One of the amazing architectural creations of the Northern capital is the building of the Senate and the Synod. There are many wonderful buildings in St. Petersburg, however, it was this last major project of the famous architect Rossi that became a symbol of late classicism.
Overview
In fact, we are talking not about one, but about two buildings, which today are united by one name - the building of the Senate and the Synod. In St. Petersburg, earlier these two state administrative bodies of the Russian Empire were located in the building of the Twelve Collegia. However, after the construction of the Admir alty in 1823, the former building no longer corresponded to the new look that Senate Square received. There is an urgent need for its reconstruction. That is why in 1824 a competition was announced for the project, according to which it was supposed to build a new building for the Senate and the Synod.
In St. Petersburg on August 24, 1829, the first stone was laid in the construction. At first, they began to build a building intended for the Senate, and a year laterand began the construction of the Synod. Construction was completed in 1834. The architect of the building of the Senate and the Synod is Karl Ivanovich Rossi. The construction work on his project was led by Alexander Staubert.
Prehistory
Initially, on the site of the current Senate and Synod, there was a half-timbered house belonging to A. Menshikov, and next to it was a mansion owned by merchant Kusovnikova. When the Most Serene Prince fell into disgrace, his property on the Neva embankment passed into the possession of Vice-Chancellor A. I. Osterman. Some time later, in 1744, the building was granted by Elizaveta Petrovna to A. Bestuzhev-Ryumin. The chancellor reconstructed it, instructing the architect A. Whist to build a house in the Baroque style.
In 1763, when Catherine II ascended the throne, the building was transferred to the treasury. The Senate moved into this building almost immediately. From 1780 to 1790, the baroque building of Bestuzhev-Ryumin was again reconstructed: the facades received a new architectural treatment, typical of Russian classicism.
The name of the last author of the project, according to which the building was rebuilt, is not known for certain. However, judging by the drawings of the western facade preserved in the collection of the Museum of the Academy of Arts, the development was carried out by the architect I. Starov.
History of Creation
When in 1823 the architect Zakharov completed the monumental building of the Admir alty, it became necessary to transform the three central squares of the Northern capital: Senate (the current Decembrists), Palace and Admir alteyskaya, where at the endnineteenth century, the Alexander Garden was laid out. The design of the house that already existed by that time, in which the Senate was located, ceased to correspond to the scale of that time, and to the general architecture and splendor of the city center. And so it required reconstruction.
By his order, the emperor, and then Nicholas I was on the throne, began the construction of a new house for the Senate in a single image and likeness, so that the building of the General Staff, the Senate, the Synod in St. Petersburg would be made in a single architectural solution. Therefore, the house of the merchant Kusovnikova was purchased for the latter. And on the site of the house of A. Bestuzhev-Ryumin, they decided to build the Senate building.
Project selection
In 1828, a competition was announced. It was attended by Vasily Stasov, Paul Jacot, Smaragd Shustov, Vasily Glinka and, of course, Rossi. The building of the Senate and the Synod in the drawings of the contestants had a variety of solutions. For example, Jaco proposed to build one common building that would resemble the Louvre gallery, Stasov planned to rebuild only the former Bestuzhev-Ryumin house. Rossi, on the other hand, made a project of two buildings and connected them with an arched structure. And this is exactly how we see the building of the Senate and the Synod today.
Architect and sculptor
On February 18, 1829, Rossi's project was approved. The main task of the architect was to give the building a character corresponding to the huge square on which it stood. Already at the end of August, a solemn laying of the house, in which the Senate was to work, took place. At the foundation of a buildinga memorial plaque was laid stating that the drawing of the facade, approved by the highest, belongs to Carl Rossi. Another well-known architect, A. Staubert, was appointed as the builder. Moreover, according to the project, this building very organically included the walls that were preserved from the house of Bestuzhev-Ryumin. And in August 1830, after it was possible to buy Kusovnikova's house to the state treasury, the construction of the Synod building began in its place
In July 1831, Emperor Nicholas I approved the project of sculptural decoration. At the same time, a separate instruction was given that the figures should not be depicted "full-length", but seated. In addition, they had to be dressed in antique clothing, such as togas, and remove all trophies and inscriptions on books.
Sculptural design was done by several artists at once - S. Pimenov, V. Demuth-Malinovsky with P. Sokolov, who were assisted by N. Tokarev, as well as P. Svintsov and others. The sculptor Ustinov created the statue "Vera" located in the first niche on the left. Sokolov sculpted "Piety", and Pimenov - "Law" and "Justice".
Capitals and lion masks, as well as other decorative details, are made by Toricelli. The sculptural composition located on the attic, as well as "Geniuses" with books of laws by Demuth-Malinovsky, were cast from copper at the Byrd factory.
Construction
The task set before the architect and builders to give the building of the Senate a character corresponding to the grandeur of the Senate Square, was solved by them with great skill andwith a precise sense of scale. The sufficiently large length of the facade forced the author of the project, Rossi, to increase the height of the structure to eight and a half fathoms. It must be said that the neighboring building of the Admir alty is noticeably lower than the Senate building - by as much as two hundred and ten centimeters. At the beginning of October 1832, construction work was curtailed, and the interior decoration of both buildings immediately began. In February of the following year, the emperor personally inspected the objects. And already in 1934, construction was finally completed.
Features
The center of the façade composition, decorating Senate Square, grandiose in scale and significance, Rossi decided to make a spectacular arch thrown over Galernaya Street. It connects both buildings into a single architectural complex. For its design, Karl Ivanovich used one of the previously invented, but not implemented, versions of the arch provided for the General Staff. This architectural solution was redesigned by the architect, taking into account the noticeably smaller width of the driveway. At the same time, the architects completely preserved the triumphal character inherent in the composition.
Arch
It combines the buildings of the Senate and the Synod and ends with a sculptural composition located on a multi-stage attic. "Justice and piety", and this is the name of the work of masters S. Pimenov, V. Demut-Malinovsky and P. Sokolov, symbolizes the unity of two authorities - church and secular. The sculptors worked on this composition for about a year. In addition to her, there are also figures above the arch,allegorically meaning "geniuses who keep the law."
On the very same attic there are three bas-reliefs - "Civil Law", "God's Law", and also "Natural Law". Their location is very interesting. In the center, directly above the arch, there is a relatively larger bas-relief called "Civil Law". Among the images on it, the busts of Peter the Great and Catherine II are striking.
Description
The architect of the building of the Senate and the Synod - Rossi - provided in terms of three-story rectangular buildings and courtyards. Unusually beautiful and wide staircases with ramps, made of granite, decorate the entrance. A surprisingly rich light and shadow effect is created by the alternation of protruding parts on the facades of buildings and niches. Numerous stucco decorations contribute a lot to this.
The facade of the Synod building faces both the English Embankment and the former Senate Square. In general, experts consider the architectural solution of this part of the structure to be very interesting. Its corner is rounded. It is decorated with a monumental colonnade, raised above the first floor and assembled from eight Corinthian columns, the soft curve of which is completed, according to the idea of the author of the project, with a stepped attic. This architectural solution enriches the line of the Promenade des Anglais in an amazing way, giving it a rich look.
No less interesting for its design is the former Assembly Hall in the Senate building,the walls of which are decorated with caryatids and stucco pilasters, as well as a ceiling painted by the artist B. Medici. In the middle was a throne upholstered in bright crimson velvet.
After the revolution
In 1919, the Senate and the Synod were abolished. Since 1925, the building housed the Central Historical Archive. In 1936, the building of the Senate and the Synod began to be restored, both the facades and sculptures were restored, and a year later they began to update the painting of the front stairs. During the war, both buildings were badly damaged. They were hit by several artillery shells, causing heavy damage to the buildings. The Synodal Church was almost completely destroyed.
Restoration work began in the summer of 1944 - even before the end of the war. In 2006, the Historical Archive moved, and the building of the Senate and the Synod itself was transferred to the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation. Today, the Presidential Library is located there.
This is interesting
Judging by the surviving documents, the purchase of the mansion of the merchant Kusovnikova cost the royal treasury an unheard-of sum at that time - six hundred thousand rubles, although in 1796 the plot was estimated at only seven and a half thousand. The hostess, having learned that the building of the Synod would be built on the site of her house, decided to raise the price, moreover, the total amount included bribes to many officials.
While working on the composition "Justice and Piety", the sculptor of the building of the Senate and Synod Pimenov died. His work was completed by his son.
