Perhaps every tourist who walks the streets of St. Petersburg, draws attention to the Beloselsky-Belozersky Palace, located in the heart of the city. And even if the guests of the Northern capital did not plan to inspect this building, they still will not pass by it. It's all about the location: the Beloselsky-Belozersky Palace is located on Nevsky Prospect near the famous Anichkov Palace

The majestic building was built by the project of Andrey Stakenshneider . It is interesting that this house became the last private palace erected in the 19th century . The history of the palace began in 1797 when Senator Naryshkin sold his plot of land to the princes of Beloselskiy-Belozersky . The family quickly built a big house for themselves, but after a time a large-scale reconstruction began . The hosts wanted to live in the present the Palace, which in all respects would correspond to their high position in society . In 1848, the Beloselsky-Belozersky Palace appeared in this place, executed in the baroque style . It is worth noting that the new beautiful building fascinated St. Petersburgers of that time . The prototype of the mansion, most likely, was the Stroganov Palace .

Alas, the customer of the house Esper Alexandrovich never saw it . The head of the family died of typhus two years before the end of construction . Widow Elena Pavlovna soon married Prince Vasily Kochubey . Spouses arranged lavish balls in the Beloselsky-Belozersky Palace, and they themselves lived in another house . By the way, balls and secular evenings in the palace were considered one of the best in St. Petersburg . The frequent guest of the events was Emperor Alexander III and his wife .Sometimes balls were arranged exclusively for the royal couple . Maria Fedorovna adored to dance, and Alexander III - to play whist . The Emperor's wife was ready to dance without stopping, and he had to go to all sorts of tricks to persuade his wife to go home . Usually he under some pretext called to himself the musicians . When all the musicians were busy with some other business, and there was nobody to play, Maria Fyodorovna agreed to leave the palace and go home .

However, Vasily Kochubei's affairs were progressing worse and worse, and in 1884 he was forced to sell the palace to Prince Sergei Aleksandrovich, the younger brother of Alexander III. That is why the palace later was named Sergievsky. But in 1905 the prince was assassinated. The mansion was transferred to the possession of his nephew Dmitry Pavlovich. In 1917 he took part in the murder of Grigory Rasputin and then was exiled to Persia. The owner of the Beloselsky-Belozersky Palace was a large industrialist Ivan Staheev.

After the revolution, the building was nationalized. Here were located a variety of organizations: the red propaganda courses, the district committee of the Komsomol and others. During the Great Patriotic War the palace was badly damaged, but was restored and restored. In 1991, the palace received the status of the St. Petersburg Cultural Center, which now often hosts exhibitions and concerts. Some of the premises are rented to various commercial organizations

Practical information

Beloselsky-Belozersky Palace is located at: St. Petersburg, Nevsky Prospect 41, Mayakovskaya Metro Station, Gostiny Dvor. Excursion around the palace's main halls will cost 150 rubles

All prices are indicated in October 2013.

Beloselsky-Belozersky Palace

Atlanta, Beloselsky-Belozersky Palace