Alexander Palace interiors

[londo954]

In looking at the photos on teh site I can't help but notice how much of Quarenghi remains even to today....How much of his original interiors survive

[BobAtchison]

...and it survived the war - it's amazing to see the cornices and door frames and even the artificial marble of the Marble Hall and the Formal Reception room - to realize that all this is the original work of the 18th century.

It's possible the chandelier in the Formal Reception Room is the original that has always hung here since Catherine's time.

On the terrace outside the semi-circular hall you can still see some of the original railing elements of Quarenghi.

Bob

[londo954]

Bob,,
In my research I have seen that the Russians have a passion for remodelling and redecorating, expanding and making bigger. However I thinkits interesting that there are a few architects who have stood the test of time such as Rastrelli and Quarenghi......Do you think its because their work is so good or that the elements were so integrated into the structure that it would have been too costly too remove. Or perhaps another reason

[londo954]

Anyway back to the topic at hand. The chandelief that is presenyl in the reception room doen't seem to be the one that wsa there originalkly....where was this one from !!!

[BobAtchison]

I believe the orginal chandelier from the Reception Room is in MF's formal bedroom at Pavlovsk - but my memory could be wrong there.

Londo - Quarenghi is a great architect - it's a shame the English Palace is lost and the AP is in such a bad shape.  I think he has held up in part because Catherine gave him so much work.... he had many projects - his work is all over Petersburg and even some survives in Moscow.

[londo954]

Bob=I checked out the Pavlovsk website. The only view of the chandelier in Marie's Bedroom I could find was the reflection in the mirror and it doesn't look right....but the one in the State bedroom does look right,,,,what do you think?

[brnbg aka: liljones1968]

There hasn't been any response to this request, and I too would love to get a better sense of exactly where these rooms are located.  The State Museum 'Tzarskoje Selo'  has a numbered floorplan of the entire Alexander Palace and it would be great if one of the palace historians could identify where these rooms are on the plan.  Thanks so much.

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can anyone identify the function/designation for the rooms in the right wing?   the color-code has identified who occupied which space.... but it would be fantastic to know which room was A III's study, etc.    A III & MF seem to have occupied a large number of rooms (then again, so did N II & AF!), it would be really interesting to know what they were.    

specifically, rooms 18 thru 56

CAN ANYONE PLEASE HELP IN IDENTIFYING THESE ROOMS?

i know someone out there has to know....
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[jda]

In Kuchumovs' book Pavlovsk Palace and Park on page 83 a caption of a photo of the chandelier says that it came from the St. Michael Castle.

[londo954]

Thats odd the castle was the Engineers school and ahdn't been used by the Imperial Family since Paul's death...after which all its trappings I understood were removed

[elisa_1872]

Does anyone know the present whereabouts of the painting of Grand Duke Ludwig IV, Alexandra's father, which hung originally in her dressing room? I would be so grateful for any information, perhaps Bob_Atchinson knows where it is? I thought it might be at Pavlovsk's museum, but am not sure.

[nigbil]

Hi,
I've just come back from a week in St.Petersburg where, with the help of Baedekers 1914 guide, it was easy to transpose the pre-revolutionary use of buildings to today's use (barracks of the Pavlovski's for example).

As for the Alexander Palace it a great shape its in such poor condition but they are making a start on restoration and it was wonderful to be able to go into the wing occupied by the Imperial family.

I have some general comments:
1) Its a pity they are allowing the construction of new dwellings, even though they are quite 'period', so close to the Alexander Palace. They encroach within 100 metres.
2) The park is very overgrown with trees which are certainly not contemporaneous to the first two decades of the 20th century. There are a large group of buildings quite close  to the palace painted in oils which show Alexie playing - no trees at all. Today its almost a forrest.
3) The immediate gardens outside the palace are fenced in because, I'm told, SS troops were burried there. It would be great to see this restored.
4) We tried to get into the 'other' wing of the palace - the one used by the Tsar's mother. They are, I believe, used as offices and we were almost inside before being stopped by a large woman with an 'Okhrana' badge on here ample breat. Deja vu.........
5) I have pictures of the 'courtyard' (its not one technically speaking) which shows that the view from Nicholas's new study allowed him to see everybody arriving at the palace.
6) Lastly, we tried to track down the place where Alexander had Rasputin secretly burried (Paleologue) - I think he was later dug up by the Bolsheviks and burnt. We have pictures of the nearest church to the Alexander Palace (currently closed off and under restoration?) which strikes me as the most likely place.....but this will forever remain a mystery?
If anyone asks, I will post pictures...
Nigel

[Robert_Hall]

Please do post your pictures. When I was there 3 weeks ago, it was really too dark for decent photos.

[nigbil]

[img/http://photobucket.com/albums/v673/nigbil/th_Alexpalace6.jpg/img]
Picture (above) from Nicholas' dressing room, one down from his study. It overlooks the central courtyard where ministers etc would arrive....
[img/http://photobucket.com/albums/v673/nigbil/th_Alexpalace4.jpg/img]
This picture shows a small building about 50metres from the front of the palace. Looking at the map, it looks like its located close to two small lakes. Could this be a changing room/house/banya. There is a famous picture of Alexie bathing in these lakes....
[img/http://photobucket.com/albums/v673/nigbil/th_Alexpalace3.jpg/img]
This picture is of the front of the palace, with the area fenced off - probably because it was the burial place used by the SS

[Robert_Hall]

I am afraid your pictures cannot be opened ! [at least by me] I had the very same problem. I forget how we remedied it, but I needed help.

[ChristineM]

Nigbil - welcome to the Alexander Palace Forum and for being such a willing participant.   Unfortunately I cannot open your photographs, but I'll keep trying.

One or two points:  The new apartments across Dvortsovaya - before the second war there were buildings there.   These apartments were constructed in the last five to six years.   Before, it was not much better than waste land with long grass and shrubby trees.   I agree the town planners could have given a bit more consideration to this development, but because there were originally other buildings on the site, building consent was forthcoming.

The Alexander Palace is under the jurisdiction of the Russian Navy.   The Imperial Wing was opened in the late 1990s largely thanks to Bob Atchison's success in exciting interest in the plight of Nicholas and Alexandra's rooms, and thus raising a very large sum of money which was used to make the roof over the Imperial apartments secure.   The rest of the palace is out of bounds to the public and there is deep concern about the condition of the roof above the Parade Rooms.

The grounds have run wild - there is no funding to restore the gardens to their pre-revolutionary state.

It is the circle of grass on the north (colonnade side) where around 60 corpses of members of the Spanish Blue Division lie buried.   The SS graves are mainly below the Granite Terrace.   These areas of ground are effectively war graves and a bit of a diplomatic problem.

The Baedeker is just wondeful - you were so wise to use this instead of, or as well as, a modern guide book.  

Its wonderful you enjoyed your trip to St Petersburg and that the Alexander Palace has left such an impression.   I think you will find much to keep your memories alive on this website.

tsaria