We have been on the territory of the State Museum-Reserve "Tsarskoe Selo" for almost the whole day....
Behind the Catherine Palace with its impressive park complex, we did not leave the Pushkin Lyceum without attention....
The time is already 16.30... And then it dawns on us that we have not yet been to the Alexander Palace....
Having quickly oriented ourselves to the area, we head towards the palace....
But to get to it you need to cover a considerable distance through the park of the same name....
At another time, we would be happy to stroll through this magnificent park, admiring its beauties....
But now we have a slightly different task - to have time to get to the Alexander Palace.....
Therefore, we take a very fast step and, cutting corners wherever possible, rush towards the intended goal...
We allow ourselves the only short break near the Children's House...
On a small island located in the center of one of the ponds, there is a small blue building...
This is the Children's House... It was built in 1830 for the amusement of the children of Emperor Nicholas I ... Until 1941, the house even had children's furniture from those times...
Well, now, or rather for many decades, the house is under.... No, not under restoration, but under conservation.... What saves the house from the destructive influence of the surrounding reality is its territorial location: for most of the year it is cut off from " big land"and is thereby isolated from unnecessary visits by various individuals..
But the palace itself appeared on the horizon... All that remained was to go around the pond and
We're at the goal. The time is 16.50... We manage to buy tickets at the box office in the last minutes (they close at 17.00) and, as the last visitors of the day, we cross the threshold of the museum...
Before we get into the halls of the palace - traditionally about its history...
The palace was built in 1796 by order of Catherine the Great for her grandson Alexander I.
The Alexander Palace "is an elongated two-story building with double wings on the sides. In the center of the main northern facade there is a magnificent through colonnade of the Corinthian order, consisting of two rows of columns. From the side of the regular part of the Alexander Park, the facade of the building is designed in the form of a semi-rotunda, covered with a spherical dome "...
After 1917, a state museum was first opened in the palace, then they decided that we had plenty of art and a rest house for NKVD employees settled in the palace... During the fascist occupation, the headquarters of the SS division was located here, and in the courtyard of the palace a cemetery was organized for the burial of German military personnel ...
In the 1990s, the palace was transferred to the museum-reserve and restoration work began...
On June 23, 2010, the grand opening of three state halls of the palace took place, located in the central part of the palace: Portrait, Semicircular and Marble....
It is with them that we will begin our journey through the palace....
These halls are connected to each other by through arched spans and represent a single space with a common history...
Their interiors have preserved the original architectural design from D Quarenghi.
On June 12, 1796, the first ceremonial reception was held here for the Empress herself.... Subsequently, ceremonial receptions, dinner parties, and dance evenings were held in these halls on Sundays and holidays...
The vast areas of the halls made it possible to organize archaeological exhibitions, exhibitions of icons, paintings, products of the Imperial Porcelain Factory, etc. for the imperial family...
The first room we find ourselves in is the Marble Living Room (sometimes it was called the Billiard Room, since in 1832, at the direction of Nicholas I, billiards were installed in it)....
One of the central places in the exhibition of the Marble Hall is occupied by a painting by F.L. Catella "Walk in Palermo"...
Its plot is quite real: at the end of 1845 - beginning of 1846. royal family stayed in Palermo due to the illness of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna...
During this period Nikolai I visits an art exhibition in Rome, where he meets the artist. Nikolay liked Katel’s works I , and he ordered this painting from him...
On the walls of the hall we see portraits of the English Queen Victoria and Alexandra Feodorovna sitting on the throne....
The furniture in the hall is arranged in functional corners....
One of them is by the fireplace...
Other corners form areas for conversation and communication....
In this large hall, guests could easily group themselves by “interest” and have small talk about the weather, art, etc., etc....
Well, we smoothly move on to the next hall - the Semicircular, the name of which fully corresponds to its shape...
At one time Nikolai II I chose it to install a Christmas tree for the retinue and security officers...
In the center of the hall there is a candelabra, which was made according to the design of the court architect K.F. Schinkel in 1840. Later, a bouquet of bronze flowers was made for her, with candles inserted into the cups....
In the same room you can see a fragment of the original painting of the vaults...
When the time came to restore them - Nikolay I gave a vandal order: instead of restoration, cover everything with white paint.... Which was done successfully. That’s why today we see vaults and ceilings that are quite “simple” for a palace....
Otherwise, the interior of the Semicircular Hall completely intersects with the interior of the neighboring rooms, forming a single style...
They say that Nicholas I was one of the first emperors to place both his own portraits and images of family members in the palace halls...
Therefore, it is obvious that in a hall with such a name one cannot do without portraits....
And again the fireplace is from the same series, with similar items....
To get to the next halls of the museum we have to make a short transition through rooms that have not been restored...
After which we find ourselves in the corner living room of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna...
Chamber musical evenings were held in the living room for VIP guests (members of the imperial family and invited artists took part in them)...
That's why central position In the interior of the room there is a piano...
Sometimes in this hall the emperor received foreign delegations and ambassadors, the empress was introduced by ministers and various deputations...
From time to time, meetings of the Imperial Historical Society were held here..... At Easter, the imperial couple took Christ with their courtiers and employees, and on August 21, 1915, a meeting of the Council of Ministers was held in this hall, at which Nicholas II announced his decision to take charge of the army...
On one of the walls we see the tapestry "Marie Antoinette with her children", which was presented by the French President E. Loubet during his visit to Russia in 1902...
Great importance The decoration of the hall included busts, bas-reliefs, porcelain...
The exposition of the next room was allocated in 1947-1949. from the Maple Cabinet of the Empress and reminds of the room of Nicholas's children II and Alexandra Fedorovna...
To date, all that remains of the furnishings of those times is a corner wardrobe made of oak, in which military uniforms are displayed Alexey Nikolaevich,
icon case (recreated in 1997),
as well as the Guignol puppet theater, donkey harness, and historical toys similar to those that the imperial children had...
Before us is Alexandra Feodorovna's Maple Study, which was created in 1902 and was intended for the Empress to occupy herself with current affairs, drawing and needlework...
In 1941, more than 120 items were evacuated from the Maple Cabinet (drapes, carpets, paintings, sculptures, porcelain, etc....
It is unknown how many of them were able to make the return trip, but, as museum workers say, “in the near future it is planned to recreate the historical volume and architectural and artistic decoration of the cabinet.”...
The next room of the palace is Alexandra Feodorovna's Rosewood Reception Room...
During the 19th century, this room was used as the Blue Living Room of the suite...
In 1895, the Empress decided that she vitally needed a room for official audiences and receptions. officials charitable institutions founded by her... Before she had time to think about it, the architect R.F. Meltzer brought her ideas to life....
Since there were no special rooms for dining in the palace (the sovereign did not like to dine in any one room), then in weekdays often the dining table was set in the Rosewood reception room....
This reception room is also famous for the fact that it was in it that on March 2, 1917, General Kornilov announced to the Empress about her house arrest...
Today we can contemplate the “missing” details of the historical interior of the Rosewood reception room thanks to the reproduction of a photograph from 1941 (before the evacuation) on the wall...
Well, these are individual details of the interior of this room....
Another office of Alexandra Feodorovna - Lilac...
It was designed by the architect Meltzer, already known to us, in 1895....
The interior was dominated by lilac color (hence the name): the walls were covered with lilac silk fabric, lilac silk was used in the furniture upholstery....
The room was richly decorated with flowering and evergreen plants, lighting was provided by electrically rotating sconces and an onyx table lamp...
Of the 100 items in this room sent for evacuation in 1941, they returned... (no one knows how many, but very few).
To ensure that the interior does not seem sparse to visitors, most of what was lost is presented in a huge photograph....
Well, we move to the bedroom...
The room retained its original dimensions and was used in the 19th century as a bedroom in the Suite half of the Alexander Palace....
In 1873 she was prepared for the marriage of Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna to Prince Alfred.
On November 3, 1895, Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna (Nicholas's first daughter) was born here II).
On the walls we see many icons, images, etc. (at one time their total number exceeded 700 units). Also in the bedrooms (by tradition) there were two display cases for jewelry, in which a special place was occupied by Easter eggs made by Faberge (their Nikolai II gave it to my wife......
But today, alas, no eggs or other jewelry... Consequences of the evacuation...
Well, we have the opportunity to take a closer look at some icons...
So, unnoticed by ourselves and those around us (they were actually not there), we got to the 1st exhibition room...
Yes, exactly the first one... That’s how the excursion program is organized in the palace. It's nothing you can do...
Therefore, having already examined a lot of halls and rooms, we begin to get acquainted with the initial stage of the history of the Alexander Palace...
We see a portrait of Catherine II , by whose decree G. Quarenghi built this palace
Here, in the work of O. Vernet “The Tsarkoye Selo Carousel” we see on what scale the imperial couple celebrated the 25th anniversary of their life together....
Here you can also see exhibits telling about the era of Nicholas I , for whom the Alexander Palace became a real family nest...
Walking down the corridor
we find ourselves in the reception room of Emperor Nicholas II...
Originally there was a dining room here, the decoration of which has been preserved with oak panels, a fireplace and a chandelier...
IN last years reign of Nicholas II this room was used as a reception room, where officials who had arrived for a report awaited an audience...
The reception room furnishings included a large table located in the center under the chandelier, a work desk and a sofa, as well as paintings, photographs, figurines...
A special place in the reception room is occupied by a collection of trays (plates)... On them the emperor was presented with bread and salt when they met him in different cities of Russia...
By the way, this plate appeared in the museum’s exhibition quite recently.... It was handed down by the descendants of a German officer, who during the occupation “seized” it and took it to Germany...
The next room of the palace is Nicholas’s Working (Old) Office II...
At one time, furniture from the F. Meltzer company was located here, the walls were decorated with paintings by Benois, Boehm, Bogatov, Makovsky, Pryanishnikov and other famous artists...
In this office, the emperor received ministers, State Duma deputies, ambassadors...
In 1941, 150 items were evacuated from this premises....
Today in the Old Cabinet we see only ceremonial dresses and uniforms belonging to the royal family,
ceremonial portraits,
photos,
several icons: ("Queen Alexandra"),
and paintings by G.N. Gorelov "Feodorovsky Cathedral in Tsarskoe Selo"
and "Fedorovsky town" ...
Lavatory (Moorish basin) Nicholas II...
The room got its name because of the decoration, which was done “in Moorish taste”.... Well, the pool... there was also a pool with capacity for 1000 buckets (7000 liters), equipped with the latest technology from S.-P. mechanical plant. In the three outer corners of the pool there were glazed ramps with colored green lights to illuminate the water... The pool area was covered with cloth and was several steps higher than the front of the room...
There was also a horizontal bar for gymnastic exercises and a rack with rifles from the Tula arms factory...
After the war (1941-1945), they wanted to dismantle the relatively good finishing and move it to the second floor... But something went wrong, and what happened to the finishing is unknown...
Currently, the exhibition of the Moorish Basin includes mahogany bookcases, recreated after a cabinet from the Tsarkosselo Own Library of the Alexander Palace...
Following the pool is Nicholas's Dressing Room II....
Wardrobes made of ash wood were located here, in which items of the king’s wardrobe were stored (several hundred pieces of military uniform, frock coats, overcoats, shirts, hats, etc.)...
To this day, only a wardrobe and about 10 uniforms belonging to the emperor have survived...
Brings up the rear personal accounts Emperor Nicholas's front office II...
It was created in 1902 on the site of the Concert Hall...
All work (construction, engineering and technical equipment, architectural and artistic decoration, fireplaces, furniture) was carried out by the well-known company "F. Meltzer"...
The office has largely preserved its historical decoration. Some work to restore the ornaments of the fireplace and niches was carried out in 1997. At the same time, corner sofas, bookcases, lighting fixtures were made for the set of G. Panfilov’s film about the royal family...
Meetings of the Council of Ministers were held in this office, the emperor met with delegations, commissions...
Billiards was used to play with grand dukes, retinue officers and persons close to the emperor...
The decoration of the office was complemented by numerous sculptures, paintings, photographs, porcelain...
Unfortunately, few things from that time have survived to this day....
Well, now we are returning to the exit...
Along the way (in the corridor) we manage to capture some exhibits:
The caretakers are eagerly waiting for the last visitors (i.e. us) to leave the museum (many have already begun to get ready to go home)...
And we leave the Alexander Palace with a sense of accomplishment...
Our program today was extensive, and we actually managed to see everything we had planned (maybe we just didn’t have time to properly explore Alexander Park...)
Now all that remains is to get to the parking lot, get into the car and drive to the hotel...
The Alexander Palace was designed by the famous architect Giacomo Quarenghi and is an architectural monument of the 18th century.
The palace complex became part of the Tsarskoe Selo State Museum-Reserve only in 2009 and is therefore very popular among tourists. However, most of the halls of the historical building have not been restored and therefore only a few rooms located on the ground floor are accessible to the public. Also, on rare occasions, tours of the historical cellars are held, the layout of which was also designed by the architect Quarenghi.
For reference: In former times, hundreds of servants lived in the basements and semi-basements of the building - cloakroom attendants and hairdressers, footmen and security guards. There was also a emergency kitchen here, in which pancakes and pies were baked for the royal family, barbecue was prepared, and many pickles were delivered here through an underground passage from the Kitchen Building. During Soviet times, the same premises housed a canteen for research institute workers.
One of the secrets of the palace housing and communal services is a concrete underground reservoir built in 1905. The earthen covering and the vestibule with double doors prevented the water from freezing even in severe frosts; the water reserves were enough for about 50 imperial baths.
The reservoir is not only a hydraulic engineering monument of the beginningXXcentury, but also has functional significance in our time, since it is connected with the entire hydraulic system of the city of Pushkin.
The “great old man” Grisha Rasputin visited the Alexander Palace, and Nikolai Romanov’s family was under house arrest here since March 2, 1917. On August 1, 1917, from here the royal family went to Tobolsk, and in November 1918 they were shot in Yekaterinburg.
IN Soviet time It was in the Alexander Palace that one of the first computers in the Soviet Union was installed; a huge machine occupied several state rooms.
Alexander Palace - description
The palace was built in a classical style, characterized by simplicity and austerity. The building is an elongated two-story building with double wings on the sides. In front of the middle facade rises a majestic colonnade, next to which there are two bronze sculptures:
- “Young man playing knucklebones”, based on the model of sculptor Nikolai Pimenov
- “The Pile Game” is the work of sculptor Alexander Loganovsky.
The statues highlight the inconspicuous main entrance to the palace.
The opposite facade is decorated with a semi-rotunda (semicircular building) with a spherical dome and a terrace lined with gray and white marble tiles.
The front enfilade (a series of halls) is located along the garden facade of the building; in its center there is a room with a semi-rotunda, divided into three parts by wide arches. These halls were named:
- Semicircular is the middle part of the room
- To the east of it was the Portrait Hall, next to which there was a hall with a Hill, a Library and a Corner Living Room
- On the western side there was a Billiard Hall, or Marble Living Room.
Reconstructions at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries changed the purpose of the rooms:
- In the right wing under Nicholas I there was a bedchamber, under Nicholas II - a palace church
- In the left wing there was a Concert Hall, and in 1903, on the ground floor, in its place were Alexandra Feodorovna’s Maple Living Room and the Front Room - the New Study of Emperor Nicholas II, and on the second - the rooms of the children’s half.
Alexander Palace - from history
Catherine II could not imagine the existence of the Alexander Garden without Ferney Castle, but as a result, a palace was built here, which became a wedding gift for her beloved first grandson, Prince Alexander Pavlovich.
For reference: after the death of the French philosopher Voltaire, the Empresswanted to buy his library and perpetuate the memory of the philosopher. She dreamed of building a castle similar to Voltaire's Ferney Castle. “I will certainly build Ferney Castle in Tsarskoye Selo Park,” she wrote.
Catherine II bought the library from the niece of the French philosopher Madame Denis, but Ferney Castle was never built. Instead, a palace was built for the future Emperor Alexander I.
Construction began in 1792 according to the design of the famous architect Giacomo Quarneghi and on June 12 the whole family celebrated a housewarming on the open colonnade of the palace, where a wonderful dessert was served and from where a “beautiful” view of the park opened up.
Alexander I, having become emperor, moved to St. Petersburg, and when coming to Tsarskoe Selo, he most often stayed at the Catherine Palace. His brother Nicholas I, on the contrary, preferred to live in the Alexander Palace, and it was under him that the palace was named in memory of its first owner.
The biggest reconstructions of the historical structure took place under Nicholas II, who was born in the Alexander Palace and was very fond of Tsarskoye Selo.
During his tenure, a balcony with a canopy was added to the ground floor and the heating and water supply systems were improved. There was a fire alarm and telephone, fire water supply and an elevator. In 1897, according to the design of the architect Silvio Danini, an underground tunnel was built from the palace kitchen to the kitchen outbuilding for the movement of servants.
With the advent of Soviet power, a state museum was opened in the building, and later a recreation center for NKVD workers and an orphanage were located.
During the occupation during the Great Patriotic War the German headquarters and the Gestapo were located here, there was a prison in the basements, and the square in front of the palace turned into a cemetery for SS soldiers. After the war, the building was occupied by a naval school, and later by a research institute. All valuables were transferred to the Pavlovsk and Catherine palaces.
The last renovation of the building was carried out in 1957. The basement premises have recently been renovated, and the next step is to replace communications and restore the rooms on the upper floors.
Opening hours of the Alexander Palace - summer 2019
Closed for restoration. The estimated completion date is 2020.
Relatively close to the new building of the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences, there is also the old building of the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The official address of the building located in Neskuchny Garden is Leninsky Prospekt, building 14. Pundits occupy the building of the Alexandria Palace (also known as Neskuchny Palace) in Neskuchny Garden.
Prokopiy Akinfievich Demidov is the eldest son of the largest Ural mining owner A.N. Demidov, the largest owner of mining enterprises. He founded the Moscow Commercial School in 1772, is known for donating thousands of dollars to Moscow University and millions of dollars in contributions to the construction of the Moscow Orphanage, of which he was a member of the board of guardians. He was famous for his eccentricities, and was characterized by his contemporaries as a rude and independent person, so much so that he aroused the indignation of Catherine II, who spoke of him as an “impudent talker.” He enthusiastically indulged in botany, collected a herbarium that was donated to Moscow University, wrote a study on bees, and was very fond of songbirds.
Over the course of a number of years, Demidov acquired land in his wife’s name from several Moscow owners. In 1754, a yard with the house of F.I. was purchased for these properties. Soimonov, a famous navigator and cartographer. This rounded off the site, and the estate occupied the entire space lying between “the ditch and the road that goes from the Church of the Reese-Statement to the Moscow River.” The “petition of noblewoman P.A.” has been preserved. Demidov and his wife Matryona Antipova” dated April 10, 1756 that they want to build “stone chambers.” There is also a resolution: “it is allowed to build according to the attached plan by architect Yakovlev.”
The Demidov Neskuchny Palace, located on the banks of the Moscow River, is an architectural monument of the mid-18th century and perfectly represents the classical style. The palace had an enviable fate. During the life of the owner, it was filled with thousands of cages with birds. The entire Moscow nobility traveled to admire these wonders. There were painters, writers, statesmen, scientists... After the death of the owner, at one time the palace belonged to the Counts Orlov. Later, Nicholas I bought the building along with the land and settled his wife Alexandra Fedorovna in it (sometimes the palace was called Alexandria Palace). After the revolution, the unique historical monument was turned into a museum. People came here to get acquainted with the richest collections of exquisite furniture. They say that Ilf and Petrov composed their famous novel about the ill-fated chairs not without a hint heard within these walls.
The fence lattice was made in the 50s of the 18th century at the Nizhny Tagil Demidov plant according to the design of F.S. Argunov. Cast iron doors are not assembled from separate parts, but are cast in one piece.
During Procopius Demidov’s tenure, the Neskuchny Palace estate was famous for its famous botanical garden. Demidov, keen on collecting exotic plants, back in the 1740s. I asked brother Gregory for cuttings and seeds from his Solikamsk garden. After the death of Gregory, Procopius transported the most interesting plants from the Ural collection. The garden itself attracted the attention of visitors; access to it was open, and it was always filled with visitors. The popularity of the garden was also facilitated by the eccentric inventions of the owner. For example, once, instead of plaster copies of Roman statues, he placed chalk-smeared men in the flowerbeds, who called out to everyone who dared to pick a flower. The rumor about living statues excited Moscow, and people poured into the garden. It was then that the name of the current place arose - Neskuchny Garden.
Tsarskoye Selo is one of the most beautiful suburbs. Every tourist strives to get here, every traveler who comes to the Northern capital to get acquainted with its sights. Everyone knows the magnificent and its famous Amber Room, as well as Catherine Park, but not everyone is aware that the Tsarskoye Selo Museum-Reserve, in addition to the above-mentioned objects, also includes Alexander Palace and Alexander Park.
The Alexander Palace is almost 70 years younger than its more famous neighbor. But this is not its main difference. If the Catherine Palace is a place for lavish receptions and special events, then the Alexander Palace is palace for living, family nest of the Romanov family.
The palace was built in 1792-1796. Catherine II for her beloved grandson Alexander Pavlovich (future Emperor Alexander I). 
The life of all Russian tsars, starting with Alexander I, is closely connected with the Alexander Palace. He lived here for several years until he moved to the Catherine Palace.
Nicholas I often lived in the palace for a long time; his wife Alexandra Fedorovna died here.
For Alexandra III this palace was the grand ducal residence. And the last 12 years of the life and reign of Emperor Nicholas II and his entire family passed in this palace. And it's from here royal family taken into exile, from which they never returned...
We arrived in Tsarskoye Selo on January 5, 2013. And the first palace we visited was the Alexander Palace. The sparse winter landscapes allowed us to see it in its full glory. Nothing interfered with the view - the palace was clearly visible even from afar.
In the distance you can see a pavilion in the Gothic style - the White Tower. It opened 3 months ago - in October 2012 after reconstruction. Here is an interactive child Center, where children playfully immerse themselves in history, turning into knights and princesses. By the way, this pavilion was originally built for the children of Nicholas I for their games, entertainment, as well as creativity and physical development.
An entrance ticket to the White Tower for an adult costs 120 rubles, a child ticket costs 50 rubles. on weekdays and 150 rub. on weekends; the price of a child’s ticket on weekends includes access to a master class).
Alexander Park covers an area of 200 hectares. and is divided into the New Garden (a regular part of the park) and the Landscape Park. There are 3 ponds on the territory. In the photo - the Lower Pond, covered with snow. Unfortunately, the weather did not give us the opportunity to enjoy a walk in the park. It’s best to do this in the summer. But you cannot deny one thing about Alexander Park - it is beautiful and grandiose, regardless of the time of year.
Alexander Palace is the creation of the great Quarenghi. The most famous buildings architect in St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, Smolny, Hermitage Theater, State Bank. In Tsarskoe Selo - the Lyceum building. But it is the Alexander Palace that is rightfully considered a masterpiece, an example of classical style construction. The palace is completely devoid of pomp and circumstance; it is beautiful in its severity and brevity.
The palace is decorated with a magnificent colonnade.
The side wings of the palace housed living quarters, and the central part contained the halls of the ceremonial enfilade.
The statues were installed in front of the colonnade in 1838. The name of the statues: “Young Man Playing Knives” based on the model of N.S. Pimenov and “The Pile Game” by A.V. Loganovsky.
We enter the palace through the colonnade.
In order to better imagine the arrangement of rooms in the Alexander Palace, I am posting a plan diagram of the palace. Those rooms that have been restored are numbered. Unfortunately, this is less than half. Plan from the site http://tzar.ru.
A large front suite, consisting of three halls, was opened after reconstruction in June 2010 - during the celebration of the 300th anniversary of Tsarskoye Selo. The first hall of the front suite is the Marble Living Room. This is where our tour of the palace begins.
Unfortunately, the photos turned out quite dark.
The enfilade hall is connected by arched openings. Semicircular hall.
Portrait Hall. Photo from the site http://tsarselo.ru. Here are large portraits of Catherine II, works by Roslen and Rokotov, Alexander I, works by Dau, Nicholas I and his sons: Nicholas, Alexander, Mikhail and Konstantin, all works by the artist Kruger. Furniture from the 18th century - in the style of Louis XVI.
After the portrait hall there are three halls, which are currently under reconstruction.
The former Maple Living Room of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna.
Former Rosewood Living Room.
The former Lilac office of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna.
Former bedroom.
Address: Russia, Moscow, Leninsky Prospekt (metro station Leninsky Prospekt, Oktyabrskaya)
Main attractions: Alexandrinsky Palace, Manege, Summer House, Hunting Lodge
Coordinates: 55°43"14.0"N 37°35"37.0"E
An object cultural heritage Russian Federation
On the right bank of the Moscow River, in the very heart of the capital, there is one of the largest Moscow parks, which used to be called Neskuchny Garden. Smooth linden alleys, beautiful fountains, attractions for kids, a huge Green Theater and sports grounds. Everything is as it should be in a place where people come to relax from the city noise. In different parts of the park you can see the picturesque buildings of the ancient Neskuchnoye estate.
Alexandrinsky Palace
History of the estate
In fact, on the territory of modern Neskuchny Garden, park alleys and buildings that belonged to three noble estates have been preserved. The owner of one of them was Prokofy Akinfievich Demidov, who, like his famous father, owned large mining enterprises. P.A. Demidov was known as a passionate gardener and lover of birds and bees. On the territory of the estate, he built a rich palace for himself and placed in it many cages with songbirds.
The Demidov Botanical Garden appeared on the estate in 1756 and had the shape of an amphitheater. In addition to unusual ornamental shrubs and fruit trees, one could see palm trees, exotic for Russians. And the first plants - shoots and seeds - came to the Moscow estate from the botanical garden in Solikamsk. In 1781, academician Peter Simon Pallas lived at Demidov’s estate for a whole month and, at his request, compiled a detailed catalog of trees, shrubs and herbs growing around the miner’s house.
The owner's eccentricity manifested itself in different ways. He ordered the guards of the botanical garden to be dressed in white suits and forced them to make up themselves to resemble the park sculptures. The watchmen stood motionless and “came to life” only when one of the visitors tried to break a tree branch or plucked beautiful flowers from a flowerbed. Because of this, Muscovites began to call the garden “Neskuchny”. But this is only one version of the origin of the unusual name.
Maid of Honor Corps
After Demidov’s death, Elena Nikitichna Vyazemskaya bought the land, and after her, Count Fyodor Grigorievich Orlov. Under the new owner in 1806-1808, a large arena was built on the territory of the estate.
Adjacent to the Demidov estate to the south was the estate of Prince Nikita Yuryevich Trubetskoy, who acquired these lands in 1728. IN mid-18th century century, a beautiful two-story house appeared here. It was erected for the princely family by the architect Dmitry Vasilyevich Ukhtomsky, a famous master of the Elizabethan Baroque. The prince's descendants remodeled the estate in their own way. They built a “Versailles garden”, a menagerie and poultry house, wooden galleries and a stone grotto.
After Trubetskoy, Neskuchnoye changed several owners. Some owners tried to establish production of iron and copper products on the estate. Others, chasing profit, opened the city's first clinic with artificial mineral waters on the shores of Moscow. However, all attempts to obtain income from the estate failed. Neskuchnoye continued to be a place of mass celebrations and entertainment, and the public who came here had fun as best they could. IN early XIX centuries, balloon flights, rare in those days, were very popular.
Summer (Tea) house
At the very beginning of the reign of Emperor Nicholas I, vast lands on the right bank of Moscow were bought by the palace department in order to create a new summer royal residence here. The southern section of the lands acquired by the treasury was occupied by the former estate of N.Yu. Trubetskoy Neskuchnoe. It is believed that it gave the name to everything built later palace and park ensemble. Nearby was the Golitsyn estate. The north of the new royal residence previously belonged to the Orlov counts and consisted of several sections. And in the center of the vast palace estate was the ancient estate of Demidov with a botanical garden well known to Muscovites.
From that moment on, the territory of Neskuchny Garden began to be developed as a single architectural and park complex. Regular parks of individual noble estates were gradually planted with new trees and shrubs and turned into landscape ones. The famous architect Evgraf Dmitrievich Tyurin magnificently decorated the two-story building of the Oryol arena and gave it a solemn appearance.
The Demidovsky Palace, or as it came to be called, the Alexandria Palace, was also remodeled in the traditions of the late Empire style and equipped with chambers for the emperor and spacious halls for receiving guests. At the same time, according to the project of E.D. Tyurin added two large buildings to the main palace - the Freylinsky and the Cavalry, as well as a small guardhouse building. A grand entrance road led from Kaluzhskaya Street to the main entrance to the palace. It originated from the beautiful gate, which was decorated with the allegorical sculpture “Abundance”.
Hunting lodge. Filming of the program “What? Where? When?” is taking place here.
In 1917, the royal estate was nationalized. Then Neskuchny Garden was renamed the Maxim Gorky Park of Culture and Leisure. Year after year, many new buildings and pavilions were erected here, and the landscape was also changed - alleys were laid out, the river bank was strengthened and new plantings were made. Therefore, the modern park is very different from what it was 100 years ago.
What buildings have been preserved in Neskuchny Garden
In the “Demidov” part of the park, the Alexandria Palace, built in the mid-18th century in the classicist style and reconstructed in the 1830s as an imperial residence, has been preserved. On the sides of the luxurious house there are small colonnades that support neat semicircular balconies. To the left and right of the main entrance you can see chamber statues of dogs. In 1930, a beautiful cast-iron fountain appeared on the square in front of the palace, which until that time adorned Lubyanka Square. This fountain was built at the end of the 19th century according to the design of the talented sculptor Ivan Petrovich Vitali.
Former playpen. Mineralogical Museum named after A.E. Fersman in Neskuchny Garden
Today the palace occupies the Presidium Russian Academy Sciences, and, unfortunately, it is impossible to inspect the building inside. On the terrace where the famous botanical garden once grew, today there is a large Green Theater that can accommodate up to 15 thousand spectators.
From one of the owners of the estate, Count Fyodor Orlov, a two-story manege building, built at the beginning of the 19th century, remains in the park. Since 1936, it has housed one of the most famous mineralogical museums in the country, named after academician A.E. Fersman. The unique museum collections began their history in 1716 and still attract many visitors.
The Summer (or Tea) House also remains from the Oryol estate. It was erected in 1796 and today is the oldest of the manor buildings. The picturesque two-story building in the classicist style is decorated with a slender colonnade, and one-story extensions are built on either side of it. Nearby there is a small area and benches where park visitors like to relax.
Small (Grotesque) bridge
From the estate of Prince N.Yu. Trubetskoy in Neskuchny Garden has preserved a small, neat hunting lodge-rotunda, built in the mid-18th century. The hospitable owner loved to spend time with friends there. IN modern history This ancient building became famous as the filming location for the TV show “What? Where? When?". In memory of the princely estate of Neskuchnoye, there also remains a large ravine with a dam and several alleys of the old regular park.
Neskuchny garden for relaxation
The park area has long been favored by Muscovites for walks and leisure. Guests of the Neskuchny Garden can walk along the paths past several ponds, admire the picturesque bridges thrown across the ravines and feed almost tame squirrels. Many people just like to sit on benches in the shade of trees and watch the pleasure boats plying along the river.
Some places in the Neskuchny Garden look like a dense forest. On the territory of the former noble estates, oaks, maples, poplars, lindens and birches grow, and in the summer there are many flower beds. Built for children in the park playgrounds and attractions. For horse lovers there is an Equestrian Development Center.