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 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
Dvortsovaya Square/Saint Petersburg, city, house 10
Dvortsovaya Square/Saint Petersburg, city, house 8
Dvortsovaya Square/Saint Petersburg, city, house 6
Восстановление памятников архитектуры Ленинграда. Л., 1983
Исаченко В. Г. Архитектура Санкт-Петербурга: Справ.-путеводитель. СПб., 2002
Тарановская М. З. Карл Росси. Л., 1978 Winter Palace
Siege of 1941-44
Artillery Bombardments of 1941-44
Hermitage
1829