The history of the island began long before the imperial residence appeared here. Once, this piece of land, cut off on two sides by the branches of the Neva River delta and opening onto the expanses of the Gulf of Finland, was called Mistulasaari (from Finnish "mustilasaari" — black island). Later, it was named "Mishin Island": according to legend, soldiers of Peter's army, while pursuing the Swedes, came across a bear here and, jokingly, recognized its rights to this land. Whether this is true or not, on the 1703 map of Saint Petersburg, the northernmost of the Neva delta islands is listed under this name, which remained until the end of the 18th century.
In 1709, the first owner of Mishin Island became Vice-Chancellor and Russian diplomat Pyotr Pavlovich Shafirov, to whom these lands were granted by Peter I himself. Subsequently, the island was successively owned by the emperor’s associate, General-Prosecutor Yaguzhinsky, Catherine II’s Privy Councillor Melgunov (the island was called Melgunov Island for some time), and her favorite, the Serene Prince Potemkin. The latter, in 1777, sold Melgunov Island to Ivan Perfilievich Elagin, Ober-Hofmeister of Catherine’s court and director of the Imperial Theaters of Russia. From that time, the island acquired the name "Elagin," which, despite continued changes in ownership, no longer changed and has been preserved to this day.
According to the wishes of the new owner, who passionately loved guests, a picturesque park was laid out on the island, featuring grottos, gazebos, and pavilions, with elegant bridges spanning numerous ponds. In 1785, the construction of Elagin’s mansion was completed, on the basis of which, in the 19th century, the future Elagin Palace, known to us today, was designed. Unfortunately, neither the description of the mansion nor the architect’s name have been preserved, but researchers believe that its architect was the Italian Giacomo Quarenghi, and the palace building was constructed in the style of early classicism with elements of ancient Greek and Roman temple architecture.
Various entertaining events with notable guests were often held in Elagin’s mansion, which even the reigning Empress Catherine the Great did not neglect to attend. In summer, the island’s territory around the palace was a popular place for walks among the nobility. Moreover, the park was open to anyone who wished to visit, making it a public place.
The name of another world-famous Mason, Giuseppe Cagliostro, is connected with Ivan Perfilievich Elagin. Cagliostro came to Russia in 1780, supposedly on the advice of another famous French adventurer, Count Saint-Germain. He then lived for a long time in Elagin’s house on Elagin Island. Allegedly, on his advice, a secret hall was arranged deep under the Pavilion "Pristan" (Pier), connected by an underground passage from the Elagin Palace. The hall was supposedly intended for secret Masonic meetings. It is said that once, while walking near this pavilion, Cagliostro predicted the fall of the Russian Empire, "having once seen its doomed face in the Neva." Soon, Catherine II ordered Cagliostro to be expelled from the country. But Cagliostro’s adventures in Russia did not end there. Many mystics claim that at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, Cagliostro reappeared in St. Petersburg under the name of the magician Segir. Modern legends have not overlooked this "magician and sorcerer." They claim that in the mirrors of Elagin Palace, the shadow of Count Cagliostro occasionally appears, holding Masonic symbols — a mason’s hammer and triangle. If someone manages to meet his gaze, they can see in the mirror how Cagliostro raises his hands to the sky, freezes for a moment in this mysterious pose, then turns and slowly disappears.
In 1794, with the death of Ivan Elagin, another change of island owners began. In 1807, its new owner became Count Grigory Orlov, and ten years later the island was sold to Emperor Alexander I, who was looking for a suitable residence for his mother, the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna. From this time begins the history of Elagin Palace, the summer residence of the Romanov family.
The difficult task of rebuilding a country mansion of a state dignitary for the needs of the imperial family was entrusted to the court architect of Italian origin, Carlo Rossi, who began construction in 1818. Five years later (in 1822), an architectural ensemble of amazing beauty appeared on the island, including greenhouses, a Music Pavilion, Stables and Kitchen buildings, a gardener’s house, a pavilion at the pier, and a guardhouse at the bridge. A new palace park in the English style was laid out on Elagin Island, designed by court gardener Joseph Bush, which transformed the island’s wonderful landscapes and complemented the man-made beauty of the palace buildings. Above all this splendor towered the diamond in the crown of the ensemble — Elagin Palace — an amazingly light, airy, and elegant great creation of Rossi.
When developing the project of the future palace, the architect relied on the already existing volume of Elagin’s house. Keeping the general plan of the building and its walls, he completely transformed both the exterior and interior appearance of the mansion. First, the architect increased the size of the building by adding a third floor, which formed a transition to the dome decorating the palace. The entire volume of the building was raised on a high stylobate, forming a wide open terrace around the palace, bordered by an intricate cast-iron railing. This extremely unusual technique for Russian architecture emphasized the expressiveness of the building and allowed the palace to be protected in case of flooding.
The main facade of Elagin Palace faces Maslyany Meadow, where festive celebrations were held during Maslenitsa. The central part of the facade is decorated with a portico with six Corinthian columns under a flat pediment, and a wide staircase with cast-iron lion figures at its base leads to the main entrance. These formidable palace guards are copies of the Florentine sentinel lions from the Piazza della Signoria in Italy. The building’s side risalits are highlighted by four-column Corinthian porticos under triangular pediments, and gentle ramps for horse-drawn carriages are laid on both sides of the main staircase. The opposite facade of the palace, decorated in the center with a picturesque semi-rotunda of Corinthian columns, faces the river. Guests of the empress could descend the wide staircase, adorned with monumental marble vases and cast-iron flat flowerpots, for walks along the shore.
Unlike the grand residences of the imperial family, such as the Winter Palace, Elagin Palace was intended for the private life of Maria Feodorovna. Its halls are intimate and very cozy, yet they amazed even contemporaries accustomed to luxury. According to Alexander I’s wishes, the chief architect’s task included not only designing the exterior and interior appearance of the building but also the smallest details of its interior: wall decoration, doors, furniture, lighting fixtures. Alongside Rossi, outstanding masters worked on the palace interiors: sculptors Pimenov and Demut-Malinovsky, painters Scotti, Vigi, Medici, marble workers Triscorni and Moderni, decorators, furniture makers, parquet layers, wood carvers, and wallpaper hangers.
The result of this grand work so pleased the empress mother that as soon as construction was completed, Alexander I awarded Carlo Rossi diamond pendants to the Order of St. Anna. Contemporaries consistently admired the beauty of the imperial residence’s decoration and called the palace a kind of exhibition of works of art.
The first floor of Elagin Palace was allocated to ceremonial halls intended for special celebrations and receptions of distinguished guests. Their enfilade arrangement allowed one to walk around the entire palace in a circle. The central place on the first floor was occupied by the Oval Hall — the largest room of the Ceremonial enfilade. Decorated with caryatids and 16 Ionic half-columns, with five tall and wide windows, it corresponded to the outlines of the picturesque semi-rotunda facing the river. Under the dome of the hall, decorated with a fanciful ornament in the form of coffers with molded rosettes, hung a bronze chandelier with 60 candles, designed by Rossi. Balls, diplomatic receptions, and various celebrations on the occasion of family holidays of the imperial dynasty were held in this hall.
Symmetrically adjoining the Oval Hall were the Crimson and Blue Drawing Rooms, named according to the main theme of their decorative finishes. On the first floor of the palace were also located the Ceremonial Hall, Dining Room, Bedroom, Porcelain Cabinet, Maria Feodorovna’s Toilet, and various service rooms. The Porcelain Cabinet was especially admired, named for its walls and ceiling clad in artificial snow-white marble, creating the effect of similarity to a precious porcelain box. The doors on the lower floor of Elagin Palace, decorated by Rossi himself, made a special impression on the empress and her guests. Each of the more than twenty doors was a unique work of art: veneered with precious wood species, decorated with fine gilded carving — no two were alike.
The second floor of the palace housed the living quarters, and on the third was the house church dedicated to Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker. The refinement and sophistication in the interior decoration, according to the researcher of Elagin Island Nemchinova, "had no equal in Russian architecture of the early 19th century." There was no monotony in the decoration, sometimes found in richly decorated palaces, nothing superfluous, and even in the modest rooms of the second floor, noble taste was felt. Apparently, that is why the palace seemed cozy to its inhabitants.
After the death of Empress Maria Feodorovna in 1828, Elagin Palace became a spare residence of the imperial family. In the early 20th century, Russian prime ministers stayed here. From the early memories of Peter Stolypin’s daughter Maria von Bock: "We often went to ride on the islands and always admired the charming palace on Elagin Island. The charming white building from afar pleased the eye with its classical lines, its slender columns. Around it, ancient tall trees rustled welcomingly, and the charm of bygone days emanated from the wings, lawns, and stables surrounding the palace."
Stolypin lived with his family in the Elagin Palace every summer from 1907 to 1911 by invitation of the emperor. The need for enhanced security and naturally isolated housing arose after the explosion on Aptekarsky Island. The once royal summer residence, already since the times of Alexander II, was inhabited by high-ranking "dacha dwellers," government officials. Dmitry Merezhkovsky’s poem "Old Octaves" tells about that everyday life:
Bored in the home church during the mass,
On holidays to Elagin Palace
They took us; I remember in the middle arch
Between angels hovered God the Father…
He was the son of an actual state councillor and spent the summer days of his childhood on Elagin Island. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the service buildings of the palace complex allowed government officials to move to the island following Stolypin. It was possible to work safely without leaving the island.
What the Elagin days of the Stolypin family were like is described in the memories of Maria von Bock, daughter of Pyotr Arkadyevich, and her brother Arkady. From Maria von Bock’s memories: "Despite its large size, Elagin Palace turned out to be very cozy, and without spending even a week there, we began to feel as if this house had been familiar and dear to us for years. Downstairs was a very beautiful oval white hall with galleries, drawing rooms, a study and my father’s reception room, as well as two always locked rooms where Alexander III used to live. Upstairs was a small drawing room and all the bedrooms, and even higher was the house church and two rooms for visitors. For the last decade, no one from the royal family had lived in Elagin, but earlier Emperor Alexander III and Empress Maria Feodorovna sometimes liked to live there, and small balls were held there. Somehow we settled in remarkably quickly at the new place…".
In the palace, lunches were held for close friends and family, and home performances were staged. All this created an atmosphere of patriarchal estate life. The second floor was allocated for living rooms. On the third was the house church dedicated to Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker. The living room, reception room, and study for Pyotr Arkadyevich occupied the first floor. Stolypin worked a lot, sometimes until two in the morning. Incidentally, Stolypin’s historic speech before members of the State Duma, in which he said: "You need great upheavals, we need Great Russia!" was prepared on Elagin Island. The territory was fenced with barbed wire. It occupied the entire Private Garden, once built for Empress Maria Feodorovna, widow of Paul I. Police posts were set along the entire fence and along the banks of the rivers and ponds near the palace. At night, mounted police squads went on duty. But all these measures remained imperfect. Here is an incident described by Maria Petrovna: "And Olechka distinguished herself even more. Suddenly, during breakfast, her voice is heard:
- Dad, why is our garden surrounded by barbed wire?
- So that bad people wouldn’t get in, darling.
- But how did I get through and didn’t even tear my dress?
- You went through the wire fence?
- Do you want me to show you?"
Arkady Stolypin later wrote: "The swift passage of time saddened my father. Looking at the mercilessly moving clock hands, he sometimes said: you go, cursed ones! He could not stop the time so necessary to him.... From that time, I only have a photograph taken on the wide terrace of the palace, near the windows of my father’s study. I, with a stern and warlike look, sit on a wooden horse. My father stands behind, holding his hand on my shoulder. Of the five sisters depicted in the photo, two are no longer alive. Natalia, sitting next to me, was the one whose legs were broken in the explosion on Aptekarsky. She survived then, and her legs were saved. She died only in 1949 in Nice. Olga, sitting on the ground at the other end of the photo, was shot by the Bolsheviks in 1920. She was only 23 years old."
The interiors of the palace on Elagin Island were considered one of the examples of the Empire style in Russia, so after the 1917 revolutions, by a special decree of the Soviet government, the palace was recognized as a monument of the highest category, having historical and artistic significance. After the 1917 revolutions, Elagin Palace received the status of a museum — the Museum of Everyday Life was opened there. There were many such museums in St. Petersburg at the beginning of the century, but soon most of them were closed or turned into other cultural or public institutions. New exhibits arrived here from nationalized dachas on Kamenny and Krestovsky Islands. However, in 1929 the museum was closed, its most valuable exhibits were transferred to the Hermitage, Russian Museum, Gatchina, Pavlovsk, and Catherine Palace museums, and much of the collection was simply sold through Torgsin and Gostorg stores. Elagin Palace began to be used for cultural and educational work, and the palace park became a place of rest for city residents.
After the museum was disbanded, for some time the palace building housed a branch of the Plant Breeding Institute of the Academy of Sciences.
During the Siege of Leningrad, the surroundings of the palace were subjected to massive shelling. The target of the fascist artillery was a military unit located nearby. On January 16, 1942, two shells pierced the roof and floors; exploding in the basement, they destroyed the vestibule, causing a severe fire. In the cold winter of 1942, militia were stationed in the palace; they heated the premises with firewood, which is why the shell caused a severe fire. Due to the fire, the main destruction occurred — the roof and attic floors collapsed from the fire and high temperature. The parquet flooring, reliefs of statues, wooden doors — almost everything was destroyed by the flames. Only the stone skeleton of the building, internal load-bearing floors, some doors, and a little parquet survived.
But even this was put to use. Here is what Mokhova-Loseva recalls, whose mother worked at Elagin during the blockade: "From the unburned pieces of precious palace parquet and wall panels with plaster molding and painting, my mother built herself a hut on the terrace of the southern staircase. For stability, the hut was leaned against a giant marble vase, in which flowering annuals were previously grown. We lived in this little building all summer, only occasionally visiting our home on Krestovsky..." From this quote, it is clear that by the end of the war, even what had not burned down in the palace in 1942 was used by the Red Army soldiers and workers of improvised gardens stationed here.
Immediately after the victory, architect Savkov began preparing the palace for restoration, gathering together surviving pieces of marble and fragments of stucco decorations and paintings. Based on these fragments and sketches, the interior decoration of Elagin Palace was later restored. The park was also practically destroyed. It began to be restored during the war, in 1944, and two years later measurements of the ruined palace were taken and archival materials collected for its restoration. Work continued from 1952 to 1960 under the direction of architect Plotnikov, and this was the first example of a complete reconstruction of a palace building in Leningrad: by the start of reconstruction, Elagin Palace was only a skeleton of load-bearing walls. The building was equipped as a day recreation base for workers, with lecture, billiard, and dance halls. The rooms on the first floor were intended for temporary exhibitions — and from them began the return of the palace to museum life. By the late 1970s, there was no longer a recreation base here; the entire palace space was occupied by exhibitions of decorative and applied arts, but the museum with the corresponding name was opened here only in 1987. Elagin Palace again became a museum, housing collections of artistic glass and porcelain, as well as embroidery and wood and metal products. At the beginning of Perestroika, when the Museum of Leningrad Artistic Glass was closed, its collection was also transferred to the Elagin Island Museum.
In 1961, after the opening of the Central Park of Culture and Recreation to visitors (it was created on the island in 1932), the restored palace housed a day recreation base for workers. In 1987, Elagin Palace was granted the status of Museum of Russian Decorative and Applied Arts and Interior of the 18th–20th Centuries. Since the late 20th century, active research and collecting work by museum staff began, led by its first director Mukhin.
Today, in the ceremonial halls of the 1st floor of the Elagin Island Palace-Museum, fully restored in accordance with their original historical appearance, works of decorative and applied arts, collections of 19th-century painting and sculpture are exhibited. The second floor of Elagin Palace is currently used for retrospective exhibitions. Visitors can see the exhibition "Charm of the Past," where they can familiarize themselves with items of Russian residential interior decoration from the 19th to early 20th centuries.
From August 2016 to April 2021, Elagin Palace was closed for large-scale restoration work, but in fact, phased restoration lasted 20 years — from the beginning of the 21st century. For the first time in the museum’s history, based on the 1826 inventory and the 1821 watercolor by artist Maxim Vorobyov, the historical study of Alexander I was recreated on the second floor, where, in addition to painting, the fireplace, fireplace mirror, decorative window decoration, and a hand-printed wallpaper covering the walls were restored. Also for the first time, the historical interiors of the house church of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker on the third floor of the building were recreated; in particular, during the cleaning of the plafonds, the decoration of 16 half-columns made of artificial marble was restored.
Costume balls of the eras of Peter I, Elizabeth Petrovna, and Catherine II are regularly held in the Oval Hall. Every Wednesday, the famous Elagin Evenings take place here — an event where poets, musicians, and actors meet their audience and not only share their talents but also help immerse themselves in the era of nobility, a time when creative and gifted people could be truly appreciated and for whom the doors of Elagin Palace were always open.
Sources:
https://www.redeveloper.ru/redeveloperskie-proekty/realise_actual/elagin-dvorets-sankt-peterburg-rossiya/
https://www.citywalls.ru/house5734.html
https://www.spbmuzei.ru/elaginoostrovskiy.htm
Sergey Petrov: Krestovsky, Elagin, Petrovsky. Islands of the Neva Delta
Naum Alexandrovich Sindalovsky: Legends of St. Petersburg Gardens and Parks
