The history of the Russian state is full of events of various kinds. The most significant left their mark not only in the annals, but also in the monuments of architecture and art, studying which you can walk through all the milestones of the formation of our country. Until today, the interest of people in the life and life of emperors and kings of the Romanov dynasty has not been eradicated. The period of their reign is surrounded by luxury, the splendor of palaces with beautiful gardens and magnificent fountains. The beginning was laid in the XVII century, when the young tsar Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov moved to live in the imperial chambers of the Moscow Kremlin. They were not as magnificent as they are today, and were not always the place of actual residence of the crowned persons, but at the present stage they are a monument to the greatness of Russian rulers.
The Romanovs
The Time of Troubles brought Russia many shocks and tribulations, without the firm ruling hand of the monarch, the country was torn by contradictions. The history of the Romanovs as kings begins in 1613, it was then that the Zemsky Cathedral put forward the most suitable candidate for the throne. Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov, from the point of view of many contemporaries, was the most acceptable candidate. He came from wealthy boyars, was a relative of the last king of the Rurikovich clan who did not leave direct heirs, and was a person who did not participate in the power race, i.e., remained neutral. The age of the future sovereign, who made it easy enough to manipulate them to achieve political goals, was also taken into account. In fact, the young tsar was intimidated by the persecution and disgrace of Boris Godunov, at the age of 16 he was a sickly and weak-willed man who obeyed the will of his mother and father unquestioningly. From the moment of his election, Mikhail Fedorovich moved to the royal chambers, which during his reign were rebuilt almost anew. Many of the buildings erected for Ivan III at that time were actually destroyed. In the XVII century, the Moscow Kremlin is the royal palace, which becomes a place of concentration of the entire political and economic life of the state.
Royal chambers
Everyone differently understands and represents the life and life of the royal family. All Russian people are sure that the ruling country should occupy the royal chambers. The meaning of the word and its definition always goes to a superlative degree. This is not just housing for a group of people - it is the largest, highest, beautifully designed room where the sovereign works and rests. There is some truth in this: the royal palace should reflect the grandeur of the entire state, be its calling card, since it is he who serves as the place of reception of foreign envoys. In the XVII century, the Moscow Kremlin is a city inside the city. Hundreds of people live and work there, there are numerous houses of the court nobility, churches, monasteries, and ministries. Such a number of people need to be equipped with everything necessary and maintain the huge administrative apparatus in working condition, therefore, the royal chambers are adjacent to workshops, kitchens, stables, cellars and even gardens and kitchen gardens. Of course, the perimeter of the Kremlin was guarded with particular care, a simple passerby couldn’t get through, and petitioners who came from all over the country patiently waited for their turn outside its walls. Based on the literal translation, the residential, high (2-3 floors), stone structures were called nothing more than the royal chambers. The meaning of the word in Russian, as applied to the territory of the Moscow Kremlin, covers not one room, but a large territory with expanded functionality, which is divided into separate sectors used for its intended purpose. For example, the Terem Palace served as a bedchamber, a throne room, various walk-through farm buildings and had its own church and temple. Each type of premises had its own name and purpose: the Faceted Chamber, the Patriarchal Chamber, etc.
Terem Palace
Russian architects of the 17th century (Konstantinov, Ogurtsov, Ushakov, Shaturin) created a pearl unique in its originality in the ensemble of the entire Moscow Kremlin. The palace was built using preserved fragments of the previous structure, which explains the stepped structure of the building. In the future, this style was often used in the history of the development of Russian architecture. The exterior of the palace looks magnificent: white-stone platbands, multi-colored tiles with elements of heraldic designs, decorative pilasters, unique decorative carvings attract special attention. The second floor of the Terem Palace is reserved for the royal chambers. Photos of modern (restored) interiors are not able to convey the richness of the decoration of rooms. The walls and arches of each chamber are designed in a single color and painted with decorative ornaments. In 1636, construction work in the Terem Palace ends, but later other buildings are added to it that do not spoil the general appearance of the building. In the year of completion of work on the male half of the palace, the Church of the Holy Face (Verkhospassky Cathedral) is created, separated from the Terem Palace by a gilded lattice. The most ancient building of the complex is the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin (on the Seny), dating from the 14th century. It was rebuilt several times, but has survived to the present day. All churches - the Resurrection of the Word, Catherine and Raspyatskaya - are harmoniously inscribed in the ensemble of the Terem Palace. Unique icons made on silk fabric and a unique mural give the religious buildings an original look.
Golden-domed Teremok
The highest part of the Terem Palace, which offers an amazing view of Moscow, was built for the children of Mikhail Fedorovich - there they should have been engaged. Teremok is located above the throne chamber of the sovereign. The room is spacious, bright, with benches along the walls. It also served for meetings of the Boyar Duma, and was sometimes used as the tsar’s cabinet. The perimeter around the perimeter is surrounded by open galleries for walks: from the end of the building there are large full-fledged platforms, and the long side is narrow passages that are equipped only with low parapets. From here, the entire building, as well as the entire ancient city, was visible at a glance. The golden-domed tower was built in 1637, this is a unique creation of Russian architects. The room is very richly decorated, but it is cozy and warm, large windows let in a lot of light, colored mica stones created a bizarre game of various colors. The cornice of the roof is decorated with an openwork metal grill; window frames are covered with elaborate white-stone carvings (as in the “adult” part of the chambers), which is different on each window. Birds, flowers, animals, various fruits and fairy-tale characters adorn the reliefs, symbolizing the diversity and richness of the world. The western portal, open for review, is decorated with a board that contains an inscription about the data belonging to the choir of sovereign children - Tsarevichs Alexei Mikhailovich and Ivan Mikhailovich. Between the text and along the edges of the relief there is a drawing that helps to arouse interest in learning and games in the indicated room. The image, from the point of view of a modern person, looks naive and unpretentious, but the skill of its creators is difficult to overestimate. The Golden-domed Teremok can be described endlessly, and the main points will be: bright, warm, vibrant, magnificent.
Turret
Probably, during the construction of the tower the architects implied the physical elevation of the sovereign over his lands. The Tsar looked at the city from its highest point (if you do not take into account the bell tower of Ivan the Great), i.e., was between God and people, which allowed him to assess the situation and make large-scale decisions. For the curious Tsarevich Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov, this height seemed completely mastered. Therefore, a watch tower was attached to the tower from the eastern part. The floor level of this small building coincided with the roof of the highest point of the Terem Palace. The construction was carried out later, which is why the eastern portal of the tower was inaccessible to the review, although initially it was decorated as beautifully as the western one. The best view appeared from the turret, but probably the princes liked to be above their father and all the noble nobles who occupied their room for a short time. There were two ways to get there: through the Golden-Domed Teremok, which was connected by a white-stone staircase to the entrance of the turret, forming a passage from the eastern portal, or directly, from the lower chambers. In this case, the visitor got into a small vestibule next to the tower and from there through the open space reached the canopy, from which he could climb into the room under consideration.
Patriarchal Chambers
Housewarming was celebrated in the middle of 1655, the whole Romanov family came to it. Patriarch Nikon wished that his premises were designed in the most saturated colors. The chambers are built in a more classic, “simple” style, but this is greatly offset by the richness of the building’s decor and the riot of colors of the temple of the Twelve Apostles adjacent to the east. The third floor with small rooms was completed only by the end of the XVII century. Several white-stone porches that allow access to open galleries, gilded openwork skates, magnificent frescoes gave the Patriarchal Chambers a solemn appearance. The gilded splendor was especially emphasized by the pink color in which Nikon ordered the walls of his apartments to be painted. The modern look of the chambers leaves a feeling of some understatement, perhaps the project was not fully implemented.
Amusing palace
The Chambers of the Romanovs, with all their splendor and spaciousness, could not accommodate the whole family. Therefore, in 1651 - on the orders of the new Russian Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich - the construction of a new building begins on the territory of the Moscow Kremlin, which is intended for the residence of the father of his wife (father-in-law) I.D. Miloslavsky. It is worth noting an amazing feature of the structure - it became the first Moscow "skyscraper", because it consisted of four floors. Already in the middle of the XVII century, there was a shortage of building space. Inside the ground floor there was a through passage 30 meters long. Above the living rooms, for the convenience of the owner, the Church of Praise of the Virgin was built with belfries, the altar of which was carried out outside the palace using brackets. He hung over the Kremlin street, so all church canons were observed. Miloslavsky lived in this house for 16 years, after which the palace passed to the state treasury. The name "Comical" he received later, in 1672, when Fyodor Alexandrovich Romanov, when the sisters of the sovereign moved into it. The rooms for fun of the royal court (fun) were used: the first theatrical performances were staged here, from where its name came from. For the convenience of the royal family, the Teremna and the Fun Palace were connected by closed passages.
Zaryadye in Moscow
One of the most ancient districts of Moscow, which runs between Varvarskaya Street and the river, is a historical monument only in its location. On this site there are unique buildings of Russian architecture - churches, temples and cathedrals erected in the XIV-XVIII centuries. But Zaryadye in Moscow received the greatest tourist popularity as the birthplace of the Romanov clan, Russian tsars. The name of the territory comes from the word "row", meaning the shopping arcade, which stretched to Red Square. Unfortunately, the monument did not survive today in its original form, only the chambers remained. The remaining elements of the house and yard can be judged by the surviving descriptions of the life of the boyar family. According to legend, the first Russian tsar from the Romanov dynasty was born in the house on Varvarka, which his grandfather had built at one time. During the reign of Ivan the Terrible, the chambers were ravaged by archers on the orders of the tsar, later they suffered many times from fires and all kinds of redevelopments for monasteries and churches. The museum was organized on this site only at the direction of Alexander II, in the middle of the XIX century. The history of the Romanovs began here. According to the structure of the premises, the chambers had a fairly standard appearance of houses of that time. The underground part was occupied by cellars and pantries, there was also a cookery, or kitchen. The living quarters were located higher: a library, an office, and a room for older children were intended for men. The female half of the house was more spacious, with bright rooms for needlework, and the boyar daughters were spinning and sewing together with the maids. Decorations, dishes, furniture, sewing, household items that survive today are striking in their simplicity and sophistication. The Chambers of the Romanovs in Zaryadye are called the "old sovereign's court".
The royal chamber of Gatchina
Later buildings, erected by order of the royal family, continue to amaze with their size and magnificence. Only from the 18th-19th centuries they were called not royal chambers, but palaces. For example, Gatchina. This palace was built at the direction of Catherine II for her favorite Grigory Orlov. This place and the project of the future complex were chosen jointly by them, the construction was officially completed in 1781, although the disgraced Earl entered it earlier. In 1883, after the death of Orlov, Catherine bought the palace from his heirs for Paul I. Each of the Romanov family improved this ensemble for their own needs and rebuilt it taking into account the new technical achievements of mankind. Currently, this monument of architecture and history is in a state of restoration. The palace was badly damaged at the hands of the Nazis during the Great Patriotic War, some of the exhibits were taken to Germany.
Tsarskoye Selo
Starting with Peter I, all Russian emperors left their mark on the history of the formation of the modern look of the city of Pushkin, or rather, its unique architectural and park objects. Before the Bolsheviks came to power, this place was known as Tsarskoye Selo. The Alexander Palace, as well as the Catherine Palace, together with the adjoining territories and complexes of buildings, are real works of art! On the territory of the modern museum there are all areas of artistic styles - from the luxury of Russian Baroque to classicism and more modern trends of the XX century. The Catherine Palace in Tsarskoye Selo allows you to feel the spirit of several eras of the Romanov dynasty. Catherine the Great, Elizabeth, Alexander I - all left their mark on the development of the external appearance and internal content of the palace. Equally important for the integrity of perception is the park territory adjacent to the ensemble, which was created individually for each structure. The era of the reign of Alexander I, Nicholas II (the last Russian emperor) is associated with the Alexander (New Tsarskoye Selo) palace. From a historical and architectural point of view, these objects are no less important than the Kremlin Palace. Photos, videos, constant excursions to all places of stay of the Romanov dynasty are in constant demand both within our country and among many foreigners.