The Banknotes Factory

Categories / Tsarskoe Selo and town of Pushkin. The digital chronological reference book/Monuments of history and culture
In 1779 Empress Catherine II ordered to construct a factory for producing high quality paper, officially stamped paper and banknotes, on the dam of the 5-th Lower Pond, later these ponds were named Fabrichniye (Factory’s). The factory-mill was built in 1784-1785 according to the design and under the direction of F.V. Bauer, a St.Petersburg military hydraulic engineer. Masters and equipment for producing paper were brought from abroad. In the main stone building there was a water mill, used in the process of production paper, rooms for keeping it. The building was located right up to the dam in order to water from a sluice fall on the wheel of the mill placed in the cellar. A stone “cherpalnya” and wooden “sushilo” were located on a plot near. The territory was protected thoroughly, only specially appointed persons had the right to attend at working areas. The supervision of the mill was imposed on the councilor V. Nebolsin and a police officer. Houses for the factory manager, officials, workers and a team, protected the factory, as well as warehouses were located at the north-western side of the pond. In 1819 the Banknote factory was closed in connection with the founding of the Despatch Office of State Papers Provision, which used workers of the Tsarskoye Selo Banknote Factory. But the production of paper, converted for making wall-paper, still worked for a long time here. The Tsarskoye Selo Wall-paper Factory, founded on the base of the Imperial Wall-paper Factory, moved from Ropsha, occupied these building from 1819 until 1860. After closing the wall-paper production in the former factory building the Tsarskoye Selo Trade Woman Alms-house of Empress Maria Fiodorovna Establishments Board was placed.
A founded in 1872 orphan's home for keeping orphans and children of poor parents of all classes made its aim to prepare competent and trained to craft servants. In 1873-1878 the building was rebuilt and adjusted to a charity school according to the design of the architect A.F. Vidov. It was partially replanned and an additional three- flight stairs was constructed in the semicircular outbuilding from the yard side. In 1977 the former banknote factory was restored with displaying the original view of the façade, enclosed the perspective of the Catherine Park ponds, under the direction of the State Inspection for Monuments Protection architect B.A. Rosadeyev. Semenova Galina Victorovna
Bauer Fedor Villimovich
Catherine II, Empress
Maria Fedorovna, Empress
Rozadeev Boris Alexandrovich
Vidov Alexander Fomich
Vidov Alexander Fomich