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RUSSIA. TOURS TO ST. PETERSBURG
ABOUT ST. PETERSBURG
MONASTERY AND CATHEDRAL
THE MIKHAILOVSKY CASTLE
The austere look of the Mikhailovsky Castle ensemble corresponds to its no less
solemn history connected with the grievous fate of its owner. The castle was
built by Vasily Bazhenov and Vincenzo Brenna in 1797 for Paul I as a new
imperial residence. He wanted to leave the Winter Palace partly because he hated
his mother Catherine II but mainly due to his maniacal fear of a plot conspired
against him. Paul ordered the new residence to look like a mediaeval castle,
encompassed with a deep moat and fortified with guns. The eight-corner building
of the castle encircles the vast square yard and the whole structure makes it
almost impossible to sneak in unnoticed. The only way in was through the
drawbridge guarded day and night. Because of the Paul’s growing phobia the
Mikhailovsky castle was built in unusually short time. To speed up the
construction Paul ordered to use materials allocated for St. Isaac Cathedral and
took away the precious interiors of the Tavrichesky Palace, the private
residence of his mother’s lover Potyomkin. Still, he couldn’t wait and moved
into the yet incomplete building.The first ball was given in fog emanated from
the yet damp walls.
However unassailable the castle was, the plotters did get inside. 41 days
after Paul moved in, under the veil of night they rushed into the Paul’s
bedroom and killed the Emperor by hitting him with a golden snuffbox into his
temple. After the cruel assassination a memorial Church was opened in the
Castle. In 1823 the castle was turned into the Higher Engineers’ School. From
1838 to 1843 Fyodor Dostoyevsky studied there. The gracious monument to Peter
the Great in front of the Castle was established by Rastrelli in 1800. On the
order of Paul I the architect made the inscription “From Great Grandson to
Great Grandfather” on the pedestal and decorated it with bas-reliefs depicting
scenes of two Russian victories over the Sweden during the Northern War.
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