Petersburg: Lost Architectural Monuments

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In the history of architecture, it is necessary to study not only the preserved but also the lost architectural monuments. Among the vanished monuments of Saint Petersburg were genuine pearls of architecture – the Ekateringof Palace, the Stroganov dacha, and, of course, the long series of destroyed churches – the city's main loss.

Ekateringof Palace

Building 6, letter M, Liflyandskaya St., Saint Petersburg, Russia, 190020

Great Architects: Domenico Trezzini

Petersburg: Lost Architectural Monuments

The lost two-story wooden palace on Yekateringof Island, located near Kalinkina Village to the west of the modern Liflyandskaya Street. The architect of the palace was Domenico Trezzini.

"Fairy Tale House." The Income House of P. I. Koltsov, Lost Masterpieces

Angliyskiy Ave., 21, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 190121

Neorussian Style in Architecture

Russia: Lost Monuments

Petersburg: Lost Architectural Monuments

In 1909, architect A. A. Bernardazzi, commissioned by gold miner Koltsov, built an income house on the corner of Officers' Street and English Avenue, which immediately earned the nickname "Fairy Tale House" among the people of St. Petersburg due to its appearance. A whimsical blend of various romantic styles — "Northern Modern" and "National Style," windows and balconies of fanciful shapes, a corner tower, walls clad in natural stone, and colorful majolica panels, believed by some experts to be based on sketches by Vrubel, allowed the author to create, against the backdrop of the ordinary buildings of old Kolomna, a magical spectacle reminiscent of a dazzling theatrical set. On the facade, sculptor Raush von Traubenberg carved from stone a Phoenix bird, which seemed to support the corner bay window of the "Fairy Tale House" on its wings.

Babolovsky Palace

P85V+FW Pushkinsky District, Saint Petersburg, Russia

Russia: Lost Monuments

Imperial Parks Mariental and Babolovsky

Petersburg: Lost Architectural Monuments

The existence of the Babolovsky Palace is owed to Catherine II, who in the spring of 1779 ordered the construction of a "curious wooden building" for her favorite, Prince Grigory Potemkin, on the shore of an artificial pond formed by damming the Kuzminka River.

Blokovskaya "Stranger" - Ozerki Station

Ozerki, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 197375

St. Petersburg of Alexander Blok

Russia: Lost Monuments

In the Footsteps of Literary Characters

Petersburg: Lost Architectural Monuments

“In the evenings above the restaurants, the hot air is wild and deaf…” Who isn’t familiar with these lines from the famous Blok poem *The Stranger*? Under the poem, there is a note: “April 24, 1906, Ozerki.” It is commonly believed that the poet wrote it in the station restaurant in Ozerki. But where exactly? In this popular summer suburb, there were two stations: one on the Finland railway line, the other on the Ozerki branch of the Primorskaya (Sestroretskaya) railway…

Water pumping station – Shtakenshneider water-lifting machine

VRXW+M6 Petrodvortsovy District, Saint Petersburg, Russia

Russia: Lost Monuments

Russia: Industrial Heritage

Imperial Parks: Sergievka, Sobstvennaya Dacha, and Ropsha

Great Architects: Andrey Ivanovich Stakenschneider

Petersburg: Lost Architectural Monuments

Near the shore of the bay, between the palace meadow and the mouth of the Kristatelka River, in its steep bend, there is a picturesque clearing where, among apple trees, stands a red brick ruin with a long chimney protruding upwards. This is all that remains of the palace water pumping station after the destruction of the Great Patriotic War. Although the Sergievka park was outside the occupied territory, within the Oranienbaum bridgehead, the ensemble was heavily damaged by shells.

Dacha of Adelia Fyodorovna Tasheit

Lakhtinsky Ave., 115, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 197229

Russia: Lost Monuments

Petersburg: Estates of the City and Surroundings (Leningrad Region)

Petersburg: Lost Architectural Monuments

A wooden building in the Art Nouveau style was constructed in 1914 based on the design of architect Sergey Osipovich Ovsyannikov for the widow of the hereditary honorary citizen, customs forwarder Karl-Friedrich-Lorenz (Karl Fyodorovich) Tasheita.

Prince Orlov's Dacha

Frontovaya St., 2, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 198515

Petersburg: Neo-Gothic

Russia: Lost Monuments

Imperial Parks: Strelna

Petersburg: Lost Architectural Monuments

The Orlov Palace is a neo-Gothic palace that is part of the estate of the Orlov princes in Strelna, a suburb of Saint Petersburg. The palace was destroyed during the Great Patriotic War, but some buildings of the former estate have been preserved and are recognized as a cultural heritage site of Russia. As of 2016, the estate includes: a tower-ruin, Gothic gates, a grotto, a gatekeeper's house, a well, a stable yard (gates, a building with an Ionic portico, two stables, a smithy, an icehouse, two greenhouses), the Tuff Bridge, and "Parnassus."

Palace (Estate) of the Leuchtenberg Family

Leuchtenberg Palace, Oranienbaum Highway, 2, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 198504

Russia: Lost Monuments

Russia: UNESCO Sites or Sites Protected by UNESCO

Imperial Parks: Sergievka, Sobstvennaya Dacha, and Ropsha

Great Architects: Andrey Ivanovich Stakenschneider

Petersburg: Estates of the City and Surroundings (Leningrad Region)

Petersburg: Lost Architectural Monuments

The Leuchtenberg Palace is an estate located on the crest of a coastal bluff in the northeastern part of the "Sergievka" park on the western outskirts of Peterhof. The building was constructed by architect Andrey Ivanovich Stakenschneider for Maria Nikolaevna, daughter of Nicholas I, and her husband Maximilian, Duke of Leuchtenberg.

Imperial (Tsar's) Pavilion of the Imperial Branch

Akademicheskiy Ave, 31, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 196605

Russia: Lost Monuments

Russia: Industrial Heritage

Petersburg, suburbs: The Secrets of Pushkin

Petersburg: Lost Architectural Monuments

The Imperial (Tsar's) Pavilion is an unused building of the railway station at the junction of the Petersburg-Warsaw Railway branches and the Imperial branch. The pavilion is located in the city of Pushkin. To accommodate trains passing through the Aleksandrovskaya station of the Petersburg-Warsaw Railway, heading to Tsarskoye Selo, construction of the Tsar's Pavilion began in 1895.

Stable yard in Znamenka

Aleksandrovskaya St., 8, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 198517

Russia: Lost Monuments

Imperial Parks of Peterhof: Alexandria, Znamenka, and Mikhailovka

Petersburg: Lost Architectural Monuments

The Znamensky Stable Yard was a spacious complex, featuring arched gates with wrought iron doors, resembling a palace. It included a riding arena for guests, ten horse stalls, an infirmary, smithies, and living quarters for the staff. Exhibitions of purebred horse breeds were held here, attracting horse breeding enthusiasts and owners of stud farms. The General Inspector of Cavalry, Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich the Elder, was involved in this endeavor and had a great passion for horses.

The History of Stakenschneider's Pink Pavilion

VV7X+92 Petrodvortsovy District, Saint Petersburg, Russia

Russia: Lost Monuments

Peterhof and Surroundings

Great Architects: Andrey Ivanovich Stakenschneider

Petersburg: Lost Architectural Monuments

On March 26 (March 14 old style), 1845, the Peterhof Palace Administration received an order to begin the construction of the "Ozerki" pavilion in the Meadow Park. The order stated: "His Majesty the Emperor, having approved the plan, facade, and estimate for the construction of the pavilion by the lock of the Samsonievsky Canal in Peterhof, has most graciously commanded that this construction be carried out under the supervision of architect Stakenschneider."

History of the Ropsha Estate

Krasnoselskoye Highway, 1, Ropsha, Leningrad Region, Russia, 188515

Russia: Lost Monuments

Imperial Parks: Sergievka, Sobstvennaya Dacha, and Ropsha

Petersburg: Lost Architectural Monuments

For example, what do we know about Ropsha? Many have at best heard that it is a settlement in the Leningrad region and that it once belonged to the Romanov dynasty. But few know that there was a remarkable palace and park ensemble there, created through the work of outstanding architects, sculptors, and landscape masters.

Chinese Theater or Stone Opera

P99P+4G Pushkinsky District, Saint Petersburg, Russia

Russia: Lost Monuments

Imperial Parks of Tsarskoye Selo: Alexander Park

Great Architects: Antonio Rinaldi

Petersburg: Lost Architectural Monuments

To the left of the entrance to Alexandrovsky Park, in the center of one of the squares, is the Chinese Theater, or the Stone Opera, as it was called during the time of Empress Catherine II. Originally, it was planned to create an "open-air theater" in its place—that is, a theater under the sky with turf benches. The theater project was developed by the architect Rinaldi, and its construction in 1778-1779 was carried out under the supervision of Neelov, who made significant changes to the original design.

Konstantinovsky Palace in Pavlovsk Park

MFQC+H9 Pushkinsky District, Saint Petersburg, Russia

Petersburg, Suburbs: The Secrets of Pavlovsk

Imperial Parks: Pavlovsk

Russia: Lost Monuments

Great Architects: Giacomo Quarenghi

Petersburg: Lost Architectural Monuments

The time of the creation of the Konstantin Palace dates back to the late 18th century. The construction of the palace began in the Catherine Park of Tsarskoye Selo in November 1792. The palace was built from November 1792 to June 1793 according to the design of architect Giacomo Quarenghi. It is known that it was a rectangular two-story building, 58 meters long and 23 meters wide. The central part of the main facade, with three Venetian (triple) windows, was crowned with a pediment. Ten Ionic half-columns were installed between the windows. The exterior of the palace was clad with boards, the walls were painted yellow, and the roof was green. The years of the Konstantin Palace's existence in Tsarskoye Selo represent only the first stage of its history. On August 19, 1797, when Paul I ascended the throne, a decree was issued to move the Konstantin Palace with its kitchen to Pavlovsk. The relocation began in February 1798 and lasted more than five months. The construction of the palace was carried out under the supervision of architect Brenna.

Musical Station of the Tsarskoye Selo Railway

Staroshaleinaya Alley, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 196620

Petersburg, Suburbs: The Secrets of Pavlovsk

Imperial Parks: Pavlovsk

Russia: Lost Monuments

Petersburg: Lost Architectural Monuments

In 1836-1837, the main line of the Tsarskoye Selo Railway was laid through the territory of Pavlovsky Park. A clearing was made through the park, and an embankment was constructed almost up to Sadovaya Street.

German Reformed Church — Palace of Culture of Communications Workers

Bolshaya Morskaya St., 58, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 190000

Petersburg: Unusual and Interesting Houses

Petersburg: Neo-Gothic

Russia: Lost Monuments

Petersburg: Lost Architectural Monuments

The Palace of Culture of Communications Workers, the Communications Palace of Culture, is a former palace of culture located in the center of Saint Petersburg at 58 Bolshaya Morskaya Street. It was rebuilt from a German Reformed Church dating from 1862–1865, created under the direction of architects Harald Bosse and David Grimm.

Lower Dacha in Alexandria Park

VXM2+M4 Petrodvortsovy District, Saint Petersburg, Russia

Russia: Lost Monuments

Imperial Parks of Peterhof: Alexandria, Znamenka, and Mikhailovka

Petersburg: Lost Architectural Monuments

The Lower Dacha is the last palace building constructed in Alexandria, the Romanovs' suburban residence in Peterhof. The park of Alexandria dates back to 1825, when the wooded area located east of the Peterhof Lower Park along the Gulf of Finland was gifted by Emperor Alexander I to his brother — Grand Duke Nikolai Pavlovich. After ascending the throne, Nicholas I presented the estate to his wife Alexandra Feodorovna, giving the territory the corresponding name — "Her Majesty's Own Dacha Alexandria."

Elizabethan Pavilion (Krasnodoliny)

Sadovaya St., 70, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 196625

Imperial Parks: Pavlovsk

Russia: Lost Monuments

Petersburg: Lost Architectural Monuments

In 1801, near Glazovo (now part of Tyarlevo), in one of the most remote corners of Pavlovsky Park, the Elizabethan or Krasnodoliny Pavilion was built. This pavilion—the last work of architect Charles Cameron in Pavlovsk—so amazed and astonished contemporaries that it was called an "architectural whim." Indeed, there was much to marvel at. Cameron and his assistants—architect Shreter and master stonemason Visconti—created an unusual, original, yet extraordinarily harmonious building.

Renella Pavilion (Tea House or Gothic Cottage)

VXM4+Q3 Petrodvortsovy District, Saint Petersburg, Russia

Petersburg: Neo-Gothic

Russia: Lost Monuments

Imperial Parks of Peterhof: Alexandria, Znamenka, and Mikhailovka

Great Architects: Andrey Ivanovich Stakenschneider

Petersburg: Lost Architectural Monuments

The Renell Pavilion, or as it was sometimes called, the Tea or Gothic House, is one of the many diverse park pavilions that appeared in Peterhof during the reign of Nicholas I. "During the Empress's stay in Palermo (the wife of Nicholas I), she liked a Gothic house with multifaceted pointed towers at the corners of an elongated quadrangle. Rough sketches of this building made on the spot were sent to St. Petersburg with the order for Stakenschneider to build the Renell Pavilion according to them in Znamenka, on the shore."

Nemetti Theater

39 Dekabristov St., Saint Petersburg, Russia, 190121

St. Petersburg of Alexander Blok

Russia: Lost Monuments

Petersburg: Lost Architectural Monuments

Modern residents of St. Petersburg associate Dekabristov Street exclusively with the Mariinsky Theatre. Numerous disputes and regrets remain in history about the demolished Palace of Culture of the Fifth Five-Year Plan, and even earlier, the building of the decoration workshops destroyed by fire, which has now been rebuilt into a Concert Hall. It was precisely on this site, listed on the city’s posters as Mariinsky-3, that the best theatrical venues and the most amazing park in the city once stood.

Lost Estates - The Levashov-Vyazemsky Estate

Mezhozyornaya St., 9, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 194362

Russia: Lost Monuments

Russia: UNESCO Sites or Sites Protected by UNESCO

Petersburg: Estates of the City and Surroundings (Leningrad Region)

Petersburg: Lost Architectural Monuments

The Levashov-Vyazemsky Estate is a ruined monument of manor architecture located in the settlement of Osinovaya Roscha (now the Vyborgsky District of Saint Petersburg), at the junction of the Vyborg and Priozersk highways, 4 km from the settlement of Pesochny. It is one of the numerous Petersburg sites placed under UNESCO protection in 1990.

Lost Estates: Maksimov's Dacha in Oranienbaum

Krasnoflotskoye Highway, 16, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 198412

Neorussian Style in Architecture

Russia: Lost Monuments

Petersburg: Estates of the City and Surroundings (Leningrad Region)

Petersburg: Lost Architectural Monuments

Maximov's dacha in the town of Lomonosov (Oranienbaum) on Krasnoflotskoye Highway, 16, is a federal architectural monument. A researcher of the architectural heritage of the Peterhof Road and Oranienbaum, Gorbatenko, wrote in his monograph: “The facades and even (a rare case) the interiors of the main building have largely preserved their historical architecture.” This house is a kind of “last of the Mohicans” of the extensive dacha heritage from the turn of the 19th-20th centuries along the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland.

Church of Saint Catherine or "The Chapel"

Oranienbaum Highway, Building 2, Block 4, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 198504

Russia: Lost Monuments

Imperial Parks: Sergievka, Sobstvennaya Dacha, and Ropsha

Great Architects: Andrey Ivanovich Stakenschneider

Petersburg: Lost Architectural Monuments

In Sergievka Park behind the Leuchtenberg Palace, on the other side of the long palace meadow, among the bushes, one can notice the ruins of a small cubic red-brick building. It seems to be the remains of some kind of wing or a gatehouse. Hardly anyone today would guess in these ruins the skeleton of the Orthodox estate church of Saint Catherine. Meanwhile, it is exactly that. Closing the perspective of the palace meadow, it compositionally echoed the cubic volume of the main part of the palace.

Church of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God of the Vyshny Volochyok Kazan Convent of the Tver Diocese

Maly pr. P.S., 69, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 197136

Neorussian Style in Architecture

Petersburg: Unusual and Interesting Houses

Petersburg: Lost Architectural Monuments

Church of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God of the Vyshnevolotsky Kazan Convent of the Tver Diocese. The metochion was closed on June 6, 1923, converted into a student dormitory, and later rebuilt into a residential building by architect F.A. Lykhin.

Seven-Towered Castle - Lithuanian Castle - Prison Castle

29 Dekabristov St., Saint Petersburg, Russia, 190121

Russia: Lost Monuments

Petersburg: Lost Architectural Monuments

Immediately behind the Kryukov Canal stands a modern monumental seven-story residential building No. 29. Before the revolution, a two-story dirty green building occupied this site, covering an entire block. This was the famous Lithuanian Castle. Its corners were adorned with round towers — seven in total. These gave the castle its original name — "Seven-Towered." Above the pediment of the castle church, facing Officer Street, were two angels holding a cross. The locals believed that some Lithuanian prince lived here, which is why the castle came to be called the Lithuanian Castle.

English Palace - The Executed Masterpiece of Quarenghi

VVJJ+7P Petrodvortsovy District, Saint Petersburg, Russia

Russia: Lost Monuments

Peterhof and Surroundings

Great Architects: Giacomo Quarenghi

Petersburg: Lost Architectural Monuments

The English Palace was located in the center of the English Park, on the northern shore of the English Pond. The monumental three-story building with an eight-column portico was built in 1796 based on a design by Giacomo Quarenghi. This was Quarenghi's first project in Russia. The palace's patron, Catherine II, planned to rest here away from the courtly bustle.

Lost Estates: Ulyanka Estate

Stachek Ave, 206, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 198262

Russia: Lost Monuments

Petersburg: Estates of the City and Surroundings (Leningrad Region)

Petersburg: Lost Architectural Monuments

Ulyánka is a former estate on the Peterhof Road near Saint Petersburg, which belonged to the Sheremetev count family from 1806 to 1917.

Cherkasov Estate in Redkino

526L+RW Redkino, Leningrad Oblast, Russia

Petersburg: Estates of the City and Surroundings (Leningrad Region)

Petersburg: Lost Architectural Monuments

The Redkino Estate in the village of the same name is a large and once prosperous manor, which became the ancestral home for several aristocratic and bourgeois families.

Srednerogatsky Road Palace (Palace of Four Hands)

R8RF+M7 Moskovsky District, Saint Petersburg, Russia

Petersburg: Lost Architectural Monuments

The lost travel palace, which served as a retreat for the royal family during trips to Tsarskoye Selo.

Stroganov Dacha (Stroganov's Dacha, Stroganov Garden, Stroganov Park)

Stroganovsky Park, Ushakovskaya Embankment, 15 building 2, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 197342

Great Architects: Antonio Rinaldi

Petersburg: Lost Architectural Monuments

Great Architects: Andrey Nikiforovich Voronikhin

The area on the Vyborg side of Saint Petersburg, near the place where the Chyornaya River flows into the Bolshaya Nevka, belonged to the baron-counts Stroganov from the mid-18th century to the early 20th century. It is bordered to the south by the Bolshaya Nevka, to the east and north by the Chyornaya River, and to the west by the park of the Saltykova dacha. The owners themselves called this area the "Mandurova estate." In a narrower sense, the Stroganov dacha also referred to the main building of this estate.