41 Frunze St., Taganrog, Rostov Region, Russia, 347900
The Alferaki family belonged to the large Greek settler diaspora in southern Russia, the majority of whom appeared on the shores of the Black and Azov Seas during the reign of Empress Catherine the Great. The first of the family to arrive in Russia was Dmitry Ilyich Alferaki. He relocated from Greece after the Russo-Turkish War of 1768-1774. As an officer, he was granted Russian nobility and an estate in the Azov region, named Lakademonovka after his homeland. The settlers from the islands of the Greek Archipelago played a significant role in the economic development of the region, turning Taganrog into a large trading port where agricultural exports were concentrated and through which goods from the West arrived.
The Alferakis completed the construction of their mansion in 1848 and lived in it for a total of about 30 years. The project was designed by the famous architect, professor of the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, Andrey Ivanovich Stakenschneider, who was recognized at the time as an authority on palace architecture. Some time later, a large two-story hall about 9 meters high was added to the house, decorated with paintings, a fireplace, and massive clocks. The antique stucco work that adorned the building both inside and out, the enfilade arrangement of the state rooms, the large two-story hall, and the ceiling painting in the living room done by Italian artists brought the building closer to a palace type. The mansion, both in its interior and exterior decoration, truly represented a real palace.
Prince Golitsyn, who visited Taganrog in 1857, wrote in the magazine "Library for Reading": "In terms of magnificence, there are houses in Taganrog that are not inferior to royal palaces. Such is, for example, the house of the famous wealthy merchant Alferaki, which, according to many, deserves careful inspection because of its excellent paintings, statues, antiques, and other items of artistic luxury."
The architecture of the Alferaki palace is an example of lavish southern Neo-Baroque. The building is decorated with four Corinthian columns with classical capitals. The Alferaki noble coat of arms is placed in the center of the pediment. The roof is framed by a balustrade. Inside the building is a marble staircase with 41 steps. The exit door to the belvedere is decorated with pilasters with classical capitals. A light arch leads to the state hall. The hall consists of three sections. In the central section, arcs stretch toward the center of the ceiling, between which are frescoes—medallions depicting life in the Versailles salons of the era of Louis XIV, XV, and XVI: ladies and cavaliers in wigs and luxurious costumes. The ornaments of all the hall’s sections are done in the Rococo style.
The state rooms on the second floor are accessed by a white marble staircase. Here, the walls, cornices, and ceiling are decorated with Baroque pomp. The parquet floor is made of different patterns, marble columns, painted plafonds, gilded stucco garlands of curling plant ornaments, and enfilades of rooms evoke associations with the royal apartments of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg. Especially magnificent is the large two-story ballroom with wooden choir lofts for the orchestra. A kind of miniature Hermitage.
Some time later, a large two-story hall about 9 meters high was added to the house, decorated with paintings, a fireplace, and massive clocks. In this hall, the Alferakis held grand balls, to which the select Taganrog society was invited, including landlords living in the city administration and acquaintances of the Alferakis from neighboring towns. Guests arrived in luxurious outfits brought by couriers from Paris and Vienna. All the furniture, furnishings, and table settings in the house were purchased abroad.
Next to the main two-story house, where landlord-merchant Nikolai Dmitrievich Alferaki lived as the master, there was a large corridor-system wing where the sons of the elder Alferaki—Nikolai, Achilles, Sergey, and Mikhail—lived with their teachers and tutors. The children turned out to be talented, but not in commercial pursuits: Sergey was a famous traveler, Achilles became a composer. Unfortunately, they all led rather extravagant lifestyles, and after the death of Nikolai Dmitrievich Alferaki, the family affairs declined.
In the late 1870s, the estate occupying the entire block passed to the merchant Negroponte, who sold it off in parts. The palace with the garden was purchased by the merchant society for the "Commercial Assembly" club.
The palace was the center of the city’s cultural life. Its owner held grand balls here, to which the select Taganrog society was invited. During his stay in Taganrog, Tchaikovsky visited the club. The life of the palace at that time, the inevitable card games reigning in the club, and walks in the garden are captured in Chekhov’s stories "Ionich," "The Mask," and "My Life."
In the early years of Soviet power, various administrative institutions were housed in the palace building. In 1927, the house was transferred to the oldest local history museum on the Don, established in 1898 on Chekhov’s initiative. The museum’s collection includes natural science materials, archaeological collections—Scythian and Polovtsian stone statues; household and ethnographic items, antique furniture; works of fine art, and applied art objects.
The building has been restored multiple times. Its latest restoration was completed in 1995.
Sources:
https://visitdon.ru/things-to-do/kultura-i-iskusstvo/istoriko-kraevedcheskiy-muzey-taganroga/
https://voopiik-don.ru/main/2009-06-01-10-23-39/37-2009-06-01-06-57-03/564-2010-01-18-10-06-11
