The estate of M.V. Kochubey (the Reserved Palace, Vladimir Palace)

Categories / Tsarskoe Selo and town of Pushkin. The digital chronological reference book/Monuments of history and culture
Alexander I was the author of the original architectural idea and customer of Kochubey’s country-house. The work with the project was begun in 1816 from a draft developed by the emperor himself with the help of the architect P.V. Neyelov, the final design was completed by V.P. Stasov. A semicircular terrace with columns and spherical dome, oriented to the “To my dear comrades” Gate in the Catherine Park and developed the architectural motifs of the Alexander Palace and the Concert Hall pavilion designed by G. Quarenghi, was successfully planned by the monarch-architect. The gift certificate was drawn up in April 1817 in the name of Princess M.V. Kochubey. The building was constructed in 1817-1818, the garden planning and building works were completed by 1824. During 1835-1857 it was the Tsarskoye Selo country-house of Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolayevich, who was born in Tsarskoye Selo. By his full age the mansion was rebuilt in 1856-1857 to the design of the architect I.I. Charlemagne, but after the finishing of building the Grand Duke refused the country-house. The project of Charlemagne was high appreciated and the architect became an academician of architecture, but his architect career was interrupted in view of fault-finding of the owner. The spectacular terrace with two stairs and sculptures of the Italian marble lions at the eastern façade of the building remembers about Charlemagne’s work. In 1859 Alexaner II ordered to name the country-house as the Reserved Palace.
In 1895 The Reserved Palace was transferred to Grand Duke Vladimir Aleksandrovich. In 1876-1878 the architect A.F. Vidov built three cavalier’s houses for the Grand Duke retinue, wings for servants and later a garage and ice-house was built. In 1882 Alexander III considered necessary to register officially the transferring of the Reserved Palace to Vladimir Aleksandrovich under the ownership in right of primogeniture with especial conditions. Further attempts of the Grand Duke and his heirs to get the unlimited rights of ownership for the palace remained unsuccessful. After the Grand Duke’s dearth, the palace, which came into the ownership of the widow Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna (Senior), was renamed the Vladimirsky Palace (in 1910), according to the Emperor’s order. In troubled 1917 during short-time the Vladimirsky Palace was used by the Soviet of Soldiers’ Deputies and Soviet authorities, a school- colony for juvenile delinquents, then here there was a School of VKP(b) (Communist Party of the Soviet Union (Bolsheviks)) for the Communist Party activists of agricultural establishments. During the Nazi occupation of Pushkin Town in 1941-1943 the palace burned and was highly damaged, so the question about its restoration for placing the dormitory of the School of the Communist Party Education did not solve for a long time. In 1948 Doctor of Architecture, professor V.I. Yakovlev and B.L. Vasilyev, an architect of the State Inspectorate for Monuments Protection, disputed this idea of the palace using and recommended to use the palace for a culture-educational establishment (a theatre, club). Restoration and recovery work was done according to the design of the architect-restorer M.I. Tolstov in 1955-1958 for using the palace as the Palace of Pioneers. At the present time the most luxurious Palace of Wedding is placed here. Cavaliers’ houses and wings are occupied by the Cadet Corps of the Federal Frontier Service. Semenova Galina Victorovna
Alexander I, Emperor
Alexander II, Emperor
Alexander III, Emperor
Kochubey Viktor Sergeevich, Duke
Nikolay Nikolaevich (Sr.), Grand Prince
Quarenghi Giacomo
Stasov Vasily Petrovich
Tolstov M.I.
Vidov Alexander Fomich
Vladimir Alexandrovich, Grand Prince
Vladimir Alexandrovich, Grand Prince
Yakovlev, V.I.
Yakovlev, V.I.
Yakovlev, V.I.
Yakovlev, V.I.
Yakovlev, V.I.
Yakovlev, V.I.
Sadovaya Street/Pushkin, town, house 22
Sofiisky Boulevard/Pushkin, town
Alexander Palace (Pushkin)