The list of sights of the northern capital is almost endless, but the Palace Square ensemble occupies a special place in this series. Located directly opposite the Hermitage, the majestic building of the General Staff building in St. Petersburg is well known to residents and visitors of the city.
From history
At the end of the 18th century, private households were located in this place in front of the Winter Palace in a semicircle. After the Patriotic War of 1812, a decision was made to reconstruct Palace Square. The author of the project was the architect K. I. Rossi.
The construction of the General Staff building in St. Petersburg began in 1819 and lasted about ten years. The grand opening took place on October 28, 1828.
The granite building consisted of two buildings connected by a triumphal arch. The western building housed the General Staff and a number of military institutions, while the eastern building housed the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Architecture
St. Petersburg is decorated in accordance with the strict canons of the classical style. The central part of the building, connected by an arch, is an arc 580 meters long. The facades of the buildings are decorated with porticos.
The pearl of the architectural composition, of course, is the triumphal arch. It is this angle that is the most popular in the photo of the building of the General Staff of St. Petersburg. The arch, whose height is almost thirty meters, is crowned with the chariot of Nike (the goddess of victory), harnessed by six horses, figures of warriors and battle armor. The authors of the sculpture are V. I. Demut-Malinovsky and S. S. Pimenov. During the construction of the arch, doubts were expressed about its strength. In response, the architect Carl Rossi stated that if she fell, he was ready to fall with her, and remained under the vault of the arch when the scaffolding was removed.
What's inside?
When planning the General Headquarters, it was originally envisaged that state institutions would be located here. Therefore, the system of internal communications (stairs, corridors) took into account the needs of state departments, each of which had a separate entrance and courtyard. The offices were located in enfilades along the perimeter of the building.
In the early 90s. of the last century, the left wing was transferred to the State Hermitage, and in 2008 the reconstruction of the premises began, taking into account the needs of the museum. The exhibition spaces have been decorated with traditional finishes.
Currently in the east buildingexhibitions are regularly held, and the command of the Western Military District is located in the western part.
Official address of the General Staff building in St. Petersburg: Palace Square, 6-8.
Exhibition Complex
Reconstruction of the eastern building, which was to become a museum space, was completed by 2014. The principle of enfilade of exhibition halls, which is typical for the Hermitage, has been preserved in the renovated building. Initially, an exposition of art objects of the 19th-21st centuries was placed here. On the second floor, in the central part, they created a large suite of exhibition halls and covered atriums, alternating with each other. The front staircase leads to it.
Two fan-shaped staircases were originally planned as additional art space for various promotions.
The second floor of the building is occupied by an exposition dedicated to the history of the Ministry of Finance, as well as halls of the art of African peoples. On the third floor there is a Museum of the Guards, a collection of works by C. Faberge, state rooms of the Ministries, an exposition of European painting of the 19th century. Collections of paintings by the Impressionists, artists of the Paris Salon and the Nabis group are located on the fourth floor. The first floor is given over to office space, an entrance area, shops and lecture halls.
Exhibitions in the building of the General Staff of St. Petersburg are held regularly. In June 2014, as part of the grand opening, a large-scale exhibition of European art "Manifesta 10" was organized. At the same time, paintings by Matisse were moved here,Kandinsky, Malevich.
Now there are 5 major exhibitions in the General Staff building: Annie Leibovitz's photo collection; "Thin Matter" (costumes 1988-2018); collection of publications with illustrations by Pablo Picasso; "Porcelain fashion"; abstract paintings by Achille Perilli.
Visitor reviews
The building of the General Staff in St. Petersburg does not leave visitors indifferent and amazes them with the majesty and beauty of external forms. Connoisseurs of beauty will find a lot of interesting things inside the building, getting acquainted with the permanent museum exposition and updated exhibitions.
On the net you can find a huge number of rave reviews about the architectural decoration of the building, inscribed in the Palace Square ensemble: "Indescribable beauty!", "Stunning and enchanting!".
Visitors of the museum complex note the spaciousness of the halls, the combination of classical style and modernity, the literacy of the organization of the permanent exhibition and the non-trivial approach to exhibition design.
