In 1721, Peter I decided to reward Burkhard Christoph von Münnich, a hydraulic engineer and hereditary engineer, for his faithful service. Münnich was entrusted with the most complex tasks (new fortifications of Kronstadt, construction of the Baltic port, the Ladoga bypass canal, etc.). Münnich's successful activities were duly appreciated by the Emperor, who granted the German the Gostilitsy estate with an extensive forested summer residence. Münnich actively engaged in arranging his estates but did not manage to complete the work; in 1741, the official was accused of a series of false charges and sentenced to death (later commuted to exile in Siberia).
The estate is located in the village of the same name in the Lomonosovsky District, 23 km from Old Peterhof. This village is mentioned in the 16th-century Cadastral Books: "...the village and hamlet of Gostilitsy on the Kovoshi" (Kovashi River). The park, founded by the first owner — Field Marshal Münnich (author of projects and builder of many canals) — with cascades and a system of ponds fed by the waters of the Black River, dates back to the second quarter of the 18th century.
Gostilitsy did not remain vacant for long; by 1743, it had a new owner in the person of Elizabeth Petrovna's favorite — Alexei Grigorievich Razumovsky. Festivities, balls, hunts, fireworks... Peter's daughter was a frequent guest here.
However, Münnich's modest chambers did not meet the demands of the "son of a simple Dnieper Cossack Rozum." The project for the country residence was entrusted to architect Kvasov. Everything was executed at the highest level — the house "with an enfilade," the Hermitage, the "cavalry corps," and a meticulously designed park.
Major transformations in the estate began after Gostilitsy passed to Razumovsky's younger brother — Kirill Grigorievich, who ironically became president of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences at the age of 18. He built a new house on the southern side, welcoming with a wide dome and colonnade, resembling more a Palladian villa. The construction was complemented by an updated landscape setting; the entire upper park was redesigned. The reconstruction is presumably attributed to Charles Cameron, who later built the Razumovsky Palace in Baturin.
In 1743, Gostilitsy became one of the suburban retreats of the Razumovsky family, who engaged prominent St. Petersburg architects for the construction of the manor house, park services, and pavilions, including Bartolomeo Rastrelli. At this time, the manor house, cavalry corps, and the Rolling Hill were built.
A distinctive feature of the stone two-story building of the 1780s is its complex plan with numerous volumes of towers and risalits. Besides the observation tower, the southern wing of the building retains two octagonal towers flanking a wide porch-gallery at the northern end. The central part of the facade facing the river is highlighted by a semi-rotunda.
The two-story brick Cavalry Corps to the south of the manor house was built in the 1760s simultaneously with two others, forming a cour d'honneur (parade courtyard). It adjoins a one-story wing, presenting a trapezoidal layout. The wall sections between the windows are decorated with flat Doric pilasters.
The western facade of the corps is adorned with a tall curved pediment with a round window. The overall composition of the facade treatment is characteristic of Russian architecture of the early Classicism era. The northern cavalry corps, built in the early 19th century, was intended to accommodate guests. It has been suggested that it was constructed using an earlier 18th-century building. This one-story building faces the road with its main facade. The only decorative elements are the window pediments and sandriks. The western facade is decorated with two Doric half-columns flanking the doorway.
The southeast cavalry corps, built in the 1760s symmetrically to the northern one, seems to form the propylaea of the parade courtyard. The author of this building is unknown.
The one-story brick corps with a complex trapezoidal plan is covered with a hipped roof featuring round attic windows framed in carved wood. The facades of the southeast corps are quite modest. The windows are framed with simple casings, and the corners are decorated with rustication; the southern end facade retains round Baroque windows.
The orangery wing is a stone one-story building with windows topped by circular arches. Due to uneven terrain, the southern part of the wing facing the palace is one-story, while the northern part has two floors. The southern facade is divided by flat pilasters, with windows set in shallow semicircular niches. Other facades lack decoration.
The Trinity Church was built in 1764 at the expense of the last Hetman of Ukraine, Kirill Razumovsky, by an unknown architect. It was rebuilt in the 1840s. Oval in plan with rectangular apses and a refectory, the church is crowned with a massive octagonal dome. The southern and northern entrances are flanked by two two-column Doric order porticos with tall triangular pediments.
The church facades are treated with large rustication and pierced by ten large windows. Light also enters the interior through the round windows of the dome drum. The bell tower, with semicircular bell openings and decorative windows in the dome, repeats the church’s outlines with elegant proportions. A small stone building — the priest's house — is part of the ensemble and represents a typical early 19th-century structure. Both facades of the house are highlighted by porticos with four half-columns. The windows are decorated with casings, and shallow semicircular niches flank the entrance doors on the end walls. Currently, the house is used for its original purpose.
One of the earliest buildings of the ensemble, dating back to the mid-18th century, is the Tea Pavilion in the park. The building, erected on a high steep bank, is attributed to Rastrelli’s work. The Tea Pavilion is a rectangular one-story structure under a gable roof. Two pediments are arranged on the east and west facades, and the entrance is emphasized by windows flanked by Doric half-columns. This motif is characteristic of other buildings in the Gostilitsy ensemble. In the mid-19th century, the Tea Pavilion underwent significant reconstruction, but its main proportions were preserved.
In 1825, Andrey Kirillovich sold the paternal estate to Alexander Mikhailovich Potemkin and his wife Tatyana Borisovna. A new era of lavish receptions and balls began. The social couple was dissatisfied with the previous owners’ house and hired the widely practicing St. Petersburg architect Stakenschneider. The architect built a house in the spirit of misty Albion — austere-aristocratic, restrained in exterior decoration, as if taken from the pages of a chivalric romance. Again, the park was reshaped and adapted to the new architectural dominant: fountains, pavilions, benches, and the same feasts and fireworks in a specially built mock fortress.
In 1885, the Gostilitsy estate was purchased for 190,000 rubles by Baron Fyodor Egorovich Wrangel, a well-known name. The last construction phase in Gostilitsy is associated with this name. The economic complex was formed in the 1830s-40s and consists of two-story residential houses and one-story service buildings. All buildings are stone and decorated with characteristic details of Classicist decor — pilasters, half-columns, ornate brackets. The internal layout of the structures has not been preserved.
In 1896, the estate was acquired by Karl Heinrich von Siemens (Karl Fyodorovich Siemens) — a famous industrialist who, together with his brother William, managed the Siemens company. Karl Siemens installed one of the first hydroelectric power stations on the water mill, which generated electricity for palace lighting. Below is a schematic of the electrical lighting on the palace's first floor. A small note: the "Electrosila" factory in Leningrad was formed on the basis of the nationalized factory in 1917, which was managed by Karl Siemens. Since 1906, the estate belonged to Karl Siemens' daughter — Maria Karlovna Grevenitz, wife of Baron Georgy Alexandrovich Grevenitz, an actual state councilor. They were the last owners of the estate. After the revolution, the Grevenitz couple successfully emigrated to Europe.
During the Soviet era, the estate and its buildings housed a collective farm, but the greatest destruction came during World War II: the front line ran through here for two years.
The Germans built fortifications in the village, cutting down trees in the old park and dismantling the estate; much was damaged by artillery shelling. At that time, Gostilitsy was practically wiped off the face of the earth.
The Gostilitsy manor and park complex is one of the most significant but little-studied architectural ensembles in the Leningrad region. The beautiful English-style castle with bay windows and donjons is falling into complete oblivion; it has long been picturesque ruins. The extensive economic yard is also neglected, with only the Trinity Church restored and returned to the believers.
The Gostilitsy estate park covers 60 hectares. Skillfully using the terrain's relief, unknown architects, engineers, and folk craftsmen created a system of four picturesque cascades in the hollow, with water supplied from a shallow river.
Very beautiful stone arched bridges spanning the dried-up riverbed have been preserved. In the Gostilitsy park, among local tree species, there are group plantings of maple, linden, and ash. There are also individual specimens of Siberian cedar planted during Potemkin's time, when the park was transformed from a regular, modest manor park into an English landscape park.
The palace, along with the entire park ensemble of the Gostilitsy estate, is a priceless monument of Russian history and culture. These sites are included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. In 1988, an attempt was made to conserve the palace to prevent further destruction, but unfortunately, it failed. Currently, the authorities plan to conserve the estate without fully restoring it by constructing a dome over the estate to prevent further decay.
Sources:
http://wrongmag.ru/2021/01/26/umirayushchaya-krasota-peterburgskih-usadeb/
https://nataturka.ru/muzey-usadba/usadba-gostilitsyi.html
