Senate and Synod building in St. Petersburg: overview, description, history and architect

One of the amazing architectural creations of the northern capital is the building of the Senate and the Synod. In St. Petersburg, many remarkable buildings, nevertheless it was this last major project of the famous architect Rossi that became a symbol of late classicism.

Overview

In fact, this is not one, but two buildings, which today are united by one name - the building of the Senate and the Synod. In St. Petersburg, before these two state administrative bodies of the Russian Empire were in the building of the Twelve Colleges. However, after the construction of the Admiralty in 1823, the old building no longer corresponded to the new appearance that the Senate Square received . There is an urgent need for its reconstruction. Therefore, in 1824 a competition was announced for the project, which was supposed to build a new building of the Senate and the Synod.

In St. Petersburg on August 24, 1829, the foundation stone was laid. Initially, they began to erect a structure intended for the Senate, and a year later began the construction of the Synod. The construction was completed in 1834. The architect of the Senate and the Synod building is Karl Ivanovich Rossi. Alexander Staubert directed the construction works under his project.

Prehistory

Initially, in place of the current Senate and the Synod, there was a half-timbered house belonging to A. Menshikov, and next to it was the mansion that the merchant's wife Kusovnikova owned. When the Most Serene Prince found himself in disgrace, his property on the Neva embankment was taken over by Vice-Chancellor AI Osterman. After a while, in 1744, the building was granted to Elizaveta Petrovna A. Bestuzhev-Ryumin. The Chancellor reconstructed it, instructing the architect A. Vist to erect a house in the Baroque style.

In 1763, when Catherine II ascended the throne, the building was transferred to the treasury. Almost immediately the Senate moved to this building . From 1780 to 1790 the baroque construction of Bestuzhev-Ryumin was again reconstructed: the facades received a new architectural treatment, typical of Russian classicism.

The name of the last author of the project, on which the building was rebuilt, is not known for certain. However, judging by the remaining in the collection of the museum of the Academy of Arts drawings of the western facade, the development was carried out by architect I. Starov.

History of creation

When in 1823 the architect Zakharov finished the monumental building of the Admiralty, it became necessary to transform the three central squares of the Northern capital: the Senate (present-day Decembrists), Dvortsovaya and Admiralteyskaya, where in the late nineteenth century the Alexander Garden was defeated. The decoration of the already existing house, in which the Senate was located, ceased to correspond to the then scale, and the overall architecture and splendor of the city center. And so he demanded reconstruction.

By order of the emperor, and then on the throne was Nicholas I, began the construction of a new house for the Senate in a single image and likeness, so that the building of the General Staff, the Senate, the Synod in St. Petersburg was executed in a single architectural decision. Therefore, the house of the merchant Kusovnikova was purchased for the latter. And in place of A. Bestuzhev-Ryumin's house, they decided to build a Senate building.

Select a project

In 1828 a competition was announced. It was attended by Vasily Stasov, Paul Jaco, Smaragd Shustov, Vasily Glinka and, of course, Rossi. The building of the Senate and the Synod on the drawings of the contestants had a variety of solutions. For example, Jacques proposed to build one common building, which would resemble a gallery of the Louvre, Stasov planned to rebuild only the former house of Bestuzhev-Ryumin. Rossi did the design of the two buildings and connected them together with an arch construction. And this is exactly what we see today the building of the Senate and the Synod.

Architect and sculptor

On February 18, 1829, Rossi's project was approved. The main task of the architect was to give the building a character, corresponding to the huge area on which it stood. Already at the end of August, a solemn laying of the house was held, in which the Senate was to work. In the foundation of the building a memorial plaque was laid on the fact that the facade design approved by the highest one belongs to Charles Rossi. The builder was appointed another famous architect - A. Staubert. And, according to the project, this building is very organically included in itself and the walls, preserved from the house of Bestuzhev-Ryumin. And in August 1830, after it was possible to buy Kusovnikova's house in the state treasury, in its place the construction of the Synod building began

In July 1831, the Emperor Nicholas I approved the sculptural decoration project. At the same time, a separate indication was given that the figures should not be shown "up", but rather sedentary. In addition, they had to be dressed in antique clothing, for example, in togi, and remove all the trophies and inscriptions on the books.

Several sculptors were engaged in sculpture at once: S. Pimenov, V. Demut-Malinovsky with P. Sokolov, assisted by N. Tokarev, and P. Svintsov and others. The sculptor Ustinov created the statue "Faith" located in the first niche on the left. Sokolov sculptured "Piety", and Pimenov - "Law" and "Justice".

Capitals and lion masks, as well as other decorative details, are executed by Toricelli's hand. Sculptural composition, located on the attic, as well as "Geniuses" with books of the laws of Demut-Malinovsky's work were cast from copper at the Berda plant.

Building

The task set before the architect and builders about giving the Senate a character corresponding to the greatness of the Senate Square was solved by them with great skill and with an exact sense of scale. The rather large length of the facade made the author of the Rossi project increase the height of the structure to eight and a half sazhen. It must be said that the neighboring structure of the Admiralty is noticeably lower than the building of the Senate - by as much as two hundred and ten centimeters. In early October 1832, the construction work was closed, and immediately began the interior decoration of both buildings. In February next year, the emperor personally inspected the facilities. And already in 1934 the construction was finally completed.

Features

The center of the facade composition, making out the Senate Square, grandiose in its scale and significance, Rossi decided to make a spectacular arch, thrown over Galernaya Street. It connects both buildings into a single architectural complex. For its design, Karl Ivanovich used one of the previously invented, but not implemented, versions of the arch provided for the General Staff. This architectural solution was redesigned by the architect, taking into account the much smaller width of the passage. In this case, the inherent composition of the triumphal nature of the architect was completely preserved.

Arch

It unites the buildings of the Senate and the Synod and concludes with a sculptural composition located on a multi-stage attic. "Justice and piety", and this is the name of the work of the masters S. Pimenov, V. Demut-Malinovsky and P. Sokolov, symbolizes the unity of the two authorities - ecclesiastical and secular. Over this composition the sculptors worked for about a year. In addition to her, there are also figures over the arch that allegorically mean "geniuses who hold the law".

At the very attic are three bas-reliefs - "Civil Law", "The Law of God", as well as "The Law of Naturalness". Their location is very interesting. In the center, directly above the arch, there is a comparatively larger bas-relief called "The Civil Law". Among the images on it are the busts of Peter the Great and Catherine II.

Description

The architect of the building of the Senate and the Synod - Rossi - envisaged in terms of three-story rectangular buildings and courtyards. Extraordinarily beautiful and wide staircases with ramps, made of granite, make out the entrance. Surprisingly rich light and shadow effect is created due to the alternation of protruding parts on the facades of buildings and niches. This is also promoted by numerous stucco decorations.

The facade of the Synod building is drawn both to the English embankment and to the former Senate square. In general, experts consider the architectural solution of this part of the building to be very interesting. Its angle is rounded. It is decorated with a monumental colonnade raised above the first floor and assembled from eight columns of the Corinthian order, the soft curve of which is completed, according to the author's plan, by a step attic. This architectural solution surprisingly enriches the line of the English embankment, giving it a rich view.

Equally interesting is the former Conference Hall in the Senate building, whose walls are decorated with caryatids and pilasters from the stucco, as well as a plafond painted by the artist B. Medici. In the middle was a throne, upholstered in bright crimson velvet.

After the revolution

In 1919 the Senate and the Synod were abolished. Since 1925 the building housed the Central Historical Archive. In 1936, the building of the Senate and the Synod began to restore, facades and sculptures were restored, and a year later they began to update the painting of the main staircases. During the war, both buildings were badly damaged. They hit several artillery shells, which caused heavy damage to buildings. Almost completely destroyed was the Synodal Church.

Works on restoration began in the summer of 1944 - even before the end of the war. In 2006, the Historical Archive moved, and the building of the Senate and the Synod itself was transferred to the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation. Today there is the Presidential Library.

It is interesting

Judging by the surviving documents, the purchase of the mansion of the merchant Kusovnikova cost the royal treasury an unprecedented amount - six hundred thousand rubles, although in 1796 the plot was estimated at only seven and a half thousand. The hostess, having learned that the building of the Synod will be built on the site of her house, decided to inflate the price, besides, the total amount included bribes to many officials.

While working on the composition "Justice and Piety", the sculptor of the Senate and Synod Pimenov died. His work was completed by his son.