Continuation. In the first part "Impossible St. Petersburg through the Eyes of a European", it was told about the difference between St. Petersburg and European capitals, about the choice of the place and the prehistory of the beginning of its construction by Peter 1. Now there are more and more facts to prove that Peter did not build this city, but reconstructed. But there is no official information about this yet, and we have to get it from various sources. Let, perhaps, have already been corrected, but nevertheless they keep in themselves grains of information, shedding more and more light on the mysterious origin of the City on the Neva. Let's try to recognize these grains.
Start of construction in St. Petersburg
The construction of the city as described by the London Times correspondent Georg Dobson in 1910:
For clarity, the city plan at the beginning of construction again:
Description of the construction of the Peter and Paul Fortress and the first house of Peter 1 in St. Petersburg by another foreign author, Eugene Schuler (or Eugene Skyler, 1840-1890), an American scientist, writer, traveler and diplomat:
Promotional video:
Digression: "Italian" architect
Domenico Trezzini, or in other words Andrei Yakimovich Trezin (1670-1734), architect and engineer, Italian, born in Switzerland. In the treasury of "foreign" geniuses who worked in Russia and are completely unknown in their homeland. This architect is not known in Italy. The Italian Wikipedia's information about him fits into three lines: that he was a Swiss architect and urban planner. He studied in Rome, then was summoned by Peter I to St. Petersburg in 1703. to develop a general plan for the new capital of the Russian Empire. The Swiss Wikipedia does not report anything about him at all. The German Wikipedia reports that he probably studied in Rome. And further, that Peter I invited him to St. Petersburg. There is not a word about labor activity before immigration to Russia. The English Wikipedia also reports that he probably studied in Rome. And subsequently, when he worked in Denmark,It was proposed to Peter I, among other architects, to design buildings in the new Russian capital, St. Petersburg. Who he worked in Denmark and what he designed there - not a word. Danish Wikipedia does not mention such a person at all.
Houses of Peter I
Further, the American writer describes the first house of Peter 1 in the city under construction:
House of Peter I in its original form.
House of Peter I, St. Petersburg, modern look.
Georg Dobson explains the modestness of Peter's dwelling by the fact that he lived in the Moscow Kremlin and was accustomed to cramped and low rooms:
View of the office in the Terem Palace of the Kremlin, 19th century photo.
View of the office in the Terem Palace of the Kremlin, modern look.
For comparison, the interiors of the Peter 1 Summer Palace in St. Petersburg:
In my opinion, the difference is striking. This setting is more in line with the Dutch interiors of that time, and not the chambers of the Moscow Kremlin. The house of Peter I has also survived in Zaandam, a small town in the suburbs of Amsterdam, where Peter I stayed during his trip to Europe in 1697-1698:
House of Peter 1 in Zaandam, Netherlands.
House of Peter 1 in Zaandam, Netherlands.
A niche in the wall with open doors looks like Peter 1's bed, or rather, a sleeping wardrobe. In Holland, among the poor and even the middle class, it was customary to sleep in wardrobes. Firstly, this is the saving of space, so precious for Holland in the literal sense of the word, and secondly, the preservation of heat during sleep, because it is not customary to heat a room at night in Holland. But can a person sleep in a closed box if he has not been used to it since childhood? And if some extreme situation does not force him to do this? There is a version that Peter 1 was changed during his trip to Europe. I see a more logical version of the candidate of philosophical sciences I. Yu. Danilov, that Peter's substitution took place even before his trip to Europe. And it was not Peter I who traveled to Europe, but the man who replaced him. Most likely Dutch by birth, and most likely from Zaandam. That is why he stayed there, because his relatives lived there. And that is precisely why he did not call himself the Russian Tsar - there he was well known under a different name. And he was not used to luxury, because he did not grow up in it. And it becomes clear his love for the Lutherans even before his trip to Europe - probably, he himself belonged to them:
This is how the American Schuler describes Peter's second dwelling in St. Petersburg:
Confronting the Swedes
More than the construction of the city, Peter was worried about the construction of the fleet, and most importantly, the Swedes did not abandon their attempts to return the lost territory:
But Peter, not paying attention to evil tongues, continued to strengthen the approaches to the city:
A copy of the frigate "Shtandart", built in 1999. non-governmental non-profit organization "Project Shtandart" under the leadership of the ship's master Vladimir Martus.
Construction of the Kronshlot fortress
Description of the construction of the fort from another source:
This is how the ryazh filled with cobblestones look like:
The technique of constructing such foundations was not new. It was used to fortify river banks or to build piers and bridges, sort of, in ancient times. Description of the device of such a foundation on ice:
And yet, despite the seemingly quite real description of the construction of such a foundation, there are practically no existing analogues in the world dating back to that time. The fort was built in one winter. And not on an island, but in shallow water, i.e. in the middle of the sea, in other words, 30 km from the coast. There is an Indian fort called Murud-Janjira, but it is located on the coast, on a rocky base. French Fort Louvois. But it was built on a sandbank, not far from the coast, it was built at low tide, i.e. on a solid foundation, the builders themselves walked, and the materials for the construction were brought on dry land. And, I think, the French Fort Boyar, known to many from the TV game. The idea to build it arose back in 1666. However, the legendary engineer-fortifier Sebastian Le Pretre de Vauban, whom Louis XIV proposed to lead the construction, refused, objected to the king: “Sir,it is easier to grasp the moon with your teeth than to build a fortress in such a place. And they began to build the fort only in 1801, and finished in 1857. built it for 56 years. And here, in one winter, they installed both the foundation and the fortress, and at the same time with their bare hands, as they say, if you believe the author, who claims that the builders of St. Petersburg had neither shovels nor wheelbarrows. Even if there were, in the middle of the sea they would still be useless.
This is what the Kronshlot fortress looked like in 1750:
The caption in the picture in the center: “The plan of the Kronshot fortress in the Finnish sea gulf in combination with the plans of the most famous fortresses in the same gulf. From Russian and Swedish sources, provided by Komenniy Erben, 1750 " I could not find an analogue to this flag. Apparently, it was the flag of this particular fortress. It is similar to the St. Andrew's flag, but still differs from it in an additional vertical stripe. In the upper left corner it is written: "The Finnish Sea Bay from Kronstadt to St. Petersburg", in the upper right corner: "Kronstadt on the Rebusarri Island is located 9 German miles west of St. Petersburg. “Rebu” means “fox” in Finnish, and “sarri” means “island”. In Russian it is called Kotlin Island. The Finns called him "fox", apparently because of his shape - in the form of a fox's tail. Fortress Kronshlot on the map of Kronstadt:
Its modern look:
Much later, already in 1838-1845. another fort was built, also on an artificial island - the fort "Emperor Alexander I". The reality of its construction at the specified time also raises doubts among many.
Fort * Emperor Alexander I *.
Construction of the Ladoga Canal
The construction of the fortress was not the only addition to the construction of the city, it was also necessary to build a canal in order to facilitate the only way of connecting the city on the Neva with the mainland at that time:
Map of the Emperor Peter the Great Canal (Staroladozhsky Canal) (1741 - 1742) Years of construction -1719-1730.
And one more map, which shows the road along the canal, apparently intended for construction:
Fragment of the plan of St. Petersburg by Reiner Ottens, 1734
The strategic significance of the Peter and Paul Fortress
As soon as Kronshlot was built, the Peter and Paul Fortress lost its defensive significance. Those. in fact, already in 1704, before construction began, the fortress was no longer needed. Schuler believed that the whole city was built in vain:
Nevsky Gate of the Peter and Paul Fortress, Benjamin Patersen, 1799
Difficulties in building St. Petersburg
Despite its uselessness in the eyes of the Europeans, St. Petersburg continued to be built, and with great efforts and great losses. From Georg Dobson's description:
From the description of Evgeny Shuler:
Those. in the first 10 years, about 3500 buildings were built every year, or more than 9 buildings every day. Over the next 4 years - 2500 buildings every year, or about 7 every day. Or the numbers transmitted to European and American correspondents were very, very high. But by 1884, according to Evgeny Shuler, only a few of the buildings of the time of Peter I in St. Petersburg remained. All other buildings were built by his successors:
Currently, there are 6 surviving objects from the time of Perth 1 in the city itself: Peter's summer palace, Menshikov's Palace, Kikiny chambers, Peter and Paul gate of the Peter and Paul fortress, Church of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos of the Holy Trinity Alexander Nevsky Monastery, Kunstkamera Building, Building of twelve collegia.
And 5 objects outside the city: the Menshikov Palace, the Konstantinovsky Palace (Great Strelna Palace), and in Peterhof: the Grand Palace (central part), Monplaisir, Marly, the Hermitage.
Considering that it was also necessary to restore or repair buildings after frequent floods, the intensity of construction should have been even higher. And all this, perhaps, without wheelbarrows and shovels … Perhaps there were also fires, but the largest of the first mentioned happened in St. Petersburg in 1737, i.e. 12 years after the death of Perth 1. Description of firefighting in St. Petersburg under Peter 1:
The same source reports that by 1725, 40 thousand people lived in the city. I don’t know where they got this figure, but it clearly does not coincide with the number of houses from foreign sources. After all, it turned out that only one person lived in each house at most. And some of the houses were generally empty? Or did the city builders not include this figure? I happened to take part in the construction of a nuclear power plant. For its construction, a city was first built in which just 40 thousand people lived. Of course, not all of them were builders, but most were. Then there were no pensioners in the city, there were few children, there were no non-working adults at all, and there was a minimum percentage of those involved in the service. The nuclear power plant was built by so many people using all the most modern technology at that time for 10 years. But there were probably more builders in St. Petersburg. Abroad there was information that only 200,000 people died during construction:
However, Peter called St. Petersburg "paradise", and 10 years later, by 1714, the city had already been built so much that one could think about appointing it the capital and transferring the government to it:
This is how St. Petersburg appears 12 years after the start of its construction on the engravings of that time:
Summer Palace of Peter I and Summer Garden in St. Petersburg, A. Zubov, 1716.
The Yekateringof Palace was first founded in a wooden version in 1711. This is how it looks on Zubov's engraving 5 years later. The trees are painted quite large. But maybe they were already planted as adults?
View of Yekateringof, A. Zubov, 1716.
Trinity Square on the City Island, P. Pikart.
We must not forget that in addition to the city, the fleet was also built. And also at a fairly fast pace.
Kotlin Island and the Russian fleet. From an engraving by P. Picart, 1716.
Transport links are of great help in construction. In St. Petersburg, everything was very difficult in this regard. From the land side until 1709. the city was connected with the mainland only by the Neva River with its dangerous Ivanovo rapids. In 1709, the Vyshnevolotsk water system began to function - a waterway connecting the Tvertsa River, a tributary of the Volga, with the Baltic Sea. This path opened up the opportunity to supply St. Petersburg with food and other goods supplied from central Russia. And only in 1712 the construction of a land road began, connecting St. Petersburg with Moscow. Those. in fact, already after the city was built to such an extent as to obtain the status of the capital of the Russian state. From the side of the sea, the city had access only to enemy territories. What caused only additional waste of both time and money, and most importantly,human lives. Since it was necessary to build fortifications and constantly protect the approaches to the city under construction. Therefore, houses in the city were built of wood and painted like bricks:
In order to paint the logs like a brick, they were first hewn. Those. this is an additional waste of time and effort, although it looks more aesthetically pleasing. But Peter I, as they say, thought least of all about aesthetics. And where did they get the paint in such quantities to paint all the buildings in the city? Paint, and especially color pigment, is also not a cheap thing. Or was this version invented later to justify the presence of a large number of buildings that looked quite stone in the first images of St. Petersburg?
General plan of St. Petersburg
Strange and paradoxical as it may seem, it is believed that during the construction of St. Petersburg there was no initial plan for the city's development, and it was built spontaneously.
Only in 1712 was a decree issued on drawing up a plan, but not for the entire city, but only for the Moscow side (later called the Liteiny part), an area on the left bank of the Neva, in which the settlement of the royal family and confidants who arrived from Moscow began. The first general plan of St. Petersburg appeared in 1716. It was made by Domenico Trezzini (by the same "Italian" architect, whom Peter the Great invited specifically for this purpose back in 1703):
General plan 1716 - 1717, Domenico Trezzini, 1716.
Peter I decided to organize a competition and commissioned Jean Baptiste Leblond to make the second master plan. But his plan was less successful than Trezzini's and was rejected.
General plan of 1717, proposed by Jean Le Blond.
There is another master plan for the development of St. Petersburg, made in Paris by the French cartographer Nicolas de Fer:
The plan of the new city of Petersburg (Plan de la nouvelle ville de Petersbourg), Nicholas de Fer, 1717.
Inscription on the plan:
Here, apparently, we mean the bypass Ladoga Canal, the construction of which was completed in 1730. The French cartographer himself was not in St. Petersburg and drew his plan according to the drawings provided to him by Peter 1. We see that the layout of Vasilievsky Island on its plan coincides with the layout proposed by Trezzini. Perhaps he simply redrawn it, or perhaps Vasilyesky Island was already built up by the time, as Georg Dobson and Eugene Schuler claim? But then it would have been absolutely impossible for Leblond's proposal to completely demolish the existing buildings in the city? Or only that part, which on his plan coincides with other plans, and was built up at the time of 1717? Expert opinion:
Perhaps this map of St. Petersburg shows the real development at the time of 1725:
Plan of St. Petersburg, 1725
It does not seem that there were any channels at all on Vasilievsky Island, as described above. Or they were already covered by that time.
Author: i_mar_a