Pavlovsky Palace is a structure of incredible beauty and harmony, located in the middle of the magnificent Pavlovsky Park. The golden white building was erected on a high hill next to the Slavyanka River, so Pavlovsky Palace can be seen from the most remote places in the park.
The unity of architecture and interior is explained by the unusual history of this beautiful complex.
In September 1782, the heir to the throne Pavel Petrovich with his wife Maria Fedorovna, under the name of Count and Countess of the North, went on a trip to Europe. The trip was made incognito (as was customary), and the connoisseur and connoisseur of art included Prince Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov, a connoisseur and art expert.
During the trip, the couple became familiar with the art and culture of Austria and Italy, France and Holland, and in Rome they were received by Pope Pius VI. In Italy, they bought Venetian glass and ordered paintings by artists, and also created marble copies of ancient sculptures from the Apollo and Muses collection of the Vatican for them. In France, they bought furniture and silk from Lyon, bronze and porcelain. It was at this time that the first stone of the Grand Palace was laid.
All the acquisitions made, as well as the generous gifts of the European monarchs, were sent to Pavlovsk, where these first-class works of art suggested to the architects the best decorative solution still under construction. There was nothing like this in world architecture, and this explains the extraordinary harmony of all the elements of the Pavlovsk Palace.
Pavlovsk Palace – description
Pavlovsk Palace was created in the course of 50 years by the efforts of prominent architects such as Charles Cameron, Vincenzo Brenna and Andrei Voronikhin, Giacomo Quarenghi and Karl Rossi, as well as the best Russian sculptors, Mikhail Kozlovsky and Ivan Martos, Ivan Prokofiev and Vasily Demut-Malinovsky.
Initially, the construction of the Pavlovsk Palace in 1852-1854 was worked by the architect Charles Cameron, who bowed to the creations of the prominent architect Andrea Palladio and took his Venetian villa as a model.
Andrea Palladio (real name Andrea di Pietro) is a leading 16th-century architect who created his own style: Palladio and who knew how to perfectly combine architecture and nature.
In terms of plan, Pavlovsk Palace is shaped like a horseshoe, and apparently resembles a noble estate. The building is characterized by perfect symmetry, decorated with a gently sloping dome and numerous stucco sculptures and moldings. Open galleries with snow-white columns extend from the main building to the side wings.
The interior design work was carried out by the Italian architect Vincenzo Brenna.
In 1796, Paul ascended the throne and, at his command, the palace expanded: Brenna built in the Cameron galleries, erected two two-story buildings with turrets and a church building. The building has acquired even greater grandeur and greatness.
After the fire of 1803, the restoration of the building and the interior decoration of the rooms were carried out by the architect Andrei Voronikhin, and Giacomo Quarenghi and Karl Rossi also participated in the design of the interiors.
From 1849 to 1892, the owner of Pavlovsk was Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich, son of Emperor Nicholas I. The Museum of Antiquities was organized in his palace, whose exhibits were the attics of the Hall of the Knights, the Hall of the Sarcophagi, as well as objects from the ancient Roman era brought by Pavel and Maria Fedorovna from the tour. in Europe By order of the prince, the Image Gallery and the Museum of Antiquities were opened to the public from spring to late autumn during the day.
A monument to Paul was erected in front of the palace, the emperor’s gaze went to the side of the alley (the emperor, so to speak, welcomed the guests who came to his house). The monument was created by the sculptor Ivan Vitali in 1872 and resembles the statue of Louis XIV, installed in front of his palace in Versailles.
After the revolution, the Bolsheviks, proclaiming the motto “Art must belong to the people,” transformed the Pavlovsk Palace and Park into the State Museum, accessible to most people. At the same time, in the 1920s, the seizure and sale abroad of the most valuable exhibitions to receive funds for the development of the industry began.
When the Great Patriotic War began, most of the exhibits were exported to Sarapul, Novosibirsk and Leningrad. The German invaders entered Pavlovsk and placed the headquarters of the Gestapo and the hospital in the palace, and when they retired in 1944, they set fire to the palace building.
After the war, restoration work began, which was carried out in stages, the rooms were opened from 1957, and in 1977, on the occasion of Pavlovsk’s 200th anniversary, the restoration was mainly completed. Currently:
On the ground floor of the building are the rooms of Maria Fyodorovna, as well as the ballroom and the billiard room, the rooms and the living room.
On the second floor there are offices and a library, Freylinsky and ceremonial rooms, including the Throne and Cavalier rooms.
On the third floor there is an exhibition “Russian residential interior of the 19th century”, 17 rooms that tell how the decoration changed in the nobility
We recommend that you pay attention to such interesting exhibits of the museum:
- In Freylinsky there are unusual watches called “Deserter”, created in the 18th century based on the opera of the same name by the composer Monsigny. They represent a girl who says goodbye to a young man, for whom a convoy has already arrived, and there is also a prison. The clock has a box with a musical mechanism that performs fragments of the opera.
In the Italian Hall you can see the statue of Erit, created in the first century, this is an exact copy of the ancient Greek bronze statue, made by Lysippus, a sculptor in the court of Alexander the Great.
In one of Maria Fedorovna’s rooms you will see the empress of the Empress “Green Toilet”, created in the Imperial Porcelain Factory and consisting of 54 objects. Especially beautiful is the octagonal mirror, decorated with two female figures in ancient clothes.Toiletries donated by Louis XVI and consisting of 72 items. The portraits of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette are made in the glasses, and the Russian coat of arms, the double-headed eagle, adorns the mirror. This gift was so dear to Maria Fedorovna that she immediately placed it under the glass
In the master bedroom there is a four-poster canopy bed, decorated with hand-painted silk, next to it there are sculptures of two children who keep a dream. It is interesting that no one has ever slept in this bed, since the ceremonial rooms were opened only for the guests to show the existing collections and the luxury of the rooms. Opening hours of Pavlovsk Palace – summer 201
- 10 a.m. at 6 p.m.
The lockers close one hour before
Holidays – the first Monday of the month
The palace is closed on October 4 and 11.Above is the opening hours of the main rooms on the second floor. On certain days of the week, some of the exhibits are closed:The rooms on the ground floor are closed on Tuesdays, Fridays and the first Monday of each month.
The rooms of Empress Maria Fedorovna are closed on Fridays and the first Monday of each month.
The exhibition “Russian residential interior of the 19th century – early 20th century” is closed on Tuesdays, Fridays and the first Monday of each month.
Ticket cost for Pavlovsk Palace – summer 2019
Main rooms on the second floor and living rooms on the first floor
Main rooms on the second floor and living rooms on the first floor
adults – 500 rubles.
students (7-18 years) – 200 rubles.
Family ticket 2 adults + 1 child – 1000 rubles.
Family ticket 2 adults + 2 children – 1200 rubles.
Only rooms on the second floor (Tuesday and Friday)
adults – 400 rubles.
Retired – 150 rubles.
students (7-18 years) – 150 rubles.
Family ticket 2 adults + 1 child – 800 rubles.
Family ticket 2 adults + 2 children – 1000 rubles.
Halls of Empress Maria Fedorovna on the first floor (if there is a ticket to the hallways of the palace)
adults – 150 rubles.
Retired – 100 rubles.
students (7-18 years) – 100 rubles.
The exhibition “Russian residential interior of the nineteenth century – early twentieth century” on the third floor (with a ticket to the hallways of the palace)
adults – 150 rubles.
Retired – 100 rubles.
students (7-18 years) – 100 rubles.
For all visitors who bought a ticket to Pavlovsk Palace, guided tours are organized.
During a walk in Pavlovsk Park, be sure to visit Pavlovsk Palace. The entrance is paid, but you should not spend money to visit: the interiors of the hallways surprise with their luxury and magnificent finishes. You will see a unique collection of fine, decorative, applied and ancient art, compiled during the 16th and early 20th centuries.
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