Paul I: biography. The architectural fate of Paul I Architecture and interiors




Coronation:
Predecessor:	Catherine II
Successor:	Alexander I
Birth:

Buried:	Peter and Paul Cathedral
Dynasty:	Romanovs
	Admiral General

	Catherine II
	1. Natalya Alekseevna (Wilhelmina of Hesse) 2. Maria Feodorovna (Dorothea of Württemberg)
	(from Natalya Alekseevna): there were no children (from Maria Feodorovna) sons: Alexander I, Konstantin Pavlovich, Nikolai I, Mikhail Pavlovich daughters: Alexandra Pavlovna, Elena Pavlovna, Maria Pavlovna, Ekaterina Pavlovna, Olga Pavlovna, Anna Pavlovna
Autograph:

Relations with Catherine II

Domestic policy

Foreign policy

Order of Malta

Conspiracy and death

Versions of the birth of Paul I

Military ranks and titles

Paul I in art

Literature

Cinema

Monuments to Paul I

Paul I (Pavel Petrovich; September 20 (October 1), 1754, Summer Palace of Elizabeth Petrovna, St. Petersburg - March 11 (23), 1801, Mikhailovsky Castle, St. Petersburg) - Emperor of All Russia from November 6, 1796, from the Romanov dynasty, son of Peter III Fedorovich and Catherine II Alekseevna.

Childhood, education and upbringing

Pavel was born on September 18 (October 1), 1754 in St. Petersburg, in the Summer Palace of Elizabeth Petrovna. Subsequently, this castle was destroyed, and in its place the Mikhailovsky Palace was built, in which Pavel was killed on March 10 (23), 1801.

On September 20, 1754, in the ninth year of marriage, Her Imperial Highness Grand Duchess Ekaterina Alekseevna finally had her first child. Empress Elizaveta Petrovna, Grand Duke Peter and the Shuvalov brothers were present at the birth. Elizaveta Petrovna immediately picked up the newborn baby, washed and sprinkled with holy water, and carried it into the hall to show the future heir to the courtiers. The Empress baptized the baby and ordered him to be named Paul. Catherine, like Peter III, were completely removed from raising their son.

Due to the vicissitudes of a merciless political struggle, Paul was essentially deprived of the love of those close to him. Of course, this affected the child’s psyche and his perception of the world. But, we should pay tribute to Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, she ordered to surround him with the best, in her opinion, teachers.

The first educator was the diplomat F.D. Bekhteev, who was obsessed with the spirit of all kinds of regulations, clear orders, and military discipline comparable to drill. This created in the impressionable boy’s mind that this is how everything happens in everyday life. And he didn’t think about anything except soldiers’ marches and battles between battalions. Bekhteev came up with a special alphabet for the little prince, the letters of which were cast from lead in the form of soldiers. He began to print a small newspaper in which he talked about all, even the most insignificant, actions of Paul.

The birth of Paul was reflected in many odes written by the poets of that time.

In 1760, Elizaveta Petrovna appointed a new teacher for her grandson. He became, by her choice, Count Nikita Ivanovich Panin. He was a forty-two-year-old man who occupied a very prominent place at court. Possessing extensive knowledge, he had previously spent several years on a diplomatic career in Denmark and Sweden, where his worldview was formed. Having very close contacts with the Freemasons, he picked up Enlightenment ideas from them and even became a supporter of a constitutional monarchy. His brother Pyotr Ivanovich was a great local master of the Masonic order in Russia.

The first wariness towards the new teacher soon disappeared, and Pavel quickly became attached to him. Panin opened Russian and Western European literature to young Pavel. The young man was very willing to read, and in the next year he read quite a lot of books. He was well acquainted with Sumarokov, Lomonosov, Derzhavin, Racine, Corneille, Moliere, Werther, Cervantes, Voltaire and Rousseau. He was fluent in Latin, French and German, and loved mathematics.

His mental development proceeded without any deviations. One of Pavel’s younger mentors, Poroshin, kept a diary in which he noted all of little Pavel’s actions day after day. It does not indicate any deviations in the mental development of the personality of the future emperor, which numerous haters of Pavel Petrovich subsequently loved to talk about.

On February 23, 1765, Poroshin wrote: “I read to His Highness Vertotov a story about the Order of the Knights of Malta. He then deigned to amuse himself and, tying the admiral’s flag to his cavalry, imagine himself as a Cavalier of Malta.”

Already in his youth, Paul began to be fascinated by the idea of chivalry, the idea of honor and glory. And in the military doctrine presented to his mother at the age of 20, who by that time was already the Empress of All Russia, he refused to wage an offensive war and explained his idea by the need to observe the principle of reasonable sufficiency, while all the efforts of the Empire should be aimed at creating internal order.

The Tsarevich's confessor and mentor was one of the best Russian preachers and theologians, Archimandrite, and later Metropolitan of Moscow Platon (Levshin). Thanks to his pastoral work and instructions in the law of God, Pavel Petrovich became a deeply religious, true Orthodox man for the rest of his short life. In Gatchina, until the revolution of 1917, they preserved a rug worn by Pavel Petrovich’s knees during his long night prayers.

Thus, we can notice that in his childhood, adolescence and youth, Paul received an excellent education, had a broad outlook, and even then came to knightly ideals and firmly believed in God. All this is reflected in his future policies, in his ideas and actions.

Relations with Catherine II

Immediately after birth, Pavel was removed from his mother. Catherine could see him very rarely and only with the permission of the Empress. When Paul was eight years old, his mother, Catherine, relying on the guard, carried out a coup, during which Paul's father, Emperor Peter III, was killed. Paul was to ascend the throne.

Catherine II removed Paul from interfering in any state affairs; he, in turn, condemned her entire way of life and did not accept the policies that she pursued.

Pavel believed that this policy was based on love of fame and pretense; he dreamed of introducing strictly legal governance in Russia under the auspices of the autocracy, limiting the rights of the nobility, and introducing the strictest, Prussian-style, discipline in the army. In the 1780s he became interested in Freemasonry.

The ever-increasing relationship between Paul and his mother, whom he suspected of complicity in the murder of his father, Peter III, led to the fact that Catherine II gave her son the Gatchina estate in 1783 (that is, she “removed” him from the capital). Here Pavel introduced customs that were sharply different from those in St. Petersburg. But in the absence of any other concerns, he concentrated all his efforts on creating the “Gatchina army”: several battalions placed under his command. Officers in full uniform, wigs, tight uniforms, impeccable order, punishment with spitzrutens for the slightest omissions and a ban on civilian habits.

In 1794, the Empress decided to remove her son from the throne and hand him over to her eldest grandson Alexander Pavlovich, but she met opposition from senior state dignitaries. The death of Catherine II on November 6, 1796 opened the way for Paul to the throne.

Domestic policy

Paul began his reign by changing all the orders of Catherine's rule. During his coronation, Paul announced a series of decrees. In particular, Paul canceled Peter's decree on the appointment by the emperor himself of his successor to the throne and established a clear system of succession to the throne. From that moment on, the throne could only be inherited through the male line; after the death of the emperor, it passed to the eldest son or the next oldest brother if there were no children. A woman could occupy the throne only if the male line was suppressed. With this decree, Paul excluded palace coups, when emperors were overthrown and erected by the force of the guard, the reason for which was the lack of a clear system of succession to the throne (which, however, did not prevent the palace coup on March 12, 1801, during which he himself was killed). Also, in accordance with this decree, a woman could not occupy the Russian throne, which excluded the possibility of temporary workers (who accompanied empresses in the 18th century) or a repetition of a situation similar to the one when Catherine II did not transfer the throne to Paul after he came of age.

Paul restored the system of collegiums, and attempts were made to stabilize the financial situation of the country (including the famous action of melting down palace services into coins).

With the manifesto on three-day corvee, he prohibited landowners from performing corvee on Sundays, holidays, and more than three days a week (the decree was almost not implemented locally).

He significantly narrowed the rights of the noble class compared to those granted by Catherine II, and the rules established in Gatchina were transferred to the entire Russian army. The most severe discipline and unpredictability of the emperor’s behavior led to massive dismissals of nobles from the army, especially the officers of the guard (out of 182 officers who served in the Horse Guards Regiment in 1786, only two had not resigned by 1801). All officers on the staff who did not appear by order at the military board to confirm their service were also dismissed.

Paul I started the military, as well as other reforms, not only out of his own whim. The Russian army was not at its peak, discipline in the regiments suffered, ranks were handed out undeservedly: in particular, noble children were assigned to one regiment or another from birth. Many, having a rank and receiving a salary, did not serve at all (apparently, such officers were dismissed from the staff). For negligence and laxity, rough treatment of soldiers, the emperor personally tore off the epaulettes from officers and generals and sent them to Siberia. Paul I persecuted the theft of generals and embezzlement in the army. And Suvorov himself prescribed corporal punishment in his The science of winning(Whoever doesn’t take care of a soldier gets his wands, whoever doesn’t take care of himself gets his wands too), he’s also a supporter of the strictest discipline, but not meaningless drill. As a reformer, he decided to follow the example of Peter the Great: he took as a basis the model of the modern European army - the Prussian one. Military reform did not stop even after Paul's death.

During the reign of Paul I, the Arakcheevs, Kutaisovs, and Obolyaninovs, who were personally devoted to the emperor, rose to prominence.

Fearing the spread of the ideas of the French Revolution in Russia, Paul I banned young people from traveling abroad to study, the import of books was completely prohibited, even sheet music, and private printing houses were closed. The regulation of life went so far as to set a time when the fires in houses were supposed to be turned off. By special decrees, some words of the Russian language were removed from official use and replaced with others. Thus, among those seized were the words “citizen” and “fatherland” that had a political connotation (replaced with “everyman” and “state”, respectively), but a number of Paul’s linguistic decrees were not so transparent - for example, the word “detachment” was changed to “detachment” or “command”, “execute” to “execute”, and “doctor” to “doctor”.

Foreign policy

Paul's foreign policy was inconsistent. In 1798, Russia entered into an anti-French coalition with Great Britain, Austria, Turkey, and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. At the insistence of the allies, the disgraced A.V. Suvorov was appointed commander-in-chief of the Russian troops. Austrian troops were also transferred to his jurisdiction. Under the leadership of Suvorov, Northern Italy was liberated from French domination. In September 1799, the Russian army made Suvorov's famous crossing of the Alps. However, already in October of the same year, Russia broke the alliance with Austria due to the Austrians’ failure to fulfill allied obligations, and Russian troops were recalled from Europe.

Order of Malta

After Malta surrendered to the French without a fight in the summer of 1798, the Order of Malta was left without a grand master and without a seat. For help, the knights of the order turned to the Russian Emperor and Defender of the Order since 1797, Paul I.

On December 16, 1798, Paul I was elected Grand Master of the Order of Malta, and therefore the words “... and Grand Master of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem." The Order of St. John of Jerusalem was established in Russia. The Russian Order of St. John of Jerusalem and the Order of Malta were partially integrated. The image of the Maltese cross appeared on the Russian coat of arms.

Shortly before his murder, Paul sent the Don army - 22,507 people - on a campaign against India. The campaign was canceled immediately after the death of Paul by decree of Emperor Alexander I.

Conspiracy and death

Paul I was brutally beaten and strangled by officers in his own bedroom on the night of March 11, 1801 in the Mikhailovsky Castle. Participating in the conspiracy were Agramakov, N.P. Panin, vice-chancellor, L.L. Benningsen, commander of the Izyum Light Horse Regiment, P. A. Zubov (Catherine’s favorite), Palen, Governor-General of St. Petersburg, commanders of the Guards regiments: Semenovsky - N.I. Depreradovich, Kavalergardsky - F.P. Uvarov, Preobrazhensky - P.A. Talyzin, and according to some sources - wing- the emperor's adjutant, Count Pyotr Vasilyevich Golenishchev-Kutuzov, immediately after the coup was appointed commander of the Cavalry Regiment.

Initially, the overthrow of Paul and the accession of an English regent were planned. Perhaps the denunciation to the tsar was written by V.P. Meshchersky, the former chief of the St. Petersburg regiment stationed in Smolensk, perhaps by Prosecutor General P.Kh. Obolyaninov. In any case, the conspiracy was discovered, Lindener and Arakcheev were summoned, but this only accelerated the execution of the conspiracy. According to one version, Pavel was killed by Nikolai Zubov (Suvorov’s son-in-law, Platon Zubov’s older brother), who hit him with a golden snuffbox (a joke later circulated at court: “The Emperor died of an apoplectic blow to the temple with a snuffbox”). According to another version, Paul was strangled with a scarf or crushed by a group of conspirators who, leaning on the emperor and each other, did not know exactly what was happening. Mistaking one of the killers for his son Constantine, Pavel shouted: “Your Highness, are you here too? Have mercy! Air, Air!.. What have I done wrong to you?” These were his last words.

The funeral service and burial took place on March 23, Holy Saturday; committed by all members of the Holy Synod, headed by Metropolitan of St. Petersburg Ambrose (Podobedov).

Versions of the birth of Paul I

Due to the fact that Paul was born almost ten years after the wedding of Peter and Catherine, when many were already convinced of the futility of this marriage (and also under the influence of the free personal life of the empress in the future), there were persistent rumors that the real father Paul I was not Peter III, but the first favorite of Grand Duchess Ekaterina Alekseevna, Count Sergei Vasilyevich Saltykov.

Historical anecdote

The Romanovs themselves related to this legend
(about the fact that Paul I was not the son of Peter III)
with great humor. There is a memoir about
how Alexander III, having learned about her,
crossed himself: “Thank God, we are Russian!”
And having heard a refutation from historians, again
crossed himself: “Thank God we are legit!”

The memoirs of Catherine II contain an indirect indication of this. In the same memoirs one can find a hidden indication of how the desperate Empress Elizaveta Petrovna, so that the dynasty would not fade away, ordered the wife of her heir to give birth to a child, no matter who his genetic father would be. In this regard, after this instruction, the courtiers assigned to Catherine began to encourage her adultery. However, Catherine is quite crafty in her memoirs - there she explains that the long-term marriage did not produce offspring, since Peter had some obstacle, which, after the ultimatum given to her by Elizabeth, was eliminated by her friends, who performed a violent surgical operation on Peter, in due to which he was still able to conceive a child. The paternity of Catherine’s other children born during her husband’s lifetime is also doubtful: Grand Duchess Anna Petrovna (born 1757) was most likely the daughter of Poniatovsky, and Alexei Bobrinsky (born 1762) was the son of G. Orlov and was born in secret. More folklore and in line with traditional ideas about the “switched baby” is the story that Ekaterina Alekseevna allegedly gave birth to a stillborn child (or girl) and he was replaced by a certain “Chukhon” baby. They even pointed out who this girl grew up to be, “Catherine’s real daughter” - Countess Alexandra Branitskaya.

Family

Paul I was married twice:

1st wife: (from October 10, 1773, St. Petersburg) Natalya Alekseevna(1755-1776), born. Princess Augusta Wilhelmina Louise of Hesse-Darmstadt, daughter of Ludwig IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt. Died during childbirth with a baby.

2nd wife: (from October 7, 1776, St. Petersburg) Maria Fedorovna(1759-1828), born. Princess Sophia Dorothea of Württemberg, daughter of Frederick II Eugene, Duke of Württemberg. Had 10 children:

Alexander I(1777-1825), Russian Emperor
Konstantin Pavlovich(1779-1831), Grand Duke.
Alexandra Pavlovna (1783-1801)
Elena Pavlovna (1784-1803)
Maria Pavlovna (1786-1859)
Ekaterina Pavlovna (1788-1819)
Olga Pavlovna (1792-1795)
Anna Pavlovna (1795-1865)
Nicholas I(1796-1855), Russian Emperor
Mikhail Pavlovich(1798-1849), Grand Duke.

Illegitimate children:

Great, Semyon Afanasyevich
Inzov, Ivan Nikitich (according to one version)
Marfa Pavlovna Musina-Yuryeva

Military ranks and titles

Colonel of the Life Cuirassier Regiment (July 4, 1762) (Russian Imperial Guard) Admiral General (December 20, 1762) (Imperial Russian Navy)

Paul I in art

Literature

A masterpiece of Russian literature is the story by Yu. N. Tynyanov "Second Lieutenant Kizhe", based on an anecdote, but vividly conveying the atmosphere of the reign of Emperor Paul I.
Alexandre Dumas - "Fencing Teacher". / Per. from fr. edited by O. V. Moiseenko. - True, 1984
Dmitry Sergeevich Merezhkovsky - “Paul I” (“drama for reading”, the first part of the trilogy “The Kingdom of the Beast”), which tells about the conspiracy and murder of the emperor, where Paul himself appears as a despot and tyrant, and his killers as guardians for the good of Russia.

Cinema

"Lieutenant Kizhe"(1934) - Mikhail Yanshin.
"Suvorov"(1940) - film by Vsevolod Pudovkin with Apollo Yachnitsky as Pavel.
"Ships storm the bastions"(1953) - Pavel Pavlenko
"Bagration"(1985), played by Arnis Licitis
"Assa"(1987) - a film by Sergei Solovyov with Dmitry Dolinin in the role of Pavel.
"Emperor's Steps"(1990) - Alexander Filippenko.
"Countess Sheremeteva"(1994), starring Yuri Verkun.
"Poor, poor Paul"(2003) - film by Vitaly Melnikov with Viktor Sukhorukov in the title role.
"Golden age"(2003) - Alexander Bashirov
"Adjutants of Love"(2005), in the role - Avangard Leontyev.
"Favorite"(2005), starring Vadim Skvirsky.
"Maltese cross"(2007), played by Nikolai Leshchukov.

Monuments to Paul I

On the territory of the Russian Empire, at least six monuments were erected to Emperor Paul I:

Vyborg. In the early 1800s, in Mon Repos Park, its then owner Baron Ludwig Nicolai, in gratitude to Paul I, erected a tall granite column with an explanatory inscription in Latin. The monument has been safely preserved.

Gatchina. On the parade ground in front of the Great Gatchina Palace there is a monument to Paul I by I. Vitali, which is a bronze statue of the Emperor on a granite pedestal. Opened on August 1, 1851. The monument has been safely preserved.

Gruzino, Novgorod region. On the territory of his estate, A. A. Arakcheev installed a cast-iron bust of Paul I on a cast-iron pedestal. The monument has not survived to this day.

Mitava. In 1797, near the road to his Sorgenfrey estate, the landowner von Driesen erected a low stone obelisk in memory of Paul I, with an inscription in German. The fate of the monument after 1915 is unknown.

Pavlovsk. On the parade ground in front of the Pavlovsk Palace there is a monument to Paul I by I. Vitali, which is a cast-iron statue of the Emperor on a brick pedestal covered with zinc sheets. Opened on June 29, 1872. The monument has been safely preserved.

Spaso-Vifanovsky Monastery. In memory of the visit of Emperor Paul I and his wife Empress Maria Feodorovna to the monastery in 1797, an obelisk made of white marble, decorated with a marble plaque with an explanatory inscription, was built on its territory. The obelisk was installed in an open gazebo, supported by six columns, near the chambers of Metropolitan Plato. During the years of Soviet power, both the monument and the monastery were destroyed.

Saint Petersburg. In 2003, a monument to Paul I was erected in the courtyard of the Mikhailovsky Castle by sculptor V. E. Gorevoy, architect V. P. Nalivaiko. Opened on May 27, 2003.

Three ancient relics of the Hospitallers - a particle of the tree of the Holy Cross, the Philermos icon of the Mother of God and the right hand of St. John the Baptist - were delivered to Gatchina and on October 12 (23), 1799, they were solemnly brought into the church of the Gatchina Palace. On December 9 of the same year, the shrines were transported from Gatchina to St. Petersburg, where they were placed in the court church of the Savior Not Made by Hands in the Winter Palace. In memory of this event, the Holy Synod established on October 12 (24), 1800, the annual celebration on this day of “the transfer from Malta to Gatchina of part of the tree of the Life-giving Cross of the Lord, the Philermos Icon of the Mother of God and the right hand of St. John the Baptist.”

The Priory Palace was built for the knights in Gatchina; in addition, the Vorontsov Palace, at which the Maltese Chapel was built, was transferred to their disposal. The Emperor issued a decree accepting the island of Malta under Russian protection. In the calendar of the Academy of Sciences, by order of the emperor, the island of Malta was to be designated a “Province of the Russian Empire.” Paul I wanted to make the title of grandmaster hereditary and annex Malta to Russia. The emperor planned to create a naval base on the island to ensure the interests of the Russian Empire in the Mediterranean Sea and southern Europe.

After the assassination of Paul, Alexander I, who ascended the throne, normalized relations with the British Empire and renounced the title of grandmaster. In 1801, at the direction of Alexander I, the Maltese cross was removed from the coat of arms. In 1810, a decree was signed to stop awarding the Order of St. John of Jerusalem.

Architectural preferences

The material embodiment of Pavel’s tense relationship with his mother became the so-called. war of palaces with castles. The chivalrous aspirations of the heir led to the militarization of the life of the “young court.” Without deviating from the basic principles of classicism, Paul especially appreciated fortification elements like turrets and a moat with a drawbridge, which reminded him of medieval castles. Not only the monumental Gatchina and Mikhailovsky castles were designed in this style, but also the more intimate, “amusing” castles built by order of Paul - the Priory and Mariental castles.

On the occasion of the birth of her eldest grandson, Catherine gave her heir the Pavlovsk Manor, where the Pavlovsk Palace was eventually built in the Palladian style, which was preferred by the empress herself. In the capital, the Kamennoostrovsky Palace was erected to house the young court, where, however, Paul visited relatively rarely. The main exponent of his architectural tastes was the Italian Vincenzo Brenna, the forerunner of the romantic trend in classicism. By order of the heir, he introduced military accents to the appearance of Pavlovsk’s residence - he designed the “toy” Marienthal fortress and filled the halls of the main palace with military motifs.

After the death of his mother, Emperor Paul ordered the demolition of buildings that reminded him of the last years of her reign, of the unbearable time for him of the dominance of the Zubov brothers. Some pavilions of Tsarskoye Selo (for example, the gazebo on the Rose Field) and the Pellinsky Palace on the banks of the Neva, the largest palace and park ensemble in Russia in the 18th century (25 buildings in total), fell victims. The Catherine Palace in Lefortovo, the English Palace in Peterhof and the Tauride Palace in the capital were converted into barracks by order of Paul. Buildings from Catherine's era were demolished even in provincial cities (for example, the palace of Governor Melgunov on the main square of Yaroslavl was demolished).

Out of fear of a palace coup - similar to the one that brought his father to the grave - Paul decided to retire to a castle separated from the city by a moat. Work began on the construction of the Mikhailovsky Castle. In front of the entrance to the residence, a monument to Peter I was erected with the inscription “Great-grandfather - great-grandson.” Paul was proud of his descent from Peter the Great and tried in every possible way to emphasize it. Pavel lived in the new residence for only a few months before the regicide. At this time, he ordered the start of a new large-scale construction in the capital - the Kazan Cathedral on Nevsky Prospekt. After Pavel's death, the foreign architects who worked for him (Brenna, Violier, Rossi) lost their orders and left Russia.

Mikhailovsky (Engineering) Castle– one of the most unusual places in St. Petersburg, with which many legends and traditions are associated. At this place, in the Summer Palace of Elizabeth Petrovna, Pavel the First was born. Here, in his bedroom in the Mikhailovsky Castle, he was killed. It is said that his ghost still haunts these walls.

Mikhailovsky Castle in St. Petersburg, facade from the Moika River

Previously, on the site of the Mikhailovsky Castle stood Summer Palace Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, erected by the architect Bartolomeo Francesco Rastrelli (1700-1771) in 1741-1744. Here, on September 20, 1754, the future Emperor Paul was born. Over time, Elizabeth began to visit the Summer Palace less often, giving preference. The palace gradually deteriorated. First it was transferred to Grigory Orlov, then to Grigory Potemkin.

Summer Palace of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna in St. Petersburg. Hood. L.F. Bonstedt (based on a drawing by M. I. Makhaev, 1753), 1847

The legend about the beginning of the construction of Mikhailovsky Castle

In 1796, the Summer Palace was demolished and construction of a castle began in its place. There are several legends why this particular place was chosen. According to one of them, the emperor, being a mystically inclined person and possessing a certain gift of foresight, wished to die where he was born. According to another legend, the Archangel Michael appeared to a soldier standing guard. M.I. Pylyaev in his essay “Old Petersburg” describes this phenomenon as follows (spelling preserved):

One day, a young man appeared in a radiance to a soldier standing guard at the Summer Palace and told the dumbfounded sentry that he, Archangel Michael, ordered him to go to the emperor and tell him to build a temple in the name of the Archangel Michael on the site of this old Summer Palace. The soldier reported his vision to his superiors, and when this was reported to the emperor, he replied: “I already know the desire of the Archangel Michael; his will will be done.” Following this, he ordered the construction of a new palace, at which a church should be built in the name of Archangel Michael, and the palace itself was ordered to be called Mikhailovsky Castle.

On November 28, 1796, in the first month of his accession to the throne, Emperor Paul issued a decree: “For the permanent residence of the sovereign, hastily build a new impregnable palace-castle. He should stand on the site of the dilapidated Summer House.” Supervised the construction Vincenzo Brenna(1745-1820), architect was Vasily Ivanovich Bazhenov(1737 or 1738 – 1799). Pavel sketched several drawings of the future palace.

Construction of the Mikhailovsky Castle

The groundbreaking ceremony took place on February 26, 1797. The inscription was carved on the foundation stone: “In the summer of 1797, the month of February on the 26th day, at the beginning of the reign of the sovereign emperor and all Russia, autocrat Paul the First, the foundation was laid for the building of the Mikhailovsky Castle by his imperial majesty and his wife, the empress Maria Feodorovna.”.

Construction was carried out with great haste, so that the castle would be ready in the same year, 1797. The work did not stop day or night. At night, the construction site was illuminated by the light of torches and fires. Every day, between 2,500 and 6,000 people were employed in construction, not counting supervisors and foremen. 791,200 rubles were allocated at a time and 1,173,871.10 rubles over three years.

View of the Mikhailovsky Castle in 1800-1801. Engraving by A.I. Daugel from a watercolor of 1800

There was a shortage of building materials. The stone galleries of the palace in Pella were dismantled. In addition, marble and stones from St. Isaac's Cathedral, which was being built at that time, were also used for the construction of St. Michael's Castle. On this occasion, the well-known author of witticisms at that time, A.D. Kopyev, wrote about Isaac:

This is a monument to two kingdoms,
Both are so decent:
Its base is marble,
And its top is brick.

Appearance

The consecration of the Mikhailovsky Castle and its church took place on November 8, 1800. The castle was magnificent. It resembled a Renaissance palazzo. It was surrounded by ditches with drawbridges thrown across them. The facades were decorated with marble statues, which were later moved to the Winter Palace. The castle was quadrangular in plan, there were three courtyards inside: the main one was octagonal, facing the Fontanka River was pentagonal, and towards Tsaritsyno Meadow (Field of Mars) was triangular. Only members of the imperial family and envoys were allowed to enter the main courtyard through the Resurrection Gate.

Mikhailovsky Castle in St. Petersburg, facade from the Fontanka and Main facade

The inscription on the main cornice reads: “The holiness of the Lord is fitting for your house as long as the days are long.”. According to legend, the emperor was predicted that he would live as many years as the letters in this inscription. And so it happened - the emperor died at the age of 47.

Mikhailovsky Castle in St. Petersburg, Resurrection Gate

Monument to Peter I

Previously, Mikhailovsky Castle was surrounded by a wall. Three linden and birch alleys, planted during his lifetime, led to the castle from Bolshaya Sadovaya Street. In front of the castle there was a large parade ground - the Constable. Here, at the Mikhailovsky Castle, it was installed monument to Peter the Great. Signature below: "Great-grandfather great-grandson 1800".

This monument has a long history. Its original idea belonged to Anna Ioannovna. It was supposed to be placed on Vasilyevsky Island, in the place where the university is now located. It was cast by the foundry Martilli according to Rastrelli's design during the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna. During the time of Catherine the Great, the monument was located under a canopy on the banks of the Neva near St. Isaac's Bridge.

If you look closely at the monument, you can see something strange - one of the legs of a human horse. At the same time, in numerous paintings and lithographs the horse’s legs are depicted as normal. The bas-reliefs on the pedestal are polished to a shine - it is believed that this brings good luck.

Dampness in Mikhailovsky Castle

The decoration of the state rooms was magnificent, however, according to contemporaries, the castle had many passages, stairs, and passages, which created great inconvenience. In addition, due to the haste with which the work was carried out, the Mikhailovsky Castle felt very damp. Thus, Pylyaev notes:

According to the stories of contemporaries, traces of destructive dampness in the large hall in which the paintings hung, despite the constant fire in the fireplaces, were visible in the form of stripes of ice from top to bottom in the corners and ceiling. The palace was so damp that the first time the emperor gave a ball in it, there was such a fog in the rooms from the lit wax candles that there was thick darkness everywhere, and thousands of candles flickered like dim lanterns on the street. The guests could be distinguished with great difficulty at the end of each of the halls; they moved like shadows in the darkness. All the ladies' outfits and headdresses became damp, and in the semi-darkness they seemed the same color. The palace was extremely inconvenient for everyone; they constantly had to walk through corridors in which a draft wind blew.

Pavel literally fell in love with his castle. When Empress Maria Feodorovna presented him with a gift of a service with views of the Mikhailovsky Castle, he shed tears. However, the emperor did not live here very long - only 40 days. On the night of March 12, 1801, he was killed by conspirators in his bedroom in Mikhailovsky Castle.

(From the book: K. Valishevsky, Son of the Great Catherine. Emperor Paul I. Publication by A.S. Suvorin - “New Time”)

Plan of the Bel-floor of the Mikhailovsky Castle, according to Fig. Brenna

The castle after the death of Paul and in our time

After Paul's death, almost all decorations were removed from the Mikhailovsky Castle. The interior decoration was preserved only in the Throne Hall and the Round Room; in some rooms, picturesque lampshades were preserved on the ceilings. Various institutions were located inside: the gendarmerie half-squadron of the Life Guards, the Institute for the Blind, the charity committee, the office of the Minister of Spiritual Affairs and Education. In 1820, according to the design of the architect Karl Russia, the area around the castle was redeveloped, ditches were filled in, and drawbridges were removed. In 1822 it was renamed the Engineers' Castle. In 1823, the Main Engineering School (now the Military Engineering and Technical University) was located here.

Three-part bridge

Maple Street

Two pavilions of the Guardia of the Mikhailovsky Castle

The architecture of the palace is uncharacteristic for St. Petersburg in the 18th century. With the strict elegance of its style, the castle is more reminiscent of a medieval fortress; it is the only palace building in Russia in the style of romantic classicism.

The unique appearance of this building, combining contradictory architectural trends and stylistic techniques, sets it apart in the general mainstream of the development of Russian classicism. However, it is the Mikhailovsky Castle that is perceived as the most expressive symbol of the Pavlovian era. Its appearance clearly embodied the artistic tastes and originality of the personality of the owner and main creator - Emperor Paul I

Southern (main) facade

The central part of the southern façade is contrastingly highlighted by a portico raised to a high ground floor of four double Ionic columns of red marble with a richly decorated sculpted pediment and attic above it.

It was decorated with the bas-relief “History records the glory of Russia on its tablets,” made by the sculptor P. Stadzhi. Also on this façade was a modified biblical quote (originally referred to God, not the monarch) - To your house shall the holiness of the Lord befit the length of days.

The main southern façade is emphatically monumental and representative. The solemn formation of its columns and giant obelisks are reminiscent of the Louvre colonnade and the Saint-Denis gate in Paris.

The northern facade opposite the main one, facing the Summer Garden, was designed as a park.

At its center is a wide, sculptured staircase leading to an entrance loggia with a pair of Tuscan marble colonnade supporting a terrace. The facade is completed with a richly decorated attic.

The open terrace of this facade is supported by a marble colonnade, and a wide staircase decorated with statues of Hercules and Flora is also used.

The western and eastern facades, according to Bazhenov’s project, were treated in the same way as subordinate ones.

Western façade

East façade

The facade of the palace church, which is crowned with a typical St. Petersburg spire, protrudes towards Sadovaya Street.

Known for his demands for ostentatious effect in palace life and parades, Pavel literally “stuffed” Mikhailovsky with luxury and wealth. They exude both from the interiors themselves (malachite, various types of marble, lapis lazuli, jasper), combining monumental painting and wood carvings, amazing modeling and velvet upholstery with silver embroidery, and from the works of art present in these walls.

On November 8, 1800, on the day of St. Michael the Archangel, the solemn consecration of the castle and its church took place, and in February 1801, Pavel and his family moved from the Winter Palace to the Mikhailovsky Castle.

Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich and Grand Duchess Maria Feodorovna with their sons Alexander and Konstantin; presumably K. Heuer, 1781

Gerard von Kügelgen. Portrait of Paul I with his family. 1800

Johann Baptist Lampi the Younger Equestrian portrait of Emperor Paul I with his sons Alexander and Constantine, as well as Palatine Joseph of Hungary. 1802

Maria Feodorovna ; before converting to Orthodoxy - Sophia Marie Dorothea Augusta Luisa von Württemberg (German: Sophia Marie Dorothea Augusta Luisa von Württemberg; October 14, 1759, Stettin - October 24, 1828, Pavlovsk) - princess of the House of Württemberg, second wife of the Russian Emperor Paul I. Mother of Emperors Alexander I and Nicholas I.

Alexander Roslin. Portrait of Grand Duchess Maria Feodorovna

Maria Feodorovna shortly after the wedding. Portrait of Alexander Roslin

M.F.Kvadal. Coronation of Paul I and Maria Feodorovna

Maria Fedorovna by Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun (1755-1842)

Vladimir Borovikovsky (1757-1825) Portrait of Grand Duchess Maria Feodorovna (1759-1828)

Veil of Jean Louis - Portrait of Grand Duchess Maria Feodorovna

Dow George (1781-1829) Portrait of Empress Maria Feodorovna

For just over a month the castle was the royal residence. “Here I was born, here I would like to die” - these words of Emperor Paul I were destined to become prophetic. On March 11, 1801, Emperor Paul I was killed in his bedroom in the Mikhailovsky Castle, becoming a victim of a palace conspiracy. The next morning, the august family returned to the Winter Palace.

The Assassination of Emperor Paul I, engraving from a French historical book, 1880s

Maria Feodorovna in a widow's outfit

Tombstone of Paul I and Maria Feodorovna in the Peter and Paul Cathedral

Mikhailovsky Castle is full of legends and mysteries. Rumor has it that after the murder he walked in it ghost of the murdered emperor, to whom the monk Abel also prophesied about the fate of the entire Romanov family and the Russian state. The envelope with this prophecy was to be opened according to Paul's will on the centenary of his death, and it was kept in another castle - in Gatchina, the suburban residence of the emperor.

For two decades, Mikhailovsky Castle was used for private residence; government apartments for departmental officials and various institutions were located here.

Paul I in a portrait by S. Shchukin

In 1822, by decree of Alexander I, the building was transferred to the Main Engineering School, which gave the castle a new name - “Engineering”. Over the course of a century, the school rebuilt the former imperial residence for its needs. In the middle of the 19th century. By order of Alexander II, on the site of Paul's former bedroom, the Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul was built, partially preserved to this day.

Portrait of Emperor Paul I - Nikolai Argunov

F.M. was educated within the walls of the Military Engineering School. Dostoevsky, D.V. Grigorovich, I.M. Sechenov, T.A. Cui and many others.

V.L. Borovikovsky. Portrait of Paul I

In 1991, the building of the Mikhailovsky Castle was transferred to State Russian Museum. Since that time, a comprehensive restoration of the one-of-a-kind architectural monument has been carried out.

Vladimir Lukich Borovikovsky

One of the legends of the Mikhailovsky Castle is associated with the color of its walls: according to one version, it was chosen in honor of the glove of the emperor's favorite Anna Gagarina (Lopukhina). According to another, it was the traditional color of the Order of Malta. Following the tsar's choice, the color came into fashion, and for some time the facades of some St. Petersburg palaces were repainted in the same color.

Anna Lopukhina (Gagarin) - the emperor's favorite

When the Russian Museum began restoring the palace, the walls of the castle were brick-red, to which the townspeople had long been accustomed, considering it the original color, especially since it coincided with the colors of the Order of Malta. But restorers discovered remnants of the original paint under the plaster of the palace facade, and this difficult-to-define color (pinkish-orange-yellow) was very different from the usual colors, confirming the story about the glove.

Paul I wearing the crown, dalmatic and insignia of the Order of Malta. Artist V. L. Borovikovsky

In 2001-2002 A uniquely complex reconstruction of part of the fortifications that previously surrounded the castle was carried out - fragments of the Resurrection Canal and the Three-Span Bridge, preserved underground, were discovered. Scientific research and archaeological work made it possible to reconstruct the engineering and technical complex of the 18th century. - one of the central architectural ensembles of St. Petersburg during the time of Paul I.

S. Tonchi Portrait of Paul I in the robes of the Grand Master of the Order of Malta

The restored halls now house permanent exhibitions and temporary exhibitions.

Pavel I - Vladimir Borovikovsky

Country residences of Paul I

IN THE BRILLIANT RANGE OF ST. PETERSBURG suburbs, the names of which alone evoke a bright, as if in childhood, feeling of a holiday, perhaps only Gatchina stands somewhat apart. Either because of the rhythmic clarity of the name itself, pronounced willy-nilly with a touch of well-known military certainty. Either due to an obsessive association with the fate of the over-aged heir to the throne, Pavel Petrovich, the Gatchina recluse, hot-tempered and suspicious, in a fierce, almost physiological hatred of his mother, awaiting his finest hour in the Gatchina Palace. One way or another, Gatchina seems more suitable for military parades and demonstrations than for mass Sunday festivities.

Gatchina was first mentioned in the Novgorod scribe book in 1499 as the village of Khotchino. According to most researchers, this toponym goes back to the ancient Novgorod name Khot. Fantastic attempts to derive it from the German "hat Schone" - "has beauty", from the contamination of the foreign "Got", that is, "God" and the Russian "chin", or from the Slavic root "gat", which means a flooring of logs or brushwood for driving through a swampy place did not take root. All of them remained nothing more than assumptions.

In 1712, Peter I gave Gatchina to his beloved sister Natalya Alekseevna. Then it successively passes: to the life physician Blumentrost, the diplomat and historian Prince Kurakin and, finally, in 1765 it becomes the property of the guards hero Grigory Orlov, who received the title of count, 45 thousand souls of state peasants and huge hunting grounds in Gatchina as a gift from his crowned mistress .

Gatchina Palace in the time of Paul

At the same time, Orlov began work on landscaping the park, one of the first decorations of which was a white marble column, donated to Count Catherine. The column was made in St. Petersburg, transported to Gatchina and installed on an artificial hill in the English Garden. Most likely, the column originally marked the border of the garden, and the marble statue of an eagle on its top was nothing more than a tribute to the owner of Gatchina, whose family coat of arms included an image of this winged predator. The column was located at the beginning of a long clearing leading to White Lake. Already under Pavel Petrovich, the perspective of this clearing was closed with a pavilion, the colonnade of which, probably following the strict rules of compositional unity, was also crowned with a marble image of an eagle. Perhaps this gave reason to unite buildings from different periods in time and consolidate them in the people's memory with a romantic legend. As if one day, during a hunt in his own park, Pavel shot down a high-flying eagle with a lucky shot, and in memory of this royal hunt, a Column was erected at the site of the eagle’s fall, and a Pavilion was erected where the shot came from.

At the end of the 1770s, a decorative obelisk carved from white and pink marble was installed in Gatchina Park on the western shore of White Lake. According to legend, it was built in honor of the brother of the owner of Gatchina, Alexei Orlov-Chesmensky, in memory of the victories of the Russian fleet over the Turkish fleet, won under his leadership.

The construction of a grotto known as the Echo Grotto dates back to the time of the first owner of Gatchina. A purely decorative park structure on the shores of Silver Lake is actually an exit from the underground gallery, which Grigory Orlov built between the palace and the lake, as if in order not to be taken by surprise in case of unexpected danger. Over time, this function of the underground passage was forgotten, and people began to talk about the Grotto as a unique acoustic structure, the effects of which were especially enjoyed by people from St. Petersburg. They said that if you utter a phrase, “it will immediately disappear without a trace, but after forty seconds, having run through the various underground convolutions of the labyrinth, suddenly, when you have completely forgotten about it, it will be announced and repeated with an inexplicable clarity and purity of some kind.” “in a sepulchral bass voice.” They say that if you add poetic rhythm to the question, the echo will immediately pick up the rules of the game and answer in kind:

Gatchina became the property of Paul I in 1783. Catherine II, trying to remove the heir from the court, by a special decree gave him the “Gatchino manor with a house there,” the construction of which, according to the design of Antonio Rinaldi, had already been completed. The palace was a cross between an English castle from the times of the Crusaders and a country Northern Italian villa. Rinaldi deliberately contrasted the harsh external appearance of the palace with refined and sophisticated interior decoration, in the creation of which he showed extraordinary skill and ingenuity. An antique fragment was placed above the fireplace of the reception hall. According to legend, it originally belonged to one of the monuments to Trajan, then it was moved to the Arch of Constantine. From there some gang of robbers ripped it off and sold it to Count I.I. Shuvalov, who was traveling in Italy at that time.

In full accordance with the character of the owner, the palace is surrounded by mystical shadows associated with the name of Pavel Petrovich. So, the ghost of a woman wanders around the palace, and the rustle of her dress can be heard in the night corridors. As if this is the shadow of the emperor’s friend, maid of honor Ekaterina Nelidova. And under the windows of the palace, where the remains of his beloved horses and dogs are buried, at night “you can hear the trampling of horses and the barking of dogs.”

According to eyewitnesses, almost a hundred years after the events described, Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna and the future Emperor Nicholas II, who lived in the Gatchina Palace as children, repeatedly met at night in the palace halls with the shadow of the “murdered emperor.” Both “dreamed of seeing the ghost of their great-great-grandfather” and at the same time were mortally afraid of it.

In the 1790s, one of the most interesting people of that time, a gifted poet and translator, an outstanding engraver and artist, inventor and public figure Nikolai Aleksandrovich Lvov, worked in Gatchina. He remained in the history of St. Petersburg primarily as the author of the Neva Gate of the Peter and Paul Fortress and the unique adobe Priory Palace in Gatchina, as well as the buildings of the Trinity (“Kulich and Easter”) and Ilyinskaya churches that we have already mentioned. In St. Petersburg, however, there is another building, the authorship of which, according to legend, belongs to Lvov. This is the so-called “Utkina Dacha”, allegedly built by Lvov on Malaya Okhta for A.A. Poltoratskaya, whose daughter Elizaveta Markovna, the future wife of Alexei Nikolaevich Olenin, we will meet again. Again, according to legend, this marriage was greatly facilitated by the architect.

Nikolai Alexandrovich Lvov

According to Lvov’s design, an earthen Amphitheater with an arena was built in Gatchina Park, reminiscent of an ancient Roman theater in miniature and intended for competitions similar to Roman tournaments. According to legend, cockfights were held in the arena of the Amphitheater, whose diameter was 65 meters.

At the same time, Lvov created an interesting hydraulic structure in Gatchina to “represent naval battles” - a cascade. One of its pools again repeated in miniature the ancient pool in Syracuse.

There is a legend about this cascade, told at one time by the architect’s daughter Elena Nikolaevna Lvova. “Once, while walking with Obolyaninov in Gatchina, Nikolai Lvov noticed a spring from which a beautiful stream flowed.

“You can make a charm out of this,” he said to Obolyaninov, because the nature here is good.

“And what,” answered Obolyaninov, “are you undertaking, Nikolai Alexandrovich, to do something wonderful?”

“I’ll take it,” said Lvov.

“So,” answered Obolyaninov, “let’s surprise Emperor Pavel Petrovich.” While you are working, I will distract him from this place with walks.

The next day N.A. Lvov drew a plan and immediately set to work: he imagined that a fast stream had destroyed an ancient temple, the remains of which, columns and capitals, were scattered along the sides of the stream. He finally finished his work, brought Obolyaninov, and he kissed him in admiration and thanked him.

“I’m going after the sovereign, and you, Nikolai Alexandrovich, hide behind the bushes, I’ll call you.”

After some time, the emperor arrives on horseback with his retinue, dismounts and praises everyone in admiration. Obolyaninov comes up to him and says something in his ear; the sovereign hugs him, thanks him again, gets on his horse and rides off. But Lvov remained behind the bush and never had the courage to expose Obolyaninov before the sovereign.”

Gatchina. Priory Palace

One of the architectural pearls created by Lvov in Gatchina is the Priory Palace, built entirely of adobe brick. In the palace there was an office of the prior of the Order of Malta, whose duties were assumed by Paul I. There is a legend about an underground passage, allegedly dug at the direction of Paul between his office in the Clock Tower of the Gatchina Palace and his office in the Priory Palace. At the end of the 18th century, cabinet clocks were also purchased for the Priory Palace. After Pavel's death, the clock suddenly stopped and did not run for many decades. The successive owners of the palace seemed to have forgotten about the clock. And only on September 27, 2002, when a museum was opened in the Priory Palace, they suddenly went.

One of the unsolved mysteries of Pavlov’s time remains the relationship of Paul I with the maid of honor of Empress Maria Feodorovna Ekaterina Nelidova. Who this woman was for the emperor - an ardent lover or a “spiritual friend,” as he himself called her, has remained a mystery for almost two centuries. Albeit weak, but still at least some light is shed on their relationship by the legends of two pavilions in Gatchina Park. One of them is the Pavilion of Venus, built on the so-called Island of Love. The pavilion is painted in Nelidova’s favorite color, green. The Pavilion is popularly known as the “monument to their love.”

Another park structure is called the Mask Portal. Presumably it was built according to the design of the architect V. Brenna in 1796. A decorative classic portal covers a pavilion that imitates a woodpile of birch firewood. Inside this romantic structure lies a luxurious alcove. If you believe the legends, it served as a place of intimate solitude for Pavel and Ekaterina Nelidova.

On December 12, 1777, 101 cannon shots notified the citizens of the Russian Empire about the birth of the eldest son of Pavel Petrovich and Maria Fedorovna, Alexander. Pavel's already difficult relationship with his mother became even more complicated. Suspicious Pavel, not without reason, saw in his own son a serious competitor on the path to the throne, and Catherine, in turn, perceived the birth of Alexander as almost compensation sent to her by God for her unloved son. However, outwardly everything looked decent. The touched empress-grandmother, in commemoration of such a joyful event, presented Paul with a huge territory along the navigable Slavyanka river with two villages, numbering “117 souls of both sexes.” The villages were united under a common name - the village of Pavlovskoye.

At that time, on the territory of present-day Pavlovsk there was a dense impenetrable forest, in which the owners of Tsarskoe Selo loved to hunt both in Elizabethan and Catherine’s times. Game was found in abundance on the high picturesque bank of the Slavyanka. A certain old disabled man allegedly lived in the hut, “by a local legend, granted the status of some mysterious hermit.” The Empress, according to legend, loved to visit this monk. But one day he disappeared, leaving three wooden spoons, three plates and a jug on the table in the hut. Under Pavel Petrovich and Maria Feodorovna, these household utensils were preserved inside the hut and a portrait of the legendary old hermit, dressed in a monastic robe and reading a book, hung.

For the convenience of crowded hunting cavalcades, clearings were cut in the forest and two houses were built. One of them - the two-story Creek - was located on the high bank of the river near the future Twelve Paths, the other - Krak - not far from the remains of the ancient Swedish fortification, which we have already talked about. Subsequently, in its place, the architect Vincenzo Brenna erected the Bip fortress. Both houses were unusually modest, furnished with simple furniture, but contained everything necessary for a short rest for high-born hunters. There is a legend that the house was named Krik “due to the cry heard at this place by Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich.” But, most likely, you should not look for meaning in the names of both houses. Such humorous names were very fashionable at that time. It is known, for example, that in Germany, on the estate of the Duke of Württemberg near Rostock, there also existed a Creek house.

Pavlovsk. Palace and monument to Paul I in front of it

There were several similar pavilions in Pavlovsk Park. For example, at the request of Maria Feodorovna, the so-called Hermit's Hut arose - a romantic idea that reminded her of her homeland - Montbilliard, in the park of which there was the same hut. According to legend, in it a certain gypsy woman predicted to Maria Feodorovna “a long journey, parting with all her relatives and the handsome prince whom she would marry.”

At the end of the Triple Lime Alley, a little away from it, in a small picturesque clearing, stands a romantic, spectacular structure made of wild boulders. This is the so-called Molochnya pavilion, also built at the request of Maria Feodorovna by the architect Cameron. Initially, the Dairy was intended to keep Dutch cows, donated, according to legend, by Catherine II to her daughter-in-law in order to interest the owners of Pavlovsk in agriculture and distract the heir from big politics. The simplicity of the Milkhouse’s external appearance contrasted sharply with its interior decoration. In fact, it was an ordinary cowshed. Inside there was a rest room where tired and hungry courtiers could drink a mug of fresh milk from a large porcelain Japanese vase with a silver tap and relax in gilded armchairs.

In 1796, the over-aged heir to the throne became emperor. The impatience with which he awaited his finest hour turned into haste with which he began to change everything in the state. There followed a change of ministers and a reorganization of the army, the fall of some and the return from exile of others, bans on what had recently been permitted in society, and, on the contrary, the permission of everything that was illegal under Catherine. And all this is purely to annoy the mother. Posthumously.

Pavlovsk. Colonnade of Apollo

In Pavlovsk, Charles Cameron, the favorite of the late Empress, is removed from the post of chief architect and Vincenzo Brenna is invited to this job. The Catherine Palace in Tsarskoe Selo falls into oblivion, and Pavlovsk becomes the official royal residence. Both the palace itself and the entrances to it no longer satisfy its new status. Brenna begins hastily rebuilding the palace built by Cameron.

This impatience, like a drop of water, was reflected in a legend that, at first glance, was small and insignificant, but nevertheless preserved the characteristic features of that time. Since the reconstruction of the palace began during severe frosts, the lime had to be dissolved with alcohol, which, as at all times, the workers preferred to use not for technological purposes, but “for its intended purpose.”

One of the most poetic legends of Pavlovsk Park is the legend of the Colonnade of Apollo, built by Cameron on the high bank of the Slavyanka in the middle of an open meadow, which fully corresponded to the ideas of the ancient Greeks about the location of temples dedicated to Apollo. At the insistence of Paul, who wanted to constantly see this temple from the windows of the palace chambers, the Colonnade was moved to a new location. Cameron strongly opposed this idea, and the installation of the Colonnade in a new location was entrusted to another architect, Quarenghi.

The colonnade was moved to a high hill, as if personifying Mount Parnassus - the abode of Apollo, and supplemented with a cascade, which, according to the architect's plan, was to be associated with the Castalian spring, which gives poetic inspiration. The embodiment of this poetic idea, as legend claims, led to disaster. Once, during a night thunderstorm, the washed-out foundation could not stand it, and part of the Colonnade collapsed. The next morning, the inhabitants of the palace thought that this made the whole composition even more spectacular, and they decided not to restore the Colonnade, but left the picturesquely scattered debris where they fell. According to one of the palace legends, waking up early in the morning and seeing the Colonnade open towards the palace, the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna allegedly exclaimed: “It’s Apollo who wants to admire my palace!”

According to another legend, lightning struck the Colonnade even when it was in an open meadow, and the residents of Pavlovsk came to admire the amazing creation of the elements.

It remains to add that not a single serious historian mentions any thunderstorm that interfered with the architect’s plan, and such recognized authorities as Vladimir Kurbatov and Igor Grabar believed that these destructions were done deliberately in order to give the Colonnade a more expressive appearance . Moreover, imitation of ancient ruins was very fashionable at that time. Evidence of this only in Pavlovsk Park can be the Ruin Cascade, the Ruins at the Krasnodolinny Pavilion and the Peel Tower.

The Peel Tower, an original romantic pavilion with a thatched roof and a narrow external staircase on supports leading to the second floor, was created in 1797 near the decorative water mill by Vincenzo Brenna. According to a legend preserved in Pavlovsk, there was once a real sawmill in this place, supposedly left by Maria Feodorovna to a peasant who lived there, whom, by the way, no one had ever seen. They also say about the Peel Tower that in the rooms of the first floor under Paul I, chamber-pages were kept in custody, punished “for pranks and negligence in their duties.”

The outer walls of the Peel Tower were painted by the outstanding theater artist and decorator Pietro Gonzago, who created a strikingly believable illusion of an ancient building destroyed by time. A brilliant master of “deceptive” paintings, Gonzago created false perspectives, stories of which were enthusiastically passed on from mouth to mouth by park visitors as superbly performed tricks. They say that on the walls of the Pink Pavilion Gonzago managed to depict the glass of the greenhouse, behind which fruit trees were visible, that a complete illusion of reality arose. There is a legend told by one Frenchman, an enthusiastic admirer of Pavlovsk, that some poor dog “broke its face while trying to run into the non-existent space of another fresco by Gonzago, painted under the library of the Pavlovsk Palace.” There is also a legend in Pavlovsk about birds that are killed by flying into a gallery with frescoes and mistaking the images for a genuine corner of nature.

Outstanding architects of the past attached exceptional importance to the architecture of small forms, commensurate with a person. Miniature bridges and cozy gazebos, stone balustrades and granite steps, marble vases and cast iron benches gave park corners a rare expressiveness. A special place in this series is occupied by various gates. They fit harmoniously into green architecture and easily combine with stone architecture. Among the many gates of Pavlovsk Park there are legendary ones. Some of them open a steep descent to the Cold Bath. The cast iron pylons of these low gates are topped with low, wide vases of fruit. The idea of such decoration, according to legend, was suggested by “one lover who promised a beautiful summer resident that the bowl of fruit that stood on the table during the conversation would be preserved forever.”

Despite the transformation of Pavlovsk into the official residence of the emperor, Pavlovsky Park at the same time remained his family property, and as such retained all the signs of private life. This was an ordinary dualism characteristic of that time, which manifested itself in literally everything. An estate... but a royal one. An estate... but a palatial one, hypertrophied to the size of a giant park. Here they received guests in the palace, had breakfast in the Aviary, played music in the Round Hall, and relaxed in Molochnya. There were areas for military exercises and secular entertainment, which naturally coexisted with altars of sorrow and corners of memory.

Empress Maria Feodorovna

Accordingly, Pavlovian legends were also diverse and multi-genre. The author of this book heard one of them from the lips of the famous culinary professor Nikolai Ivanovich Kovalev. Under Maria Feodorovna, one of the most famous chefs of the English court was invited to Pavlovsk. He did not understand Russian and therefore was “silently perplexed” by the Russian habit of chopping beets for salad. Abroad they did not know this. But when the Russian cooks began to pour vinegar on the salad, the Englishman seemed to understand something and for the first time opened his mouth. He exclaimed just one word: “Oh, vinaigrette!” - that is, vinegar. Since then, this simple Russian appetizer, according to legend, began to be called vinaigrette. By the way, all over the world it is called “salad de russe”.

One of the most intimate corners of Pavlovsk Park under Maria Feodorovna became a small cape formed by the whimsical bend of the Slavyanka River near the palace. In the center of the cape, Charles Cameron installed an “urn of fate” made of Altai jasper on a pedestal. An idyllic Family Grove gradually arose around the urn, formed by trees that were planted on the occasion of the birth of each member of the large family of Paul I. The ancestor of the grove was a Siberian cedar planted in St. Petersburg on the birthday of the long-awaited heir to the throne, Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich. Then the cedar was transported to Pavlovsk. There is a legend among old-timers that once during a thunderstorm the cedar was split, but through the efforts of the gardener, who skillfully folded the halves of the tree, it came to life again and grew. One can only regret that this legendary cedar did not become a symbol of the longevity of the unfortunate emperor.

Empress Maria Feodorovna outlived her husband by more than a quarter of a century. All this time she lived in Pavlovsk without a break and was its mistress. A touching legend remains about her. After the untimely death of the emperor, Maria Feodorovna often walked alone in the Mariental valley, near the Bip fortress. One day, the legend says, she met a lonely and sad boy who looked after her for a long time. Maria Feodorovna stopped, returned and tried to talk to the child. But she discovered that the unfortunate man was deaf and dumb. The amazed Maria Feodorovna interrupted her unsuccessful walk and hastily returned to the palace. Already along the way, a firm decision matured in her head to found a special school where deaf and mute children could communicate with peers similar to themselves and learn to read and write. And indeed, in the 1820s she managed to establish the first school for the deaf and dumb in Russia. Initially, it was located in the Bip fortress, near which the Dowager Empress allegedly met with the little unfortunate. Such a school is still located in Pavlovsk.

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IN SEARCH OF UTOPIA (about the work of Pavel Amnuel) The work of Pavel (since 1991 - Passover) Rafaelovich Amnuel (b. 1944) began in an era of general admiration for the achievements of science and technology, and especially before the advent of the era of space discoveries. Among science fiction writers

From the book No Fiddler Needed author Basinsky Pavel Valerievich

Location unknown. About the fate of my grandfather Pavel Grigorievich Basinsky May 9 is a national holiday. But it so happened that I have to celebrate my own May 9th... About the fate of my grandfather, a soldier, then a lieutenant, a captain and, finally, a major of the Red Army, who apparently died in the Crimea in

From the book History of St. Petersburg in traditions and legends author Sindalovsky Naum Alexandrovich

Location unknown About the fate of my grandfather Pavel Grigorievich Basinsky May 9 is a national holiday. But it so happened that I have to celebrate my own May 9th... About the fate of my grandfather, a soldier, then a lieutenant, a captain and finally a major in the Red Army, who died in Crimea in May 1942

From the book Essays on the History of English Poetry. Poets of the Renaissance. [Volume 1] author Kruzhkov Grigory Mikhailovich

From Paul I to the Decembrists 1796–1825

From the author's book

The Life of the Reverend Doctor Donne, Rector of the Cathedral of St.