Cultural heritage of Russia: Kamennoostrovsky Palace. Kamenoostrovsky Palace
Kamennoostrovsky Palace is one of the oldest in St. Petersburg. Its construction began in 1776, when Tsarina Catherine II ordered the transfer of Kamenny Island to her son Pavel Petrovich. The name of the author of the building project is not known for certain: historians suggest that he was J. Felten.
In 1777, St. Petersburg suffered a terrible flood, and all work had to be temporarily stopped. The construction of the building was completed by the architect D. Quarenghi.
Kamennoostrovsky Palace is a historical and architectural monument in the style of classicism, which was used as an imperial summer residence. The palace is made in a U-shape. Above the main façade of the building is a portico supported by six Tuscan columns. A wide staircase made of rare granite leads to the entrance. There is a beautiful garden in front of the front façade.
On the Neva side, the palace is decorated with a portico with 8 columns. All details of the Kamennoostrovsky Palace are made with incredible clarity.
The main building contains several huge, luxuriously decorated halls. The palace has gone through many reconstructions, so the original interiors have not been preserved.
In addition to the main building, the palace complex includes a Utility Yard, a Kitchen, a House for Invalids, a Wood Store, a Garden House, a Guardhouse, an Arena and a Stable.
The owner of the Kamennoostrovsky Palace was Paul I, but the emperor did not like the building, and he practically never visited here. In 1797, the palace was transferred to the ex-king of Poland Stanislav Augustus.
The status of the residence of Russian emperors was returned to the complex during the reign of Alexander I. During this period, a residential wing with the tsar’s office was added to the main building.
In 1917, the palace housed a hospital and a colony for street children. In the 60s, the building was given to the Air Force sanatorium, which was located in Kamennoostrovsky until 2008. In 2008, a project was adopted to reconstruct the palace and convert it into a governor’s residence.
In 2015, plans to organize a residence in the Kamennoostrovsky Palace were abandoned. The St. Petersburg Talent Academy moved into the building. To date, the Academy has a children's television studio, an exhibition hall, theater and concert venues, a laboratory, a scientific center, etc. It is one of the leading state institutions of out-of-school education.
Kamennoostrovsky Palace is a cultural heritage site of Russia, an architectural monument of world significance.
Message quote UNESCO World Heritage: the secrets of the Kamennoostrovsky Palace
Kamennostrovsky Palace is one of the palaces of St. Petersburg, a monument to the times of Catherine II, a country imperial residence. An architectural monument of classicism of federal significance. It is under the protection of UNESCO. The palace is currently under restoration.
Location: Emb. Malaya Nevka, 1, Nab. Bolshaya Nevka, Kamennoostrovsky Prospekt, 77,
Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich
In 1765, Catherine II gave Kamenny Island to her son Pavel Petrovich. Construction of the Kamennoostrovsky Palace began in the spring of 1776 according to the design of an unknown author on the site of the palace of A.P. Bestuzhev-Ryumin, the former owner of the island. The work was supervised by architect Yu.M. Felten. The construction of the building's body was completed in 1780; decorative finishing of the interiors was carried out until 1782. But already on January 18, 1780, a magnificent reception was organized in the palace’s greenhouse in honor of the Empress.
Yu.M. Felten.
The compositional basis of the palace - a plan in the shape of a strongly stretched letter P, with side risalits bordering the front courtyard - was set by the layout of the Bestuzhev house. This is also related to the complexity of the plan, with many different passages and small rooms surrounding the main halls.
In place of the open gallery, three such halls were created - a central one with rounded corners (in documents it is called the Great Hall) and two semicircular halls on its sides. In front of the Great Hall there is a vast antechamber, the walls of which are decorated with monumental panels with views of the monuments of ancient Rome, made from Piranesi's engravings by the artist F. Danilov in the summer of 1782. In the left wing of the palace there is a living room, a dining room, two small offices with a library. In the right wing there was a theater with a specially constructed entrance from the street.
The premises on the second floor were intended for children's rooms and service personnel of the court of the grand ducal couple. Work on the interior decoration of the palace continued in 1780-1782. While Paul (widowed in 1776) was traveling through Europe with his new wife, he led. book Maria Fedorovna
So, already in 1784, a “new change” occurred in Paul’s attitude to the decoration of the Kamennoostrovsky Palace. And it was connected with an invitation to work in the grand ducal residences - on Kamenny Island, Pavlovsk and Gatchina - the artist and architect V. Brenna.
Vincenzo_Brenna.
He wrote about his work: “Likewise on Kamenny Island - another country residence of His Highness the Grand Duke, located several miles from St. Petersburg, where people go in winter and where they give balls - I built a theater, completely new in location and small, in the palace itself
It is only necessary to note that the palace theater, its architecture, the structure of the stage and auditorium belong to Quarenghi. Brenne is only interior decoration.
At the end of the 1780s, the new palace in Pavlovsk became the favorite residence of Pavel and Maria Feodorovna. Soon after his coronation, in 1797, Paul I gave Kamenny Island to the last Polish king Stanislaw-August Poniatowski, who was brought to St. Petersburg
Stanisław_August_Poniatowski
. For the summer stay of the deposed king, the Kamennoostrovsky Palace was renovated; the conduct of these works was again entrusted to W. Brenna, about whom in Poniatowski’s diary there is the following entry: “...this same Brenna, whom we saw in Warsaw several years ago, is currently the one whom the emperor uses mainly as an architect. He directs everything that is done on Kamenny Island."
It was at this time that a park composition with the Big and Small Canals, a triple linden alley in the central part and two “star” paths appeared on the island. The closeness of the landscape-regular compositions of Kamennoostrovsky and Pavlovsky parks is undeniable; there is reason to believe that their author was the architect G. P. Pilnikov.
In 1809-1811, under the leadership of the architect L. Ruska, some rooms in the western wing of the building were redeveloped and their decorative decoration was changed. The Kamennoostrovsky Palace became one of the favorite places of stay of Alexander I. Here in August 1812, the Tsar received Kutuzov before his departure to the active army.
In the 1820s, many rooms of the Kamennoostrovsky Palace were painted again; This work was carried out to update the “picturesque lampshades and wallpaper” by the decorative artist J.-B. Scotty. Murals on mythological themes in the living room, bedroom, valet and other rooms, made in golden-yellow tones, with flying female figures in flowing clothes, are excellent examples of Empire ceiling painting and are well preserved to this day.
The final stage of interior design of the Kamennoostrovsky Palace dates back to the 1830-1850s. At this time, late classical paintings of the Upper Entrance Hall on the second floor appeared (presumably based on the sketches of V. Stasov), as well as sculptural decoration of the music salon - busts of composers, installed by order of the then owner of the palace. book Elena Pavlovna, a famous philanthropist and patron of the musical arts.
V.P._Stasov
Minor reconstructions and changes in the decorative decoration of the palace, made during the 19th century, on the whole, however, did not affect the originality and completeness of its appearance. As an architectural work, the Kamennoostrovsky Palace belongs to Russian classicism.
With the advent of this building, the Islands acquired a new architectural image; The palace on the spit, opening from the city, became the most important initial element of the architectural and park ensemble; new buildings both on Kamenny and on the nearest islands were to be correlated with it.
Sadovnikov V.S. View of the Kamennoostrovsky Palace.
It should also be taken into account that its creation was undoubtedly influenced by the tastes, preferences, and value orientations of the then owners - Paul I and Maria Fedorovna and the craftsmen who worked on their orders - architects, painters, and park builders. Many of the architectural, picturesque, decorative solutions found at one time on Kamenny Island then received a new embodiment in the residences of the same owners and, above all, in Pavlovsk.
An integral part of the ensemble on Kamenny Island was the palace garden. The first redevelopment of the regular garden of the mid-18th century took place in the late 1780s according to the design of F. Violier, a court artist and architect. book Pavel Petrovich and Maria Feodorovna, author of “Own Kindergarten” at the Pavlovsk Palace. Violier introduces new elements into the historically established structure of the garden at the Kamennoostrovsky Palace: he gradually enlarges the squares of the garden on both sides of the central alley and makes the transition to a landscape layout of the squares furthest from the palace.
Near the palace there was a lush floral parterre with oval and octagonal flower beds similar to “Dutch gardens”. Further, these same elements are shown on an enlarged scale, with the addition of acacia plantings along the edges of the parterres; in a remote area of the garden there are extensive lawns with picturesque groups of linden and maple trees; Linden trees were planted on both sides of the central alley and along the border of the garden.
Sadovnikov V.S. View of the Elagin Palace from the middle Nevka.
The rigor and grace in the design of the palace garden, the geometricism of its planning structure allow us to classify it, like the “Own Garden” in Pavlovsk, as a French-Dutch type, enriched with elements of landscape planning.
Laurie, Gabriel Ludwig the Elder, from the original by Benjamin Paterson. View of the Kamennoostrovsky Palace from Aptekarsky Island in St. Petersburg
At the very cape of the island, near the palace, a “small garden” was laid out, also according to Violier’s drawing. Its measurement drawing, made by the architect G. Pilnikov on the eve of the garden's renovation in 1810, has been preserved. The small, turf-covered area included two compositions of star-shaped paths, with flower borders bordering them; In the center of each star there were flower beds.
It was probably Violier who designed the first front gate of the Kamennoostrovsky Palace, installed on the side of the Malaya Nevka embankment, near the greenhouse. Made of Olonets marble, they have a semi-oval composition, a low base and consist of four units with Doric columns separating them.
In the center there are two tetrahedral pylons with semi-columns topped with balls. Medallions for monograms of the owners are carved on the front side of the pylons. The links of the metal lattice - a trellis pattern, are limited in the upper and lower parts by horizontal meander strips. In two gate leaves, completed with the owners' monogram inscribed in an oval, this pattern was repeated.
Further work on the improvement of the Kamennoostrovsky garden was associated with the activities of the architect Thomas de Thomon, whose project and estimate for the “remodeling of the palace garden” was approved on October 25, 1810. A significant place in these works, carried out under the guidance of garden master F. Lyamin, was occupied by technical problems: filling up settled areas in the garden, constructing a drainage and drainage system. Artistically, Thomon developed the ideas contained in the project of F. Violier, enhancing the landscape character of the remote areas of the garden: they were cut through by winding paths, lost in dense plantings of perennial trees.
The Kamennoostrovsky palace garden thus combined the characteristic features of regular gardening art of the 18th century with the geometric symmetry of the flower beds closest to the palace and the style of landscape park construction, the spread of which began already in the 1760s and which became dominant in the design of gardens and parks of the late 18th - the beginning of the 19th century, in the era of classical architecture. In general, this single park-building work performed by the famous architect occupies a very modest place in his work.
Greenhouse.
J.B. de la Travers. View of Kamenny Island from the Nevka. 1786. State Hermitage Museum
In addition, according to the design of L. Ruska, a pier with sphinxes was built near the Stroganov Bridge. Undoubtedly, when designing this complex of “small-form architecture,” the architect took into account its visual relationship with Count Stroganov’s dacha on the Black River, on the opposite bank of the Bolshaya Nevka, built according to the design of A. Voronikhin in 1795; The Voronikhinsky pier with sphinxes served as a prototype for the construction of Ruska, strengthening the ensemble correlation between the Stroganov dacha and the Kamennoostrovsky palace.
Middle alley. In the 18th century (I think under Bestuzhev-Ryumin) there were two small canals on the sides of this alley...
which diverged into rays when approaching the bank of the Malaya Nevka. (Now only diverging sandy paths remind of them.) On the resulting small island stood the Hermitage pavilion.
Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist on Kamenny Island
The chapel next to the church is again the former drawbridge pavilion of the Ushakovsky Bridge.
In the northern part of the palace area there is the Church of John the Baptist. It was laid down in 1776 in honor of the victory of the Russian fleet over the Turkish in the Battle of Chesme and completed construction (according to the design and under the leadership of Y. Felten) in April 1778. Twenty years later, in 1798, when Paul I became the Grand Master of the Order of Malta, the church was turned into an Orthodox church of the Knights of Malta. Russian holders of the order took the oath here, and their cemetery was built near the church. After the assassination of Paul I, the Order of Malta in Russia was abolished, and the burials of the Maltese from Kamenny Island were moved to Tsarskoye Selo.
The church has been preserved in its original form. This is a small brick building on a low stone plinth, cruciform in plan, built in the neo-Gothic style. The lancet windows, the pointed tent of the bell tower, and the closed vaults of the internal ceilings are reminiscent of medieval temples of the West.
Along the southern shore of Kamenny Island, along the Malaya Nevka embankment, limiting the economic part of the palace site, in the second half of the 18th century there were wooden one-story greenhouses and greenhouses. Near them, in the 1780s, a two-story stone kitchen building was built with tall semi-circular windows on the first floor and small square ones on the second.
With the construction of these two coastal buildings, emphatically elongated, like walls that bounded the palace site on the spit, the new position of the Kamennoostrovsky Palace in the composition of the park on Kamenny Island was determined.
Two buildings - a palace and a church - found themselves on the same compositional axis, where the palace garden became the connecting link. This ensemble, based on the contrasting sound of architectural images, is particularly emotional due to its natural inclusion in the surrounding space. The side linden alleys of the garden were also continued and connected in the church area: in a smooth S-shaped line they flowed around turfed lawns with picturesquely arranged groups of two or three maples, lonely oaks, lilac bushes, acacia, turf, and old linden trees with powerful knotty trunks were left intact near the church.
Architects of Russian classicism created the central buildings of the island ensemble. Not all of them have survived.
The magnificent buildings on the Islands have formed a landscape and architectural whole that is amazing in its harmonious completeness, in its unity with the green park space, low-lying island landscape and clear expanse of water.
Corners of the landscape park, quiet alleys and main highways, the surface of canals and the mirrors of ponds - it is integral to St. Petersburg, this world of the Islands, covered in the poetry of Pushkin and Blok...
Photos of interiors-Rublev11
Many tourists believe that the center of art is exclusively Western Europe. But Petrograd, which residents and guests of the city affectionately and briefly call St. Petersburg, can compete with it. The Kamennoostrovsky Palace is an example of classicism that, despite significant changes and restorations, has not lost the spirit of the 18th century.
Elite area
The northern capital has its own analogy to Rublyovka near Moscow, which boasts rich and famous residents. Its total area is 10.6 km². It is located in the delta of the main Petersburg River and is washed by the Krestovka, Bolshaya and Malaya Nevka rivers. Now Kamenny Island is the center of expensive residences of influential people.
But three hundred years ago these lands were the wild outskirts of the city. If it were not for certain historical events and intrigues of the royal court, perhaps Russia would not now be proud of such architectural wonders as the Kamennoostrovsky Palace, the Vollenweider mansion and others.
The history of the site began immediately after the laying of the first structure of the Northern capital - the Peter and Paul Fortress - on May 16, 1703.
The Great Emperor's Plan
There are two interesting legends associated with the name of this land. According to the first version, there was a huge boulder on the island that hung over the area like a rock. The second myth tells: this territory is named after the great reformer emperor. After all, from the Greek petros, from which the name Peter comes, is translated as “stone.”
The Emperor had big plans for the coast of the Gulf of Finland. In order to consolidate the Russian status of the conquered Swedish lands, he donated large areas to his loyal subjects.
Thus, Count Gavriil Golovkin was lucky enough to become the first owner of Kamenny Island. It was to him, a diplomat and friend, that the emperor gave this plot of land in 1709. It is worth noting that it is on the top where this man built that the Kamennoostrovsky Palace stands today.
Foundation for the residence
Sources indicate that this diplomat, despite his large incomes, was extremely stingy. To build a magnificent mansion for him was a fantastic thing.
But the count was very afraid that the emperor, who loved to often visit the territories he had donated, would come to the island and not see changes for the better. Therefore, Golovkin gave the order to build a cheap house from wood, behind which a modest garden was planted. Further on there grew a dense swampy forest. The fears were justified, and in 1715 the monarch visited the donated territories. It was there that a few years later the Kamennoostrovsky Palace appeared, the creation of the wife of his grandson Peter III.
After the death of the first emperor, the count successfully cheated until his own death in 1734 and remained an important person at the court, which survived three coups. But his son Mikhail could not get away with the intrigues and fell out of favor with the new queen, Elizaveta Petrovna. He and his wife were sent into exile. Property and lands were confiscated.
Founder of the ensemble
The empress gave the island to her cousin Anna Skavronskaya, who married Count Alexei Bestuzhev-Ryumin and thereby transferred her property to him. He actively took up the planning of the territory where the Kamennoostrovsky Palace stands today. To uproot the dense forest and drain the swamps, the count brought hundreds of Ukrainian families.
Later a beautiful French-style garden was planted. The count initiated the creation of a beautiful, magnificent ensemble, on the basis of which other buildings were built. Loud masquerade balls were often held there, attended by all the city nobility.
In 1758, the queen demoted and sent Bestuzhev away. However, the confiscation was not carried out. The count managed his estates from a distance. So, for some time he rented out his estate through private advertisements in St. Petersburg.
Bestuzhev was returned to power by Catherine II. She renewed the title, but because of it, he has an island for 30,000 rubles.
Start of work
In 1765, the Empress donated this territory to her son and heir Paul I. Construction work began to build the Kamennoostrovsky Palace in St. Petersburg, and the best craftsmen of that time were invited from all over the country. The name of the author of the project is still not known exactly. According to one source, he was Vasily Bazhenov.
The process was led by Yuri Felten. After the flood of 1777, he was replaced by Giacomo Quarenghi. The construction process itself took about ten years. It is worth noting that Paul I was not particularly fond of this area. The fact was that Catherine II gave her son Pavlovsk and Gatchina in the same period. They became the favorite residences of the ruler.
The buildings were completed in 1780. Then a magnificent ball was held in honor of the completion of the work, which was attended by the queen herself. But only two years later we completely finished working on the interior.
Monarch's love nest
The shape of the residence is an extended letter “P”. The style is consistent with strict Russian classicism. In total, the Kamennoostrovsky Palace has only 30 rooms. Restoration was carried out on the outside several times, and each time the craftsmen managed to preserve the original appearance of the building. But inside, the style changed frequently.
It flourished during the reign of Paul I's son, Alexander. For 25 years it was the main residence of the emperor. The monarch's attachment to this place is very easy to explain. Opposite his estate, on the other bank of the Malaya Nevka, there was the mansion of Maria Naryshkina, the emperor’s favorite. Their romance lasted 15 years.
When the sovereign moved to the island, he closed all entertainment establishments and taverns. He wanted peace and quiet. He was inspired to think by the lush garden that complemented the ensemble of the house. You could go straight to it from the ballroom.
Fashion of the time
The Kamennoostrovsky Palace grew very quickly. Photos in which you can see the decoration and interior of the castle are the work of different generations of craftsmen. During this time, the facade of the building and the front courtyard were built, decorated with six columns in the style of the Tuscan order. Granite steps were installed at the same time.
In 1820, radical restructuring began. An office for ruler Alexander I was added, and the garden was reconstructed. The walls were re-painted by the artist Giovanni Batista. All changes were carried out in accordance with fashion trends.
The Great Hall is particularly magnificent. Its main purpose is balls and masquerades. Today there are marble sculptures depicting characters from Greek myths.
From kings to presidents
Many historical events saw these walls. Here Mikhail Kutuzov was appointed army commander. It was also in this residence that the emperor learned about the Decembrists. The palace became a center of painting under Princess Elena Pavlovna. There were also musical evenings organized by Rubinstein. Alexander Pushkin was a frequent guest of the mansion.
After the revolution, the estate was turned into a hospital, then a colony for minors, and subsequently a sanatorium for soldier-pilots.
Reconstruction began in 2008. Now real estate in this territory costs crazy amounts of money and is considered the most elite among all plots in St. Petersburg.
The complex's employees conduct interesting and educational excursions to the Kamennoostrovsky Palace. Address where the ensemble is located: Embankment of the Malaya Nevka River, 1A.
Several buildings were supposed to be converted into the governor's residence, but the authorities changed their decision. They plan to open a Talent Academy here in September this year. This will allow everyone to freely visit the architectural miracle.
The Kamennoostrovsky Palace and its park are one of the city toponyms, which, despite its non-peripheral location, is little known not only to tourists, but also to long-time residents. Almost all local historians interviewed by The Village said they had not yet been there. Meanwhile, getting into the park has recently been possible - to do this you need to have a passport with you.
More than a year ago, a four-year reconstruction costing 2.25 billion rubles was completed at the palace on Kamenny Island. Before that - since 1948 - in the building of the 18th century (once the residence of Paul I) there was a sanatorium for the Air Force of the Leningrad Military District - the entrance to mere mortals there, as under the tsars, was closed. In 2007, Air Force Commander-in-Chief Vladimir Mikhailov tried to defend the palace, but in the end the building was transferred to the ownership of St. Petersburg, and Mikhailov himself, coincidentally, was dismissed. After the restoration, they planned to open the residence of the former governor Valentina Matvienko here, but the new mayor Georgy Poltavchenko decided to give the palace to the children.
Photos
Victor Yulyev
The Academy of Talents is the current user of the Kamennoostrovsky Palace. This is a kind of alternative to Anichkov Palace - with a visual arts studio, a “Magic of Science” workshop and other extracurricular activities. Education at the Academy is free (and, as we were assured by the administration, there are no plans to introduce fees), the institution is financed entirely from the city budget. Currently, 300 children from 36 schools from all districts of St. Petersburg are studying in permanent groups.
In January 2016, excursions began to be held in the palace, and in May a park was opened with limited access. At the entrance, security guards ask to see an identification document and enter the data in a log.
The Academy of Talents and the Committee for the Protection of Monuments, which is in charge of the park, explained the passport measure differently. Thus, the palace administration associated it with the threat of terrorism, and the KGIOP - with the fact that the park requires gentle treatment after reconstruction. At the same time, the Academy does not plan to remove passport control, and the committee says that the adaptation period for the park will last two to three years.
The park itself - with benches, paths and a large vase in the center - is cozy and deserted. Perhaps in the future, if the palace user makes access to the park less bureaucratic, the historically closed area will come to life and become no less pleasant than the green areas ennobled by commercial structures: for example, the Polustrovo business park from Teorema Management Company or the Benois Garden from GC "Best"
From the response from the administration of the Talent Academy
Today the park is open to citizens with identification documents. This is due to security regulations and counter-terrorism. Citizens are invited to visit the park any day from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Restrictions apply during the drying season due to the fact that the area has undergone additional drainage and the soil must settle naturally. There are currently no plans to change operating hours.
At least twice a month, the Academy of Talents conducts excursion programs “Adventures in Kamennoostrovsky” (referring to excursions around the Kamennoostrovsky Palace. - Ed.). Information is posted on the website. You can sign up for a tour by calling the administrator at +7 (921) 988–14–97.
The Talent Academy is an atypical educational institution, so the team sees its task not in selection, but in the discovery of talents. The main goal of the Talent Academy is to create a social elevator for gifted children. To date, an agreement has been concluded and cooperation is underway with Petrovsky College, negotiations are underway with the St. Petersburg Institute of Film and Television and the All-Russian State Institute of Cinematography named after S. A. Gerasimov (VGIK).
Ksenia Cherepanova
Head of Communications Department
public relations and work
with citizens of KGIOP
In 2015, work on the reconstruction of the park was completed. In accordance with the recommendations of the KGIOP, after reconstruction of the facility, it is necessary to introduce a gentle operating regime. In particular, it is recommended to limit visits to the park and not to carry out activities on its territory that lead to an increase in recreational loads and disruption of amenities. Additional agrotechnical measures and planting care activities are also required. The adaptation period can last two to three years.
The federal cultural heritage site “Kamennoostrovsky Palace” is included in the “Open City” program, which provides free excursions.
Alexander Karpov
Head of the ECOM Expertise Center
The limited access regime in this case, in my opinion, is legal, since the park of the Kamennoostrovsky Palace is not public green space. This issue is regulated by the Civil Code and the 73rd Federal Law (“On Objects of Cultural Heritage”). The first gives the owner rights, while the second restricts it, obliging it to provide access to cultural heritage sites. That is, the Talent Academy chose a method that was not the most reasonable, but also not illegal. They can also enter tickets, for example.
Why isn't the smartest way to access the park? The presence of a passport is a random sign, not related to the task of maintaining the number of visitors below a certain level. In the same way, only blondes could be allowed in on even days, and only brunettes on odd days. The palace administration has no right to check or store passport data, as this is considered the processing of personal data.
Since pre-war times, the Kamennoostrovsky Palace was used by the Ministry of Defense, and until 2007 there was a sanatorium there. The St. Petersburg Institute, where I worked at that time, had access to the palace territory. We agreed with the management of the sanatorium and came there on excursions. We admired the paintings of Antonio Scotti and other remnants of former luxury in the palace, walking around in blue shoe covers (there were physiotherapy rooms and other medical structures in the building). Both the palace and the park were in excellent condition. I have not yet been to the newly restored building. I assume that everything is done very beautifully, but I’m afraid that it smacks of a remake.
The palace was built specifically for the then heir Pavel Petrovich and his family. They decorated it with what Pavel Petrovich brought from his trip abroad. I don’t know if anything of the music room remains in the palace. Elena Pavlovna, the widow of Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich, who owned this palace after Pavel Petrovich, was a prominent philanthropist and received great people in the music salon, including Anton Rubinstein, the founder of our conservatory.
The park at the palace is the historical part of the complex. It once belonged to another palace, which stood on the site of the current one, that of the great chancellor Bestuzhev-Ryumin. And at that time this park was built as a regular one, in the Dutch style. But since the time of Catherine II, the plants have not been trimmed, and the park has become landscape.
The curious thing about this park is the gate that looks out of nowhere - on the side of the palace on the banks of the Bolshaya Nevka. Once upon a time, transport drove directly past the palace, to the other side, to the Stroganov Garden. And opposite this gate there was a floating bridge. The gate remains from the times when it was transported from here either during freeze-up or across a bridge.
The central alley of the park led to the altar of the amazing church on Kamenny Island - it is the same age as the palace and the nursing home, which was reconstructed into a gym. The church was built by Yuri Matveevich Felten around 1778. She is the highlight of Stone Island and the palace ensemble. This was Paul I’s favorite church; they say he even sang in the choir there.
St. Petersburg, emb. Malaya Nevka, house 1
Kamennoostrovsky Palace.
"Talent Academy", opened in December 2015.
http://academtalant.ru/
Excursion 01/23/2016.
(in the photo is the MR monogram of one of the owners - Grand Duke Mikhail Romanov).
The mysterious palace on the spit of Kamenny Island is not familiar to all townspeople, not to mention tourists. For many years, the palace and park on the spit of Kamenny Island remained an inaccessible area and it was possible to observe the changes taking place only from the opposite banks.
Until 2007, a military sanatorium was located in the palace interiors. After the sanatorium was closed, it was decided to turn the palace into the Kamennoostrovskaya residence of the governor. Serious restoration has begun. But a miracle happened - in 2014, Governor Georgy Poltavchenko decided to give this building to children and call this blessed place the “Academy of Talents,” which opened its doors at the end of 2015. I was lucky enough to go on almost the first tour through the halls of the palace.
I'll tell you everything in order.
In 1765, Catherine II gave Kamenny Island to her son Pavel Petrovich. Construction of the Kamennoostrovsky Palace began in the spring of 1776 according to the design of an unknown author. The work was supervised by architect Yu.M. Felten. But at the same time, Catherine II gave Paul lands in Pavlovsk and Gatchina, and the residence on Kamenny Island was not an attractive place for Paul.
After accession to the throne Alexandra I in 1801, the palace became one of his favorite residences. During the initial period of Alexander Pavlovich’s reign, the “Unspoken Committee” gathered in the palace. Here on August 6, 1812, the emperor entrusted the command of the Russian army to M. Kutuzov. And here in 1825 he learned about the Decembrist conspiracy. On September 1, 1825, he left St. Petersburg forever; death soon overtook him in Taganrog. The palace can be called the last St. Petersburg refuge of the emperor.
After Alexander I, the palace was owned by the Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich and his wife Elena Pavlovna.
Daughter of Mikhail Pavlovich and Elena Pavlovna Ekaterina Mikhailovna marries the German Duke Georg of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, who was in the Russian service with the rank of general, and the daughter of the latter Elena Georgievna of Saxe-Altenburg takes possession of the Kamennostrovsky Palace until the revolution.
Entrance to the territory of the palace and park ensemble from the Malaya Nevka, through the entrance (by appointment, with a passport).
The palace is outstanding monument of classicism and represents in plan an extended letter “P” with a central building and wings. 
Facade overlooking Malaya Nevka. 
Separately standing on the bank of the Bolshaya Nevka. Gate without fence :-) 
Facade facing the park. 
The central alley leading to the Front Gate and the Church of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist. There is a legend about an underground passage between the palace and the church. 
Antechamber (1st floor). Decorated with a panel by Fyodor Danilov based on Pironesi's engravings "Views of Rome". 
Marble sculptures.
"Nymph and the Shepherd"
"Diana on a Lion"
2nd floor corridor. 
This room contains technical wonders - “talking screens” from which Catherine II and Alexander I tell their stories. 
There is a wonderful exhibition in the hall - costumes from the movie "Matilda", transmitted by director Alexei Uchitel after filming. The film tells about the period of romantic love between Mali and Nika, the legendary ballerina. Matilda Kshesinskaya and the future emperor Nikolai Romanov. The film will be released in the fall of 2016 (I've been waiting since 2014, 
And even Matilda Feliksovna came to life and spoke
Hall with Florentine paintings.
Hall with "putti". On the ceiling there are medallions with cute naked boys with wings. They say that in Soviet times they painted panties and pioneer ties.
This medallion preserves a "Soviet" ball - a putti toy.
Hidden behind the curtain was a very frivolous nymph with a satyr.
In this room there is holographic theater. It looks something like this:
The most beautiful and solemn hall of the palace - dance hall with caryatids. The hall is intended for holding balls and concerts.
Music salon. Founded a salon Elena Pavlovna, the wife of Mikhail Romanov, is a great admirer of art. Managed the salon Anton Rubinstein, who even lived in the palace for some time. It was here that the idea of creating the Conservatory, the first higher musical institution in Russia, was born. He dedicated a cycle of 24 plays “Stone Island” to Elena Pavlovna. 
On the walls there are marble sculptural portraits Mozart, Gluck, Beethoven, Palestrina. They say that the sculptor sculpted the head of one of the goddesses from Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna. 
Now in the hall, schoolchildren are playing an electronic version of “What, where, when?” Team tables, top and questions on the screen. We played too :-) 
Atrium with a white grand piano. 
Now we have to wait until summer to appreciate the park in all its glory. According to the project it should look like this: 
In the meantime, there is a snowy frosty kingdom around. And only strange traces across the Neva. Perhaps at night the ghost of Paul I crosses to the other side of the Lopukhins’ estate on a date with his favorite Anna Petrovna Lopukhina. 
P.S. About fifteen years ago I was able to visit the palace, which was then owned by the Ministry of Defense and there was a medical institution there - the Air Force Military Sanatorium. I still have several photographs taken on a film camera. I'm posting scans: 
The sculptural groups were then located in the dance hall with caryatids. Behind "Diana on the Lion" are exhibition boards dedicated to the history of the sanatorium. 
And these paintings were taken in the functional diagnostics room, in which all sorts of electropheresis and UHF were located. The entire space was divided into compartments with white sheets. But then for some reason I didn’t want to take pictures of these artifacts; I wanted to capture something beautiful, eternal. And even in my delirium I could not imagine the idea that the palace would be restored and given to young talents. 
