Vasilyevsky Palace (also called Vasilyev's House, Vasilyev's Dacha, Mansion of the Vasilyev Brothers)

A private palace in the village of Vyritsa is one of the most beautiful in Russia. It is designed in the style of Russian Baroque and resembles the Peterhof, Winter, and Tsarskoye Selo palaces. It was built in 2005–2006 based on the project of Saint Petersburg architect Igor Nikolaevich Gremitsky (1939–2015) and is intended for representative functions: hosting high-ranking guests. The palace is constructed from natural materials using traditional techniques.

The area of the mosaic marble floors exceeds 600 square meters. Marble was used for the columns, fireplaces, and pilasters in the hall, foyer, wall cladding on the first floor, staircases, and sculptures, all crafted by the best masters from Italy and Russia. The second floor is designed as open galleries that frame an oval two-story hall, creating a large visual space.

The central gallery is adorned with five-meter-tall black marble giant knights. The architect described his task as follows: “The challenge was to create a sense of enormous volume inside (larger inside than outside)… Moreover, we aimed for no repetition in the decor, so that step by step the space would open to the viewer unexpectedly, richly, brightly, in a new way, although the leading style is one — Russian Baroque.”

The palace complex includes a chapel, similar to that in the Catherine Palace.

The mansion is located on a plot measuring 375×315 meters, featuring a formal park with fountains, marble sculptures, and a summer gazebo. In front of the palace stands a column with a sculptural composition: a guardian angel supports the last Emperor of Russia with his right hand and blesses Nicholas II with a cross in his left hand. Next to the palace, on the lawn, there is a helicopter landing pad, standard marked with the letter “H” (“Helicopter”). The southern edge of the plot is partially hidden by a spruce grove. The northern fence has two gates styled after the “Golden Gates” of the Catherine Palace: one is functional and allows passage, the other is non-passable and more decorative.

According to official documents, this land plot of 41,000 m² belongs to the International Entrepreneurial Company Litvin Limited and is intended for the placement of a wellness complex.

The unofficial client of the project and owner of the palace is Saint Petersburg businessman Sergey Vasilyevich Vasilyev, co-owner of CJSC “Petersburg Oil Terminal” (PNT), the middle of three Vasilyev brothers from Vyritsa, who controlled the automobile market of Saint Petersburg since the 1990s. The owner’s initials — “SVV” — are proudly displayed in a cartouche above the mansion’s main entrance.

Sources:

https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Васильевский_дворец_в_Вырице

https://salon.ru/article/neobyknovennaya-istoriya-9972

Photos: Igor Gremitsky, Andrey Voshchinin

https://dzen.ru/a/Xom_AsMSvwo4b-fb

https://cobrio.club/28912-osobnjak-vasileva-v-vyrice.html