One of the islands of modern St. Petersburg often changed its name after the owners. So at the beginning of the XVIII century, Peter I gave Mishin the island to diplomat Shafirov, and he sold it to the famous prosecutor general Yaguzhinsky. In 1771, the president of the Melgunov Chamber College became the owner of the island, and the island became Melgunov. Only after the acquisition of the island by a rather prominent statesman and political figure of the Catherine’s era, a philanthropist and poet, freemason and philosopher I.P. Elagin, he received the current name. It has survived, despite the repeated change of ownership of the island and the most beautiful palace, called Elagin or Elaginoostrovsky.
Washed by the Big and Middle Nevka Elagin Island, Alexander I acquired in 1817 for more than 1/3 million rubles from the son of the famous Count Vladimir Orlov, making the Elaginsky Palace in St. Petersburg the residence of the Dowager Empress Mother. Immediately began work on the construction of a practically new palace, since the future great architect Karl Rossi left only strong stone walls from the existing one.
Yelaginsky palace: history
The debate about who was the builder who erected a villa in the Palladian style for Elagin does not stop until now. The architect Rossi, and this was his first independent work, approached the construction responsibly, with invention and scale. He not only built the beautiful palace building, which is admired in our time, but also attracted great specialists to the creation of its interior, as well as to the landscape design of the island. Framing the Yelaginsky Palace, like a lily in a crystal vase, eight more buildings were constructed or reconstructed.
The history of the Western arrow of the Elagin Island is inextricably linked with the history of the Elaginoostrovsky Palace. To protect the island from flooding and spread the “pointe” tradition - admiring the setting sun on the Western arrow of the Elagin Islands - they organized the appearance of this arrow itself, connecting two separate capes with soil raised from the bottom of the river. And the fashion introduced by Rossi for cast-iron lions was supported, and this place was decorated with two lions with balls.
The use of the palace in the first half of the twentieth century
After the death of its owner, the Yelaginoostrovsky palace was not very much appreciated by the reigning persons, and at the beginning of the 20th century his status was reduced to the “Prime Minister”. S. Yu. Witte, P. A. Stolypin, V. N. Kokovtsov and I. L. Goremykin alternately stayed in it.
After the revolution of 1917, the Elaginsky Palace was first used as a Museum of Life, which lasted 12 years. At the close of his collection was partially transferred to other museums, and partially sold. The building was used by various organizations before the start of World War II, including a branch of the Institute of Plant Growing.
Use of the palace in the second half of the 20th century
Yelagin Palace after the war was in such a deplorable state that the possibility of building a new building was discussed. But the position of architect V. M. Savkov won, and by 1960 the palace was rebuilt and restored. Unfortunately, it was not a museum, but a one-day recreation center that was placed in it, and only in 1987 was it given the appropriate status with renaming to the Elaginoostrovsky Palace - the Museum of Palace Architecture and Interior of the new and modern times.
Use of the palace in the 21st century
In 2010, a special department of glass products was opened in the Museum's Greenhouse.
Since the end of the year before last, the Elagin Palace has been closed for visiting in connection with the restoration, the work on which is estimated at more than three tens of millions of rubles. It is necessary to reconstruct engineering systems, establish fire safety, put in order the interiors of the second floor and the former house church on the third floor.
Yelaginoostrovsky Palace Museum in St. Petersburg
The palace building is located on a low hill, almost on the banks of the river, to which its eastern facade faces. The main (western) entrance is decorated with a 6-column central portico and two 4-column, symmetrically located from the central. The eastern one is the central half-tube with two porticoes on the sides with the number of columns similar to the western facade. For the first time in St. Petersburg, the figures of two cast-iron lions with balls were located on the sides of the stairs of the western facade, and four huge marble vases in the eastern one.
Palace construction
Rossi erected a three-story building with a dome on a stepped basement-terrace with openwork lattice, making it an amazing monument to the Russian Empire style. The Elaginsky Palace masterly combines a solemn and austere appearance with luxury and non-standard interior decoration and interiors.
Rossi laid the foundation for the tradition of installing cast-iron lions, which later became one of the symbols of North Palmyra. Many people like the lions at the Elaginsky Palace. The history of their creation is as follows: they were cast at the local foundry in July 1822 and installed on the main staircase of the Elagin Palace. Lions are very similar, but not identical.
The architectural ensemble of the Elaginoostrovsky Palace
The palace architectural ensemble also includes four pavilions (two were built earlier and remade by Rossi), the Orangery (built earlier and remade by Rossi) Kitchen, Konyushenny, Freylinsky and Cavalry (built later) buildings:
- The pavilion at the granite pier (the flag pavilion) is the most visible structure on the island (except, of course, the palace) due to its location on the eastern cape. A small park gazebo converted by Rossi into an ancient temple. Forming a terrace down to the granite pier, the oval portico is decorated, like the Yelaginsky Palace itself, with an openwork lattice. Upon arrival on the island of Alexander I, a personal standard rose above the pavilion.
- The music pavilion is small, one-story, with a place for musicians and two rooms on each side. In the center is a semiconductor, open and fenced in columns on both sides.
- The guardhouse pavilion, located at the entrance to the island for its protection, was a small one-story building (currently to be restored, since it had completely burned out) with two rooms for the officer and guard, as well as a portico with six square pillars for support.
- Pavilion on the island. Yelagin on one of the small islets in honor of his friend, Vice-Chancellor Panin, erected a gazebo on four stone pillars. Rossi introduced elements of classicism into it and made it in the same color for all buildings - light gray.
- The kitchen building is a two-story building semicircular in plan with antique figures in the niches of the outer wall and a central entrance with six columns and a triangular pediment. The windows overlook only the courtyard of the building. Outwardly, it looks great, and you can’t say that this is the place for cooking.
- The stable housing is a rare example of the discrepancy between the visible beautiful shell and the usual contents. This is a two-story, beautiful, horseshoe-shaped building with splendidly designed cuts for the front entrance connecting two equally strict types of outbuildings. The building has various types of facilities for servicing horses and their riders.
- Greenhouse building. Yelagin built a small greenhouse for growing exotic flowers. Rossi radically redid it, retaining only the stone walls, but complemented the construction and made it symmetrical. Now it is already a two-story building with two wings. It was intended not only for the delight of the eyes grown exotic, but also for the comfortable living of the heir and the Grand Dukes. From the south, the facade was glazed, and on the other sides it was decorated with cast-iron hermes - square pillars with the heads of ancient gods on tops.
- Cavalry Corps - built in the 30s of the XIX century as housing for the keeper of the palace and the head of the servant - the goffuryer. A two-story house, where the first floor is stone and the second is wooden.
- The maid of honor - this is the only building Rossi erected to accommodate the staff one-story, wooden and U-shaped in shape. Soon, the building was flooded and rebuilt several times, becoming stone and two-story. The building was used to accommodate eight maids of honor with service staff. Traditions Rossi tried to comply. So, on the sides there were three windows, the enfilade layout of the rooms was preserved, there is a gallery with six stone pillars, and so on.
The interior of the Elaginoostrovsky Palace
Elagin Palace in St. Petersburg has another name - “Palace of Doors”. And this is no coincidence. If there are a sufficiently large number of doors, and there are more than two dozen, given the enfilade location of the halls, none of them repeats the other. The architect worked personally on the design of doors made of valuable tree species and, in order to ensure the symmetry so beloved by him, provided for their imitation.
The entire entourage of the palace is originally and luxuriously decorated with sculpture, decorated with artificial marble (stucco). Drawings and pictures on it make up the unique interiors of the Elaginsky Palace in St. Petersburg.
First floor of the palace
At the entrance to the palace in the hallway (front lobby - front) there are four niches where there is an appropriate number of candelabra in the form of vestal figures that protect family well-being.
It is generally recognized that the most spectacular room in the palace on the ground floor is the Oval Hall with columns holding female domes in the form of female figures. For him enfilade followed by rooms for various purposes, the walls of which are trimmed with alum gypsum. The porcelain cabinet is so named because of the decoration of its walls very similar in appearance to porcelain with a snow-white stucco. The walls of other rooms are painted with various pictures, including from the mythology of the Greeks and Romans.
In a number of rooms and halls, Rossi provided for the presence of special curtain-like curtains, and the color of marble always followed the general tone of the decoration of each room. The situation was the same with stucco and sculptures.
The second and third floors of the palace
On the second floor of the palace is the emperor’s office with a bronze door and rooms for the ladies, and on the third - the house church.
True, an imitation of the true designs of Russia and the architectural heritage of the interiors of the Elaginsky Palace were not preserved on the second (except for the cabinet of Alexander I) and the basement, as well as in the hallway.
How to get there
No need to ask passers-by how to get to the Elaginsky Palace. Its location is easy to find. From the Krestovsky Ostrov metro station, you need to walk to the second Elaginsky bridge. Next - go to the right already along the very Elagin island.
This place was repeatedly shot in the cinema. In a dilapidated state in 1945, several episodes from “Slow Skid” were shot against its background, and in the restored form in the series “Master and Margarita” (2012, the hospital where the Master was) and “Kurt Seit and Alexandra” (2014 Mr. Kurt Peter's friend’s home). Yelagin Palace, as it were, is in a different dimension, it is very difficult to describe the sensations that arise when it is seen. The complex is very organically integrated into the landscape of the island.
Conclusion
So, we found out what the Elaginsky Palace is. As you can see, this is a rather famous building in St. Petersburg. This place is worth visiting for anyone who wants to learn more about the history of Russia.