Palace of Fedor Matveevich Apraksin

Date: 03.10.2001 Source: "The Russian Antique" Author: A.Petrakova

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This year on the 8th of August archaeologists conducting excavations in one of the inner courts of the State Hermitage museum complex among the other objects (pieces of tiles, pipes, ceramic and glass crockery) found a bronze seal, which handle is performed in the form of a dolphin. On the yet uncleared seal one can see a crown and a monogram, one of its letters is "M". Specialists from the museum consider that there is a big possibility of this seal belonging to Russian admiral-general count Fedor Matveevich Apraksin (1661-1728), associate of Peter I, having earned fame for his many glorious deeds. The very place of the excavations speaks well for this hypothesis √ it is the place where the building of Winter palace stands where the palace of F.M.Apraksin stood in the first half of the XVIII century, built of stone by design of architect Jean Baptist Leblond, invited to the building capital by Peter I and having arrived at the city in 1716.

During first two decades of XVIII century Admiralty island (territory, washed by Moyka and Neva rivers) was under supervision of Fedor Matveevich. 1705 √ at this time on the bank of Neva river the first wooden house of Apraksin was built 200 sazhens (2.134m) away from the Admiralty wharf. In the beginning of 1712 in place of this house a stone twostoried building was built under the guidance of Domenico Trezzini, who is sometimes called "the first architect of Petersburg". However this house soon ceased to satisfy its owner and in 1716 a new house-palace was founded under guidance and by the project of J.B.Leblond, having just arrived at Petersburg. Soon the house was built with the facade looking on Neva.

It was the richest and the finest house of the city. There is a description of the palace in the Berhgoltz's journal by 10th of April, 1725: "It is the biggest and the most beautiful in all Petersburg, at that it stands on the greater Neva and has a very nice location. Great admiral was showing us some of his best chambers. He furnished the whole house excellently and after the latest fashion, so that a king could also properly live in it". According to the draft the palace in its central part reminded of the project "houses for the grand ones", designed by Leblond among other projects of Petersburg's standard development.

As concerning the inner finery, one can get some idea about it basing upon water-colour of H.L.Behner of 1725, portraying the central hall of the palace. The water-colour traces the holiday finery of the hall for the marriage of daughter of Peter I with the duke of Holsten. Berhgoltz's journal describes this as follows: "May, 21... the young have arrived at the palace in the evening... the attendants showed them into the wonderfully decorated great hall ... there was a big table laden with candy. May, 23 on the third day of wedding ... empress came to the palace... duke showed her into the great chamber of his palace, decorated with wallpapers and precious mirrors". Water-colours are the only known colour image of interior of the first quarter of XVIII century. It was one of the biggest parade halls of Petersburg. B.C.Rastrelli and his son F.B.Rastrelli took part in execution of its facing; pictorial art, stucco-work, marbled painting, mirrors, crystal lustres are used in the hall's decoration.

Since April 1725 Apraksin got a let for his house by duke of Holstein, who lived in it after wedding. In 1728 after admiral-general Apraksin's death the palace according to his last will went to the royal family. A design of this palace was saved in the Berhgoltz's collection, dated by the 1730-ies, at the time when it was being rebuilt by Trezzini. As one can see, it is the same northern facade that is on Leblond's design, but it now became threestoried and more decorated. In 1732 palace of Apraksin got into the complex of buildings of the new winter palace of Anna Ioannovna, built by Rastrelli.

Palace of Apraksin took about half of the place along Neva, which is now occupied by the Winter palace. House of admiralty-counsellor A.V.Kikin was situated near the palace of Apraksin. Both had houses in this place not by accident √ upstream the Neva river not far from the Admiralty moat were housed those whose activity related to the Admiralty. Stone chambers of Kikin were built in 1707 and became the first stone house of Petersburg; later the Naval academy was situated in it. The building existed until 1732, when Rastrelli demounted it in connection with the building of the Winter palace of Anna Ioannovna. The contemporary Winter palace, the 5th in succession, is restored by a group of architects and artists under the guidance of V.P.Stasov in place of the one burnt in the fire on 17 of December, 1837. The first Winter palace, yet rather a house than a palace was built for Peter I in 1707. It was a small wooden building, which was transported in January 1711 to the Petrovskaya embankment, where it stands presently. By the official marriage of Peter I and Catherine the second Winter palace or Wedding chambers, as it was called thereat, was erected by the project of D.Trezzini in the years 1711-12 on the shore of a specially dug channel, connecting Moyka and Neva rivers (the channel is now known to everybody as the Winter groove). It was a humble twostoried building with a high porch and tegular roof. This palace was demounted at the direction of Catherine in 1726. In the years 1716-1720 near the selfsame groove by the project of architect G.J.Mattarnovy the third Winter palace was erected, a bit larger than the first one √ its place is now occupied by the Hermitage theatre and the underground exposition which reveals us the remnants of Peter's Winter palace, discovered by the archaeologists not long ago. Peter died in this palace in 1725. In 1727 architect Domenico Trezzini expanded the building but the palace seemed too humble for empress Anna Ioannovna and in 1732 after the coronation she settled down in the palace of admiral Fedor Matveevich Apraksin, which was rebuilt by Trezzini. In the years 1732-1736 architect F.B.Rastrelli added to the house the fourth in succession Winter palace. In 1755 on the corner of Nevsky avenue and Moyka river a temporary wooden Winter palace was erected. The fifth one which stands presently was founded in 1754; in 1762 the work of its construction was almost finished and tsar Peter III established himself in the new building, but in a few months after palace revolution and murder of Peter III √ Catherine II settled down in it. Thus, the palace of Fedor Matveevich Apraksin, rather that which remained of it was buried under the present Winter palace. With the excavations performed at this place afford the ground to assume that the things found there are the ones that once belonged to admiral-general F.M.Apraksin.