different purposes. The history of the building of the Twelve Colleges in St. Petersburg is closely connected with the development of the state. His style is a prime example of early eighteenth century architecture. The building is now a national monument.
How to get to the historical monument?
You can get to the building of the Twelve Colleges in St. Petersburg by buses No. 24 and No. 7 and by trolleybuses No. 11, 1 and 10.buildings.
Legend or truth?
Petersburgers and tourists must have noticed that the building of the Twelve Colleges has an unusual location. It would seem that it should have been built along the Neva. But no. It is located on the side of the river. Such an unusual location led to the emergence of the legend of the cunning Menshikov. Peter I ordered the governor of St. Petersburg to build a new collegium building along the Neva. And use the remaining free land at your discretion. According to legend, the enterprising Menshikov decided to turn the facade of the building to the arrow of the island, and not to the river. And on a free plot of land he built a palace for himself. After Peter I saw the result, he dragged Menshikov by the collar along the entire structure. Legend has it that the king stopped at each collegium and beat the favorite with his notorious club. But it was too late to change anything.
Of course, this whole story is nothing more than fiction, as it goes against historical facts. The fact is that the Menshikov Palace was built in 1710. And this means that at the time of the construction of the palace, the building of the Twelve Collegia was not even in the project. At this time, Peter decided to move the center of St. Petersburg to Vasilyevsky Island, which was covered with forest, after which the coast was gradually built up with new buildings.
Historical digression
The decision to erect the building of the Twelve Collegia was not taken spontaneously, it was dictated by the state necessity. The Senate was formed in 1711.consisting of nine senators. The new state body was supposed to manage state affairs during the absence of the sovereign - Peter I. Subsequently, the Senate became the highest executive and administrative body of state power. In 1718, for more efficient management of the economy, colleges came to replace them, which were supposed to control all sectors of the economy. In December of the same year, vice-presidents and the president of the collegiums were appointed by order. A year later, the states of the organization and the general rules of the internal structure were determined. For this reason, a building was needed that could accommodate absolutely all the structures. Therefore, the emperor issued an order on August 12, 1721 on the construction of the building of the Twelve Collegia (photo is given in the article). True, the construction was completed after his death.
Building design
It is worth noting that initially the Senate and the new collegiums were located in the building on Trinity Square, which was erected according to the project of Domenico Trezzini. The first building was the same type of two-story buildings covered with tiles.
The architect of the new building was also Trezzini. The building of the Twelve Collegia was conceived on the principle of the previous building. The eastern façade was supposed to become the main front and face Kollezhskaya Square. However, this area at the beginning of the twentieth century ceased to exist altogether, since another institute was built in its place. In 1716, the first version of the project by Domenico Trezzini appeared. Building of the Twelve Collegiawas originally quite different. But two years later, a completely different option appeared, since the architect made significant adjustments. So, for example, it was decided to create an arrow of the canal on the western side, and build an extended building along it. It is in it, according to the architect's idea, that the collegiums should be placed.
It is worth noting that initially there were nine boards - the Admir alty Board, Chamber Board, Foreign, State Office, Berg Board and others. Later, another one appeared, the tenth. Peter in 1721 established the Synod, which he decided to place next to the colleges, like the Senate itself.
For the architect of the building of the Twelve Colleges, placing a group of identical buildings in one line was not something new. After all, before his arrival in St. Petersburg, Trezzini lived in Copenhagen, where back in 1625 the Stock Exchange building was built according to exactly the same principle. In addition, the architect had previously been to Moscow, where the buildings of orders were placed in one line.
According to the existing plan, construction began in 1722. At the beginning of the next year, the architect reported to Peter that the construction of four collegiums had already begun, and some of the materials had also been prepared.
Building a building
Peter I carefully controlled the construction of the building of the Twelve Colleges in St. Petersburg. He made his own adjustments to the plan already in 1723. Moreover, a few months later, a decree was issued regarding how the facade design options would be selected. should have been presenteddifferent options for masters, among which the sovereign wanted to choose the most suitable, in his opinion. In the future, adjustments to the construction were made quite often. It so happened that already with the construction begun, Peter arranged a competition for the best version of the new building. In fact, it was the first architectural competition in Russia. It was attended by such masters as Rastrelli, Pino, Zwitten, Trezinri himself, Michetti, Gerbel, Chiaverin. The results of this event were summed up in 1724. As a result, the first floor was built according to Trezzini's original design, but the appearance of the second and third floors was changed after the processing of the Schwertfeger competition.
The Senate from February 1724 entrusted the leadership of the construction to a new architect - Schwertfeger. Holding a new competition two years after the start of construction work became possible only because this work was carried out incredibly slowly. If at the beginning of 1722 a foundation was made for the building of the military collegium, then piles were just beginning to be driven in for other collegiums. Only in 1723, piles began to be driven throughout the entire construction site. In the same year, Peter handed over the construction of each building to the colleges themselves in order to speed up the process. Unfortunately, no changes have taken place. By the beginning of 1725, only the foundations were completed and the walls of the first floor were partially rebuilt. For this reason, it was possible to make changes thanks to the results of the architectural competition.
Completion of works
The construction of the new building has startedfaster only after the decree of Catherine I of 1726. Soon the wall work was completed. By the end of 1727, rafters were installed, and six months later all the buildings were covered. In the summer of 1732, in some buildings that had been completed by that time, berg-, commerce-, justice- and manufactory-collegia began their activities.
However, interior decoration continued for the next ten years. Furnaces and fireplaces were built in the premises, as well as painting, plumbing and carpentry work. It should be noted that from the original interiors, at present, only the appearance of the Petrovsky Hall can be seen. It was decorated in 1736 by Ignazio Rossi. During the construction period, it was planned that the main facade would face Kollezhskaya Square, as we have already mentioned. It is precisely because of the participation of the building in the ensemble of the square that it does not face the Universitetskaya embankment, but looks at it only from the end. According to Peter's idea, Kollezhskaya Square was supposed to become the main one in the city. But after his death, the city center was moved to the Admir alty Island. Later, the square ceased to exist altogether.
Further fate of the building
The dignitaries moved into the new building as the construction work of one or another building was completed. In addition to government institutions, there were shopping malls on the first floors. At that time, the building was the longest among the administrative buildings of that time. Its length is almost equal to 393 meters, its height is about 15 meters, and its width is more than 17 meters. The number of colleges was constantly changing. Initially there were nine, then it became 12, then 11.
Officers occupied the building until 1804. By this time, the government had some difficulties. The fact is that the emperor, the supreme power, was on the left bank of the Neva, and the executors of his will were located on Vasilyevsky Island. The situation became more complicated during periods of ice drift and floods, when communication between the islands was simply interrupted. All this led to the fact that officials gradually began to leave their residence. In 1804, the building was partially given to the Pedagogical Institute. Later, on its basis, St. Petersburg University was established in 1819. Until 1859, two educational institutions worked in the building. But gradually the institute was abolished and only the university remained.
Building decoration
The building had three floors in height and consisted of twelve buildings, which are adjacent to each other. An open gallery ran through the entire first floor, and statues were installed in the niches. Outside, the facade was decorated with numerous decorative elements. Each board had its own emblem. Along the building there were balconies decorated with forged openwork lattices. Each building had a separate entrance.
The west façade had more modest decor. An open two-tiered gallery ran along it. The color of the building was two-tone. White décor stood out effectively against the main red-orange background. What was the interior design of the premises, it is difficult to say. About the decoration of the entire building specialistsjudged only by the Petrovsky Hall, which has survived to this day.
Historic building style
Experts characterize the style of the building of the Twelve Colleges in St. Petersburg as Russian Baroque. More often they say that the building is made in the style of Peter's baroque. A huge contribution to the construction and appearance of the building was made by the architect Trezzini. According to his designs, the building of the Twelve Collegia, the Peter and Paul Cathedral, the Summer Palace of Peter I and a number of buildings in St. Petersburg were erected.
Despite the fact that for some time control over the construction was shifted to another architect, later the same Trezzini returned to management. And the construction was already completed by his son, Giuseppe.
Further transformations
After the building was handed over to the university, it became necessary to partially rebuild it. In the center was built the church of Peter and Paul, a hall of ceremonial gatherings, decorated with columns of white marble and choirs, a staircase and a main entrance. On the second floor of the building there was a four-hundred-meter gallery, which was glazed with Venetian glass. This gallery is known as the Bois de Boulogne. It is also called the second Nevsky Prospekt. Furniture for the premises was made according to Shchedrin's sketches. A garden was laid out along the building, which was fenced off from the street with cast-iron gratings. In 1838, the university was inaugurated after renovations.
Famous scientists who worked within the walls of the building
Loud people are connected with the universitynames of famous Russian scientists. Sechenov, Butlerov, Lesgaft, Popov and, of course, Mendeleev taught and studied here at different times. The memorial archive-museum of Mendeleev, who lived and worked in it from 1866 to 1890, still operates in the building to this day. And in 1923, a street passing by the building was even named after him. Petersburg University.
Those who want to get an impression of the original interior decoration of the building of the Twelve Colleges should visit the Senate (Petrovsky Hall) of the University that has survived to this day, which has preserved the magnificent baroque decor of the 18th century and the spirit of the era of the first days of St. Petersburg that has passed away from us. It has preserved lavish decoration and decor, designed by Ignatti Rossi. Two sculpted corner fireplaces create a special atmosphere.
Instead of afterword
The building of the Twelve Colleges is one of the historical architectural monuments of St. Petersburg, which is worth seeing with your own eyes. The appearance of the building has not changed much since its construction, so the appearance gives an idea of the spirit of past eras.
