Primorskaya St., 8 building 4, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 198504
"I can consider myself to some extent a 'native' of Peterhof, since, having been born on April 21 (May 3) in Petersburg, I was already transported to Peterhof for the summer about two weeks later. My father, as an architect of the highest court, was entitled to a government summer dacha." (Alexander Benois, "My Memories").
On the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland, in a picturesque spot between Peterhof and Oranienbaum, at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, there was a flourishing summer cottage settlement.
The owners of the local plots were famous Petersburg families, among them the Krons, Meisners, Grubes, San-Gallis, Benois. Today, only four neglected dachas remain from the once magnificent settlement. The Benois dachas were considered a traditional place for summer family rest, a kind of "family nest," and a center of cultural and creative life, similar to the Penates in Repino. Architect Leonty Nikolaevich Benois built three dachas for himself and relatives between 1890 and 1892. After the revolution, only one survived — the dacha of Mikhail Benois, the architect's brother.
The neighboring dachas of Kron and Grube belong to the same era and Art Nouveau style. Presumably, the Kron dacha was also designed by Benois. The dacha of architect Artur Grube was built later than the others, in the early 20th century.
Finding yourself amid this fading and poignantly familiar beauty, you see yourself at the end of the 19th century on the veranda of one of the dachas: wrapped in a long shawl at a round table, sipping tea with currant leaves and raspberry jam.
However, there is no need to invent anything about the life of the local summer residents; one can turn to the memoirs of Alexander Benois, who as a child often stayed here with relatives. "What magical walks I took, wandering along the shady alleys of the Leuchtenberg Park, which turned into a forest, reaching Peterhof by highway and stepping under the canopy of the Lower Garden or the English Park. And what a delight — perhaps the sweetest and sharpest — was swimming in the sea! It was enough to take about thirty steps from the gate of the Alber dacha, cross the coastal road, descend a low embankment of large cobblestones, and already under your bare feet you feel the dense sand, and after five or six more steps, a sun-warmed wave begins to lap at your toes!"
The whimsical local dachas, combining elements of Russian style and Neo-Gothic in their appearance, were designed by Sasha’s older brother — Leonty Nikolaevich Benois. By the way, he was not only a famous architect and editor of the popular early 20th-century thematic magazine "Zodchiy," but also the last private owner of Leonardo da Vinci's "Madonna," which can now be seen in the Hermitage.
Leonty Nikolaevich’s own dacha was located here as well, but it, like the dacha of another Benois brother, Albert Nikolaevich, burned down in 1919.
However, the dacha of the fourth Benois brother, Mikhail Nikolaevich, has survived relatively well to this day. Today, a watchman with a dog lives at the Benois dacha, but the condition of the other local buildings is terribly depressing.
After the revolution, the dachas housed a health resort for education workers, then a rest home called "Teacher." In the 1970s, these buildings were transferred to Leningrad State University, which still does not properly use them. These interesting buildings simply stand boarded up, inevitably falling into ruin. And these are monuments of regional significance!
A couple of years ago, enthusiasts developed a reconstruction concept for the Benois dachas, proposing to create a creative residence here. But, apparently, funds for implementing this idea have not yet been found. The Benois dachas are definitely worth visiting while the fragile buildings are still standing.
Sources:
https://www.citywalls.ru/house18488.html
https://sergeyurich.livejournal.com/1298845.html
