Возврат на главную страницу Возврат на главную страницу Возврат на главную страницу Возврат на главную страницу Возврат на главную страницу
Entries / General Staff Building

General Staff Building


Categories / Architecture/Architectural Monuments/Public Buildings and Edifices

GENERAL STAFF BUILDING (6-10 Dvortsovaya Embankment), architectural monument in the Empire style, in commemoration of Russia's victory in the Patriotic War of 1812 and the campaigns of 1813-14 against Emperor Napoleon I. Erected in the course of the reconstruction of the Palace Square in 1823-29 (architect K.I. Rossi), the building complex included the constructions of the second half of the 18th century The House of the Foreign Ministry and the Ministry of Finance were built in 1824. In 1829 the construction of the Triumphal Arch, connecting both parts of the building was completed. The General Staff headquarters were housed in the west wing (from the arch down to Nevsky prospekt). The sculptural ornate decoration forming compositions of arms and armour was created by sculptors S.S. Pimenov and V.I. Demut-Malinovsky. The homogeneity of the main elements of the General Staff building and the Winter Palace creates the impression of integrity of the Palace Square ensemble, where the Triumphal Arch, crowned by the Chariot of Glory, matches the three bay arch of the passage to the courtyard of the Winter Palace. Interiors of a number of buildings, including that of the Suvorov's staircase, and the lobby of the former Ministry of Foreign Affairs have survived through the centuries. During the blockade of 1941-44 the building suffered damage from bombardment, and was restored in 1948-50 and 1964-69 by architects-restorers А.N. Stupin, Y.А. Kazakov, М.М. Shvabsky, B.А. Pugovkin and V.P.Okorochkov). In 1989 some of the buildings were transferred into the ownership of the State Hermitage.

References: Тарановская М. З. Карл Росси. Л., 1978. С. 129-149; Восстановление памятников архитектуры Ленинграда. Л., 1983. С. 227-228; Исаченко В. Г. Архитектура Санкт-Петербурга: Справ.-путеводитель. СПб., 2002. С. 25-28.

O. A. Chekanova

Persons
Demut-Malinovsky Vasily Ivanovich
Kazakov Yakov Alexandrovich
Napoleon I Bonaparte, Emperor
Okorochkov V.P.
Pimenov Stepan Stepanovich
Pugovkin B.A.
Rossi Carl Ivanovich (Carlo Giovanni)
Shvabsky M.M.
Stupin Alexander Nikitich

Addresses
Dvortsovaya Square/Saint Petersburg, city, house 10
Dvortsovaya Square/Saint Petersburg, city, house 8
Dvortsovaya Square/Saint Petersburg, city, house 6

Bibliographies
Восстановление памятников архитектуры Ленинграда. Л., 1983
Исаченко В. Г. Архитектура Санкт-Петербурга: Справ.-путеводитель. СПб., 2002
Тарановская М. З. Карл Росси. Л., 1978

The subject Index
Winter Palace
Siege of 1941-44
Artillery Bombardments of 1941-44
Hermitage

Chronograph
1829


Clark Matthew (1776-1846), metallurgical engineer

CLARK Matvey Egorovich (Matthew) (1776-1846), metallurgical engineer, Chief Hunt Master. A native of Scotland, he served as inspector at St. Petersburg Iron Foundry (today, Kirovsky Plant) in 1824 and director of Alexandrovsky Foundry (today

Demut-Malinovsky V.I., (1779-1846), sculptor

DEMUT-MALINOVSKY Vasily Ivanovich (1779 - 1846, St. Petersburg), sculptor. Studied at the Academy of Arts (1785-1800) under M.I. Kozlovsky, and received a retainer from the Academy of Arts to study in Rome (1803-06)

Free Economic Society

FREE ECONOMIC SOCIETY, the Imperial Free Economic Society for the Encouragement of Farming and Housebuilding in Russia, the oldest Russian scientific society. It was founded in 1765 by large landowners striving for higher agricultural efficiency;

General Plans for the Development of Petersburg-Leningrad

GENERAL PLANS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF PETERSBURG-LENINGRAD. One the first projects of St. Petersburg planning dates back to 1709-12. According to it, the city centre should be situated at Kotlin Island and was to be connected to outer parts of the

Hermitage Buildings (entry)

HERMITAGE BUILDINGS. Hermitages were compulsory for all large court estates such as Peterhof and Tsarskoe Selo built as detached pavilions for confidential meetings from the early 18th century

Main Headquarters

MAIN HEADQUARTERS, supreme military administrative body in pre-revolutionary Russia. Established in 1815 as the Main Headquarters of His Imperial Majesty, administered the activities of the army

Miloradovich M.A. governor-general in 1818-25

MILORADOVICH Mikhail Andreevich (1771-1825, St. Petersburg), count (1813), statesman and military figure, infantry general (1809). He attended Koningsberg and Gottingen universities, studied the science of warfare in Metz and Strasbourg

Monuments to the War of 1812-1814

MONUMENTS TO THE WAR OF 1812-1814, memorial constructions in honour of Russia's military victories during the Patriotic War of 1812 and the campaigns of 1813-14 against Emperor Napoleon I concluding with allied troops marching into Paris on 19 March

Pimenov S.S. (1784-1833), sculptor

PIMENOV Stepan Stepanovich (1784 - 1833, St. Petersburg), sculptor. Father of N.S. Pimenov. Studied at the Academy of Arts (1795-1803) under M.I. Kozlovsky and I.P. Prokofyev

Postwar Restoration of Architectural Monuments

POSTWAR RESTORATION OF ARCHITECTURAL MONUMENTS. During the Siege of 1941-44, 187 of 210 buildings registered by the government as architectural monuments suffered from bombardment, suburban palaces-museums (except for Oranienbaum) were ruined

Rossi C.I. (1775-1849), architect

ROSSI Carl Ivanovich (Carlo Giovanni) (1775-1849, St. Petersburg), architect. The son of the court ballerina G. Lepik. Graduated from the Peterschule in St. Petersburg, apprenticed architecture with V

Russo-Turkish wars, Monuments to

RUSSO-TURKISH WARS, MONUMENTS TO. Many monuments devoted to victories by the Russian Army and Fleet during the Russo-Turkish War of 1768-1774 have been erected at the Catherine Park at Tsarskoe Selo