Theater Square in St. Petersburg began with a huge wasteland between the Moika, Griboedovsky and Kryukov canals. A merchant from Holland, Semyon Brumberg, who lived on the nearby Proviantskaya Street, installed saw mills in the wasteland in the middle of the 18th century. The energy of windmills and watermills was used for sawing logs and making building materials. For some time, the wasteland received the name Brumbergova (1765-1770).
However, a few years later, after the construction of the entertainment booth, it began to be called the Carousel. Here you could ride the rides and watch the performances of horses in a large wooden amphitheater with benches. Equestrian games (which were then called "carousels") took place in a round arena similar to a circus.
When the booth dilapidated, the building of the first Russian musical theater was erected in its place. The large stone building was designed by the leading city architect
Antonio Rinaldi, one of the authors of St. Isaac's Cathedral. Three times a week the metropolitan elite of that time gathered for
performances. The theater burned several times and was rebuilt several times. The space in front of him, without further ado, began to be called the "Square of the Stone Theater" or "The Big Square in front of the Stone Theater".
The modern name - Theater Square - was entrenched only in 1812. At the end of the century, on the site of the Stone Theater, the architect Vladimir Nicolas designed and built the building of the first higher musical educational institution in Russia - the St. Petersburg Conservatory. Her graduates were Peter Tchaikovsky, Sergey Prokofiev, Dmitry Shostakovich, George Sviridov. Rimsky-Korsakov and Rubinstein taught here. Today, the conservatory still hosts musically gifted young people.
The name "Theater" was preserved behind the square due to the fact that in the 1940s, the so-called circus theater was built opposite the old theater, the design of which was designed by architect Albert Kavos. He provided a round stage in the building, suitable for both circus performances and theater performances.
Unfortunately, the building burned down. After 12 years, it was rebuilt and received a sonorous name, now known throughout the world, - the Mariinsky Theater, in honor of the wife of Russian Emperor Alexander II Maria Fedorovna. In the Soviet years, the theater was named after S. M. Kirov. The sharp-tongued Petersburgers dubbed him TOBIK (Kirov Opera and Ballet Theater). His address (Theater Square, St. Petersburg, Building 1) is known to many theatergoers around the world. Here, at the Mariinsky, Chaliapin and Ulanova, Pavlova and Nureyev shone.
At the end of the 19th century, Theater Square was reconstructed; monuments to the composer-storyteller Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and the founder of Russian classics Mikhail Glinka appeared on it. Interestingly, the premiere performance in both theaters - Kamenny and Mariinsky - was the composer's opera Life for the Tsar.
Theater Square is surrounded by residential buildings and office buildings, which are also architectural monuments of the XIX century. So, the mansion at the address: Theater Square, house number 4, belonged to the St. Petersburg architect Egor Sokolov and was built according to his design. Later, other people owned the house. Shortly before his death, the famous artist Mikhail Vrubel lived in apartment No. 18 for a year. It was in this building that the painter worked on the paintings “Pearl” and “After the Concert”.
House number 8 belonged to a nobleman, writer and translator Nikita Vsevolozhsky. It was in this building that the members of the famous literary society Green Lamp, including A. Pushkin, gathered for their meetings. In one of the halls of the mansion, in the light of the green lamp, future Decembrists and freethinkers discussed art, history and politics.
An outstanding person lived in house No. 14 - Nikolai Semenovich Mordvinov, a Russian naval commander and statesman. He was considered the best economist of the beginning of the XIX century. He was the only member of the Decembrists' Criminal Court to not sign the death sentence for them. The building was visited by Zhukovsky and Karamzin, future Decembrists and Lermontov. The house has long had a children's hospital number 17, it is currently being rebuilt as a four-star hotel with underground parking.
Many buildings on Theater Square belong to the so-called apartment buildings, that is, apartment buildings, the premises in which were leased and brought good income to the owner. At different times, apartments in these apartment buildings were rented by people who are the pride of Russian history and culture. So, the famous artist and director Vsevolod Meyerhold lived in the apartment building of S. I. Andreev (Theater Square, 2) for five years, and the ballerina Avdotya Istomina, whose soul was flying, lived in the apartment building of von Kister (Theater Square, 16). "praised Pushkin.
The square keeps the memory of people walking on it. She still has a special spirit. House No. 10 houses the Italian Institute of Culture, and even cafes and restaurants are aimed at lovers of classical music and painting. Their interiors are intelligent (pianos, chess, paintings, restrained pastel colors), and the names are bewitching: “The Nutcracker”, “Sadko”, “The Noble Nest”, “Behind the Scene”, “Bohemia”.
It is planned that in the coming years Theater Square will become a real "cultural quarter" of the second Russian capital: the second stage of the Mariinsky Theater is under construction, in 2015-16 it is planned to open a metro station of the same name on the square.