Hotel "Angleterre" (from the French Angleterre – England)

The hotel was founded on this site in 1840 by Napoleon Bokhin and was known as "Napoleon." It was a three-story building. It is known that the merchant Terenty Rezvoy decided to build a brick house on the territory between Malaya Morskaya Street and Voznesensky Prospect, near St. Isaac's Cathedral. He was the owner of the premises for a short time: a few years later, the building was sold to a certain adjutant Poggenpol.

Closer to the middle of the century, the building was altered: the new owner decided to make it a large income-generating house and enlisted architect Adrian Roben to implement the idea. He created the structure in its final form, adding a fourth floor on the courtyard side. After Poggenpol, the building changed hands several times until it eventually ended up with Teresa Schmidt, who decided to turn it into a hotel. This happened in 1876.

Initially, the hotel was called "Napoleon": according to some sources, the writer Leo Tolstoy stayed there for a while. Business was poor: popularity did not grow despite the advantageous location. The owners constantly tried to change the hotel’s format along with its names. "Schmidt-England" — in honor of the owner, then simply "England." The current name, "Angleterre," first appeared at the beginning of the 20th century and lasted quite a long time (in fact, it is under this name that it entered history). Gradually, business improved.

From 1911 to 1914, the hotel was owned by the Schotte family. They preserved many documents and photographs revealing the stages of the history of the "Angleterre" hotel.

In the pre-revolutionary period, the establishment (primarily due to its advantageous location) was considered an elite place: people from the world of art and culture stayed here. In special catalogs of that time, this place was distinguished as one of the most luxurious in the city compared to others. Every noble person was simply obliged to spend at least one night here.

At various times, guests of the Angleterre hotel included Chekhov, Duncan, Bely, Kuprin, Nemirovich-Danchenko, Yesenin, American journalist John Reed, and many others. The entire creative intelligentsia of the city and its guests often gathered in the hotel restaurant to discuss news and share new works and thoughts. Osip Mandelstam described in his poems how he waited for his friend Olga Vaksel "in a very ordinary room with a burning fireplace and a table set for dinner."

From 1917 to 1924, one of the floors of the "Angleterre" hotel housed the headquarters of the British diplomats. But the communists, who came to power during this period, did not get along with the British, who were forced to leave their location in the center of Petersburg in a large and friendly group.

The post-revolution period was difficult for the "Angleterre" hotel: if earlier this place attracted the elite, by the first decade of Bolshevik rule, nothing remained of the former luxury. Not everything met the requirements of the time: for example, there was only one telephone for the entire multi-story establishment. The once-famous city restaurant at Angleterre was closed, and its space was divided into rooms by partitions.

During the Great Patriotic War, when Leningrad was under siege, the hotel building was used for a long time as a hospital. After the victory over the enemy, the authorities decided to carry out reconstruction — they arranged several rooms where 8-12 people could live simultaneously (a prototype of today's hostel). On the same floor with such an "ant hill," there could be a "luxury" suite for a party worker or a foreign guest. This solution made it possible to increase the total number of rooms.

After the revolution, the hotel frequently changed its name — first it became "International," then again "Angleterre," and later "Leningradskaya."

By the 1980s, the building was in a deplorable state: the rooms were unfit for living, and many still lacked bathrooms. But the time had already been lost. Eventually, the Leningrad authorities decided first to close the hotel and then to demolish it in 1987. The city’s public was outraged: mass protests gathered thousands of people. And, as it turned out, they bore fruit — it was soon decided to recreate the once-luxurious establishment.

In the early 1990s, the building was rebuilt — the project was led by architect A.I. Pribulsky, who was given a difficult task. He had to preserve the historical image of the old hotel. He was assisted by I.G. Uralov, who worked directly on the facade. As a result, the structure was restored and soon included in the unified hotel complex "Astoria." To this day, "Angleterre" remains on St. Isaac's Square and offers its services to tourists.

Many myths and legends surround the "Angleterre" hotel. According to unconfirmed information, one of the revolution’s ideologists, Leon Trotsky, rested here. Legend has it that singer Alexander Vertinsky spent his last night in one of the hotel rooms. But there is no real evidence of this. The hotel’s history also includes two confirmed tragic events related to death.

One very tragic story is associated with this hotel. Many, when they hear the name "Angleterre," immediately recall Sergei Yesenin. It was in one of the rooms of this hotel in December 1925 that Yesenin was found hanged on a central heating pipe. This death still, almost a century later, causes many disputes and remains a subject for speculation.

There is a belief that he did not die by his own hand but was helped. Recently, under Soviet censorship, the poet allowed himself much in his speeches, which could not go unnoticed by the Chekists. Therefore, there is a version that the secret service officers first tortured Yesenin and then staged his hanging. Allegedly, witnesses noticed several suspicious individuals leaving Yesenin’s room shortly before his body was discovered. Those who saw the poet’s body stated that it was covered with wounds and abrasions — it was assumed he had fought shortly before his death. But none of this information was reflected in any reports on Yesenin’s death. Many celebrities subsequently avoided the hotel.

More details can be read here: https://reveal.world/story/gibel-poeta-esenin

Thirty-six years before the above events, John Hughes died within the walls of the "Angleterre" hotel. This Briton was a major entrepreneur of the time, primarily known for founding Donetsk in the second half of the 19th century. He bought a plot of land from Russian prince Sergey Kochubey, near which there were deposits of hard coal. Hughes built a metallurgical plant and a settlement nearby. Initially, the workers’ settlement was called Yuzovka, and later it was renamed Donetsk.

In the summer of 1898, Hughes came to Petersburg and stayed at the "Angleterre" hotel (though at that time it was called differently). It is assumed that the Briton arrived in Russia to resolve issues related to the purchase of the Liven estate. But he did not manage to complete the business: the man, who was already over 70 years old at the time, died in his room. The official cause of death was a stroke. By the way, this event was a serious blow to the Hughes family — in the early 20th century, they finally left what is now Donetsk.

Sources:

https://ruskontur.com/angleter-v-sankt-peterburge-otel-oveyannyj-legendami/

https://www.citywalls.ru/house339.html