In the spring of 1675 an unusually charming and nimble young man appeared in Moscow. He came from Switzerland in search of adventure and imminent wealth. We must give him his due - and for that and for another scent, he was excellent. The German settlement where he settled in those years was teeming with visiting adventurers, but it was to him, Franz Lefort, that fate prepared a winning ticket, making Peter the Great the closest associate.
Young minion of fortune
Having settled in the German settlement, Franz was in no hurry to burden himself with any particular occupation, and in order to have a livelihood, he married the somewhat overripe, but financially well-off daughter of Colonel Suguet, in search of happiness brought to Russia from France. Young, beautiful, and besides, he received a solid dowry, Lefort led a carefree life, similar to an endless celebration. It was in the maelstrom of fun that he was destined to meet the then young emperor Peter I.
The young Swiss had many talents, but the most striking among them was the ability to please the right person. Very soon, the Russian autocrat not only brought him closer to himself, but also made him one of his proxies. Since then, Lefort’s career steeply went uphill, and the supportive Fortune lifted the lucky one to the very top of well-being.
Gift of the sovereign to his favorite
Generous to his favorites, Peter gives the new pet a truly royal gift - he builds for him in Moscow on the banks of the Yauza a luxurious mansion surrounded by a park and called the Lefortovo Palace. The architect Dmitry Aksamitov, who accepted the order for the project and construction, completed his brainchild in 1698. It was very innovative for its time.
The previously built palaces of Moscow turned pale in front of the residence of the lucky nobleman. His mansion was erected in the so-called eclectic style, which incorporated elements of ancient tower buildings and the direction that arose in those years, which was called the “Peter's Baroque”. It is rightly believed that the author of the project is one of the first Russian architects who made an attempt to break out of the narrow framework of pre-Petrine architecture.
The magnificence of the reception hall
Everything in it was new and unusual in comparison with the established Moscow canons. In order to make the Lefortovo Palace a place for future assemblies, capable of accommodating a significant number of guests, the tsar ordered to set up a reception hall in it, not inferior in size to European models. D. Aksamitov exactly fulfilled this requirement, and the pride of the palace he erected became a giant hall of ten meters high and an area of three hundred square meters.
The light of precious chandeliers, reflected in many mirrors, illuminated a huge portrait of Peter I, majestically gazing at the wall with red English cloth. The guests' eyes were involuntarily lost in the abundance of paintings and picturesque trellises brought here from the best workshops in Europe. The hall was so large that one and a half thousand people could simultaneously admire its splendor.
Enfilade of rooms
Amazed Lefortovo Palace and the luxury of the rest of the chambers. From the memoirs of contemporaries it is known that the enfilade of rooms was opened to the eyes of the guests, among which one, upholstered in green leather, was filled with cabinets with porcelain, the other astounded the eye with the whimsical products of Chinese masters, and the third with precious furniture. And there was no number to such treasures.
Palace Park
To match everything was the park surrounding the Lefortovo Palace. We learn about it from the letter of the owner himself, sent to his brother in 1698. He describes vast territories belonging to him, where wild animals live among shady trees, as if in the wild. In a letter, Lefort also mentions the great rarity of those times - artificial ponds teeming with fish.
The layout of the building was carried out in such a way that the main facade was facing Yauza. It is believed that this expressed its perception of it as a completely navigable river. According to the author, the general view of the palace was to be supplemented by fifty cannons placed on the galleries.
Curse hanging over the palace
Housewarming, accompanied by rampant fun, took place in February 1699. Literally from this time, the secrets of the Lefortovo Palace have their origin. The fact is that in its history there were many events inexplicable and giving rise to the darkest legends. The first of them was the sudden death of the owner of the house, overtaking him three weeks after a stormy triumph.
Its official reason was called an ailment that tormented Lefort for many years, but those who did not want to agree to this alluded to some envious people, of whom the German settlement was full, among which there might well be experts on poisons. But later, when the ominous string of deaths continued, the general opinion agreed on a certain curse that gravitated over this palace. Whether it is true or not, it’s hard to say, but only Peter, far from superstition, used the magnificent palace for its intended purpose, arranging receptions for ambassadors, assemblies, and often just crazy revelry in it.
The new owner of the palace
This continued until 1706, when the fire that happened in the Semenovskaya Sloboda destroyed the house of another tsar's favorite - Alexander Danilovich Menshikov. In order to console a dignitary burner, the sovereign presented him with an orphaned Lefortovo Palace, undertaking some reconstruction of it. Invited by the new owner, Russian architect of Italian origin Giovanni Maria Fontana in addition to the main building erected an open square of two-story buildings connected by covered walkways and decorated the courtyard with intricate arcades.
From then on, the Lefortovo Palace began to be called Menshikovsky, but the curse weighed on it did not allow it to enjoy the splendor of wondrous chambers until the end of days. After the death of his patron, the completely stolen Alexander Danilovich lost power and was exiled to Siberia, as they say now, with the complete confiscation of property.
Further evil spirits
When during the short period of the reign of Peter II the capital was again moved to Moscow, this palace became one of the residences of the young sovereign. It was in him that the autocrat stayed in 1727, arriving at his coronation. However, the curse also reminded of itself - his sister Natalya Alekseevna suddenly died. Peter II left the palace from sin, but returned the following year.
It was very reckless of him. Having lived in the “bad palace” for less than a year, the Tsar became engaged to Princess Ekaterina Dolgorukova, however, the wedding was not destined to take place. On the appointed day, January 18, 1730, he unexpectedly died. Soon after his death, Empress Anna Ioannovna ascended the throne.
Bes and here did not miss the chance to spoil. In one of the palace halls, he thought of her breaking the previously signed Conditions, which limited the lawlessness of the tsarist government. As a result, the extravagant empress for a decade plunged Russia into the bloody pool of her arbitrariness.
Somewhat more fortunate than their predecessors was only Empress Elizaveta Petrovna, who, without obvious harm, stayed here in 1742 during her arrival in Moscow. This blue-eyed beauty spared fate, more than anything else in the world who loved fun, outfits, and stately guards officers. By her arrival, the chambers of the palace were restored after the Moscow fire that raged in them in 1737.
The fate of the palace
Owned by the treasury, the Lefortovo Palace in Moscow for a long time was used mainly as a residence for foreign ambassadors and to receive the most significant diplomats. In addition, in 1771 the plague quarantine was located here, and theatrical ministers later settled. The palace acquired new meaning in 1804, when it housed the military state archive.
The end of the palace splendor came in 1812. The fire of fire that engulfed the ancient capital did not spare these walls either. Since then, only blackened ruins have risen in the place where once the Petrine Baroque merged in amazing harmony with the Old Russian tower style. The treasury did not find the means to restore it, and the palace for many years was abandoned and forgotten by all.
According to the memoirs of contemporaries, its ruins were soon overgrown with trees and grass, which seemed to be trying to hide from the eyes of passers-by the painful traces of desolation. In the ruins themselves, new inhabitants soon appeared. They became a haven for local thieves and bandits hiding from the police there. This was facilitated by a huge, once well-groomed, and by that time run wild park. In those years, Muscovites tried to avoid this gloomy place.
The palace, which has become an archive
The revival of the palace began in the late forties of the XIX century, when, at the highest command of Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich, it was rebuilt and supplemented with a third floor. In its halls housed the state archive of the General Staff of the army, which is still there.
But today in this complex of buildings with military documents adjoins an extensive collection of audio materials relating to different periods of history. This collection includes numerous sound monuments of cultural and socio-political life. In the collection of this grand library, briefly referred to as RGAFD, you can see and listen to a variety of sound carriers, from wax rollers to modern CDs.
Monument of old Moscow
It is impossible to explore old Moscow without seeing the Lefortovo Palace. His address: 2nd Baumanskaya St., 3. It’s easy to get there. You can take the subway and get off at Baumanskaya station, or you can take bus number 78. In an extreme case, any Muscovite will be happy to tell you where the Lefortovo Palace is.
Today, his appearance is somewhat different from that which he had in past centuries. The reason for this is the numerous reconstructions, often carried out exclusively for practical purposes and without taking into account the architectural originality laid down in it by the author of the initial project.
As a result of changes made to the general layout of the district, the beautiful view from the side of Yauza was also closed. As for the curse that hung over the palace in former times, since the military appeared in its walls, it has not manifested itself at all - even unclean forces flee from the Russian army .