Mikhailovsky Castle in St. Petersburg – history, photo, description, opening hours, map
Mikhailovsky Castle is an unusual attraction of the palace of St. Petersburg, if only because it is the only castle in the city, and even a castle on the water. He is enveloped in a halo of romantic, tragic and even gothic mysteries and legends. Let's start our story about the Mikhailovsky Castle in St. Petersburg from the very beginning – the history of its construction.
The legend of the beginning of construction
Unlike the vast majority of Russian palaces, the name of the castle was given not in honor of its owner, location or destination, but in honor of the Archangel Michael, whose house church is located in the western part of the palace and was intended for prayers by the imperial family. However, Emperor Paul I ordered to call the castle Mikhailovsky from the beginning of its construction.
According to legend, a young man shrouded in light appeared to the guard standing at the Summer Palace and asked him to tell the king that an imperial palace should be built on this site. The news of the miracle reached Paul, who immediately ordered the construction to begin. It is noteworthy that in the wooden Summer Palace by the great Rastrelli, which was previously located on the site of the castle, the future emperor was born. In confirmation of the beautiful legend, in a niche near the restored Three-Part Bridge, you can find a small figurine of a soldier, hitting with a coin, which, according to rumors, brings good luck.
Castle construction
Having your own castle was a dream of Paul I long before his accession to the throne, and the decree on the start of construction was one of the first decrees of the newly-made emperor. Moreover, Paul I already had 13 projects for the future castle, he brought ideas from foreign travels. Fearing for his life, the emperor ordered the construction to be carried out as soon as possible. From the moment of laying the first stone to the consecration of the new housing of the crowned family, only about 4 years passed, they built without interruption day and night, to the detriment of other projects. The architects of the castle were V. Bazhenov, who developed the project, and V. Brenna, who supervised the construction and was engaged in interior decoration.
Many other specialists were sent to help them, they spared no effort or money – the castle became the most expensive construction site of the 18th century. Without waiting for the completion of the work, the imperial family entered the palace, although it was still damp and uncomfortable there. According to the stories of contemporaries, the dampness and cold in the castle were such that ice did not melt in the corners, and the lights of hundreds of lit candles were barely visible in the thick fog. However, this fact did not stop the emperor, only he ordered the living quarters of the family to be sheathed with boards in order to insulate and dry them.
Owners
The emperor spent only 40 days in the house of his dreams before falling at the hands of the conspirators. After the death of the owner of the palace, the rest of the family did not linger in the ill-fated place, and moved back to the Winter Palace. Without his patron, Mikhailovsky Castle began to deteriorate. We had to wait for a new owner for two decades. In 1823, a military engineering school moved into the palace, giving the second name to the castle – Engineering.
With a break for the years of World War II, when the building was occupied by a hospital, until the 60s of the 20th century, ensigns and officers were trained at the Main Engineering School, many great people came out of here, including Dostoevsky, Sechenov, Glinka, Yablochkov and others. Then the castle was handed over to the Leninist Economic Council, which began to build various technological institutes in it, which, of course, could not but affect the state of its interiors. Finally, in 1991, the slow process of transferring the premises to the Russian Museum was initiated.
Architecture and interiors
If you look at the castle from above, it becomes clear that the purpose of the building is primarily defensive. It is more of a fortress than the residence of a royal family. The castle building is square, with rounded corners, the courtyard is an octagon inscribed in a square. The palace is located at the confluence of the Moika and Fontanka rivers; during construction, the two remaining sides were separated from the land by specially dug Church and Voznesensky canals, thereby creating an artificial island. The trident-like granite Three-Part Bridge connects the castle with the land.
The facades of the palace are also remarkable – none of them is similar to the other, while each serves its own purpose and harmoniously fits into the surrounding space. The northern facade overlooks the Summer Garden and the Field of Mars, that is, it is a park. This is reflected in the rich decoration of the attic, the wide staircase decorated with sculptures, as well as the marble colonnade. The southern façade opposite to it is the main entrance, which determines the representativeness of this side of the building. The central part is lined with gray marble, the raised portico is decorated with paired marble columns and obelisks in the form of knightly armor. The square of the same name in front of the castle is decorated with a monument to equestrian Peter I with the inscription “Great-grandfather's great-grandson”. On the facade you can read “THE SHINE OF THE LORD IS SUITABLE FOR YOUR HOUSE FOR THE LONGITY OF DAYS”.
This slightly altered biblical text gave rise to a legend, which will be discussed later. The eastern and western facades are secondary to the two main facades of the Mikhailovsky Castle. The western side is the church side, in the center of it rises the dome and the golden spire of the Church of the Archangel Michael. Finally, the most modest, the Eastern facade overlooks the Fontanka embankment and has a symmetrical apse with a dome and a flagpole, on which the standard was raised while its owner was in the castle. The Oval Hall was located in a round ledge.
The architectural style of the palace is considered to be romantic classicism. The interior of the palace was luxurious, as befits the status of its owners. A lot of marble was used in the decoration, the walls were decorated with paintings and sculptures by famous masters. The Mikhailovsky Castle complex includes a number of buildings, in addition to the palace itself. If we turn our backs to its main facade, we will see a square that previously served as a military parade ground and was called Connetable Square, with a monument to Peter I in the center. It was also separated from the land by ditches, connected to the land by suspension bridges, carefully guarded.
Along the perimeter, the square was fortified with cannons and bastions and represented the second line of fortifications of the castle. Immediately at the end of the square, on both sides, you can see the three-storey western and eastern pavilions of the Guardhouse, which housed the security guard. Then the Maple Alley begins, in long structures on both sides of which there were previously stables and an arena building, also by V. Brenna. Finally, the exit from the complex and the entrance to it was carried out through a three-aisle gate, the central part of which was intended for the royal family, the rest for other visitors. Unfortunately, they have not survived to our time.
Having presented a complete picture of the castle complex, it becomes clear how unusual this building is for St. Petersburg and what a difficult task its creators managed to accomplish, organically fitting the castle into the urban landscape.
Legends and shadows of the castle
Mikhailovsky Castle is rightfully recognized as one of the most mystical places in Russia. The tragedy that broke out within its walls immediately after the completion of construction provided fertile ground for many legends. One fact that in the 80s of the 20th century a special commission to investigate paranormal phenomena worked here speaks for itself – scientists, atheists, in Soviet times, looked for ghosts in the palace, an exceptional case! However, the results of the investigation were not made public. Let's touch the most curious of the castle secrets.
Castle color
The real color of the walls of the building can be defined as orange-pink, it varies greatly depending on the lighting, and stands out as a bright spot against the background of other buildings in St. Petersburg. According to legend, this emperor noticed the color on the gloves of his favorite Lopukhina, and ordered Brenna to reproduce it on his offspring. Like it or not, it's impossible to establish for sure, but the walls of the castle really seem to be covered with a romantic veil, especially in the setting sun.
grim prophecy
Paul I was prophesied to live as many years as there are letters in the inscription on the southern facade of the building. Indeed, the emperor was killed at the age of 47. Adherents of numerology generally notice the mystical meaning of the number 4 in the life of Paul I – the castle was built for 4 years, the emperor lived in it for 40 days, his total reign was 4 years 4 months and 4 days, and there are many other coincidences.
Emperor's ghost
After his death, the figure of Paul I was seen in the castle by many – either winking from his portrait, or standing with a burning candle near the window. There is a legend that every year on his birthday, Paul I, standing at the window of the castle, counts the passers-by below and, having reached the number 47, leaves, taking the soul of the passerby with him. Among the cadets of the school, jokes about student recruits related to the spirit of the former inhabitant of the castle were very common.
Treasures of the Order of Malta
Being the Grand Master of the order, Paul I patronized the then oppressed Maltese and there is a version that the treasures of the order, including the Holy Grail, are still kept in the castle, and the ghost of the emperor guards them. Whether these legends correspond to reality, of course, cannot be reliably established, and whether this is necessary. The atmosphere of the Mikhailovsky Castle is really special, to feel it, you need to walk through the majestic and strict halls of the building, imbued with its unusual aura
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The castle today
The final transfer of the Mikhailovsky Castle to its current owner took place in 1994. For more than 25 years the palace has been a branch of the Russian Museum. By the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg, a global work was done to restore the building and recreate more Pavlovian interiors. The inscription on the southern façade was rediscovered, the Three-Phase Bridge and partly the Resurrection Canal were excavated. The renovated Mikhailovsky Castle opened to the public in 2003 and boasts both permanent and temporary exhibitions.
Exhibitions and expositions
The exhibitions “Open Fund of Sculpture”, “Faces of Russia”, “Petersburg Society of the Romanov Era” are constantly open. The palace can be visited with a guided tour “The history of the castle and its inhabitants.” Since temporary exhibitions change all the time, it is better to check the information about current events on the museum website.
Opening hours and ticket prices
The castle is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. all days of the week, except for Tuesdays and Thursdays, when you can visit it from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. The cost of visiting for foreign citizens is 350 rubles, for Russians and citizens of the Republic of Belarus 250 rubles. It is convenient to purchase a complex ticket to visit two branches of the Russian Museum in one day at a price of 650 rubles for foreigners and 500 rubles for Russians, or visit all branches within a three-day period for 900 and 650 rubles, respectively.
Where is it located and how to get there
The address of the Mikhailovsky Castle is st. Sadovaya, 2. You can get there from the Nevsky Prospekt or Gostiny Dvor metro stations, then walk for about 10-15 minutes, or use buses No. 3, No. 22, No. 27, No. 49, K212, or trolleybuses No. 5, No. 22.