Prince's house A. Ya. Lobanov-Rostovsky - War Ministry building. House of A.I. Lobanov-Rostovsky on Myasnitskaya House with lions on Voznesensky Avenue

Myasnitskaya, 43– Panin’s estate – Lobanov-Rostovsky’s house – a rare phenomenon in architecture. Firstly, it does not just stand in the depths of the yard, but is located below street level. Secondly, its traditional portico is replaced by an arch on Corinthian columns.

In 1791, Prince A.I. Lobanov-Rostovsky bought a house from Count P.I. Panin and rebuilt it according to the design of F.I. Camporesi. The house has acquired a modern look.
In the 1820s. the estate belonged to the director of the Moscow Archives of the Collegium of Foreign Affairs A.F. Malinovsky.
In 1825, a “Drawing School” was opened in the mansion, which laid the foundation for the famous Stroganov School.
In 1836, the Butenop family of mechanics became the owners of the estate. In 1851, they gave the chimes of the Spasskaya Tower the appearance that has survived to this day.
In 1874, the Lipgart factory was located on the estate, producing “agricultural machines, kerosene engines,” cement, lime and alabaster. The partnership "Emil Lipgart and Co." also occupied the neighboring house.
Later, in the house of Lobanov-Rostovsky there was a real school for K.P. Voskresensky, one of the best in the city. Part of the premises was occupied by Lipgart's office.

If you look behind the bars, you can see the mansion in all its splendor.

Panin's estate

Myasnitskaya, 43

House of Lobanov-Rostovsky

Koshelev's house - st. Myasnitskaya, 43 C2

Myasnitskaya, 43 C2– Koshelev’s house, built in 1906 according to the design of A.V. Kuznetsova. It immediately housed the classes of the Voskresensky real school, located in the house of Lobanov-Rostovsky.

“The new building all consisted of spacious, bright classrooms and large recreational halls on each floor. The walls of these latter were decorated with good reproductions of the best paintings from state galleries, and this simple decoration evaporated from these rooms any spirit of school bureaucracy.”

The house belonged to timber merchant I.I. Koshelev, who traded in timber and firewood. In total he had 6 households. Another Koshelev house was very close by.

Now in Koshelev’s house there is an office of Rosgosstrakh Bank, which accepts deposits from individuals and issues consumer loans, mortgage loans and car loans.

Founder Lobanov-Rostovsky, Alexey Yakovlevich Construction - years Status Object of cultural heritage of the Russian Federation № 7810005000 № 7810005000 architectural monument (federal) State hotel (under construction) Website Official site House of Lobanov-Rostovsky on Wikimedia Commons

House of Lobanov-Rostovsky(in everyday life house with lions) - an architectural monument, a former noble residence, erected in the 1817-1820s for Prince Alexei Yakovlevich Lobanov-Rostovsky according to the design of Auguste Montferrand in the style of classicism. Located in St. Petersburg at Admiralteysky Prospekt, 12, Voznesensky Avenue, 1 or Isaac's Square, 2. The sculptures on the facade (including the legendary lions at the main entrance) were made by Paolo Triscorni.

Background. Project for the reconstruction of St. Isaac's Square

Until the 1710s, the space of the future St. Isaac's Square was occupied by a glacis (a flat earthen embankment in front of the outer moat of a fortress or castle) and an esplanade (a wide space in front of a fortification) of the Admiralty Fortress. Subsequently, these defensive elements were removed due to the loss of fortification significance by the Admiralty, and their place was taken by chaotic buildings of private houses: wooden or mud huts. The St. Petersburg fire of 1736 destroyed most of the city's wooden buildings. On St. Isaac's Square alone and in the surrounding areas, then called Morskaya Sloboda, the fire destroyed approximately 100 houses - almost all the wooden buildings on the site of the then square. The northern part of the square remained empty, taking the shape of an uneven trapezoid.

At the beginning of the 19th century, with the support of the Russian Emperor Alexander I, who wanted to make St. Petersburg “beautiful of all European capitals visited” It was decided to build a new, fourth St. Isaac's Cathedral on the site of the third, which was distinguished by poor quality construction. Active work The design and construction of the temple began back in 1813, but for a number of reasons, the start of construction had to be postponed. In 1816, a Committee for Buildings and Hydraulic Works was formed (contemporaries called this structure the “Committee of Beauty and Architectural Discipline”), which, among other things, was ordered to deal with "settlement of streets and squares". In fact, construction of the colossal structure began only in 1818.

The break in the active development of St. Isaac's Cathedral was used by Montferrand and the Committee of Beauty and Architectural Discipline, headed by engineer A. A. Betancourt, to rethink the layout of the area around the temple being built. The northern part of St. Isaac's Square (that is, observed from the Senate and Bronze Horseman), according to the decision of the architects, became rectangular in shape. This was achieved, among other things, by cutting off from the northeastern corner of the area a triangular section formed by the future St. Isaac's Cathedral, Admiralteysky and Voznesensky Avenues. It is believed that this planning decision came from Alexander I himself.

Construction

According to legend, while driving through the capital with Prince Alexander Lobanov-Rostovsky, the autocrat expressed dissatisfaction with the inappropriate appearance of St. Isaac's Square - the prince allegedly said nothing in response, but a year later showed the monarch the mansion he had built on his own initiative and at his own expense.

In 1817, a plot of land in the north-eastern corner of St. Isaac's Square in approx. 5400 m² was given to the wife of Alexander Yakovlevich, Cleopatra Ilyinichna Lobanova-Rostovskaya, for the construction of a mansion designed by Auguste Montferrand. On August 10, 1817, the St. Petersburg City Council ordered 2 copies of the plan from the city surveyor Kashkin “for the place on St. Isaac’s Square, most graciously granted by His Imperial Majesty to the retired colonel Prince Lobanov-Rostovsky.” The document noted that the length of the section "down the street opposite Bulevar"- that is, along Admiralteysky Prospekt, located perpendicular to Konnogvardeysky Boulevard - was 44 fathoms 2¾ arshins, 55 fathoms “along the street opposite the church (St. Isaac)” and, finally, 70½ fathoms along Voznesensky Prospekt. Based on these data, Kashkin calculated the area of the “place” granted to the prince - 1235¼ square meters. fathoms On April 22, 1818, in the “Book for recording plans and facades issued to the inhabitants of the 1st Admiralty part” (edition for 1816-1821), which was filled out under the Committee for buildings and hydraulic works, a note was left that A. Ya. Lobanov of Rostov “wants to build a stone house using the attached facades” with a note saying that the owner of the plot “undertook to finish this [stone house], remove it and cover it without fail by November next year 1819”.

The initial designs of the house were not monumental and contained many sophisticated, refined, French elements - balconies, stucco decoration of front groups, balustrades, etc. The initial idea of the Lobanov-Rostovsky house is in many ways similar to the early designs of the Mikhailovsky Palace, which was built at the same time, but in a different way architect, Carl Rossi. Perhaps this feature is associated with the role of Alexander I in the design of both structures, who was, apparently, not only one of the customers of these buildings, but also directly involved in the development of sketches and plans. The buildings differed slightly, but the design of the side projections and the central entrance and, in principle, the compositional idea were almost identical. However, the architects added monumentality to their designs by increasing the number of columns in the porticos and strengthening the central segments of the façade. In general, Montferrand abandoned elegant details and settled on the option most suitable for the urban planning role of the house being built, made in the Empire style.

The organization and coordination of financial and administrative issues related to the construction of the house was handled by the house office of the Lobanov-Rostovsky couple. Construction work - “digging pits, driving piles and laying foundations,” which took only one year, began in 1818, although back in October 1817 the office announced a contract for the supply of 5 million bricks by the spring of 1818, and already on April 15 of the same year Plasterers were invited to the construction site, and a competition was announced for the supply of sand, as well as “mist clay.” Construction began with the installation of piles supporting the foundations, which were laid to a depth of 2.85 m (4 arshins) and made of rubble slab. The foundation - traditional for that time, strip - still supports the building, built on unfortunate, swampy soil near the bank of the Neva. The experience of working with unstable soil was useful to Auguste Montferrand in the construction of the colossal St. Isaac's Cathedral.

The beams supporting the floors were approx. 25 - 30 cm (i.e. 10 - 11 inches) and were made from “red pine”. The ceilings themselves were made of oak. The details of the columns (capitals and bases) in the lobby of the house were cast from bronze at the Byrd factory. The doors were made from boards that were up to 7.5 cm (3 inches) thick. The roof is made of black iron produced at the Yakovlevsky factories, but all (except for the front) staircase railings with their specific type of meander in the upper belt and 3 balconies along Voznesensky Prospekt were cast from cast iron.

Already at the beginning of September 1819, the Lobanov-Rostovskys began to rent out rooms in the new building:

On St. Isaac's Square, in the house of the aide-de-camp of Prince Lobanov-Rostovsky, in addition to those expected to be released next year, 6 cellars, 4 shops and an apartment on the mezzanine with a large hall, convenient for establishing a club or other meeting, are being rented out, which will be completely decorated and delivered no later than September 1, 1820...

- // "St. Petersburg Gazette".

However, the construction of the house was finally completed only in 1820, when all the finishing work inside the massive building was completed.

Subsequent history

From the very beginning, the house on St. Isaac's Square was conceived by the Lobanov-Rostovsky couple as an apartment building - a residential building adapted for renting out apartments. At the same time, the idea of such a use of such a remarkable site was submitted by the prince’s wife, Cleopatra Ilyinichna. After the construction was commissioned, she was in charge of the affairs of the prefect. The prince’s family, therefore, practically did not live there at first.

In the summer of 1821, the art store of the Leoncini brothers moved into the building, which sold, for example, “a very good collection of all kinds of alabaster vases of various sizes, lamps and other things”. The salon of entrepreneurs who arrived from Italy is located on the 1st floor. However, the mansion turned out to be little known among potential tenants, and therefore, already in the fall of the same year, an advertising campaign was launched, which, as it turned out later, bore fruit. An inventory carried out in 1824 gives detailed information about the tenants of the princely family. The annual income from this apartment building reached 100,000 rubles.

The semi-basement corner apartment on the side of Voznesensky Prospekt was occupied by lithography - the first in all of St. Petersburg.
On the ground floor there were: the apartments of the lithographer Peters (he paid 1,000 rubles a year), flour and small shops (1,200 rubles), the provisions department of the War Ministry (6,300 rubles), the Commission for the construction of St. Isaac's Cathedral (6,850 rubles), a porter's shop (in corner apartment from St. Isaac's Square; 1,750 rub.); lived a shoemaker (2,500 rubles) and a “glover” (2,300 rubles).
On the mezzanine (the second, most prestigious floor) an apartment was rented with a view of St. Isaac's Square and Voznesenskaya Street, as well as “two halls on the same floor, well decorated, convenient for concerts and masquerades”. In general, the mezzanine premises were occupied primarily by the Provisions Department of the War Department, as well as (to a lesser extent) by the Cosmorama (4,000 rubles) by the Hamburg painter Sur.
The third floor was filled with personal chambers - the manager (French. l'intendant) Princess Lobanova-Rostovskaya, cutter Spitzbart (2000 rubles), “master of olfray painting” Martushevich (1200 rubles), Mr. Orlov (at the expense of the Commission for the construction of St. Isaac's Cathedral) - and the boarding house of Mrs. Orsenius.
Some of the premises on the fourth floor were not finished and were not occupied by anyone; however, this is where the rooms of Lobanova-Rostovskaya, the immediate owner of the house, were located.

Various social enterprises were regularly held in the Lobanov-Rostovsky house. At one time, the building housed the Cosmorama of the painter Sur - a special exhibition capable of creating the effect of stereoscopic, in other words, volumetric perception of the displayed picture thanks to special optical equipment. Sur demonstrated, as a rule, views of German and some European cities (Berlin, Hamburg, Vienna, Rome); among them was Taganrog, then notorious as the place of death of Emperor Alexander I. Cosmorama was very popular among his contemporaries: “If these views do not contain important artistic merit, then the optical part has been brought to perfection,”- wrote the latest "Domestic Notes". Another famous cosmorama of Sura is a panorama of the battle between the armies of Alexander the Great and Darius at the Granik River - "and at that moment when the Persians flee, pursued by the Macedonians, the bridge under them collapses." A visit to this performance cost 2 rubles. 50 kopecks per person.

For lovers French Mister Saint-Maur continued his literary evenings during the current Lent. He reads best places from Corneille, Racine, Moliere and other dramatic writers, as well as from Boileau, Voltaire, Delisle and others. A subscription to 10 such evenings costs 75 rubles. from person. The reading takes place in the new house of Princess Lobanova-Rostovskaya.

- // "Domestic Notes".

Another entrepreneur who rented space in the house was Toselli. He put on display in the front suite “Scenography of Jerusalem and the holy places around it,” about which the observer Svinin remarked: “This spectacle is very similar to a theater stage, only incomparably more lively.”, referring to the tricks that Toselli went to, trying to make the performances more exciting. Thus, according to eyewitnesses, the drawing of the Jerusalem spring of Silje was accompanied by sound design - the murmur of water. The entrance fee to Toselli’s “Scenography...” was 5 rubles. per person. Currently, Toselli is known to the public primarily as the creator of a watercolor panorama of St. Petersburg from the tower of the Kunstkamera, made around the same time when the Lobanov-Rostovsky house was being built. Now this watercolor is stored in the Hermitage.

The cultural life of the house at that time was not limited to the Cosmorama Sur and exhibitions like Toselli’s “Scenography...”.

On November 7, 1824, during a devastating flood, St. Isaac's Square was flooded so that only one building was visible from the water. This was reflected in urban folklore and art. So, in the first third of the 19th century, there was a story in the capital about a certain Yakovlev, who, supposedly, on the eve of a catastrophic flood, was walking around the city. When the natural disaster began and the water began to rise, Yakovlev headed home, however, having reached Lobanov-Rostovsky’s house located on the square, he realized that it was simply impossible to go further. As a result, Yakovlev climbed one of the lion sculptures “looking” at the flooded city “with a raised paw, as if alive”. Yakovlev escaped because he was on a lion "sat through the flood". In the end, the legend was reflected in the poem “The Bronze Horseman” by Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin:

...On Petrova Square,
Where a new house has risen in the corner,
Where above the elevated porch
With a raised paw, as if alive,
There are two guard lions standing,
Riding a marble beast,
Without a hat, hands clasped in a cross,
He sat motionless, terribly pale,
Eugene…

The owner of the house, a famous bibliophile and collector A. Ya. Lobanov-Rostovsky, having lived in it for several years, decided to play it in a lottery. For this purpose, a million ruble lottery tickets were issued; one of them was supposed to win - the prince's house. But Nicholas I banned this commercial scam and invited the prince to sell the house and the unique library to the treasury, for which Lobanov-Rostovsky was awarded a lifelong pension.

From 1824 to 1917, the Russian War Ministry was located in the house with lions. After October, he was taken under state protection. For some time, Physics and Mathematics Lyceum No. 239 was located there.

Modernity

In 2002, the house with lions passed to the Presidential Administration, which intended to adapt it for the Constitutional Court, which was moving to St. Petersburg. However, later it was decided to create within its walls the most fashionable hotel in the city, ready to receive senior government officials. The building was leased for 49 years to Tristar Investment Holdings CJSC.

Since the Lobanov-Rostovsky House is included in the federal list of protected cultural heritage sites, issues of its reconstruction caused heated controversy both in the architectural community and in the press.

“This is a gross violation of current legislation in the field of historical heritage protection. The Lobanov-Rostovsky House is a federal monument in the very center of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, where there could be no talk of any reconstruction - such a building can only be restored,” said Alexander Margolis.

Investors demolished the historic outbuilding in the courtyard (2007), designed, like the entire building, by the architect Auguste Montferrand. The outbuilding in the courtyard of the building was also designed by Montferrand; the first floor was built in 1817-1820, built on by the architect E. H. Ahnert. , the interiors of the main building were damaged and lost, the outline of the roof was changed. This was actively opposed by the city community, including professionals such as the architect-restorer D. A. Butyrin.

Another violation was the construction of an attic, which turned out to be 18 centimeters higher than the original roof. Initially, it was supposed to be even higher - 80 centimeters, but under public pressure, Tristar Investment Holdings decided to lower it. Nevertheless, even now the superstructure is clearly visible.

“This violates the traditional appearance of the monument. In general, this kind of attic is not typical for a monument of high classicism, and therefore is not acceptable. Members of the Council for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage unanimously spoke out against the attic, but despite this, this attic was made,” says Mikhail Milchik.

Facade after reconstruction, September 2011

The main architect of the project is the head of his own workshop, Evgeniy Gerasimov. The restoration of the security zones was carried out by Rafael Dayanov. The design of the premises was carried out by the Californian company Cheryl Rowley and the Japanese studio Spin Design Studio.

The main question that worried the public was: how the new functions of the building are consistent with its historical “shell”, what will be preserved and restored, and what will have to be sacrificed. In the case of Lobanov’s house, the concept of “original interiors” is quite arbitrary. Already in 1829, when the War Ministry moved into the house, it began to redevelop it for its needs. It is possible that even the design of the main staircase with a wide sculptural frieze depicting military armor was made for the ministry, and not for the first owner - also, incidentally, a gallant general who distinguished himself in the campaign against Napoleon. Spacious offices were built for ministerial employees, which served as classrooms during Soviet times. high school, and then they housed Design Institute No. 1. As a result, the security zone of the new hotel includes the front lobby from Admiralteysky Prospekt, a two-flight main staircase with a fireplace on the 2nd floor landing, an enfilade of the 2nd floor and another room of historical value installed already during the restoration process.

The presidential suite with an area of 250 m² was planned to be located with windows facing the Admiralty, directly above the lions, above the 1st floor arcade. The apartment includes two bedrooms, a dining room for 14 people, an office, a sitting area and a terrace overlooking the garden. In total, the hotel has 183 rooms: 157 standard, 26 luxury. There is a spacious ballroom in the underground part of the building. For business meetings - 6 conference rooms on the 1st floor and the Library bar overlooking Palace Square. The 4-storey outbuilding in the courtyard will house a spa complex, and in the atrium there will be a cafe-restaurant “Winter Garden”, always open to both hotel guests and citizens. A similar range of services and a first-class selection of rooms will allow the Four Seasons Saint Petersburg hotel to host the leaders of the Big Eight. The stated opening date is spring 2012.

Subsequently, architectural critic Mikhail Zlatonosov (“City 812”) called the house reconstruction project one of the worst examples of architecture in the city in 2010:

Architectural features

The house was built in 1817-1820 according to the architect's design

Information about buildings on Myasnitskaya Street, 43 can be found in archival documents dating back to 1701.

In the mid-eighteenth century, the site with the stone chambers was owned by A.D. Tatishchev, chief police chief of Moscow. By the end of the century, the property was purchased by Count A.D. Panin, a prominent military and government official of the Catherine era.

Photo 1. Myasnitskaya street, building 43 in Moscow

The next owner is Prince A.I. Lobanov-Rostovsky, who inherited the estate from Count Panin.

The current mansion, according to some sources, was built under Count Panin in 1790, and then significantly transformed under the new owner, Lobanov-Rostovsky.

The architect F. Camporese is mentioned as the author of the project - either the initial construction or reconstruction.

Photo 2. City estate of Panin and Lobanov-Rostovsky on Myasnitskaya

Meanwhile, in the mansion on Myasnitskaya, 43, building 1, two main halls were built, which, due to their significant size, increased the length of the façade of the building. The architect hid this disproportion by erecting three porticos - a columned Corinthian one appeared in the center, and pilaster Ionic ones were built on the sides.

The columns of the central Corinthian portico support a massive attic, which is broken by a semicircular built-in mezzanine window. This creates the illusion of a triumphal arch, albeit sculpturally unfinished.

It is interesting that the mansion itself is not only located in the depths of the courtyard, but is also located below the very level of Myasnitskaya Street.

From the history of the house on Myasnitskaya, 43

Since the mid-20s of the nineteenth century, archivist A.F. lived in the mansion. Malinovsky, who served on the board of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. His house was often visited by the poet A.S. Pushkin in 1830.

In 1825, a “Drawing School” was opened within these walls, which became initial stage creation of the famous Stroganov School.

In 1836, the plot was bought by Danish citizens, the Butenop brothers, Johann and Nikolai. The possessions were adapted by them for production purposes.

The Butenop brothers, in addition to producing agricultural machinery, were also involved in the production of chiming clocks. It was they who installed their clockworks on and on the Moscow Kremlin () in 1851, which have survived to this day.

Photo 6. Real school K.P. Voskresensky on Myasnitskaya, 43, bldg. 2

After 1861, things did not go well for the Butenop brothers and in 1874 they transferred possession of Myasnitskaya to the 43rd family of Baltic Germans Lipgart - brothers Emil and Herman.

Some of the buildings for the factory were built by the architect Alexander Meisner.

Once upon a time, Myasnitskaya Street began from the Nikolsky Gate of the Kremlin, went through the Myasnitsky Gate of the White City and the palace gardens of Zemlyanoy and led to the villages of Stromyn and Krasnoye near Moscow. Not far from Ogorodnaya Sloboda, meat traders settled in the 16th century; a “grazing cattle yard”, slaughterhouses and butcher shops appeared here. The street and gates of the White City got their name from the Myasnoy Sloboda, and the parish church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker began to be called “what’s in Myasniki.” In the 16th-17th centuries, the sides of Myasnitskaya Street were lined with modest courtyards of Slobozhan residents with houses that looked more like poor peasant huts.

In the 16th-17th centuries, only occasionally on Myasnitskaya Street were stone church buildings and white-stone chambers of noble Muscovites encountered. At the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries, the appearance of Myasnitskaya changed significantly. Thanks to Tsar Peter the Great, the street acquired the status of a royal road. Along Myasnitskaya the sovereign traveled to Lefortovo and Nemetskaya Sloboda. It is not surprising that the street immediately became a noble street, and along it appeared vast estates of the “chicks of Petrov’s nest” - the Dolgorukovs, Streshnevs, Apraksins. His Serene Highness Prince Alexander Menshikov himself built his luxurious palace right at the Myasnitsky Gate of the White City.

When it comes to the noble Myasnitskaya, we immediately remember the Lobanov-Rostovsky Palace. The first identified owner of the site on which the palace stands today was the “living room of the hundred” Fedor Kozmin, a wealthy merchant who paid a lot of money for it in 1701 - one hundred and thirty rubles. Kozmin erected stone chambers here, many outbuildings, and laid out a garden with a pond. And sixteen years later, the merchant sold his yard to the Korchagin brothers for one thousand seven hundred rubles. In 1725, the plot was acquired by Praskovya Danilovna Dashkova, with whom the noble history of this property finally began.

Dashkova’s husband, Alexei Ivanovich, was appointed by Peter the First by personal decree to fill the newly introduced government position of “Russian Postal Director General.” Through the efforts of Alexei Ivanovich, the money received from postal revenues, which had previously been stolen, began to regularly flow into the state treasury. After Dashkova’s death, all her numerous property, including the house on Myasnitskaya, was inherited by her younger brother, Alexey Danilovich Tatishchev. He held a variety of positions at court, and in every field he showed himself to be an extraordinary and very inventive person.

It was Tatishchev, wanting at all costs to entertain the bored Empress Anna Ioannovna, who in the winter of 1740 ordered the construction of the Ice House and arranged in it the clownish wedding of Prince Golitsyn and the Kalmyk court woman Buzheninova. This palace fun was described by the writer I.I. Lazhechnikov in the novel “Ice House”. When Tatishchev held the position of Chief of Police, he ordered the introduction of mandatory branding of criminals with the word “thief”. In addition, special measures were provided for in the event of a miscarriage of justice - in such cases, the exculpatory particle “not” was additionally burned in front of the word “thief.”

Tatishchev’s son Pyotr Alekseevich in 1763 sold the old chambers on Myasnitskaya to the wife of Chief General Pyotr Ivanovich Panin, Anna Alekseevna. The Panin brothers, together with their young relative Ekaterina Romanovna Dashkova and the Orlov brothers, were one of the main characters in the conspiracy against Emperor Peter III. Having ascended the throne, Catherine the Great generously thanked those who had especially distinguished themselves: Nikita Ivanovich Panin became the head of the College of Foreign Affairs, and his brother Peter Ivanovich, by order of Catherine, was promoted to general-in-chief, received a sword with diamonds, and became a senator and member of the State Council.

It was during this prosperous period of Moscow life that Anna Alekseevna started the reconstruction of the old chambers: wings were attached to the ends of the building, and the facades and interiors received baroque decoration in accordance with the material capabilities and taste of the new owners. Pyotr Ivanovich Panin lived a long and interesting life: commanded the Second Russian Army, which besieged the fortress of the city of Bendery during the Russian-Turkish War of 1768-74, received the title of count for his services. It was to him that Catherine the Great entrusted the pacification of the terrible Pugachev rebellion, endowing Panin with “full power and authority.”

After Panin’s death, the house on Myasnitskaya Street was inherited by his son, Nikita Petrovich. Before leaving for St. Petersburg, he sold his property to Major General Prince Alexander Ivanovich Lobanov-Rostovsky for twenty-seven and a half thousand rubles. There is little information left about Lobanov-Rostovsky. It is only known that he entered the service very early, made a trip to Finland during the Swedish War and retired with the rank of major general. But about the character of Prince Lobanov-Rostovsky there were many memories of contemporaries, who in most cases gave him very unflattering characteristics.

In 1799, the prince began rebuilding the house on Myasnitskaya. Researchers suggest that the work was led by the architect F.I. Camporesi. The renewed facade of the palace has survived to this day almost unchanged: the externally small (its length is only sixty meters) façade makes a grandiose impression due to the complexity of the composition. It is divided into five parts by three risalits, of which the central core amazes with its innovative solution - instead of the usual portico, we see a giant arch resting on Corinthian columns. Two two-story outbuildings and a carriage house appeared in the courtyard.

Since the completion of construction, the estate was repeatedly condemned for debts, and in 1825 the Stroganov “School of Drawing in relation to arts and crafts” moved here. True, it did not exist here for long, and already in September 1826, a new owner appeared at the palace on Myasnitskaya Street - Alexey Fedorovich Malinovsky. For Malinovsky, the glorious history of this house was of no small importance in the decision to purchase it. He was a famous historian, an honorary member of Moscow University and chairman of the Society of Lovers of Russian Literature and the Society of Russian History and Antiquities.

Malinovsky was considered one of the most authoritative researchers of ancient Russian documents. He worked on the translation of “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign”, wrote a biography of V.V. Golitsyna, D.I. Pozharsky and other historical figures. But the most important thing for Malinovsky himself was his work in the Moscow archive of the Collegium of Foreign Affairs, to which he devoted sixty years of his life. The young officials who served under his command were a kind of Moscow landmark and bore the title of “archive youths.” You may remember from A.S. Pushkin in the seventh chapter of the novel “Eugene Onegin”:

Archive young men in a crowd
They look at Tanya primly
And about her among themselves
They speak unfavorably.

The poet was well acquainted with Alexei Fedorovich Malinovsky and often worked in the Moscow archive of the College of Foreign Affairs when he wrote “The History of the Pugachev Rebellion.” Malinovsky's wife, Anna Petrovna, was on friendly terms with the Goncharov family, and Pushkin asked her to help get his hand in marriage. beautiful Natalia Nikolaevna. At the wedding of the great Russian poet, Anna Petrovna Malinovskaya was the bride's mother. The poet also visited Malinovsky’s house on Myasnitskaya Street from time to time. It is no coincidence that the following lines appeared in Pushkin’s famous poem “Road Complaints”:

Is it a matter of being in place?
Driving around Myasnitskaya,
About the village, about the bride
Think in your spare time!

Since 1836, we no longer see noble families among the owners of the house. First, it was acquired by the merchants of the second guild, the Butenop brothers, who produced agricultural machines. They demolish some of the buildings in the courtyard and in their place erect a factory building, warehouses and barracks for the workers. There was also a permanent exhibition of domestic and foreign agricultural machinery. The main house of the estate on Myasnitskaya Street also underwent major changes: a two-story extension appeared at the end of the eastern wing, a glazed vestibule at the main entrance, a turret with a bell crowned the mezzanine roof, and a clock was installed in the arch window.

In addition to agricultural machinery, the Butenop Brothers produced tower chimes. It was they who remade the famous chimes of the Spasskaya Tower of the Moscow Kremlin in 1851. This clock still adorns the Spasskaya Tower today. In 1874, the widow of Nikolai Butenop sold the house on Myasnitskaya and the factory attached to it to the company Emil Lipgart and Co. The new owners expanded production and began producing not only agricultural machines, but also Construction Materials, locomotives and engines. Huge advertising signs appeared on the façade of the house, behind which it was almost impossible to discern the beauty of the proportions of the classic palace.

In December 1913, the partnership sold its property to the Velikan joint-stock company, which soon obtained permission to demolish the buildings and build a seven-story apartment building. Started First World War saved an old house from destruction. After the revolution, MSPO, the Moscow Union of Consumer Societies, settled in the house on Myasnitskaya Street and occupied it for more than seventy years. The estate continued to deteriorate, and restoration began in 1987, completed in the 21st century by a new tenant - the non-profit partnership for the development of culture and art "Maecenas Club".

Larisa Skrypnik

I’ll write now, you asked for it

In St. Petersburg, the scandalous reconstruction of the House with Lions on Admiralteysky Prospekt, 12 is being completed. The Four Seasons Hotel will open in the spring of 2012, after a three-year delay, and the process of transferring the premises to the hotel has now begun. Experts are unanimous in their opinion: this is an example of how not to deal with architectural monuments.

Officially, the work is called “adapting the building for modern use”, although experts call them rough reconstructions. St. Petersburg city defenders especially emphasized that the developers, without any special barriers from Rosokhrankultura, decided the fate of one of the most famous buildings in the city, mentioned even in Pushkin’s poem “The Bronze Horseman” in the spring.

The owner of the Lobanov-Rostovsky House, also known as the House with Lions, is the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation. In 2008, the department transferred the monument to Tristar Investment Holdings CJSC for reconstruction. Market participants are confident that the project was given to this particular company, since it is close to Andrei Yakunin, the son of Russian Railways President and Putin’s friend Vladimir Yakunin. Today Andrey Yakunin holds the post of Chairman of the Board of Directors of Tristar Investment Holdings.

Alexander Margolis, co-chairman of the city branch of the All-Russian Society for the Protection of Monuments, believes that the reconstruction of the House with Lions is perhaps the most notorious crime in relation to the history of St. Petersburg.

“This is a gross violation of current legislation in the field of historical heritage protection. The Lobanov-Rostovsky House is a federal monument in the very center of a UNESCO world heritage site, where there could be no talk of any reconstruction - such a building can only be restored,” Alexander Margolis told a Karpovka correspondent today.

He recalled that investors demolished the historical outbuilding in the courtyard, designed, like the entire building, by the architect Auguste Montferrand. This is unacceptable, since it is a “direct and unequivocal violation,” our interlocutor believes. Mr. Margolis noted that the minor penalties that were applied to the developer were “absolutely incommensurate” with the harm from the reconstruction.

“This is a clear example of how one should not deal with architectural monuments, especially of this rank,” Mikhail Milchik, member of the council for the preservation of cultural heritage and deputy director of the Spetsproektrestavratsiya institute, told a Karpovka correspondent today. Now hoteliers praise builders for high-quality restoration, including the main staircase, but you shouldn’t take their word for it. In the building, Mr. Milchik noted, several zones were identified in which restoration was underway according to the design of the architect Rafael Dayanov; a significant part was given for reconstruction.

“This violates the traditional appearance of the monument. In general, this kind of attic is not typical for a monument of high classicism, and therefore is not acceptable. Members of the Council for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage unanimously spoke out against the attic, but despite this, this attic was made,” says Mikhail Milchik.

True, the organizers of the reconstruction have a different view of the situation. “This is an outstanding, unique project, and this is exactly how the developer, the financial partner, and the owner treat it,” said Isadore Sharp, founder of the Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts chain. According to Vladimir Kozhin, manager of the Presidential Administration, “the re-creation of the House with Lions is an excellent example of the successful implementation of a project when investors, developers and their partners attach the correct and necessary importance to preserving the cultural heritage and historical appearance of the city.”

The main architect of the project is the head of his own workshop, Evgeny Gerasimov. The design of the premises was carried out by the Californian company Cheryl Rowley and the Japanese studio Spin Design Studio. The Four Seasons hotel itself will have 183 rooms. The total area of the hotel is 24.3 thousand square meters. meters.

Let us add, according to some sources, this is not the only project of Andrei Yakunin in St. Petersburg. His name is associated with the reconstruction of the Nikolsky market on Sadovaya Street, 62. The owner of the building, Nikolsky Ryady CJSC, is expected to plan to place mainly hotel and office rooms, also based on the project of Evgeny Gerasimov.

True, in that case, the developers agreed with the opinion of the public, who sharply protested against the main element - the glass dome over the courtyard, and abandoned it. However, for now “Nikolskie Ryad” still insists on building up the internal space of the market, which is also unacceptable, experts say.

Dmitry Ratnikov
Photo by Denis Panov