W8RM+8G Petrogradsky District, Saint Petersburg, Russia
The plot of land on which the Mikhailovsky Garden is located was granted by Peter I in 1712 for the residence of his wife, Empress Catherine. On the site where the Rossi Pavilion now stands, a small wooden palace called the "Golden Chambers" was built. The Golden Chambers were named not by chance. Their tiled roof was adorned with a tall golden spire. The walls of some rooms were covered from floor to ceiling with pieces of gilded leather.
During the reconstruction of the Mikhailovsky Garden according to the project by architects Rossi, Menelas, and the garden master Bush, a granite pier and pavilion were built on the bank of the Moika River, which borders the Mikhailovsky Garden to the northeast. Initially, Rossi planned to build two identical buildings, but in the end, only one pavilion was constructed in 1825 at the eastern corner of the garden in the Empire style. The pavilion consists of two square rooms connected by a Doric colonnade. In front of the pavilion, a granite terrace-pier was built, enclosed by an elegant cast-iron fence.
The architect placed the pavilion not on the main axis of the Mikhailovsky Palace but shifted it to the eastern corner of the garden, through which runs the longitudinal axis of the Field of Mars. In doing so, the pavilion compositionally linked the two ensembles. In the first quarter of the 18th century, in the area where the pavilion now stands, there was a wooden palace of Peter I’s wife Catherine, decorated with a tall gilded spire.
Inside the pavilion is a sculpture by K. I. Rossi from 1835. It is based on the original by N. S. Pimenov (1812–1864) and was cast in 2000.
Currently, the pavilion houses a café.
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