Mikhailovsky Castle

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This castle was painted in the color of the gloves of the favorite of Emperor Paul I. Surely you already guessed that we are talking about the Mikhailovsky Castle. It is also called the Engineer's, and in the documents of the 18th century it was called the St. Michael's Palace.

The first sketches of Mikhailovsky Castle were made by Pavel I. Twelve years he worked on the variants of his future residence, by the time of construction, thirteen.

The castle and even made his first sketches himself Pavel I. Work on the project of the future residence began twelve years before the construction, by this time the emperor had thirteen options for the future palace.

Mikhailovsky Castle

Mikhailovskiy Castle is named after the temple of Michael the Archangel, the patron of the Romanov dynasty, located in it. The second name - Engineering - came from the Main Engineering School there since 1823.

As soon as Paul became emperor, he immediately issued a decree on the construction of his long-standing dream. The first stone was laid in 1797, the work went day and night, 6 thousand people worked on the imperial residence. Finished succeeded in 1801. Forty days after the housewarming the owner of the castle was killed in his own bedroom. After the tragic death of the tsar, his family hurriedly left the castle to the Winter Palace

Mikhailovsky Castle is considered one of the most interesting architectural monuments of the Northern Capital . It does not look like all the palaces that were built before that . In many respects it is connected with the fact that Paul I had the title of master of the Order of Malta . The Emperor wanted his residence to serve as a meeting place for the Maltese knights . Externally, the castle resembles a medieval fairy-tale building . Initially, the territory of the Mikhailovsky Castle was completely separated doy - the Moika and Fontanka rivers, as well as the Church and Ascension channels . In essence, the residence of Paul I was on the island, which could only be reached by bridges .

There are two versions explaining why the castle was built on place of the Summer Palace of Elizabeth. According to the first, Paul wanted to live and then die exactly where he was born. The second version says that Archangel Michael once appeared to the guard soldier and said that a temple should be built on this place. The young man reported this to Pavel, who then executed the order.

After the death of the emperor, the castle was launched. When Alexander I needed silver for a luxurious service (a wedding present to his sister - the Queen of the Netherlands), he ordered the silver gates to be melted from the palace church. In the era of Nicholas I the architects "mined" a marble in the castle for the construction of the New Hermitage. During the Great Patriotic War there was a hospital here

In 1994 the castle was transferred to the Russian Museum, thanks to which large-scale restoration began here. Today Mikhailovsky is a branch of the museum

Mikhailovsky Castle

To the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg the castle was restored, the interiors acquired the look of what was under Paul, the inscription on the facade and the statue from the Summer Garden again appeared. Back in 1800, a monument to Peter the Great was erected in front of the castle with the inscription "Great-grand-father". The sculpture was cast according to Rastrelli's model, made during the lifetime of Peter the Great. And in 2003 a monument to Pavel I appeared in the courtyard.

Several permanent exhibitions were opened in the castle halls, guided tours, temporary exhibitions are held

Practical information

Address: 2, Sadovaya St., St. Petersburg.

Metro stations: Nevsky Prospekt, Gostiny Dvor

Ticket price: for an adult - 440 rubles (this is a complex of palaces), for schoolchildren and pensioners - 150 rubles, preschools are free of charge (June 2013)

Mikhailovsky Castle in a miniature

General dining room

Mikhailovsky Castle Halls

Monument to Pavel I