Troitskaya Square in St. Petersburg: history and sights

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

Troitskaya Square in St. Petersburg (see photo below) is the oldest in the city. She appeared on City Island in 1703. Over time, City Island received a different name - Petersburg, or the Petrograd side, and the square remained the administrative center for a long time. There were government buildings, a port and customs, a food market, Gostiny Dvor, and a tavern. Since then, the appearance of the square and its layout have changed a lot.

History of Trinity Square

The appearance of the square is associated with the construction of the Holy Trinity Cathedral. The temple was built from 1703 to 1710 to commemorate the victory over the Swedes and was named after the Holy Trinity, and Trinity Square in St. Petersburg was named after the cathedral.

For more than 20 years, festivities have been held here, royal decrees have been announced, reviews, parades, executions and other events have been held. By order of Peter I, on the square were erectedthe buildings in which the Synod and the Senate were located, a port and customs were built in the southern part of the island. Next to them was the Glutton Market. Gostiny Dvor and a tavern were erected in the northern part.

In 1710, there was a big fire at the Grocery Glutton Market, which spread to ships in the port. Many buildings were damaged by fire, later the market and customs were moved to another place. The second fire broke out in 1718, it damaged the building of the Senate and the room in which Peter I received the Polish ambassadors. Although Troitskaya Square in St. Petersburg was the place where government offices were located, history shows that it began to lose its importance, because the city center was moved to Vasilyevsky Island.

Trinity Bridge

In 1803, it became necessary to build a floating bridge between the Petersburg side and the left bank of the Neva. It was named Petersburg in honor of the centenary of the city. When it fell into disrepair, during the years 1824-1827 a pontoon crossing was erected. The new bridge was named Suvorovsky. However, as Troitskaya Square in St. Petersburg was built up, the crossing no longer corresponded to the architectural style of the buildings. Therefore, by the end of the 19th century, it was decided to transform it. In 1897, the construction of the Trinity Bridge began according to a project developed by the French architect Eiffel. The progress of work was controlled by Russian city planners.

At the grand opening of the bridge, held in May 1903 and timed to coincide with the 200th anniversary of the city, wasEmperor Nicholas II. The Trinity Bridge became one of the first movable structures across the Neva. Its length is 582 meters, and the width between the curly railings is 23.4 meters, the weight exceeds 11 tons. The bridge is decorated in Art Nouveau style and is a five-arch structure. The spans were decorated with openwork railings, and elegant lanterns installed along the bridge emphasized its proportionality.

Chapel of the Life-Giving Trinity

Trinity Square in St. Petersburg was known for its monuments, one of which was the Holy Trinity Cathedral. It became the first church in the city, built by decree of Peter I. Until the Peter and Paul Cathedral was erected, the church was one of the main symbols of the capital and was a place of worship for the royal court.

The cathedral suffered many times from the flames of fires, but it was always restored. After the October Revolution, Trinity Square became known as Revolution Square. According to the new ideology, there was no place for the cathedral on the square with that name, so in 1933 it was demolished, and instead of it two residential buildings were built and a square was laid out.

It was decided to restore the cathedral for the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg. But the project was not implemented due to the fact that the demolition of residential buildings for the sake of building a church was impossible. Therefore, instead of the destroyed temple, they decided to build a chapel in the name of the Life-Giving Trinity. Its consecration took place in May 2003. Now the chapel is active.

The House of Political Prisoners and the Solovetsky Stone

Troitskaya Square in St. Petersburgis of interest to tourists. In addition to other monuments, attention is drawn to the House of Political Prisoners. It was built in 1933 as a commune house for former victims of tsarist repressions from various political parties. The project was developed on the initiative of the Society of Political Prisoners by Leningrad architects and is considered a monument to constructivism. The six-storey building has a monumental appearance and overlooks the Petrovsky embankment. The facade is decorated with balconies turning into terraces and strip glazing.

There were 144 apartments in the building with baths and hot water, but no kitchens. Instead, they opened a common dining room. On the first two floors there was a shop, a kindergarten, a first-aid post, a laundry, a library. The Society of Political Prisoners was liquidated in 1935, its representatives again found themselves in the camps, and the house was re-planned and given to ordinary citizens for settlement.

Despite the sights that Trinity Square in St. Petersburg is rich in, its description would be incomplete without mentioning the Solovetsky stone. This is a monument to the victims of Stalinist repressions. The stone was brought from the Solovetsky camp in 1990 and installed near the House of Political Prisoners. The historical name of Trinity Square was returned in 1991.