Architects of St. Petersburg - who are they?

Famous for the whole world the cultural capital of Russia - St. Petersburg - fascinates not only local residents, but thousands of visitors who want to visit the city of bridges and white nights. Why is St. Petersburg so attractive and who made it the way we know it now?

The beginning of the construction of St. Petersburg

The founder of the city was the great reformer and Tsar Peter I. Impressed by the architecture and development of the Western countries that he visited, Peter I decided to build a city in Russia that is not inferior in beauty and sophistication to European capitals. So the construction of St. Petersburg began.

The Tsar was not a fanatical supporter of everything Western, but he was able to extract the most important from what he saw and adapt it to the conditions of Russia. The architects of St. Petersburg, whom he invited to work from abroad, were well-known masters of this craft in European countries.

Among them, Jean-Baptiste Leblon from France and Domenico Trezzini from Italy. Their task was not only to design buildings in accordance with the tastes and needs of the city's residents, but also in teaching the architects of the empire this difficult art. To encourage foreigners, Peter I paid them much more reward than the Russian masters.

Architects of St. Petersburg

One of the first architects in Petersburg in the period from 1703 to 1716 was Domenico Trezzini - a representative of the early Baroque. Among his projects is the construction of Kronshlot (an artillery fort to defend against the Swedes); The first general plan of the city; The plan for building the Vasilievsky Island; Plans to build a cathedral of the Peter and Paul Fortress, the Summer Palace, the building of the Twelve Colleges. The style of the architect changed under the influence of the surrounding reality. The first projects (in particular, the bell tower of the Peter and Paul Cathedral) embodied a severe Scandinavian style in architecture. However, under the influence of traditions and style of Russian masters, the architectural forms of Trezzini took a softer outline.

Other architects of St. Petersburg also suffered the same influence: the peculiarities of the Russian spirit and the manner of life of the peoples of the Russian Empire made significant adjustments to the creative process and the aesthetic views of architects.

Georg Johann Mattarnovi, a German architect who arrived in St. Petersburg in 1714, made an equally important contribution to town planning. He led the construction of several buildings - the Second Winter Palace, the building of the Kunstkamera, the St. Isaac's Cathedral. But after his sudden death in 1719, the completion was started by the architect Nikolaus Gerbel.

Another outstanding architect, who worked in the northern capital, is the Frenchman Jean-Baptiste Leblon. He was the author of the first general plan of the city. In addition, the architect created the layout of the Summer Garden, as well as parks and gardens in Strelna and Peterhof (in particular, he built the Hermitage, Monplaisir, royal chambers and Marley pavilions).

One of the first monumental projects was the Menshikov Palace, the construction of which began in 1710 to design Giovanni Maria Fontana and was completed in 1720 by Johann Schödel. The building was built especially for the Tsar's favorite, Prince Alexander Menshikov.

The architects who built St. Petersburg worked for generations. So, in 1716, Bartolomeo Carlo Rastrelli arrived in the city together with his family and assistants, who signed a three-year contract with the tsar. The architect was engaged in the creation of a whole group of bas-reliefs for the Great Cascade in Peterhof; Created the equestrian statue of Peter I (installed in front of the Mikhailovsky Castle), as well as several portraits of the king and his "wax person."

Chief Architect of St. Petersburg

The son of Bartolomeo the elder - Bartolomeo Francesco Rastrelli - came to the city with his father at the age of 15. It was taught by such outstanding architects as D. Trezzini, N. Miketti, M. Zemtsov and A. Schlüter. Rastrelli Jr. worked in St. Petersburg for about fifty years, creating during this period world-famous buildings: the Catherine Palace in Tsarskoe Selo, the houses of Count Stroganov and Vorontsov, the Great Peterhof Palace. The architect of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg - the so-called Bartolomeo Rastrelli, who embodied all his skills in this complex. Construction was conducted from 1754 to 1762. After its completion, the palace became the main winter imperial residence. The building is designed in the Baroque style. It is the last monumental structure that embodied the manner of the masters who worked in this direction.

It happened because the second half of the XVIII century is characterized by dramatic changes in economic relations and tastes of society, which led to the rapid extinction of the popularity of the Baroque.

The architect of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg experienced a real tragedy in connection with a sharp loss of interest in the architectural style of his life, giving way to classicism. It is rare that the master survives the current era in which he created. For Rastrelli, this was a real blow.

The influence of foreigners on Russian architecture

The first half of the XVIII century became a landmark in the history of Russian architecture. Despite the fact that the famous architects of St. Petersburg were foreigners, they largely determined the development of architecture in the Russian Empire, giving it partly Western trends. At the same time, the masters themselves changed the style of their work under the influence of the environment, customs and traditions of the Russian people and their worldview, adapting themselves to the tastes and preferences of customers.