There are many sights and historical buildings in St. Petersburg. One of them is the building of the Twelve Collegia. has a long history and is worthy of the attention of tourists.
Location
The address of the building of the Twelve Collegiums at the embankment, house seven. Such a magnificent structure is simply impossible not to notice. It is one of the oldest on Vasilievsky Island. An interesting fact is that for almost two centuries it houses the State University of St. Petersburg. Of course, the building was originally intended for completely different purposes. The history of the building of the Twelve Collegia in St. Petersburg is closely connected with the development of the state. His style is a prime example of early eighteenth century architecture. Currently, the building is a federal monument.
How to get to the historical monument?
You can get to the building of the Twelve Collegia in St. Petersburg by buses No. 24 and No. 7 and by trolleybuses No. 11, 1 and 10. It is located almost right next to the building.
Legend or truth?
Petersburgers and tourists probably paid attention to the fact that the building of the Twelve Collegiums has an unusual location. It would seem that it should have been built along the Neva. But no. It is located by its butt towards the river. Such an unusual location led to the emergence of the legend of the cunning Menshikov. Peter I gave the order to the governor of St. Petersburg to build a new collegium building along the Neva. And use the remaining free land at your own discretion. According to legend, the enterprising Menshikov decided to turn the building with its facade towards the arrow of the island, and not towards the river. And on a vacant plot of land he erected a palace for himself. After Peter I saw the result, he dragged Menshikov by the collar along the entire structure. Legend has it that the tsar stopped near each collegium and beat the favorite with his notorious club. But it was too late to change anything.
Of course, this whole story is nothing more than fiction, since it runs counter to historical facts. The fact is that Menshikov's palace was built back in 1710. And this means that at the time of the construction of the palace, the buildings of the Twelve Collegia were not even in the project. At this time, Peter decided to move the center of St. Petersburg to Vasilievsky Island, which was covered with forest, after which the coast was gradually built up with new buildings.
Historical excursion
The decision to erect the building of the Twelve Collegiums was not taken spontaneously, it was dictated by state necessity. In 1711, the Senate was formed, consisting of nine senators. New government agency was supposed to manage state affairs during the absence of the sovereign - Peter I. Subsequently, the Senate became the highest executive and administrative body of state power. In 1718, for a more efficient management of the economy, collegia came to replace, which were supposed to control all sectors of the economy. In December of the same year, the vice-presidents and the president of the collegia were appointed by order. A year later, the staff of the organization were determined and general rules internal device... For this reason, a building was needed in which absolutely all structures could be accommodated. Therefore, the emperor issued an order on August 12, 1721 to erect the building of the Twelve Collegia (photo is given in the article). True, the construction was completed after his death.
Building project
It should be noted that initially the Senate and the new colleges were located in a building on Troitskaya Square, which was erected by Domenico Trezzini. The first building consisted of the same type of two-storey buildings covered with tiles.
Trezzini also became the architect of the new building. The building of the Twelve Collegia was conceived on the principle of the previous structure. The eastern façade was supposed to become a ceremonial one and face the Collegiate Square. However, at the beginning of the twentieth century, this square ceased to exist altogether, since another institute was built in its place. In 1716, the first version of the project appeared. The building of the Twelve Collegia initially had a completely different look. But two years later, a completely different option appeared, since the architect made significant adjustments. So, for example, it was decided to create a channel arrow on the west side, and build an extended building along it. It is in it, according to the architect's idea, that the collegiums should be placed.
It is worth noting that initially there were nine collegia - admiralty, chamber collegium, foreign, staff office, berg collegium and others. Later, another tenth appeared. Peter in 1721 established a Synod, which he decided to place near the collegia, like the Senate itself.
For the architect of the building of the Twelve Collegia, placing a group of identical buildings on one line was nothing new. Indeed, before his arrival in St. Petersburg, Trezzini lived in Copenhagen, where in 1625 the Exchange building was built on exactly the same principle. In addition, the architect had previously visited Moscow, where the buildings of the orders were placed in one line.
According to the existing plan, construction began in 1722. At the beginning of the next year, the architect reported to Peter that the construction of four colleges had already begun, and that some of the materials had been prepared.
Building construction
Peter I carefully supervised the construction of the building of the Twelve Collegia in St. Petersburg. He made his adjustments to the plan already in 1723. Moreover, a few months later, a decree was issued on how the options for the design of the facades would be chosen. Should have been presented different variants masters, among whom the sovereign wanted to choose the most suitable, in his opinion. In the future, adjustments to the construction were made quite often. It so happened that already at the start of construction, Peter arranged a competition for the best way new building. In fact, it was the first architectural competition in Russia. It was attended by such masters as Rastrelli, Pino, Zvitten, Trezzinri himself, Michetti, Gerbel, Chiaverin. The results of this event were summed up in 1724. As a result, the first floor was built according to the original Trezzini project, but the appearance of the second and third floors was changed after the competition version of Schwertfeger was processed.
Since February 1724, the Senate entrusted the leadership of the construction to a new architect - Schwertfeger. Holding a new competition two years after the start construction works became possible only because this work was carried out incredibly slowly. If at the beginning of 1722 a foundation was made for the building of the military collegium, then for other colleges they were just starting to drive in piles. Only in 1723, piles began to be driven throughout the entire construction site. In the same year, Peter handed over the construction of each building to the collegiums themselves, in order to speed up the process. Unfortunately, no changes have occurred. By the beginning of 1725, only the foundations were completed and the walls of the first floor were partially rebuilt. It was for this reason that there was an opportunity to make changes thanks to the results of the architectural competition.
Completion of work
The construction of the new building went faster only after the decree of Catherine I of 1726. The walls were soon completed. By the end of 1727, the rafters were installed, and six months later all the buildings were closed. In the summer of 1732, berg-, commercial-, justice- and manufactory-collegiums began their activity in some buildings, which had been completed by that time.
However, interior decoration continued over the next ten years. Stoves and fireplaces were built in the premises, as well as painting, locksmith and carpentry work was carried out. It should be noted that only the appearance of the Petrovsky Hall can now be seen from the original interiors. Its decoration in 1736 was done by Ignazio Rossi. During the construction period, it was conceived that the main facade would overlook Kollezhskaya Square, as we have already mentioned. It is precisely because of the participation of the building in the ensemble of the square that it does not face the University embankment, but only looks at it with its end. According to Peter's idea, Kollezhskaya Square was to become the main one in the city. But after his death, the city center was moved to the Admiralty Island. Subsequently, the square ceased to exist altogether.
The further fate of the building
Dignitaries moved into the new building as the construction work of one or another building was completed. In addition to the institutions of power, there were shopping arcades on the first floors. At that time, the building was the longest among the administrative buildings of that time. Its length is almost 393 meters, its height is about 15 meters, and its width is more than 17 meters. The number of the collegiums was constantly changing. Initially, there were nine of them, then it became - 12, then 11.
Officials occupied the building until 1804. By this time, the government had some difficulties. The fact is that the emperor, the supreme power, was located on the left bank of the Neva, and the executors of his will were located on Vasilievsky Island. The situation became more complicated during periods of ice drift and floods, when communication between the islands was simply interrupted. All this led to the fact that officials gradually began to leave their residence. In 1804, the building was partially given to the Pedagogical Institute. Later, on its basis, the St. Petersburg University was established in 1819. Until 1859, the building housed two educational institutions. But gradually the institute was abolished and only the university remained.
Decoration of the building
The building had three floors in height and consisted of twelve buildings, which are adjacent to each other. An open gallery ran through the entire first floor, and statues were installed in niches. Outside, the facade was decorated with numerous decorative elements... Each collegium had its own emblem. There were balconies along the building, decorated with wrought iron lattices. Each building had a separate entrance.
The western façade had a more modest decor. An open two-story gallery ran along it. The building was painted in two colors. Against the main red-orange background, the white decor stood out effectively. It's hard to say what was the interior design of the premises. Experts judge the decoration of the entire building only by the Petrovsky Hall, which has survived to this day.
Historic building style
Experts characterize the style of the building of the Twelve Collegia in St. Petersburg as Russian Baroque. It is often said that the building is made in the style. The architect Trezzini made a huge contribution to the construction and appearance of the building. According to his designs, the building of the Twelve Collegia, the Peter and Paul Cathedral, the Summer Palace of Peter I and a number of other buildings in St. Petersburg were erected.
Despite the fact that for some time control over the construction was transferred to another architect, in the future the same Trezzini returned to management. And the construction was completed by his son, Giuseppe.
Further transformations
After the building was transferred to the university, it became necessary to partially rebuild it. In the center was built the Church of Peter and Paul, a ceremonial assembly hall decorated with white marble columns and choirs, a staircase and a main entrance. On the second floor of the building there was a four-hundred-meter gallery, which was glazed with Venetian glass. This gallery is known as the Bois de Boulogne. It is also called the second Nevsky Prospekt. The furniture for the premises was made according to Shchedrin's sketches. A garden was laid out along the building, which was fenced off from the street with cast-iron trellises. In 1838, the university was inaugurated after renovation.
Famous scientists who worked within the walls of the building
The high-profile names of famous Russian scientists are associated with the university. At different times Sechenov, Butlerov, Lesgaft, Popov and, of course, Mendeleev taught and studied here. The memorial archive-museum of Mendeleev, who lived and worked in it from 1866 to 1890, still operates in the building. And in 1923, a street passing by the building was even named after him. Petersburg University.
Those who want to get an impression of the original interior decoration of the building of the Twelve Collegia should visit the Senate (Peter's Hall) University that has survived to this day, which has preserved the magnificent Baroque decor of the 18th century and the spirit of the era of the first days of St. Petersburg that has passed away from us. It retains its opulent decoration and decor designed by Ignati Rossi. The two sculptural corner fireplaces create a special atmosphere.
Instead of an afterword
The building of the Twelve Colleges is one of the historical ones that is worth seeing with your own eyes. Appearance the structure has practically not changed since its construction, therefore, the external appearance gives an idea of the spirit of the past eras.
Construction began in 1722, becoming the first stage in the implementation of the plan to create an administrative quarter on Vasilievsky Island. In 1734 Trezzini died, and the architect Mikhail Zemtsov began to supervise the construction, in 1736 he was replaced by Giuseppe Trezzini, Domenico's son-in-law. Fully Twelve Collegia were completed only in 1744, but the first collegiate meeting took place already in 1732.
The Peter's Baroque monument with a total length of 398.99 m consists of twelve identical elements with protruding projections. Each element has its own roof, it seems that each college occupies a separate building. Probably Trezzini, who lived in Copenhagen, was guided by the building of the local Stock Exchange, built on the same principle in 1625. Among the features characteristic of the Petrine Baroque are the two-tone color of the building, the rustication of the lower floor, pilasters and high roofs.
The administrative quarter on Vasilievsky Island was not formed, the collegiums were gradually moved to other premises. At the beginning of the 19th century, the building of the Twelve Collegia housed the State Archives, which was badly damaged by the November floods of 1824. Almost 2 million documents of the Order of Secret Affairs were completely destroyed.
Main Pedagogical Institute
Since 1804, the Main Pedagogical Institute was located in several buildings of the building, which was transformed in 1819 into St. Petersburg University. Since 1830, the entire building was transferred to the university; the architect A.F. Shchedrin.
Since 1857 D.I. Mendeleev taught a course in general chemistry at the university. During his work at the university, Mendeleev discovered the periodic law of chemical elements, a message about which Dmitry Ivanovich made on March 6 (18), 1869 in one of the premises on the first floor.
Since 1911, his memorial museum has been operating in Mendeleev's office apartment, and the street, which faces the main facade of the Twelve Collegia, is named in his honor.
Building today
In 1933-1937, the university bore the name of the People's Commissar of Education of the RSFSR A.S. Bubnov, from 1948 to 1992 - the name of the first secretary of the regional committee of the CPSU (b) A.A. Zhdanov. Today, the building of the Twelve Collegia is not only a cultural monument of federal significance, but also the main building of St. state university- one of the best universities in Russia.
In 1716. Two years later, he made a number of adjustments to the project, one of which was the creation on the western side of the channel arrow and an extended building along it. In it Trezzini planned to place the collegia, which on December 12, 1718, according to the Swedish model, were transformed by Peter I from the orders.
Initially, there were nine collegia: foreign affairs, military, admiralty collegium (for naval affairs), chamber collegium (department of state revenues), state office (department government spending), revision-collegium, berg-collegium and others. Later, the tenth appeared, and in 1721 Peter I established the Synod. They decided to place it next to the colleges, as well as the Senate. The final decision on this was made by Peter I in 1721, about which the architect reported to the Office of City Affairs in June. On August 12, the tsar issued a decree to start construction.
Placing identical bodies in one line was nothing new for Trezzini. Before arriving in St. Petersburg, he lived in Copenhagen, where in 1625 the Exchange building was built on the same principle. The architect also visited Moscow, where then, in the same line, the order corps were located.
Construction of the building of the Twelve Collegia began in 1722. In January 1723 Trezzini reported to the tsar:
"From ... the aforementioned Colleges conceived to build on number 4 Military, the foundation was drilled exactly with the ground, and number 7 Kamor-collegium, piles for the foundation were filled and supplies of slab stone, brick and lime were prepared ...
... And in my opinion, it is better to start building Collegiums of three or four, or as much as His Majesty wills, and to build suddenly, next to each other, and not across the places, there will be less material and cost "[Quoted from 1, p. 136].
The project prepared by Trezzini in May 1723 was corrected by Peter I:
"The structure of the tracks should be built in front of the shops in golyaria, and on the canal side of the cellar with vaults and above the cellars with vaults and above the cellars of the chambers with vaults; stone wall, on which there will be goliars for communication from collegiate to collegiate 12 feet wide "[Quoted from: 3, p. 170].
Two months later, a new decree followed:
"To build the structure of all twelve colleagues with an oddity and the Senate, knock out the foundations equal to the ground, and do not make the fatchats [that is, the facades] higher than the ground until His Imperial Majesty deigns to choose from different drawings to sign with his own hand; and to compose those drawings to give the measure to those architects, so that each one would make his own invention with ornaments and to that of His Imperial Majesty the named decree, the measures of that structure of the colleagues were given to the architects from me at that time "[ibid.]
Thus, with the construction already begun, Peter I arranged a competition for best building for the Colleges. The first architectural competition in Russia. It was attended by G. Chiaveri, N. Gerbel, N. Michetti, van Zwitten, N. Pino, B. Rastrelli and Trezzini himself. The results of the competition were announced in January 1724. Domenico Trezzini then reported:
"The aforementioned architects made the drawings each with a different invention, and according to the collection of those drawings of the month of January, in the first days of this year, these were brought in the winter house of His Imperial Majesty, in which there were some time for election on the walls and how His Imperial Majesty at a good time deigned those to look at the drawings from the members of the ruling Senate, I deigned to indicate: the first apartment with arches and goliars, and so on ... to build according to my drawing, and to remove the upper aortments as best and in the same way as the ward building in the Alexandronevsky Monastery was built, and those above-mentioned drawings according to they were given to me as before, and now they are gaining from me, for which, by the arrival of His Imperial Majesty in St. Petersburg, we make a Madele of audiences to the chamber, the senate, foreign and military collegia, against which the other collegia will be "[Cit. according to: 3, p. 171].
Thus, the first floor of the building of the Twelve Collegiums was built according to Trezzini's project, the appearance of the second and third was determined after the revision of the version submitted to the competition by T. Schwertfeger.
On February 16, 1724, the Senate entrusted the responsibility for managing further construction to the architect Schwertfeger. But he tried to dodge the extra burden and on April 17 stated:
"I do not know anything about these buildings, I have made some drawings before. And whether these drawings seemed to His Imperial Majesty or whether he deigned to indicate to be in a different manner. Why it is impossible for me to make it, I have no news of that, for the sake of without any news or before the arrival of His Imperial Majesty he will do nothing to me "[Cit. according to: 3, p. 171].
Holding an architectural competition two years after the start of construction of the building was made possible "thanks" to the extremely slow pace of work. In 1722, the foundation was already prepared on the site of the Military Collegium, while piles were only driven in for the Commerce Collegium. Only in 1723, piles began to be beaten along the entire front of the extended building. In order to speed up the work, Peter I, by decree of November 14, 1723, transferred the construction site from the jurisdiction of the "Chancellery from Buildings" to the collegiums themselves. At Trezzini's suggestion, the collegiums had to buy stone, brick and lime from the "Office of Buildings", and prepare other materials on their own. The measures taken did not speed up the construction. By the beginning of 1725, only the foundations were ready, on which parts of the walls of the first floor rested. Thus, there was still an opportunity to take advantage of the results of the architectural competition.
By the decree of Catherine I of April 4, 1726, the construction was again entrusted to the "Office of Buildings". Things went faster this time. The walls were soon completed. In December 1727, the rafters were installed; by June of the following year, all buildings (except for the Synod) already had a roof.
In the summer of 1732, foreign, justice, commercial, berg, manufactory and patrimonial colleges began to work in some of the completed buildings.
The interior decoration of the premises continued for another ten years. They were equipped with fireplaces and stoves, they carried out carpentry, locksmith, and painting work. From initial finishing to today only the interior of the Petrovsky Hall has been preserved. Its sculptural decoration was created in 1736 by the master Ignazio Rossi.
It was planned to limit the main square of the city, Kollezhskaya, with an extended line of the building. It is precisely because of its participation in the ensemble of this square that the building of the Twelve Collegia does not face the University Embankment, but only faces it with its end. However, it never became the main one; after the death of Peter I, the city center was moved to the Admiralty Island. And at the beginning of the 20th century, the square ceased to exist altogether, when it was "compacted" by the building of the Clinical Midwife Institute.
One legend is associated with this feature of the location of the building. As if intending to one day leave St. Petersburg, Peter I entrusted Menshikov with the construction of the building of the Twelve Collegia along the Neva embankment. It was supposed to be a continuation of the Kunstkamera. As a reward, Peter allowed Menshikov to use all the remaining land for his estate, which would remain to the west of the new building. Menshikov allegedly reasoned that if he put the house facing the Neva, then he would get very little land. And he decided to put the building not along, but perpendicular to the embankment. Returning from a trip, Peter was furious. Tugging Menshikov by the collar along the entire building, he stopped at each College and beat him with his famous club.
The building of the Twelve Collegia was built in the style typical of the architect Trezzini, known as the "Petrine Baroque". Baroque here gives out the "movement" of the walls (protruding projections), a curvilinear pediment. But at the same time, there is still not the splendor that would be inherent in Rastrelli's corporate style. Obviously, Trezzini designed the facades under the influence of the Northern European architecture, beloved by Peter I, where modesty is one of the virtues.
The building consists of 12 identical parts, each part belonged to a separate ministry. The total length of the building was 398.99 meters. The length of each section is 32.36 meters, except for the first (counting from the Bolshaya Neva) 39.48 meters long. Each part of the building of the Twelve Collegia has a separate porch and meeting room, originally they all had their own gable roof. The first floor from the side of Kollezhskaya Square was an open gallery. It was intended for the device of trade shops.
After the death of Domenico Trezzini (in 1734), the completion of the building of the Twelve Collegiums was supervised by the architect Mikhail Zemtsov, and from 1736 - by Giuseppe Trezzini. The first of them had to eliminate the mistake of Domenico Trezzini, who did not take into account the peculiarities of the St. Petersburg climate. At the joints of the shaped roofs, water accumulated, which then flooded the premises. The shape of the roofs had to be changed. In 1734-1741, the architects placed balconies at the level of the second floor, and a gallery with outbuildings was arranged on the west side.
The construction of the building of the Twelve Collegia was completed in 1742, when work was completed in the northern building of the Synod. Immediately after that, Empress Elizaveta Petrovna ordered the offices of the Senate, Synod and the Foreign Collegium to move here.
If now the color of the walls of the building is dominated by red, then initially they were yellow with white architectural details. The roof was painted red.
The center of St. Petersburg on the Spit of Vasilievsky Island has never developed. The collegiums gradually dispersed to other places. In 1763, the Senate moved to the opposite bank of the Neva - to the Bestuzhev-Ryumin palace. Since then, the area located there is called the Senate Square.
During the reconstruction of the spit of Vasilievsky Island in 1804, the architect Tom de Thomon proposed measures to create symmetry in its composition. Among them - an extension to the building of the Twelve Collegiums of a new building from the north and the demolition of the central building, which is located along the axis of the exchange. In its place, the architect proposed to throw the arch. Alteration of the facades in the spirit of classicism was also planned. In parallel with Thomas de Thomon, the architect A.D. Zakharov also worked on the plan for the arrow of Vasilievsky Island. To achieve its symmetry, he proposed to demolish the body closest to the Neva, leaving the others unchanged. These proposals have not been implemented.
In the first quarter of the 19th century, the building of the Twelve Collegiums housed the State Archives, a synodal printing house and a synodal bookstore. In 1804, the Pedagogical Institute was organized, which in February 1819 became the basis for the restoration of St. Petersburg University. He was given four buildings of the building of the Twelve Collegia (third, fourth, fifth and sixth), including for the apartments of teachers. Three years later, the university temporarily moved to Kabinetskaya Street (now Pravdy Street).
In 1830, the entire building was transferred to the university. The new appointment required alterations, which were carried out in 1834-1838 according to the project of A.F. Shchedrin. In the central part, a grand staircase and a ceremonial white-column assembly hall were arranged. It was then that the famous 400-meter corridor on the second floor was created, the gallery of the first floor was glazed.
The flood on November 7, 1824 caused great damage to the archival funds stored in the basements of the Twelve Collegia building. The documents of the Order of Secret Affairs were kept here. Only in 1835 the Senate ordered to put them in order. Looking into the basements, officials found that most of the more than 2,000,000 cases had fallen into disrepair. Only a small part of the archive was saved.
Until the last third of the 19th century, the Main Pedagogical Institute continued to coexist with the University in the building of the Twelve Collegia.
Among the students and teachers of St. Petersburg University were A.M.Butlerov, I.M.Sechenov, A.S. Popov, P.F.Lesgaft, N.G. Chernyshevsky, I.S. Turgenev, N.A. P. Semyonov-Tyan-Shansky, A. A. Blok, I. P. Pavlov, V. I. Vernadsky, K. A. Timiryazev, A. A. Ukhtomsky, N. N. Miklukho-Maclay, A. F Horses and many other scientists, writers and public figures.
Since 1857, D.I. Mendeleev taught a course in general chemistry at the university. Here, in a service apartment on the ground floor, he lived since 1866. During his work at the university, Mendeleev discovered the periodic law of chemical elements, a message about which Dmitry Ivanovich made on March 6 (18), 1869 in one of the premises on the first floor. The scientist left the university in 1890 in protest against the reactionary policy towards the student body. Since 1911, the memorial museum-archive of the famous scientist has been located in Mendeleev's office apartment. A street along the building (Mendeleevskaya line) was named after him in 1923.
In the years 1933-1937 educational institution bore the name of the People's Commissar of Education of the RSFSR A.S. Bubnov, from 1948 to 1992 - the name of the first secretary of the regional committee of the CPSU (b) A.A.Zhdanov.
On February 26, 2007, in front of the main entrance to the University building, a monument to the "Genius University" was unveiled.
The building of the Twelve Collegiums in St. Petersburg is one of the most important architectural monuments of the 18th century, built in the style of Peter the Great's Baroque. The plan of the huge complex was developed by D. Trezzini.
According to the project, the complex was supposed to consist of twelve buildings connected by wings and walkways. The houses were supposed to accommodate the highest state institutions.
Construction began in 1722, but work was often interrupted by floods. The main building was built in 1732. It was a huge three-storey house made of expensive stone 392 meters long and 15 meters high. The complex was painted in red and white tones.
To decorate the building of the Twelve Collegia, Trezzini used pylons, statues, balconies with carved gratings. The architect equipped all buildings with separate entrances.
The Petrovsky Hall has reached our time in almost unchanged form. It is richly decorated with bas-reliefs, statues, frescoes and paintings. In this hall, until the move to a luxurious building on Galernaya Street, the Senate sat.
By 1829, most of the ministries were transferred to other buildings. Tsar Nicholas I ordered to transfer the complex to St. Petersburg University. To re-equip the building of the Twelve Collegia for the need educational institution the authorities allocated 0.6 million rubles. By 1835 the architect A. Shchedrin completed the main work.
Contemporaries were especially delighted with the gallery created by Shchedrin, which stretches along the entire length of the second floor. The huge hall with Venetian windows, classic parquet floors and elegant furnishings still amazes with its beauty. In 1836, a magnificent garden was laid out next to the building, in which students could relax after classes. From the side of the street, the garden was surrounded by a massive trellis.
Nowadays, the building of the Twelve Collegia is an educational complex of St. Petersburg State University with one of the largest scientific and technical libraries in Russia. The house is included in the list of specially protected cultural sites Russia.
The building of the Twelve Colleges involuntarily attracts the eyes of those walking along the University Embankment with its bright terracotta color and unusual location relative to the Neva. Unlike other buildings, it does not stand parallel to the embankment, but perpendicularly, and goes deep into the Vasilievsky Island for a distance of almost half a kilometer. The building of the Twelve Collegia is interesting for its interiors, history, and unusual surroundings - in the university courtyards you will find amazing sculptures and monuments.
We suggest that you familiarize yourself with the interesting route around the Twelve Colleges and look into the university courtyards.
Historical reference
The construction of the Twelve Collegia began in 1722. It was assumed that the Senate, Synod and Collegiums will be located here - associations that represent a transitional form from Moscow orders to ministries. Construction lasted ten years - the first meeting of the collegiums took place here in 1732. At first, Domenico Trezzini and Theodor Schwertfeger were appointed architects, but the project was completed by Giuseppe Trezzini and Mikhail Zemtsov.
The building belongs to the Petrine Baroque style. It consists of twelve identical three-story sections and is considered the largest monument built in this style.
In 1835, the building was reequipped for the needs of St. Petersburg University, since it was transferred to its jurisdiction.
Today, the Twelve Collegia houses a scientific library, some faculties of St. Petersburg State University, as well as administrative services.
Photo source - www.tourprom.ru
What to see
First of all, of course, the Petrovsky Hall. It is here that the original interior decoration of the 18th century has been preserved. Pay attention to the shade and picturesque inserts at the top of the walls, as well as sculptures and two corner fireplaces.
Photo source - www.wikiwand.com
You should definitely check out the 400-meter gallery that connects all sections of the building. Previously, they were separated by blank walls - the gallery appeared after the decision was made to place the university here. This is how Sovremennik magazine described it: “The gallery is the most remarkable thing at the university. Its large Venetian windows, shiny parquet flooring, the cleanliness and taste of the furniture, its infinite length make it something unique. There has never been such a decoration of the temple of sciences in any public institution in Europe. " Indeed, it is impossible not to be imbued with the spirit of knowledge and the desire to make discoveries, strolling along the endless line of windows through which light flows, which makes it seem that the steps of the walker are directed into eternity ...
Photo source - spbu.ru
Also in the building of the Twelve Collegia there is the Museum of History of St. Petersburg State University. total area museum is 780 sq. m, and the exposition itself occupies 4 halls with an area of 410 sq. m. Since 1997, the museum has been an independent structural unit with its own staff. The unique collection of the museum can tell about all the stages of development of the main university of St. Petersburg. Excursions are also held here, but strictly by appointment and only on weekdays.
Do not pass by the monument dedicated to the image of a student of St. Petersburg State University, which is installed in front of the main entrance to the building. The idea of creating the "Winged Genius" belongs to the Cultural Foundation "Famous Universities of St. Petersburg State University". The Flying Genius holds a torch in his hands and rests on a classic column, which symbolizes the stronghold of knowledge, which is the foundation and basis of any achievement.
Photo by Elena Pavlova, source - fotokto.ru
Famous university courtyards
They are really worth visiting! We assure you that the examples of modern sculpture presented here deserve the close attention of even the most sophisticated art lovers.
Of course, the most famous of the university courtyards is the courtyard of the Faculty of Philology. But everything has its time. Let's first look at the inconspicuous courtyard that precedes it. Here is an amazing Labyrinth, created according to the classical scheme, known for more than 40 centuries. The stones were brought from various major universities in the world, which symbolizes unity and partnership in the scientific community. The authors of the composition were Sergei de Rocambol and Anna Nikolaeva. The Labyrinth was opened in the year of the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg, which is why it consists of 300 granite stones.
Photo source - turbina.ru
Near the Labyrinth, there are several other interesting objects - the Babel Tower of the technogenic era, the nose of Major Kovalev, Second Lieutenant Kizhe, the Unicorn and even a monument to Emperor Alexander II. An unusual neighborhood, isn't it?
Auto photo - Elena Plyushch, source - lookmytrips.com
Photo source - saintpetersburg.zagranitsa.com
After examining all these sculptural compositions, we will find ourselves in the same courtyard of the philological faculty, which is famous far beyond St. Petersburg. What is so special about it? At first glance, this is just a cozy courtyard for students, where you can relax under the shade of trees during breaks between couples. But along its entire perimeter, unique examples of modern sculpture are installed. Some of them are also hidden from the eyes of an uninformed person so that it is very difficult to find them without the advice of an expert. The interesting thing is that they are not united by one theme. Here are both the piercing monument to Brodsky and the funny hippopotamus Tonya, who, according to legend, helps girls get married successfully. We can say that this is an art space that harmoniously combines completely different cultural layers, which also appeal to diametrically opposite feelings of a person.
The history of the creation of this space began with the sculpture by Arsen Avetisyan "Reflection on the Little Prince", which was installed on October 21, 2002. Harlequin enthusiastically reads an old book, where we see a text from the book of Antoine de Saint-Exupery. He sits on a pedestal of thick philosophical books. The audience's surprise is fair - but where is the Little Prince? You will have to look for him. But you will definitely find this eternally young hero if you look closely at the details.
Photo source - mir.afisha.ru/cities/sankt-peterburg/backyards
Here are examples of some sculptures located in the courtyard of the philological university: a monument to A. Blok (sculptor E. Rotanov, 2002), a monument to T.G. Masaryk (sculptor J. Weitz, 2003), a monument to A. Akhmatova (sculptor V. Troyanovsky, 2004 ), Antioch Cantemir (sculptor I. Zderchuk, 2004), sculptural compositions "Chalice of Suffering" (sculptor AA Avetisyan, 2004) and "Beveled" (sculptor G. Postnikov, 2004).
The monument to Joseph Brodsky is widely known, playing on lines from the poem "No country, no churchyard ...":
No country, no churchyard
I don't want to choose.
To Vasilievsky Island
I will come to die.
Your facade is dark blue
I won't find it in the dark.
Between the faded lines
I will fall on the asphalt.
But we all know that Brodsky died far from his homeland. The creator of the monument is Konstantin Simun. Among his works is the famous "Broken Ring". The monument is a suitcase with a stone slab with the head of Joseph Brodsky on it. And this, of course, is not accidental. The suitcase here acts as a symbolic image of the fate of the poet, who spent many years in forced exile. This is the first monument in St. Petersburg dedicated to Brodsky.
Photo source - www.citywalls.ru
Other sculptures in the courtyard of the Faculty of Philology are no less interesting, and it is worth noting that each has its own history and deep philosophical meaning.
Photo source - www.citywalls.ru
However, there is one difficulty that any person who wants to admire this splendor of modern art will face. It's almost impossible to get here on your own. Since the courtyard is run by the university, only teachers and students are allowed on its territory. The rest will be quite problematic to get inside. However, you should not despair. You can visit the courtyard of the philological faculty as part of an excursion, where you will not only see all these objects with your own eyes, but also hear stories and legends associated with them.
We hope this article gave you something new and useful. Petersburg is a city that does not immediately reveal its secret addresses. It will take years to get to know him completely. But this in no way should stop. Discover the familiar and unknown Petersburg every day, and we will try to give you new reasons for exploring, discovering and, of course, walking.
Last modified Wednesday, 07 March 2018 11:41
