Peterhof Post Office

The post office building was constructed using techniques of Gothic architecture. It was given the appearance of a miniature medieval fortress, with corner parts slightly protruding, interpreted as defensive towers.

Emperor Nicholas I wanted the Peterhof post office to have its own premises, and in July 1833 he issued an order to allocate a plot for its construction on the then newly created New Street, later Olginskaya Street. However, funds were not available, and in April 1834 he issued an order to rent premises from Razderishina. Only in April 1849, at the petition of the postal department, did Nicholas I allocate the former Renne plot for the construction of the office and station, on the condition that a "good facade of the proposed building" would be presented to him.

The work was completed in 1854. In historical literature covering the work of the famous architect Benois, the design of the Peterhof post office is attributed to him jointly with architect Kavos, but Benois's priority is doubtful. Documents preserved in the Russian State Historical Archive (RGIA) show that in April 1850 the architect of the postal department, Albert Katarinovich Kavos, presented a project "in two versions for the construction in the city of Peterhof of a house for the Post Office and station," one of which was approved by the Emperor. Correspondence also indicates that it was under Kavos's supervision that the construction proceeded, and it was he who proposed expanding the postal department's plot to the Shchegolev Canal, part of which was then used as storage for the theater. Only by the end of construction, in August 1853, did the Emperor grant Kavos's request to expand the territory occupied by the post office, on the condition that a passage be left in front of the canal.

It is possible that Benois, appointed in August 1850 as architect of the Peterhof Palace Administration, made some changes to the project with the Emperor's consent, since the post office with two service wings in the courtyard, a stone fence, and wrought iron gate leaves stylistically echoes his Gothic palace stables. Nevertheless, the original project was still developed by architect Kavos.

Who became the first Peterhof postmaster in the new building remains unknown, but later, for more than ten years from July 29, 1859, Matvey Kharlamovich Kharlamov held this position. Before the revolution, employees of various institutions wore special uniforms by which their profession was easily identified. An indispensable attribute of the postman was a black bag, on which the name of the city where he worked was prominently displayed in large letters.

In past years, the building was listed in the city administration records as the "post office."

The post office building, constructed in the mid-19th century, is still used for its intended purpose today.

Sources:

Gushchin V. A. History of Peterhof and its Residents. Book III. New Peterhof. Saint Petersburg. 2005. pp. 24-26

https://www.citywalls.ru/house18819.html

Petersburg: Unusual and Interesting Houses

Follow us on social media

New Peterhof Station Terminal

New Peterhof, Bratyev Gorkushenko St., 9, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 198510

In 1854, the owner of the Peterhof Railway, a prominent Russian financier and industrialist Baron von Stieglitz, involved the architect Benois in the design and construction of station buildings on his railway. The most important structure in this series was the station building of "New Peterhof." At that time, there were few railway stations in Russia, and the architect had to solve not only the challenging technical task of spanning large distances but also create an artistic image for a new type of building. The volumetric-planning and structural solution of the station building was progressive for the mid-19th century. The 20-meter span of the interior space with platforms is covered by a system of metal tubular trusses. This open structure forms a single rigid system with the building itself. The overall layout of the exterior part of the station is a reduced copy of the Catholic cathedral of the Italian city of Orvieto, whose restoration Benois participated in back in 1843.

Vsevolozhsky's Dacha

Saint Petersburg Ave., 49, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 198516

The Vsevolozhsky Dacha is an original building in the Neo-Gothic style, located at the corner of Razvodnaya Street and Saint Petersburg Avenue. The villa was built between 1836 and 1938, presumably by architect Fossati, featuring a central battlemented tower, small turrets at the main entrance, bay windows, and terraces.

History of Peterhof

Sobstvenny Prospect, 84A, Building E, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 198516

Peterhof is first mentioned in Peter I’s "Campaign Journal" as early as September 1705. Two years after the founding of Saint Petersburg, Peter I mentioned Peterhof in his travel journal on the way to Kotlin Island. According to legend, its origin is attributed to Peter’s wife, Catherine Alekseevna. Peter, concerned with the construction of the Kronstadt fortress, which was meant to protect the newly built Saint Petersburg from enemy sea invasions, often visited Kotlin Island. Since these trips were made by sea, which posed a constant danger—especially during stormy autumn weather—Catherine supposedly persuaded Peter to build a roadside house, a travel palace, or as they called it at the time, “travel chambers,” on the shore of the Gulf of Finland opposite the island, where one could wait out bad weather.

English Palace - The Executed Masterpiece of Quarenghi

VVJJ+7P Petrodvortsovy District, Saint Petersburg, Russia

Russia: Lost Monuments

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.

Neorussian Style in Architecture

The Church of Seraphim of Sarov at the Peterhof Metochion of the Seraphim-Diveyevo Monastery

41A-007, 11, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 198504

On July 17, 1903, Emperor Nicholas II and his family visited Sarov for the celebrations of the glorification of Venerable Seraphim as a saint. And a year after this trip to Sarov and bathing in its spring, the Empress gave birth to the long-awaited heir, which explains the special attitude of Nicholas II and his family towards this saint. The decision to establish it was made by the Tsar after Empress Alexandra gave birth to the long-awaited son, having bathed in the Sarov spring. It was there that Nicholas learned about the beginning of the First World War.

English Park — the first landscape park in Peterhof

VVMH+5V Petrodvortsovy District, Saint Petersburg, Russia

Great Architects: Giacomo Quarenghi

The English Park is the first landscape park in Peterhof. The park covers an area of 173.4 hectares (the largest park in Peterhof). It was designed for Catherine II by the English garden master James Meaders. Currently, it is in a semi-neglected state and is used as a place for "picnics."

Oldenburg Farm Park

VVVF+RQ Petrodvortsovy District, Saint Petersburg, Russia

The Oldenburg Farm Park is the former summer residence of Prince Oldenburg, nephew of Nicholas I, located by the sea on the territory of Old Peterhof opposite the Oranienbaum descent, covering an area of 39 hectares.

Dachas of M.N. Benois, A.A. Grube, and L.I. Kron near Peterhof

Primorskaya St., 8 building 4, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 198504

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

On the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland, in a picturesque spot between Peterhof and Oranienbaum, there was a thriving summer cottage settlement at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. The owners of the local plots were famous St. Petersburg families, among them the Kronys, Meisners, Grubes, San-Gallis, and Benois. Today, only four neglected cottages remain of the once magnificent settlement.

Church of Saint Anastasia the Great Martyr, the Deliverer from Bonds

25 Yuta Bondarovskaya St, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 198510

Church of Saint Anastasia the Great Martyr, the Patroness of the 148th Infantry Caspian Regiment. In 1900, War Minister Kuropatkin submitted a report to His Majesty regarding the improvement of the living conditions of the lower ranks, in which he wrote that it was currently "necessary to find means for the construction of churches at all military units where priests are assigned according to the staff, for which it is necessary to develop a standard design for a military church, even if it is of a barrack type, but spacious and inexpensive, so that the search for funds for the construction of churches would not delay the satisfaction of this urgent need"...

Konstantinovsky (Admiral’s) House

VXM2+8W Petrodvortsovy District, Saint Petersburg, Russia

In Alexandria Park, near the Cottage Palace, a whole royal dacha settlement has formed with numerous residential and service buildings. Elements of neo-Gothic architecture are used in their design.

Belvedere Palace

1, Parnas industrial zone territory, St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg, Russia 194292, St. Petersburg, Russia, 188501

Crowning the composition of Meadow Park, at the highest point of the Peterhof surroundings – Babigon Hill – stands the building of the Belvedere Palace. From the upper gallery of the Belvedere, endless views of the surroundings and the Gulf of Finland open up. The pavilion was erected on the site of the previously existing Rural Office House – essentially a small wooden palace in the "Russian" style.

The History of Stakenschneider's Pink Pavilion

VV7X+92 Petrodvortsovy District, Saint Petersburg, Russia

Russia: Lost Monuments

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."

Meadow Park

RVXQ+QJ Petrodvortsovy District, Saint Petersburg, Russia

Meadow Park lies off the main tourist routes. Yet Meadow Park, also known as Ozerkovy, is one of the most valuable park ensembles of the mid-19th century. The compositional design of Meadow Park in Peterhof is recognized as the most exemplary landscape ensemble.

The building of the V.I. Truveller estate.

Saint Petersburg Ave., 42, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 198510

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

In 1900, this building housed a telephone exchange. It is a two-story mansion with a three-story observation tower and a pointed arch connecting it to a small wing. This building was constructed in 1834-36 and was given as a dowry for the daughter Vera.

Travel Palace (Small Palace of Peter I)

2 Maksim Gorky Street, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 198515

Petersburg: Palaces and Their Fates

Imperial Parks: Strelna

Great Architects: Bartolomeo Francesco Rastrelli

The Travel Palace (Peter I's Small Palace) is the earliest building in the suburb of Strelna near Petersburg that has survived to this day from the Petrine era. The palace is located not far from the shore of the Gulf of Finland, in the southern part of the Neva Bay, on a low hill left after the retreat of glaciers, surrounded by ravines, near the Strelka River.

Church in the name of the Holy Martyr Queen Alexandra

VV7J+6J Petrodvortsovy District, Saint Petersburg, Russia

This church was built by A. Stakenschneider in 1854 at the behest of Nicholas I. This church is the last structure erected during the lifetime of Nicholas I in Peterhof. On August 11, 1851, the foundation of the church was laid, during which gold and silver coins were placed in a stone bowl, and on the gilded lid was inscribed: "By the order of Emperor Nicholas I, a church was laid on Babigony, near Peterhof, in the name of the Holy Right-Believing Queen Alexandra, year 1851, August 11." For the foundation of the temple, stone specially brought from the banks of the Jordan was used. Concluding the laying of the church, Nicholas I, with tears in his eyes, said: "I thank the Lord that He has granted me to complete the laying of this temple. God knows if I will live to see it finished."