The Admiralty (“Holland”)

Categories / Tsarskoe Selo and town of Pushkin. The digital chronological reference book/Monuments of history and culture
The architectural ensemble of the Admiralty or “Holland” consisted of three pavilions and Sailor’s house was included in the Great Pond view of the Catherine park. Earlier, from the times of Elizabeth Petrovna in different secluded parts of the park there was a wooden shed where was a boat for the Empress’s boating on the lake and sailor crew lived, as well as a shed for aquatic birds. Instead of broken sheds during 1773-1777 V.I. Neyelov built stone buildings with the Gothic style facades. Towers, lancet windows, merlon gables and parapets, red brick facing were used for creating the Gothic style. White decorative moulded details and surrounds of windows formed the elegant and well-decorated viewing. The plinth wall was made of dark-red Shoksha porphyry was chosen to match the colour of the façade. The ensemble was devoted to the annexing of ancient Taurida to the Russian Empire.
The middle pavilion was used as a Boat shed where the Tsarskoye Selo flotilla boats were kept in the ground floor. In summer time the boats were given for boating in the Great Lake to all people who was interested in it, they even queued at the Great Pier. Inside there was a model of the seventy-gun navy ship “Leipzig”, a South-American boat-pirogue, oars and another rigging that was kept here in winter. The Large Hall, decorated with white glazed Holland style tiles, occupied the first floor. English etchings and drawings, pictures with depicting ruins, the famous Gottorpsky Globe was can seen here.
The identical side pavilions of the Admiralty – the Bird Houses – were used for keeping birds: swans, pheasants, geese and ducks of especially exotic species. In small decorative yards and in a pavilion there were pools for the wintering of birds. During his morning walks, Alexander I liked to feed birds by himself, he put on a special glove for feeding. Semenova Galina Victorovna
Alexander I, Emperor
Elizaveta Petrovna, Empress
Neelov Vasily Ivanovich
Ekaterininsky Park/Pushkin, town
Gottorp Globe